Taxi Dancer

             

   It is still raining and I happened to run across the term "Taxi Dancer" when reading about Henry Miller. He is the fellow who wrote those naughty books which you read when you were pretending to study for a geography exam (remember, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.) He was also the kind of guy who would marry a "taxi dancer"; a girl he rented at a dance hall.

   Since I was unfamiliar with the term, I thought I would learn more about it for you and then tell you about it.  It is the case, yet again, that there is no need for me to do so since the Wikipedia entry is a very good one. So, I will pivot to a topic that is not unrelated and which is a more timely one than taxi dancers, who apparently went out of style a while back (I don't think the gentlemen hired to dance with women on cruise ships are given that name.)

Anti-Asian Racism
   
   We are still locked down because of the Great Flu, which according to a rapidly spreading number of people, is caused by the Chinese or other Asians. There has been a corresponding increase in anti-Asian sentiment, even in Canada where everyone is welcome. Anti-Asian sentiment is not new, however, and existed even back in the time of the taxi dancer. It was even expressed by some judges who were appointed before the current U.S. administration took over. Here is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle back in May of 1936:

May 17: A vehement condemnation of dance hall operators who make white girls dance with Filipinos was hurled from the bench yesterday by Municipal Judge Lazarus. He had just held Terry Santiago, 22, to answer a charge of assault with intent to murder. Brought to court by ambulance, Norma Kompisch, 22-year-old taxi dancer, had given from the stand the story of how she was pursued by Santiago, and how he had driven an 8-inch-blade butcher knife into her body 22 times, despite her cries for mercy. In his chambers, Norma had assured Judge Lazarus that she was like any girl whose family had been caught in the pinch of the Depression and that she had gone out to find a job. She became taxi dancer in a place that required her to dance with Filipinos. Said Judge Lazarus, who last month was mentioned in a national news weekly in consequence of having called Filipinos "savages": "I have become nationally known as commenting on conditions that bring about these instances. A small, little, insignificant judge in San Francisco would have to make a national feature to bring public attention to this very real evil. I once referred to Filipinos as savages. There was never a more typical case than this to justify my statement. The Filipinos are not at fault. They are vainly attempting to adjust themselves to civilization, but haven't the training or education. They are only one jump from the jungle. It is our fault for bringing them here. And what about dance hall operators that compel white girls to dance with Filipinos? Nearly all the robbery and shooting involving Filipinos is directly attributable to their association with white girls." Judge Lazarus ordered a transcript of testimony sent to Philippine Commissioner Parades in Washington, to whom he recently apologized for calling Filipinos savages.

   Although anti-Asian sentiment may be on the rise, I do think that our behavior has improved and the words like 'savages" and phrases like 'one jump from the jungle' would not be countenanced by even the current administration in Washington and certainly would be problematic if spoken before one of our Human Rights Tribunals.

Sources:

   A quick search will yield many examples of anti-Asian sentiment, here and elsewhere. 

    This headline is from Human Rights Watch, May 12, 2020: Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide: National Action Plans Needed to Counter Intolerance." 

   Filipinos have been targeted so much there is a Wikipedia entry for "Anti-Filipino Sentiment."

The bonus:

   The Wikipedia entry for "Taxi Dancer" is so good it even has a section devoted to "Taxi Dancers in Popular Culture" which includes movies, songs, books, tv, etc. It does not yet include the new Canadian album, Taxi Dancers by the Tragically Hip's Gord Sinclair. Here is his explanation for the choice of the title:

Q. It's a lovely record. Before you go, can you tell me what Taxi Dancers means?

A. Yeah, it's a very old phrase. Back in the Dust Bowl days, these rural communities would have Saturday socials a couple times a year and invariably there were not enough dance partners for the guys that were working the farms. They would fill up taxi cabs from the nearest major centre and the young ladies would travel out. I always thought it was just this amazing metaphor for what we do in this country as performers. We wheel into town, dance around for a bit and then we move on to the next gig. We were throwing out album titles, sitting around my place — and I credit John-Angus [MacDonald] and his brother Colin — they just thought it was cool.

"Sinclair's Debut Solo Album, Taxi Dancers, Will Be Released on Friday," CBC Radio, Feb. 26, 2020.