My half-asian friend...downside to mixing?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>OK, first off I am not a racist. I am NOT going to start spewing propaganda (so please don't delete my thread)
I just want some peer's input/opinions on a situation that happened today and left me crying.</p>

<p>I started the Asian Pacific American Club in my school about a year and a half ago with my best friend (we'll call her Sara). The thing is sara is half white and half vietnamese. She looks 100% white. </p>

<p>Back when we started the club, Sara was even more enuthusiatic about it than I was. She would organize all the meetings. Since most Asian Clubs revlove around FOOD and only FOOD, we decided that our club would be active. We would rally and protest, etc, agasint hate crimes (which happens alot agasint Asians since Asians don't speak up agasint them like black and latinos do). of course food was still a major part,</p>

<p>So, fast forward a year and a half...Sara has decided to quit the club, the club SHE founded and was President of. It had nothing to do with her being half-white and feeling left out, which is probably what you are thinking (there are many mixed asians in it) but eventually I called her and what she told me completly shocked me.</p>

<p>She basically said after I kept on pressing the issue why she quit all of a sudden, "what is in it for ME? "Ya know, I LOOK white (w/ a white last name), it's not like I will ever suffer any anti-Asian HATE crime, so why should I waste MY time in a club that spends most of its time rallying agasint asian hate crime (the club spends alot of time doing outreach and being vocal about hate crimes). It's not like any thug will beat ME up or shout go back to your country you viet girl. Nobody's gonna judge me negatively cuase I'm asian, I LOOK white, ya know I AM white!!! I have lots of stuff to do, I could have spent my time hanging out or shopping!!!</p>

<p>Ok, so those weren't her exact words 100%, but basically it's 98% correct. Plus, she is one of those types that speaks as she thinks so everything comes into her mind and out her mouth. </p>

<p>When I go to sites like angryasianman.com (the name is a play on words...he's not really angry) It lists hate crimes that the media never wants to report on. Why is it that an asian girl (fillipina Marie Stephanie Gonzalez) can be attacked on a bus by thugs for "looking chinese" and the NY metropolitan Police department keeps pushing off looking into the case? The same thing with alot of asians suffering hate crime and the agencies don't want to look into it becuase the asian population in america and is so small that the agencies know they won't complain to media, sue, etc. Whenever latinos or blacks get picked on the agencies look into these hate crimes right away...becuase the latino/black population is a very large minority group and very vocal.</p>

<p>OK so this is my theory...(please mods, I am not being racist)...since Asians are the "invisible" minority group, lots of times Radio and TV people will make negatvie comments degrading Asians. This perpetuates an aura about asian being sneaky, devious, etc. (For you college kids this does trickle down to you, this stereotyping makes it harder to get GOOD teacher recs).</p>

<p>But now more Asian-Americans are protesting about this. They are speaking up agasint hate crimes and hate messages, and so maybe there is hope. BUT as Asians mix (usually with whites), something like 70% of asian Females marry white guys, their kids usually look white and stop caring about their half-asian roots. They turn a blind eye to racism, don't speak up, and reduce the asian census count. This makes Marketing agents, media, and other outlets more easily wave off Asian Racism. </p>

<p>This is only for Hapa mixes. A half-latino, half-black kid will always think of themselves as half latino or half-black, but all the half-Asian kids in my school say they are ONLY white!!</p>

<p>arrgh....I am the only one seeing this very strange phenomenon? I asked my friends and they were like either "duh!" or "whatever!"</p>

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<p>I'm a Eurasian, and though I look mostly white, I certainly haven't "forgotten" my Asian side. </p>

<p>Needless to say, I think the biggest problems is that Asians just don't seem to want to "waste" time by protesting or what not. At least from my mom's family's perspectives, spending time on politics/public affairs etc. could be better spent making $$$ or being "successful". THERE ARE FEW IF ANY ASIANS INVOLVED IN POLITICS besides Elaine Chow. That's what really bugs me. </p>

<p>Seriously, when blacks are offended, they turn to the NAACP/Sharpton/Jackson. Same goes with Latinos in America. How about the Asians?</p>

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<p>Asians whine and complain and teach their children that "outside" people are biased and that they must prove themselves through academics. The majority recognizes that there are crimes going on, and focus, instead, on making themselves the "best" so much so that no one can deny it. I mean, it's a viable solution, with the end result of many Asians isolating themselves to the Asian community.</p>

<p>Instead of being Americans protesting their equal rights as Americans, as blacks do, Asians predominantly view themselves as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and whatnot. I just don't think they believe themselves to have the -right- to argue these issues. I'm really not surprised.</p>

<p>And you have to realize, this is the US. Most mixed-people accept western philosophy over eastern philosophy, which makes it a lot more likely for them to view their Asian heritage as more of a novelty, and their Caucasian as...themselves. They -are- white, ideologically.</p>

<p><a href="http://sinfest.net/comikaze/comics/2001-06-17.gif%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://sinfest.net/comikaze/comics/2001-06-17.gif&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I'm 100% Chinese.</p>

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<p>I know three half-asian, half-white kids off the top of my head, and none of them look white nor claim to be white.</p>

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<p>My cousins are half-asian and half-white. I don't think they'll be involved in hate crime (they are only 7, 4, 2 and 4 mos). They look very asian except the youngest girl has very light brown hair and green eyes. My oldest cousin did ask though why she didn't look like the rest of her class (she goes to Chinese school). They live in a very wealthy part of southern California and I hope that they will be ok.</p>

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<p>One of my friends half white, half Chinese and never denies that fact..</p>

<p>But yeah I agree that Asians are more allowed to be made fun of over blacks, hispanics etc...</p>

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<p>As a half Asian and half white, I basically agree with Diehlduhn.</p>

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<p>i think that the half-asian half white kids that i know don't so much "deny" their asian heritage, they just don't bring it up unless asked "are you asian?". Especially if they have mainly white friends they tend to identify more with white. This is different then with half-black or half-hispanics because those tend to be more dominant and overt features. I think it's just american culture, but half-black and half-latino students tend to identify more with the ethnic side of their culture. Sometimes this can be hard though because alot of white students, and other black students, may call them the "whitest black person ever!" because they don't act like the black people they see on BET. I think that this is one of the main reason that blacks and latinos tend to underperform in public schools, because they feel that that is what it is to "identify" with their ethnicity.</p>

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<p>the problem with most asian cultures is that most kids growing up are taught to take negative remarks quietly. i grew up in an asian culture, and while there are some people who DO stand up for their rights, most of the time we just take it quietly and try to ignore biased or racist remarks. when i came here i realized that i DID have a voice and that i COULD speak out.
what we need are more strong, asian advocates who can speak out against the racial stereotypes of asians and hate crimes. Asian markets received threats with hurtful words and threats to send"all ****** back to china" and promising to wipe out asians. they also recieved photos of asians being multilated, etc. did the media, except for the asian media, widely report on this incident?NO! I did not see it on the news, it didn't even make the mainstream newspapers. Don Imus' remark got him fired because he was speaking racist remarks against a group that is very vocal in their protests (which is a good thing!). Asians need to stand up for their rights, NOW.</p>

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<p>Asians are regarded as "sneaky" and calculating because they're regarded as quiet. Same goes for ALL quiet people, black and white. Asians are regarded as "quiet" because a larger amount of Asians don't speak English than blacks, whites, and Hispanics -- the former two almost always learn English as their first language and the third speaks a language which is very similar to English, and they often times grow up bilingual, instead of only speaking one foreign language.</p>

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<p>The main stereotype against Asians is that they are hard-working, smart, quiet, fairly well-off, and thus they can seem a little boring. The main stereotype against blacks is that they're lazy, dumb, loud, and poor.</p>

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<p>Asians are prejudiced against all the time. I'm speaking as someone who is asian. A lot of asians can be really academically/wealth driven and many are raised to regard anyone not Asian as an outsider, and this results in quiet, hard-working people. The culture insists on working hard to get to a well-paying job, but it doesn't emphasize leadership or advocacy. That's why it's so easy for people to pick on them, because the asian community is never expected to go nuts over a remark on the scale of say, the Imus comments ended up being. Someone making racist remarks about asians is less likely to spark a mass media outrage than if the remark was on another minority. </p>

<p>Your friend wants to identify as white because she wants to avoid the discrimination of being asian. It wasn't like she always identified with whites, however. I find it cowardly that she traded in her pride and is now avoiding what is part of her heritage, but that's her choice.</p>

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<p>LOL. NO racism here, but only a point of view. I'm 100% korean.</p>

<p>I thought white people were boring because they have no distinguishing traits or stereotypical traits that other races have. OK, so mexicans are hardworking, asians are smart, whatever... but white people.... hmmmmm..... ummmmmm... they are the majority of the population of the country U.S... and ummm........ they have white skin.</p>

<p>Yes, i have to agree, the asian community is very quite, but this reduces the hatred that we would ever recieve from other races. If asians suddenly rallied up and held signs saying "ASIANS RULZ", or, "HEAR OUR VOICES"... what would you think white people, black people, whatever, would say?</p>

<p>I think your friend is stupid (lol.... don't i have good word choices?). Oh! So suddenly looks are everything. GROW UP! It's what you are inside. Fine, she can go off pretending to be full white... but know that i am here in washington saying "************* *** ***** *** ****** you" to her. </p>

<p>Ypu know, this kind of thing angers me. If ur part asian, part white... then be part asian and part white..... SHE IS LIVING UNDER AN ILLUSION. o, so you think that being white will help you blend into this society. Well she's a half-baked *** **** to think that cause i'm always here to pound her down to the ****** ground.</p>

<p>tell her that she's part asian, and don't forget about it. IF she says she's white... hand her two pistols and yell out "An asian with a gun... RUN! she's gonna shoot 34 of ya". LOL. </p>

<p>For me personally, if you asked me the question "Would you ever want to be white for a day". I would say hell no!!!!! AZN PRIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>But what ev, she can do what she wants to do. If she really doesn't want to continue to support her fellow asians, then tell her to screw off and go touch herself.</p>

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<p>How's that for being quite?!</p>

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<p>Go ahead, delete my posts. but know that there is one asian guy in this world who is open when it comes to expressing asian pride.</p>

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<p>haha, bassmaster, you crack me up. </p>

<p>you are def. very vocal!! :P</p>

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<p>Uhm, have any of your posts been deleted?</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>everyone is a little "racist"; we as humans are conditions by society to accept certain stereotypes, bearing in mind there are always exceptions.</p></li>
<li><p>your friends actions were selfish and shallow. after doing a cost benefit analysis (combating racial prejudice vs. shopping, she left b/c she didn't not feel to have a vested interested in the club. simple, really.</p></li>
<li><p>I think your perception of asians is skewed and highly inaccurate. Asian are not the "invisible" minority. The common media does not perpetuate the stereotypes of asians being sketchy or dishonest. Most stereotype asians as the model minority, studious, hardworking, etc. Why do you think Asian students constantly outperform other groups (on average)?</p></li>
<li><p>different people identify with different cultures, whether or not you deem them to fit neatly into your stereotypes. this is not a strange phenomenon.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>i am half asian half mexican, my dad is korean but grew up in mexico so i speak spanish, i look korean though.
i live near the border so everyone speaks spanish but i hate the fact that people dont know i speak spanish and they start saying crap behind my back and they dont get that i speak spanish...every year its the same</p>