Having read Josh Hong's recent column on Chinese racism, one can't help but be amused at the defensive nature of the letters that were posted in reply to his article. They seemed testament to the expected backlash that Hong predicted would happen should if the Chinese feel slighted upon being accused of racism.

I do not see how Hong has portrayed Chinese culture as being 'static', 'monolithic' or that they were racist due to their perceived 'barbaric' roots. Nor does he argue that barbarism is an exclusive Chinese trait. It would seem that Dr Catherine Yeoh has misunderstood the context of his article.

Perhaps what Hong was trying to illustrate was that the self-aggrandisement of the glory and superiority of Chinese culture still continues to be prevalent in many Chinese people today who look down on non-Chinese people (whether they be Westerners, Japanese, or fellow non-Chinese Malaysians).

This is despite the fact that some Chinese themselves were once perceived as 'barbarians' by their own other fellow Chinese. There is a certain irony in the glorification of Chinese values when these same values parallels that of the Malay ultras, which many of us dislike.

More often than not, many Chinese Malaysians often describe themselves as 'naturally' hardworking and diligent. We boastfully speak about our cultural traits, proudly beaming about how Westerners today are referring to Chinese classics such as Confucianism or Sun Tsu's Art of War for ancient nuggets of wisdom.

Or we beat our chests about how our coolie forefathers struggled to make a living in this alien country when they first step foot onto this soil, immediately falling prey to the whims and fancies of oppressive plantation owners.

This is not to demean or belittle our ancestors' struggles but if we look at history closer, one will find that more often than not, the people who betrayed the good faith of our forefathers were their own fellow Chinese.

Chinese middlemen would act as intermediaries, duping fellow brethren into believing that they were signing up for indentured labour that came with decent wages and living conditions. But when they finally arrived at their destination, they would realise that what they had signed up for was actually more closer to slave labour.

The Chinese middlemen would then hire 'kongsi' members (yet more fellow Chinesemen) to violently harass and intimidate the coolie labourers into fear and domination. Likewise, while it was the British who sold off British opium farm licences, it was Chinese businessmen that acquired these licences and resell it to their coolie employees thereby confining their bodies to a lifetime of addiction and never-ending debt.

What this brief, ugly, historical note illustrates is that for all the rose-tinted glasses we often view Chinese culture through with, we are actually not much different from other cultures in that we magnify our good cultural values but conveniently leave out the discrimination, the atrocities, and the racism that our fellow brethren have engaged in.

Indentured labour, the Cultural Revolution, the Tiannamen Square incident and the continued marginalisation of the Islamic Chinese Hui minority are testimony to this.

I've heard many a time from family members and friends on how they'd rather not deal with Malay or Indian businessman, arguing that they were not as trustworthy as a Chinese. Yet, I see time and time again dishonest, unscrupulous, and/or Chinese traders whose true colours were later revealed.

We Chinese are indeed victims of racism, as Just A Chinese says. But that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye to how we ourselves act towards other races. The bullied often grow up to become bullies. In order to prevent oneself from becoming violated again, the abused often resorts to abusing others.

It is a vicious circle that creates more victims in the process. Likewise, having been victims of racism ourselves or in just trying to avoid being victims, we have put up a defensive wall that bars other races from meaningfully communicating with us.

We seek protection and familiarity among our fellow men, yet we do not realise that the Ugly Chinese exist amongst ourselves too. Too often have I seen Chinese parents reprimanding their own children for mixing with children of other races with the simple excuse that 'They are not one of us'. This fosters segregation and divide at a young age.

What it all boils down to is this - we're all basically humans subject to the same emotions and desires like every other human be they sad, greed, lust or envy. And while we may continue to distinguish ourselves from other races with our culture and the colour of our skin, this doesn't remove the fact we're all came from the same mould.