New York's Chinatown was recently the site of a protest that said far more about the protestors than it did their target. Animal rights protestors marched, along with their pets, in order to showcase their opposition to the Yulin Dog Meat Festival.

Unfortunately, the protestors betrayed a willingness to stereotype the Chinese people, targeting individuals and businesses that had nothing to do with the festival, and in many cases were not aware of its existence.

This festival, as well as the general practice of eating dog and cat meat, has been harshly criticized by many individuals and groups within China, who argue that these animals should be treated as pets rather than as food.

A recent poll published by the Xinhua News Agency indicated that at least 64 percent of the respondents would like to see an end to the festival, while 51.7 percent would like to see a ban on the trade of dog meat. And since the Yulin event is not officially organized or endorsed by the Yulin government, it is clear that the festival is far from universally approved of in China.

This shows just how counterproductive the New York protests were. By targeting the Chinese people in general and failing to acknowledge the domestic controversy over this issue, they have fallen into the all too common racist trap of assuming that the Chinese people are a unified whole in their attitudes.

Indeed, the implication from the New York protest is that somehow the Chinese people are different, not cherishing their pets the way other groups do. Such a slur against China is both unwarranted and offensive and the protestors owe the Chinese people an apology, most especially in regards to the merchants and bystanders in New York, most of whom were unlikely to even know about the Yulin festival in the first place. 

This misstep will have practical consequences. The fact is that animal rights groups in the US have a very limited ability to influence matters in China. Their best strategy would be to seek out ways they could assist Chinese animal rights groups to work to further spread this message against the use of dogs and cats for food.

By giving the impression that they are bypassing such groups and targeting the Chinese people in general, this protest has once again, even if accidentally, adopted the paternalistic attitudes that have caused so much damage throughout history.

Rather than engaging in a conversation, the protestors seemed to believe that it was their role to speak and China's role to merely listen. Such an attitude is harmful in the extreme when it comes to forming the kinds of relationships that can make real progress on this issue.

So what can be done to avoid this problem in the future? The first thing the protestors should ask themselves is how they would feel if there were similar protests, aimed at Americans who had nothing to do with the subject in question. They probably would not be happy with such an overgeneralized approach to a complex society and they should grant the same courtesy to the Chinese people.

To put it bluntly, this issue is one that the Chinese people must confront themselves. US groups should be willing to cooperate and assist Chinese animal rights groups, but they should understand that they are collaborating with Chinese groups, rather than taking the lead in this movement.

Then American groups can provide the type of assistance that will be effective in achieving their goals, rather than wasting their efforts targeting people who have had nothing to do with the issue they are protesting.

It is important to remember how pervasive and insidious racist attitudes about China can be, often leading to individuals taking racially prejudiced viewpoints without even being aware that they are doing so. It is likely that few of the protestors consciously realized just how offensive the implications of their protest would be.

That is not a reason to excuse their actions, but a reminder that it is vital for individuals and groups alike to examine their motivations and thoughts in order to ensure that they are not carrying the offensive baggage of past and present racism with them. By doing so, they can ensure that their activities are productive, rather than leading to further racially insensitive demonstrations that only make the situation worse.

The author is a freelance writer based in Corona, California. charlesgray109@gmail.com. Follow us on Twitter @GTopinion