Just when you think you’ve seen the full spectrum of bad airport behavior, we turn to Cambodia, where a Canadian traveler put her vile racism on full display.
Racism And Entitlement Collide In Shocking Airport Incident In Cambodia
An incident at Techo International Airport (KTI) in Cambodia, the new airport in Phnom Penh, has sparked outrage after a family traveling together was subjected to racist abuse, harassment, and physical violence while checking in for a flight. The encounter underscores how racism and entitlement can manifest anywhere, from anyone, and often most aggressively when money, status, or perceived privilege enters the picture.
My family and I were waiting in line to check in our bags at Techo International Airport in Cambodia. We were called up by an EVA airline worker to just check in at the Priority desk because no one was in the Priority line and there was a lot of people waiting. Not even 5 minutes later these 2 come up and point to the Priority sign and start kicking our bags and motion with their hands for us to leave the desk area. The airline worker apologized and said that they’re Priority so they’ll check them first. We were fine with that and hadn’t even started the check-in process yet so we began to move 3 carts of luggage in a crowded space.
Unprovoked, the girl said to my mom, “You don’t know Business Class??” and proceeded to be extremely hateful. She called us and Cambodians as a population ugly and poor. She was waving her Canadian passport in our faces and called us refugees because we’re Cambodian and live in the US. (My siblings and I were born in the states.) The guy in the black shirt next to her tried to tape us and stuck his phone right in everyone’s noses.
From that, a physical altercation broke out where he threw the first punch at my dad. This is absolutely disgusting that someone could be so hateful for no reason.
Here’s the video:
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This is grotesque behavior…it needs no more commentary. No airline status, premium cabin ticket, or passport grants someone the right to demean others, let alone resort to physical violence. The casual way racial slurs, classist insults, and threats were deployed here is especially disturbing.
We just saw a parallel controversy unfold yesterday involving Finnair, a reminder that racism comes in many forms and from many directions. It is not confined to one country, culture, or political system.
There is also an unmistakable entitlement problem on display here. The belief that money, status, or a Western passport confers superiority is corrosive. Airports have a way of revealing how some people behave when they think they are above rules, courtesy, and basic decency. That this escalated into physical violence makes it even more alarming….
CONCLUSION
There is nothing nuanced about this story. The behavior described is reprehensible. It is a reminder that racism is not an abstract accusation but a lived experience that can erupt anywhere, often from those who believe themselves untouchable.
For all the hemming and hawing about Miss Finland or an old Finnair ad from the 1980s, this is true racism on display.
Yup, bigotry sucks, everywhere.
Speaking of Cambodia, how’s everything looking with Thailand these days? About to go into peak tourist season for both countries, yet, last I checked, they started shooting at each other again…not great, either.
The folks over at FIFA must be so disappointed… they gave that prize… yet, look, not solved. *sigh*
It’s sad to see the violence flare up again. Obviously, I’m no Trump fan, but willing to give him credit for his peace efforts in Armenia/Azerbaijan, Pakistan/India, Cambodia/Thailand, Israel/Gaza, Sudan, and of course Ukraine/Russia if he would only stop capitulating to Putin…hopefully Cambodia and Thailand can work it out quickly because this benefits neither side.
Agreed. I’m even willing to give him credit for peace between Albania and Azerbaijan, too, if it would help. For real, though, the abdications to Putin are this century’s greatest geopolitical blunder, so far, and a huge ‘win’ for Xi, in the process.
the airline should have denied boarding to the initiator on the spot.
Agreed. She was out of control…
Still shooting at each other: Cambodia continues to launch drone attacks, Thailand sends F-16s to bomb villages in Cambodia. On and on it goes.
It’s just a dick-measuring contest between corrupt dictators.
Thailand’s lame excuse for a government just dissolved parliament and called for new elections in February. Should be quite a circus, nd no doubt will feed the idiocy and corruption. I’m going in March, and hoping things settle down at least a bit by then.
Everyone gets a FIFA Peace Prize now. I’m planning to pick up several at the night markets.
KTI Techo is the airport for Phnom Penh, not Siem Reap correct?
You are correct – thank you, Willem!
Agree with your comments and calling this behavior what it is–racism. However, I am also thinking about the several annual corporate indoctrination training sessions I was made to attend in a Fortune 100 company, where it was made VERY clear to all of us that only white people can be racist, and that also 100% of white people are racist by definition. This was the theory out of “all the top US academic institutions”, at least as of about 10 years ago.
One reason I wrote this – the people who claim that only whites can be racist are the same people who are responsible for the rise of Trump and MAGA (the boomerang goes too far in either direction)…
We can be sober-minded in pointing out that all people are capable of racism…
You should have seen what went on at US universities in the 1995-2020 (or so) era.
“For all the hemming and hawing about Miss Finland or an old Finnair ad from the 1980s, this is true racism on display.”
I mean, both can be examples of true racism at the same time.
Indeed, but I just don’t see Miss Finland’s childish slant eyes gag as rising to the same level (like, I don’t think she thought for a second she was better than East Asian people and I think a key element of racism is a belief in racial superiority). That said, I cannot read her mind…and she really should have known better.
It’s not a childish gag, it’s making fun of a physical appearence of someone’s racial features for a joke. Which is racist.
Yeah, this is not that, though. Sure, we could all be ‘politically correct,’ but people just aren’t. It’s a spectrum. We’re not gonna stop every offensive thing from happening or being said. There’s also a paradox of intolerance. Then, there’s satire… For instance, the old Colbert Report’s “Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever” on the show, verses Comedy Central tweeting it out years later (stupidly), controversy from 2014. Was that racism/bigotry, or just good fun? Seemed offensive without the full-context of the ‘bit’ from the show. Or, how about Apu in the Simpsons? Should stereotypes ‘cancel’ shows? It gets complicated. Yet, we’re dealing with neo-Nazis in the US, who are trying to censor opponents, rendition citizens, and implement racial supremacy. That’s a far bigger threat than anything discussed here or with that Finland incident.
Exept the (ex) Miss Finland case is a good example it seems of normalizing examples of racism “because it’s not as bad as other examples” or “something that happened 20 years ago”.
Aaron, I’m generally with you on this; however, I want to understand how we can continue to ‘call it out when we see it’ and ‘not allow it to escalate’ while those who enjoy trafficking in this bigotry will just respond with ‘you’re PC’ or ‘woke’ or whatever. Yes, all the prejudice, stereotypes, bias, discrimination, etc. can lead to worse outcomes. So, how do you propose to better handle this as a society/species in the modern era?
The airport authority should have had taken the initiator into custody and prevented her from boarding the plane as this passenger could be a potential risk to other passengers on the plane until she can manage to comprehend her wrongdoing
Agreed!
Canada is a sorry country. I am sorry to be one of them.
Oof. Why the self-loathing, sir?
Good story. It proves racists exist in all skin colors not just white people. You wouldn’t believe how much Canadians including Asians Arabs and Blacks are vehemently racist against others. Not really ‘nice’ Canadians anymore thanks to globalization and out of control living costs.
I wouldn’t blame globalization here (we can blame that for many other things); I’d blame the racists.
Is this really an incidence of “racism,” since it’s an Asian woman (from Canada) disparaging other Asian people (from the United States, but of Cambodian descent)? Or would it be more accurate and precise to say it’s an incidence of ethnic/national prejudice? Assuming that you adhere to the idea that people can be generally grouped into races of white, black, Asian, Latino, etc.
Critical because “racism” conjures up images of inter-racial strife (e.g., KKK) that appeals to liberal sensibilities while ethnic/national prejudice does not, even though it can be equally vicious (e.g., Hutu/Tutsi African genocide, Turkish/Armenian/Kurdish middle-eastern strife) or something much milder (e.g., prejudice against African Americans by Afro-Carribeans or African immigrants).
I think as a Chinese-Canadian, she considers herself far superior to a Cambodian (Cambodian-American as it turned out). I’d say this was definitely racism because she was incredulous that a Cambodian could pay for business class…
Oh I wish I was there. I’m Cambodian and I fly J plenty… Would have loved to give them a piece of my mind and have them detained.
Racism is a product of insecurity. When you question your self-worth it manifests in these behaviors. Entitlement has similar roots. While we will never understand what individual doubt causes this, we should recognize it for what it is. Pathetic.
Please don’t throw around the world racism so easily. This was not racism. Perhaps, nationalism or classism. Cambodian is not a race.
The real take away here is the Check-In Agent made an honest, good faith effort to de-escalte the situation.
That poor guy wouldn’t last a minute as a Spirit gate agent…
Why do people use a hand gesture like in the first photo? I’ve been it heated discussions in my life. My hands never got above my waist.
Lol were those imbeciles blind? Cambodia may not be considered “first world” but there is wealth in the country, have they not seen the amount of supercars and Rolls-Royces on the streets. Also, if our country was so bad, why bother and coming to taint us with your shenanigans? Go back to your shithole of crippling taxation and medically assisted death.
My last trip to Cambodia was to visit a star up airline.
I was quitely informed after lunch that the airline was likely a Chinese money laundering operation thats sole purpose was to get money out of China.
Why did they pick Cambodia?
Because of the large amount of US dollars floating around.
So yes, there is money in the country.
Oh, how interesting, which start up? JC, Lanmei? And yes, USD is the de facto currency here, it’s accepted everywhere with an almost fixed exchange rate (rule of thumb is 4000KHR to 1USD, but you’ll find places more generous). That is also why the Chinese have been setting up casinos like crazy in the seaside on the southwestern coast.
omggg i thought canadians were supposed to be nice!
It’s clearly ugly, self entitled, rude behavior. But is it racist? Everyone involved is of the same race. Classist? Absolutely. But everyone involved is of the same “race’ from what I can tell. The Canadians were snots – but this is about as racist as if I made snide comments about people from West Virginia being in the business class line. We’re all white. Racism? No, I’m just being an a-hole. That’s precisely what we have here.
Let’s not continue to overuse the word “racism”. It has already lost most of it’s meaning as it is.
Definitely uncalled for behavior, and they should definitely have been denied boarding. Though, I can’t help but think if the gate agent had simply followed through with checking-in the family he had already called over, instead of making a fuss and pushing them aside, the priority passengers would have simply waited their turn, and wouldn’t know/care otherwise..
Personally I’d like to see what comes before this video starts