Put It the Other Way by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 16, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 29.

Put It the Other Way.

By Editor

Supposing we should read in a morning paper that an American boy had slashed a Chinese; that the reason why he did it was that the Chinese boys had yelled at him, thrown stones at him, etc. What would anti-Chinese papers say?—Every one of them would come to the defense of the American boy who was goaded to desperation by the Chinese lads. Well, the very opposite of this took place recently in the city of San Jose. Three boys are said, in a news item, to have “shouted at” a Chinese, and “tossed rocks toward him.” The Chinese is called “vicious.” Where did the viciousness begin? Now we are not talking on Chinese exclusion laws, either for or against. That is a purely political matter which we will not discuss. But on the broad grounds of humanity, the rights of a Chinese are as sacred as those of an American. Further, we never knew of any viciousness manifested on the part of a Chinese toward white people, unless he was goaded to it by whites. He is not the aggressor. It is a common thing to see them insulted, and mocked, and stoned by white hoodlums. The chances are ten to one in this case that the boys reaped their own sowing. As long as the Chinese are here, treat them according to the Golden Rule.