Being Asian in America: A Quick LookTake the following conversation for example (not word-for-word, but close to one I heard recently):
White guy: "Where are you from?"
Asian friend: "The Philippines."
White guy: "Oh, that's cool! I ate Filipino food at a Filipino restaurant once, I love lumpia (mispronounced lump-ee-ah)."
Asian friend: "That's...great."
White guy: "Yeah, I really love Asian food!"
Asian friend: "Oh, you like balut?"
White guy: "What's that?"
Asian friend: "You like eggs? How about if the duck was mostly grown, then you ate the egg with the duck mostly grown up?"
White guy: "Oh...umm...no."
I hear conversations like this what seems like dozens of times a week (and that was one of the more casual occurrences). We have to deal with your dumbshit stories about every minor interaction you've ever had with Asian culture, from your love for Anime to fucking Panda Express. Guess what? I don't give a shit about your "one Asian friend in high school," as if that makes you some sort of non-racist, culturally educated prick. I definitely don't give a fuck if you, a family member, or god forbid, parent/uncle/grandparent was stationed in my country (like we want your sorry invading asses there). I don't want to hear your broken-ass, butchering of my native tongue. I don't give a shit if you've eaten sushi. Do I enlighten you with stories about the time I ate a fucking hamburger, or watched an American movie? The worst is your stories about some white-washed girlfriend who happened to share an ethnicity with me. Why the fuck would I want to listen to that shit? I'm thinking about picking up a white bitch just so I can share a story about that one dumb white cunt I fucked, and how loose she was. Tell you what, I'll stop thinking of you as a dumbass when you stop calling it "Yellow Fever", as if dating Asian women is a fucking disease.
Bottom line: Think before you open your fucking mouth. I'm not expecting anyone that's not Asian to fully understand where I'm coming from, but I hope you can at least appreciate my viewpoint. It's fucking annoying, and no matter how hard you try, if you're not Asian, you're not going to connect with us by sharing your banal stories about every single dumbass Asian encounter you've had. The fact that you consider them "cultural" experiences at all just makes me peg you as a racist and someone whose teeth I might kick in.
Don't get me wrong, there are certain things that are okay - actual in-depth experiences, a passable understanding of the language, having actually spent time in the country yourself of your own accord (military can fuck right off), or even just expressing curiosity in certain things is fine. Asking for language tips doesn't bother me, it's when I'm assaulted by shitty pronunciation and grammar or get one of those fuckheads that just want to learn pick-up lines or cuss that I get aggravated.
Devious Comments
Of course, I'm not Asian, but the fact that I am English obviously fascinates most idiot Americans (note, the smart ones are alright
Granted, the cultural differences between English and Americans isn't as great, and it's not as 'cultured' to have in depth knowledge of English culture as it is of 'Asian Culture' (as if there is just one culture in the whole of Asia).
I think the reason is that 'Asian Culture' and things relating to all things Asia is somehow as seen as more 'alien' (for lack of a better word). American culture is basically an off shoot of English, Irish, French and Spanish cultures (with obvious emphasis on the first two), but Asian culture is entirely separate from that, which makes it 'cooler' to know about it.
I think I'll stop now, because I'm really starting to question the existence of the word 'culture'
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I haven't really had that much immersion involving anything from the east, but I would jump at the chance to move to... Japan in particular for 3 reasons.
1. I love seafood (I'm just stating a fact, and I honestly have no clue how commonly it's eaten there), and the chance to sample some Asian cuisine, especially the stuff that I'm NOT familiar with, would be a great experience.
2. Having a fairly good knowledge of the Japanese language not only looks great on a resume, but it's its own reward. It'll be an awesome feeling when I realize that I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
(It also means that I won't need subtitles when I watch anime...-_-
3. I want to learn about the history and culture (and possibly get a nice look at the tech they're so famous for these days) simply so I won't look or sound like an asshole when I bring up the subject.
You see? I can completely understand your reasoning behind the rant, and actually wanting to know more about true Asian culture is something that, hopefully, I can take pride in.
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Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet. And also, you're drunk.
Unfortunately they usually are pretty uncultured, because it's really quite expensive and inconvenient for your average joe to travel the world, so they use what little experience they have to try and quell any possible fears that they're idiots. Which almost always makes them sound like idiots.
There's a huge pressure on Americans to embrace diversity, but the cultures we're supposed to be embracing usually want nothing to do with us. The real problem is the idea that minorities are representative of their entire culture, and that by annoying them with stories of an Asian girlfriend you once had you're offering an olive branch to their culture at large, "sory for being a dick sometime in history".
This is a nation of immigrants, a melting pot...it shouldn't surprise white Americans that there are Americans of every other race. But we're encouraged (by our generation, and our own government even) to pussy-foot around minorities, respect other cultures to the point of adoration and give them special treatment. I think it makes a lot of whites really uncomfortable and unsure of themselves - they don't know what they can and can't say. On one hand, there's racism, and on the other, "cultural sensitivity" that just sounds a lot like racism.
Just my 2c
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