I haven't actually heard of "coolie" being used as a
derogatory term towards the Asian peoples before, I suppose I should remember that in the future. In any case, I noticed that while there are several nodes about it being a racist word, no one mentioned the actual item the word stems from. A hat.
The Coolie, an extremely wide semi-
conical hat made from
bamboo and
seagrass is both light and extremely functional. It provides effective protection from the sun, while allowing ventilation to the scalp. It doubles as a hands-free umbrella, strainer, and carrying basket. A durable hat, it can withstand weather and weight far exceeding what what would expect, and a strap holds it in place against high winds. Should emergency kindling be needed, non-essential parts of the hat can be used. If the bamboo portion is boiled sufficiently it will make an unpleasant but nourishing emergency meal.
How this came to be a derogatory word for the Asian people, I will never know, because quite frankly it's one of the most clever inventions out there with more uses than a
bandana. Perhaps because when these areas were first being visited by
Yanks and
Euro-trash, it was the majority of the people they saw.
Considering that
rice makes up a very large part of the lower-budget meals even in modern-day times, and most rice grows in paddies along shores, this would not seem too surprising. The ones gathering the rice were the
European equivolent of
serfs, and the
American equivolent of
indentured servants.
I find it very ironic then, that either
Anglo species should find this to be at all unusual. I find it even more ironic that this rather ingenious hat should be the item picked to represent their scorn. Because in teasing the Coolie hat, they tease
ingenuity,
practicality, and
intelligence.
But then again... look at high school. It's the same thing.