<p>Asian-Americans can establish unity by banding together against anti-minority, anti-Asian racism. They can establish unity in the purpose of supporting each other and protesting racism. They can band together and stress to non-Asians the possibility of being both Asian and American, of having an identity that doesn’t have to deny one or the other. </p>
<p>Right now there is no Asian-American identity. People in America understand that blacks are both black and American. People in America tend to polarize what is “Asian” (exotic, mysterious, inscrutable) and what is “American” and think they can’t co-exist. They can. </p>
<p>You can be an Asian-American, be against anti-Asian racism (an activist, say), support Asian community activities like Chinese New Year parades, and still like watching football and eating hotdogs and listening to hip hop. You can be part of a unified Asian-American community, exemplify an Asian-American identity, and still have other individual interests that don’t have to pertain to anything “Asian.”</p>
<p>I think you missed my point. I’m not talking about talents and intelligence. I’m talking about cultural aspects such as a common language, common behavior, and common beliefs.</p>
<p>Did you answer my question asking if a second-generation American of European heritage doesn’t learn his “mother” language, is it as “bad” as a second-generation person of Asian heritage not knowing Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese etc? Or does having different physical characteristics from the majority group mean one necessarily has to know a different language?</p>
<p>I know white Americans whose parents were born in Hungary, Germany and Sweden before they moved to the US. These white Americans of Hungarian, German and Swedish heritage barely know a word of their parents’ language and don’t care. But Asian-Americans should be singled out and made to feel ashamed if they don’t know their parents’ language? Why? Because you can physically pick out the Asian for having “yellow skin” and different “facial features”, and because they look different you have to expect different things from them? Is that not racially-based? Is that not racist?</p>
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<p>Like what? How does a black person behave? How does a white person behave? How does an Asian person behave?</p>
<p>Agian, I agree with all that, but again, that doesn’t work in the real world. Yes it is possible to be Asian-American…I am one of them. I have beliefs from both cultures; it is possible. However, there are those individuals who are losing their Asian background and don’t even care. You have no idea how fast Asians assimilate and even get “eaten up” by the American culture.</p>
<p>For example, I’ve attended Chinese school for several years. Any person who’s not Chinese would ask (and I’ve been asked this several times) “Aren’t you Chinese? Shouldn’t you already know Chinese? Why do you still need to go to Chinese school?” Hearing this question makes me realize how much of my heritage I’ve already lost. What’s more sad is, during all those years of my Chinese schooling, the majority of the class didn’t put any effort into learning in fact they hated Chinese. They don’t think they’ll ever need to speak it. It’s useless. They only attend Chinese school because their parents forced them.</p>
<p>So, what if there were no parents to force their second-generation Chinese kids to learn Chinese? Also, if there’s no use for the language (a big part of the culture) what’s the use for the rest of it? Those people who hate Chinese would naturally forget the rest of the culture as well.</p>
<p>The end result would be total assimilation and complete Amerification. This is the real world, not the ideal world in your “Asian-American” identity co-existence theory.</p>
<p>“I know white Americans whose parents were born in Hungary, Germany and Sweden before they moved to the US. These white Americans of Hungarian, German and Swedish heritage barely know a word of their parents’ language and don’t care. But Asian-Americans should be singled out and made to feel ashamed if they don’t know their parents’ language? Why? Because you can physically pick out the Asian for having “yellow skin” and different “facial features”, and because they look different you have to expect different things from them? Is that not racially-based? Is that not racist?”</p>
<p>This brings us to a completely different topic…the cultural close-mindedness of Americans. I’m not picking on Asians, I just use them as an example because I AM ASIAN. I think everyone should remember their roots and culture. It makes me so sad that so many African Americans don’t know a single thing about Africa, and I’ve seen so many instances where they just sleep right through History/Geography class. The European descendants (aka Americans) are no exception. Maybe this is why the reputation of Americans around the world is so bad. Americans are viewed as close-minded and egotistical by people from other countries.</p>
<p>The only problem I personally have is if an Asian-American actively disparaged their Asian heritage and allowed others to do it. That’s “posing.” That’s being a “twinkie.” Not wanting to know your “mother” language because you don’t have time, you don’t think its necessary, is actually not necessarily being a twinkie. </p>
<p>Not wanting to know your “mother” language because you don’t want to have anything to do with being Asian, because you’re ashamed of having Asian heritage, is what would be troublesome to me. I understand your concerns within that context. But an Asian-American can still have respect for their heritage without adopting that heritage’s language and beliefs. </p>
<p>I know Asian-Americans who can’t speak Korean or Chinese very well but still respect the culture and are proud of their heritage. I also know Asian-Americans who are fluent in Korean or Chinese or Japanese and won’t say a peep when other people make fun of or harass Asians or Asian culture. Knowing the language is not necessarily the same as valuing the culture. You can pick up Mandarin if your parents spoke it around the house all your life, but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to be proud of your Chinese heritage.</p>
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<p>No. That’s letting non-Chinese people dictate how much of your own Chinese heritage they think you should have. I think you understand the problem with that logic.</p>
<p>Language is just an example. I know so many Chinese people who not only do not care about the language but also identifies china as the land of “communism”, “bootleg videos”, and “cheap labor”. The only reason they like China was because there’s cheap shopping and good food. That’s pretty much it. They are just like any other non-Chinese ;person who like the shopping and the food and think communism is bad.</p>
<p>Of course there’s always going to be immigrants, but there are way more second generation even third-generation Asians living in the U.S. Most of them already have forgotten most of their culture.</p>
<p>In a sense you’re right, a few more generations and Asians will be like the rest of the white people here. No longer Asian-American, just American. Just like the European descendants, no longer European-American, just simply American.</p>
<p>Japan (as well as Korea) does have a small African immigrant population (predominantly from Nigeria) as well as African-American servicemen, as well as a few black business professionals working for multinational corporations and black ESL teachers</p>
<p>The Koreans in Japan are predominantly Zainichi (those who have retained their Korean nationality, even after generations in Japan) and those who have acquired Japanese citizenship.</p>
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<p>Actually, US born AFs are 4x more likely to marry a Hispanic guy than a black guy.</p>
<p>And its actually not policing whom a person marries/dates but rather changing the mindset of a minority (albeit a significant one) or Asians (including Asian males to a lesser extent) who have self-esteem and/or identity issues which end up materializing in how they view their Asian counterparts in comparison to whites.</p>
<p>There a big difference btwn an Asian person who dates/marries a white person b/c they deem whites to be superior and Asians to be inferior and an Asian person who finds a suitable partner that just happens to be white (but could have very well been Asian, etc.).</p>
<p>Its basically no different than being concerned about young black girls who view lighter-skinned dolls as good and darker-skinned dolls as bad its all about self-esteem and how they view their own race and heritage.</p>
<p>Language is not all about culture.In most cases,a foreign language can help you get a job and make more money.A lot of non-Asian Americans also learn Chinese,but that doesn’t mean they are interested in Chinese culture.</p>
<p>Asians must be the biggest people in the world then, since only about 10-15% of the White male population is 6 ft. or above. </p>
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<p>Fair criticism, to some extent (if one’s parents speak, say, Japanese, it’s quite a loss for the children to not be able to as well). But are you limiting this solely to Asian-Americans, and placing the burden of “keeping their culture” solely upon them? Is it anymore shameful for Chinese immigrants to become monolingual (in English, that is) than it is for German immigrants? Are you of the stance that America was, is, and always will be a domain of Western Europe, and that everybody else are “colourful ornaments”?</p>
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<p>How exactly does one act White? Or how does one act Asian? People throw around these concepts as if they knew what they were talking about.</p>
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<p>But Asian girls, for the most part, are smaller than girls of other races, so the “little Asian boys” should be tall enough, proportionally speaking. Why is it that 5’0" girls want 6’2" guys, but 5’10" girls don’t want 7’0" guys? “They just look weird” is hardly an adequately intellectual response. Some girls want their guys to be a head taller, and are convinced that this is some kind of innate biological standard (as opposed to media influence). But if you look at the taller girls, they’re usually much more relaxed about height preferences; they’re perfectly content if the guy is a little shorter, or only barely taller. Meanwhile, it’s the midget girls who are all neurotic about having to have their tall guy. And unless we’re living in medieval times where girls married at 13, it can’t be because they want their offspring to have good physical genes (whoever wants to become pregnant in high school and college, be my guest).</p>
<p>It’s really only a select proportion of Asians who immigrate to America (who are overwhelmingly likely to have parents who go to America to pursue degrees - due to immigration restrictions). So it’s not part of an Asian culture.</p>
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I’d say that cultural patterns are practices without explicitly utilitarian ends (when other practices are available, that is)</p>
<p>Personally, I’m an Asian who has lost most traces of my Asian identity. I don’t like being defined by a set of people whose practices were established far before the technological revolution. I’m sensitive to glucose and I avoid rice whenever possible due to its high glycemic index. for example.</p>
<p>Which “set of people” are you talking about? If you’re talking about Asians, are you implying that any kind of custom after the “technological revolution” is incompatible with being Asian? Are you saying that farming rice paddies and praying at temples are what constitutes Asian identity, while anything modern is of a completely different, and incongruous, one?</p>
<p>kettyserene, what is wrong with being American? If you live in America, were born in America, are you not American?</p>
<p>The way you speak of America, you seem like you just want to use America. You would rather be Chinese than American, and just use the US for its advantages.</p>
<p>Personally, I think we would all be better off if we identified ourselves as Americans first and everything else second. Certainly its important to identify and know your heritage, but I think its more important to connect with your current environment.</p>
<p>I agree, but assimilation works both ways. If Asian-Americans went all out in becoming “American” (however you choose to define that), how would the majority White population accept them? Would they accept Asians, oops I mean Americans, making up 35% of the graduating class at Harvard? Would the Ivy Eating Club accept a 50% Asian, oops I mean American, bicker bid? Would the “all-American” look espoused by Ralph Lauren now include plentiful Asian, oops I mean American, models?</p>
<p>That’s the problem, Asians are perceived as too different to be American.</p>
<p>That’s why you choose a good community to associate with, such as a university or a professional field. The average American is not exposed to diversity, so they develop xenophobia. Unfortunately, there are biases in the media as well.</p>
<p>Has anyone noticed that Asians tend to be disproportionately politically apathetic? While some Asians are no doubt political, it seems that as a group, they participate far less in voting than other groups,often of similar SES.</p>
<p>I think first generation immigrants in general are less likely to vote because 1. many of them are not citizens and 2. a lot of Asians still don’t feel “American” enough to vote, or feel they have no stakes in the politics. This can be caused by both their own unfamiliarity with America and the public perception that Asian immigrants are more “other” than most immigrants. The former can go away easily as Asians live here longer, the latter, unfortunately, is here to stay until Americans become more educated about diversity.</p>
<p>There is a strong prejudice against African Americans in many Asian cultures, especially in older generations. I know this is true because my parents, while highly educated and usually rational, are desperately biased against African Americans and certainly would not encourage me to date one (while they would strongly encourage a white male date, and would be neutral towards an asian male date). There’s an idea with many Asian parents, in my opinion - to date a while guy is to “move up a step in the social ladder”, while to date a black guy is to “move a step down”.</p>