[matrixfwd]

Source: (http://www.richmond-news.com/news/stating+only+Chinese+need+apply+outrages+Richmond+ resident/4649958/story.html)

http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/images/smilies/face-palm.gif


By Alan Campbell, Richmond News April 20, 2011

An online advertisment for an apartment rental in Richmond has sparked outrage after it stated “only Chinese” need apply.

The offending Craigslist ad was spotted by prospective renter, longtime Richmond resident and former school trustee, Patricia Whittaker.

Whittaker, who is of African origin, was checking rentals in the city centre when she came across the posting for the Mandalay building on Hemlock Drive, by Garden City and Cook roads.

But her disbelief when reading the “only Chinese” conditions quickly turned to anger when the realization set in.

“Chinese only? This is Canada for crying out loud,” said Whittaker, who runs the non-profit Centre for Integration of African Immigrants in New Westminster.

“A lot of the time when potential landlords hear accents or see names they don’t like, they come out with the excuses. But I’ve never seen anything as blatant as this.

“I’m absolutely appalled, and it can’t be happening here in Canada.”

If it was the other way around, and the ad read “only Caucasians,” Whittaker said there would be “total outrage.”

“I’m not sure why (the landlord is) doing this, but it’s completely wrong,” she added.

“There’s a lot of Chinese money coming into the housing market here right now. And these new owners are our landlords of the future.

“I wonder where we are going with this? Will it be a case that only Chinese people will be able to rent an apartment?

After being contacted via e-mail by the News, a person calling themselves Lisa Yeh claimed she was, in fact, the tenant of the apartment in question.

Yeh said she’d been asked by her landlord to place the ad and had written “only Chinese” because the owner can only communicate in Mandarin.

“They would like to have Chinese tenants,” Yeh wrote.

After hearing that the advert was causing concern, Yeh apologized and offered to remove the posting.

She later told the News that she’s taken the ad off Craigslist and has now posted it on a Chinese-speaking newspaper’s website.

Henry Beh, executive director of the Richmond Chinese Community Society, branded the “only Chinese” condition as “stupid.”

“This is simply not right in today’s society and we would certainly not support this kind of language,” Beh said.

“Craigslist is supposed to screen that kind of thing, looking for anything that’s discriminatory. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of something like this in 38 years.

“In this situation, I think the tenant should have told the owner that it was inappropriate. I remember years ago, in Richmond, there were a few restaurants that had only Chinese signs up, but they had to change.”

Beh said that when he sends out information on behalf of his organization he communicates it in several languages. “Just so that I’m fair to everyone.”

Meanwhile, Whittaker said she’s spent her whole life dealing with discrimination, but she’s never come across something so blatant.

“If we’re renting to Asians only, where do we stop?” she said.

[Drow]

Whoa whoa the lady should calm down and not throw such a big hissy fit over it jesus
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[SkinnyPupp]

reminds me of my friend and his wife who rented out a brand new apartment in Richmond... She insisted on renting only to a Chinese student.. Well they did, and the kid had 5 of his friends staying there, and they destroyed the place, leaving cigarette burns everywhere, destroying carpets, furniture, appliances, etc.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be discriminatory ;)

[geeknerd]

i bet ur friends wife was not asian? if she was asian, the students would've known the force of c-lais and would not fuck around.

[EmperorIS]

overly sensitive black lady at it again
i don't see anything wrong with this ... just the black bitch misunderstood and jumped to conclusions .. i think shes the racist

[SkinnyPupp]

i bet ur friends wife was not asian? if she was asian, the students would've known the force of c-lais and would not fuck around.
No she's mainland chinese actually! Quite smart, but also very brainwashed (not her fault)

[El Bastardo]

Oh lord, this, the anniversary of your death, I bequeath you this favor:

Please let this thread end up in Fight Club. Please.

[Jayhall]

http://www.bchrt.bc.ca/process/complaint.htm

I have a feeling that if I (a young white male) made a complaint I would be ignored. Is that racist??

[optiblue]

Meeh, it still doesn't change the fact that the owner will end up renting to an Asian person! Sigh, if you invest in Canada, at least learn the native language!
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[Gt-R R34]

The Tenant is just dumb. To put it out blatantly

Everyone has bias when it comes to renting property. I don't give a shit what race/sex/job you have. Everyone does. Or else why would the owner look for a prospective and SCREEN for tenants.

They want one they want, that's suitable for their needs and to lessen any future headaches.

[InvisibleSoul]

Would all this have been avoided if the ad said "Mandarin speakers preferred"?

[vafanculo]

whats even sadder is the fact this almost seems ok since it was in richmond. definitely not right tho

[SkinnyPupp]

Would all this have been avoided if the ad said "Mandarin speakers preferred"?
If that was the case, it would no longer be a race issue.

[InvisibleSoul]

If that was the case, it would no longer be a race issue.
Yeah, which is what the original intent of the ad was to begin with. It wasn't so much a matter of race, it was a matter of communications.

If the tenant only had the ability to word it better, this would be a non-issue.

[SkinnyPupp]

I'm pretty sure it was a matter of race, just handled really stupidly ;)

[StylinRed]

wow could you imagine the shit storm chinese people would start if an ad said Whites Only or more to the point No Chinese


Yeah, which is what the original intent of the ad was to begin with. It wasn't so much a matter of race, it was a matter of communications.

If the tenant only had the ability to word it better, this would be a non-issue.

let's be honest the excuse of the ad being worded incorrectly is just that... a scape goat

[SkinnyPupp]

Reminds me of what we overheard our agent say to the owners when we were renting our current place in HK: "don't worry, they are foreigners but not Indian"

:eek:

[Graeme S]

I also really like how the solution is to take down the craigslist ad and put it up on a chinese-only site. Because that is something totally different from specifying "chinese-only".

[Apparition]

Reminds me of what we overheard our agent say to the owners when we were renting our current place in HK: "don't worry, they are foreigners but not Indian"

:eek:

I just had to LOL at that cause that's SO true of HK mentality towards Indians...

[Sid Vicious]

we've come full circle. the oppressed have become the oppressors lol
http://thereforeiam.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/no-dogs-or-chinese.jpg?w=500

[The7even]

You guys do realize some people are really bad at the whole assimilation process and are NOT actually racist.. right?

[SkinnyPupp]

You guys do realize some people are really bad at the whole assimilation process and are NOT actually racist.. right?
So how should we handle ignorance and intolerance when it happens?

[The7even]

So how should we handle ignorance and intolerance when it happens?

Well, I think there are ways to deal with intolerance and ignorance. I my self don't know the best way, and in no way am I saying that ignorance / intolerance can't stem from "chinese only" "germany only" etc, but all I wanted to get at was that some people just trust their own kind better.


Of course, as you've pointed out with the couple that rented the apartment to someone they knew, it does NOTHING and it is pretty stupid but it doesn't strictly point to racism as the black lady and someone else might suggest.

Stupid? Yea, of course, I see it with my own parents who I love to death but they aren't racist.

It's the notion that "oh, he was born in the same place I was born at, so there is this mutual trust and understanding that we'll look out after one another better than an outsider would" , not necessarily "Chinese, Master Race!"

I get where you're concerned though, but I just think we ought to reserve the word 'racist' for the real gestapo-ing assholes out there.

So as to your question.. I think to best way to handle this is to boycott his services or whatever business he's running. I wouldn't mind seeing that at all. He chooses to be ignorant, he loses business.

[DJ Milk]

If Chinese tenants is what they are looking for then they should have posted the ad up in Chinese newspapers and websites only. Posting on Craigslist mean they should be able to make it available to people of other races. :eekthumb:

[whitev70r]

Some major over reaction here. Just go to the next listing lady.

[liu13]

i dont blame them

i've heard stories of renting to white/black ppl, and they turn it into shitholes, usually serious drug abusers

stick to asian students only

[SkinnyPupp]

i dont blame them

i've heard stories of renting to white/black ppl, and they turn it into shitholes, usually serious drug abusers

stick to asian students only
You are an ignorant piece of shit

[Jayhall]

i dont blame them

i've heard stories of renting to white/black ppl, and they turn it into shitholes, usually serious drug abusers

stick to asian students only

any drug addict is probably going to treat the place like shit. If you had a apartment for rent, you could only be so lucky to have me show up and want to rent it. But you wouldnt rent it to me casue Im white?? Its to bad in this modern day and age we cant get over racism :facepalm:

[Lomac]

When I put my place up for rent, I'll state that all applicants must be "German speaking."

Nothing racist there, right?

[geeknerd]

Reminds me of what we overheard our agent say to the owners when we were renting our current place in HK: "don't worry, they are foreigners but not Indian"

:eek:

I just had to LOL at that cause that's SO true of HK mentality towards Indians...

what do hk think of indians? curious.

[StylinRed]

^^^ hongers h8 everyone including chinese ppl (if they're from inside china)

but they h8 Indians(chas)/Filipinos(buns) the most then Blacks(hut gweis) and they curse @ White(gwei lo) ppl too but they feel a bit inferior to them

I guess you can thank the Brits for that

[shenmecar]

With the 2011 census coming up, I am really wanting to see the % of the population in Richmond that is Chinese.

[rslater]

Its all about semantics.

If I list an apartment and it says white people only, that is racist. However, if I said English speakers, it's because I could only speak English to communicate with tenants.

[drunkrussian]

i hate this racism, especially since u shud base it on who seems most stable and responsible which has nothing to do woth race

with that said if ur gonna be a stupid racist bitch, at least PRETEND to take in other applicants. dont blatantly state what an asswipe you are right there in the ad lol. this is both racist AND idiotic.
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[InvisibleSoul]

When I put my place up for rent, I'll state that all applicants must be "German speaking."

Nothing racist there, right?
Not really? I don't find that to be a problem. Of course, it would be more eloquent to say "preferred" instead of "mandatory", but whatever...

[HansonBoy]

:whistle:

[Eastwood]

I can understand that she only wants to rent to Chinese because that's her only language, but come on you're in Canada at least learn English.

[sundance1911]

When I put my place up for rent, I'll state that all applicants must be "German speaking."

Nothing racist there, right?

you won't be able to find a tenant then.

[sundance1911]

i dont blame them

i've heard stories of renting to white/black ppl, and they turn it into shitholes, usually serious drug abusers

stick to asian students only

Asian students are generally clean and stick to themselves. Asian students also have less drunk parties and drug abuse than white people.

Renting to Chinese only make sense to me.

[Jayboogz]

Lol. What if the landlord lives in china? And over there mandarin is the first language. You need to look at it in the landlords perspective if he or she owns the property and manages it from over seas it would make sense to state chinese only. I don't consider this racist at all. Mind your own business and carry on.there are plenty of other ads out there for rent.

Zomgwtf bbq leave it to the journalist to put flowery words into the article "simply appallled"
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[dangonay]

^ If the landlord lives in China they should have someone here manage the rentals for them. There are a LOT of people here who can speak Mandarin and Cantonese ALONG with English and are familiar with our laws/customs.

Only an idiot would try to manage a property from another country without having any idea of how things work here.

[El Bastardo]

Wouldn't it just be easier to make Mandarin one of the official languages of Canada? :troll:

[AAnthony]

-----

[$_$]

Why is it such a problem that people would rather deal with people in their preferred language? If you're a white person would you want to deal with a Chinese lady that speaks broken English? Of course you won't put "Caucasian Only", but that's common sense. By saying "Only Chinese" she really means that this business transaction would go best and most smoothly (seeing how renting is a pretty personal and long term commitment, no?) if they were able to communicate in a language that is most comfortable for them. When you are looking for renters as a landlord isn't it all about screening applicants? So you would rather her waste a white person's time and take the time to fill out all the forms just so she can throw it out because that wouldn't work for her? I think her conditions should constitute as a Boni-Fide act, similar to Boni-Fide Occupational Qualifications (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bona_fide_occupational_qualifications). It's not racist to ask for "Mandarin Speaker Worker "(ALMOST the same as saying Chinese only) when listing a job posting, so why is it racist when she wants to look for an Asian, Chinese speaking tenant?

[rslater]

I think this Chinese speaking tenant should learn fucking English....

[Manic!]

Lol. What if the landlord lives in china? And over there mandarin is the first language. You need to look at it in the landlords perspective if he or she owns the property and manages it from over seas it would make sense to state chinese only. I don't consider this racist at all. Mind your own business and carry on.there are plenty of other ads out there for rent.

Zomgwtf bbq leave it to the journalist to put flowery words into the article "simply appallled"
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How the hell are you going to manage a property that's half way around the world. I manage 35 unit's in Nanaimo and I don't manage my own condo in Maple Ridge. Just because you are a Chinese citizen doesn't mean you don't have to follow Canadian law in Canada.

Edit:

Maybe I shouldn't rent to anyone that doesn't speak English or Punjabi because that's the only 2 languages I know. If you speak Arabic screw you, live on the street because no landlord with a vacancy speaks it in Nanaimo. :facepalm::banghead:

[Harvey Specter]

I know a few guys who own properties in the GVRD that absolutely refuse to rent to blacks or muslims. It's sad because you can't say one race is superior over another when it comes to tenants.

[liu13]

i dont generalize, but i do percentages, and more drug abusers are non chinese than chinese, therefore my logic is fine

and you may not accept racism, but u must accept the right to be racist

heil hitler our lord and savior

User was banned for this post. (no, we do not have to accept your "right" to be racist. Find another forum that does)

[Jayhall]

^^ dont drag logics good name through the mud, because according to your "logic" ICBC can charge chinese and east indians more money for insurance, but they cant BECAUSE THATS ILLEGAL. Racism is ok if it benfits you?? Fuck you, you are whats wrong with Canada. And I know for a fact if you were refused service anywhere because of your race, you would make a big stink, bitch and complain about how wrong racism is.

[Culverin]

Actually, when it comes to the icbc thing, let's just say, you fall into a certain demographic, iunno, let's say, you're a new driver, 5 years of experience, they charge you more. But the ICBC has better info than that. They know how old you are when you first started driving. They also know your sex etc...

Let's say young drivers get charged extra insurance. I'd be cool with that.
Let's say new drivers that are old get charged even more insurance, cause that's what the numbers show. I'd be ok with that too.

But let's say they have very specific info, such as new-older drivers, that happen to be asian, living in richmond, female insuring at $60k+ car, and those drivers account for a huge spike in accidents. chiner clais. Do you feel right charging them more insurance?


Sorry, just wanted to toss that out there and see what you guys think.

[The_AK]

wonder what would happen if you're a black guy with a chinese passport and can speak chinese, would the landlord say no? :O

[drunkrussian]

But let's say they have very specific info, such as new-older drivers, that happen to be asian, living in richmond, female insuring at $60k+ car, and those drivers account for a huge spike in accidents. chiner clais. Do you feel right charging them more insurance?


Sorry, just wanted to toss that out there and see what you guys think.

i would be against it, the reason being is that it's racial profiling. basing it on age is one thing - it is a FACT that with driving the more you do it, the wiser you are, etc. the better off you'd be.

Race however, despite what many here may say (lol) is not a genetic factor in determining one's driving ability. Therefore, to single that out and punish people of a particular race without any legitimate studies showing that if you're asian, you are born a bad driver, is racial profiling. It's the same as saying if you're muslim, it is in your genes to be a terrorist.

And same thing goes with rent - there is no actual valid evidence that race plays a part in being responsible, so if you're a business owner you have to be equal. If you own the property yourself, you of courseh ave the right to do whatever you want - just don't be a scrum bag and advertise publically that you're racially profiling :-D

[Hurricane]

I would rather this than wasting a day filling out applications, looking at the place, and getting the run around before being told 'sorry we have chosen another tenant.'

There are some areas of society where certain types of discrimination are permissible because of the personal nature of the relationship. For example, when hiring a caregiver. Someone renting/living in your house is a pretty personal relationship IMO.

The fact is, if and when you ever rent your place to a tenant, you are qualifying them on every aspect of their appearance and presentation.

All that said; the word choice was poor; but we can't expect everyone to be eloquent.

I guess I am a little bit jaded having gone through the rental process as an ex-pat living in Japan. Even so, I feel like their ''discriminatory'' ways are justified for the most part.

Maybe that particular owner has had some bad experiences with non-Chinese tenants. If I had 3 different Russian (arbitrary) tenants and they all trashed the place, I would probably tell the next Alexander Smirnov that called ''sorry, place has been rented.''

Bush put it best ''There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — [pauses] — shame on you. Fool me — [pauses] — You can't get fooled again.''

Then again; maybe the owner is just a racist. Either way, thanks for saving me the time, I say.

[k3mps]

my family is chinese, we've had white,thai, hk, mainland, taiwanese tenants.
each has their ups and downs.
there isn't any particular my parents would prefer

[quasi]

First rule of discrimination, you do not talk about discrimination. Just rent out to who you want and go on your way, some people are dumb including the lady complaining. I get it you're offended, do you really think you're going to change anything by bitching to the paper or media? Worry about what you can control. To the person who placed the ad, more proof common sense isn't common.

[$_$]

So I guess it's also sexist and ageist when rentals read "looking for females over 25".

[drunkrussian]

i didn't really understand from the article if the landlord owns that one UNIT or if the landlord owns the entire building of units. I'm guessing the former, but didn't actually see confirmation

[Manic!]

http://www.rto.gov.bc.ca/


1.7.1 Can a landlord refuse to rent based on discrimination?

The Human Rights Code forbids discrimination in tenancies based on a person's race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability and gender or sexual orientation.

A landlord cannot refuse to rent to a tenant based on the tenant's income, as long as the source of income is legal. This means, for example, that a tenant cannot be discriminated against if the rent is paid with an income assistance cheque.

A landlord cannot discriminate against a tenant because of the tenant's age, unless the residential property or manufactured home park is reserved for tenants who are fifty-five or older.

Tenancy agreements signed by tenants who are nineteen or younger are enforceable and tenants under nineteen are just as accountable for their actions as tenants over nineteen.