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Post by dipsydoodle on Jan 12, 2009 20:46:16 GMT -5
I am the perfect mix in appearance. You can see I'm half and half. I've had white people not know I was part-Asian but never had an Asian ever assume I was white. I remember when I was in Chinatown in Philadelphia this Chinese guy at a Chinese bookstore and newspaper outlet there gave me kind of a funny look and asked, "You Chinese?" Another time, I was in this place that sold Chinese musical instruments and I was looking at some and a woman approached me and started speaking in Chinese.
And EAs always know I'm EA although it's not always reciprocated. I was getting my hair cut once by this girl with long, wavy black hair and a kind of roundish face with freckles. No eyefold. I took her to be white and then she said something to the effect of my having a lot of hair on my scalp and that it was very thick and Asian. "Asian, right?" she asked. "Yeah, half," I said. She replied, "Yeah, me too." But I wouldn't have known. Black people also peg me usually as a halfie, sometimes Asian, but most of them guess halfie right off the bat. I tend to get along with blacks pretty well and often end up discussing white people with them conspiratorially. Maybe because of the one-drop rule, they don't think of halfies as whites. I'm just supposing, of course. I remember in the service talking with a black shipmate and he was mad about how the media tends to demonize blacks and I asked if he ever discussed this with white people. He shot me a look and said, "You know what the f*** they'll say." And he's right, I do. But he knew I did. He had no doubt that I had experienced some of the same things he experienced. He had no problem discussing it with me but would not discuss it with a white person.
Admittedly, I'm not really put off if a black person talks s*** about white people but I don't like it when white people talk s*** about black people. And, no, it isn't the same. Listening to whites talk s*** about blacks makes me feel like a "whitey." And I don't like that feeling. Blacks can joke with race in a way that I'm totally comfortable with. I avoid talking race with white people entirely. I know what they're going to say and I don't want to hear it. When I was 19, I worked at a Cadillac plant in a really black area of Detroit. Most of the folks in there were black. I was in the cafeteria trying to get lunch. You called out to the cook what you wanted and somehow he heard you and would cook it up and hand it to you although I never knew how he did it with 50 people shouting at him and he never looked at you or even acknowledged that he heard you. So I'm standing there but he's not looking at me and I didn't know whether to yell out or not. Finally, he looked at me and said, "Son, you gotta tell me what you want. Just yell it out and I'll cook it for you but you gotta say something." A guy next to me said something I don't remember and the cook said, "Well, I'm just telling him cuz he hasn't been here that long." The other fellow turned to me and said, "What, man? You ain't been in this country that long?" I was going to correct him but instead he pointed at the cook and said, "Them there's called 'darkies.'" I thought that was hilarious. "Hey, man!" said the cook, "Don't be telling him that s***!" But people were laughing and I thought it was pretty funny.
My best friend through high school was Mexican and in junior high it was a Syrian kid. My younger brother played bass in a band with two brothers that were brothers. Later, I took the place of one of the brothers in the band for about a year. And I've known EAs and blasians all my life. So I've always been around people of color and I am comfortable around people of color. I'm comfortable around whites too but I DO avoid discussing certain topics with them because I know what I'm going to hear.
I don't feel white despite my upbringing. I felt like an outsider looking in. But these days I am more thankful than ever I am mixed and a person of color. I was never ashamed of it. I always took pride in it. When whites made fun of me, I never got down on myself. I just developed a burning hatred for them. I think I get that from my mom. She'll kick anybody's ass.
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Post by Subuatai on Jan 13, 2009 4:51:56 GMT -5
@dipsy Hahaha! Well... what are we? Are we both self-racist you think? Some people did say 'you are racist against your own' because I say a lot of bad things about Anglo culture. But then I go, Slavic does not equal Anglo, but then they say "both are white", and I go "by social classification only", so I'm kinda pissed with the stereotype that all whities are the same too. There is truth in it but at the same time all European cultures are still very diverse and different. You think the English and French are the same? Let alone Irish and English. Also why do Mongols respect Irish yet not the Anglos? My grandmother isn't proud of Slavic blood, but I wasn't raised by her I was raised by Dad who always tries to be politically correct. When I talked to her again I was kinda shocked really. Dad always tries to push his understanding that she is 'White' but heart of a 'Tatar' hence she is both; and as a result I am also "white" and "tatar". Hence I imposed this logic on my fellow Mongols trying to convince them that 'we are a mixed race so we must not be racist' - even though I was proven stupid later on when I found out so many DNA tests done by our whitey-looking people proved no Caucasoid ancestry. Hence I was confused for sometime, then... ... I studied, and anthrolopogy also bid me to do research on history/slavery/colonisation/imperialism/justifications etc, which led me to despise Anglo and West European culture even more. Then I met Magyars/Hungarians, Finns, Turks, Turanians, and everything pissed me off even more. And yes, I also share what you mean by not discussing certain topics with Anglos as it always makes them lose all respect for them individually. Some are still under the logic that "If you are part something, and you are not proud of a certain part of yourself, then you are self-racist". However, considering Turanians have a brotherhood/sisterhood thing going on from Finland, Hungary, Turkey, Turkistan, Mongolia, Siberia... and hate both Western Europe as well as Sino-Asia at the same time... ... Because we are under the classification of either 'West or East', and never 'EURASIAN' or 'TURANID'... they ignorantly use this "logic" and say 'erm... duh, you are racist' They also believe the steppes is just a mix of both Western and Sino-Asian people/cultures when erm, WRONG, it's not inward influenced it's outward influencing - a unique culture to either Western or Sino-Asia. But yet we are not allowed to side with ourselves but encouraged to rather side with one or the other? Side ourselves with ALIEN cultures either west or the east? Ack... Ne ways... sorry for going on but... do you think the self-racist applies to us? =/
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Post by mingzayni88 on Jan 15, 2009 12:42:08 GMT -5
I agree w/ kyu-ree!
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Post by catgirl on Jan 16, 2009 16:21:34 GMT -5
I voted because Im half white genetically, which is true. I thought about the 2nd one, because people think Im white, but this is in some situations that they think Im from some Euro country and other times they would think Im from some Southern American country etc, so its not constant. I guess I could be most things, except black maybe Nearly all my life people have been speaking to me in Spanish, may it be Spaniards or Southern Americans or in Italian I think there is a difference between what you ARE and what people think you are. Its like being an actress and playing some kind of role that isnt really you or something. Culturally Im definately more white and because of no contact with other vietnamese relatives (theyre all in Vietnam) I wasnt able to get something out of that culture, sadly enough. And all my friends are white! But some of them look EA ;D Its strange...
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Post by betahat on Jan 16, 2009 16:47:06 GMT -5
I vote Yes, genetically. I just completed the American Community Survey (part of the US census) and I had to check the race box. I was on the verge of checking other (and you could do a write-in) but I realized you could check multiple boxes and went with Caucasian and Chinese (there's a little Burmese in there but who can really tell the difference?). If you weren't allowed to check multiple boxes I'd go with other. With no other, I'd have to leave it blank.
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Post by volume on Jan 17, 2009 11:21:49 GMT -5
Am I half "white"? Yes
Have I been raised like the average "white" kid? No
Do I look half "white"? No
Do I feel "white"? No
Do the people around me see me as part "white"? No
Sure, we are "sort of" white, but from my experience, we don't get treated like it.
I mean, after all, we are mixed right? You can't just be "sort of" asian or "sort of" white, it's either one or the other, but for our cases, we are eurasian. we are "sort of" white and "sort of" asian both put together.
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Post by blunthammer on Jan 17, 2009 12:40:52 GMT -5
A "Euro-blasian" woman you say...wow...I think you'd make my jaw drop - just admiring the beauty in one Well I voted mixed (above the one dropist or w/e mindset option) that was there. I see myself as mixed and find it hard to not see both the asian and white in me. People also find themselves in a similiar position, so yeah. Plus my cultures isn't one per say. I tend to blend it up. Pretend Sandra Oh grew up in Ghana among black people for 20 years. One day she goes to Seoul Korea and exclaims "OMG I'm with people who LOOK like me." When I look in the mirror I don't see someone who LOOKS like Connie Chung or Tia Carrere but I wonder if society thinks I see Connie Chung or Tia Carrere in the mirror. I don't think Filipinos, Chinese, or Japanese look like me and if I went to those countries I would feel I looked DIFFERENT , out of place, but that's not to say I don't think I wouldn't PASS. Yet I think society thinks I would easily blend into those countries when I think 'no way.' Now growing up I thought I looked like Shannen Doherty, Danica McKellar, Karina Lombard, Jennifer Tilly etc because of their features. They aren't Asian (except Jennifer Tilly is half) but those girls are what I see in the mirror. If I went into a roomful with women that looked like them, I'd think I were nothing special...nothing different. I've been to Peru and Mexico, places I'm mistaken for. Do I think I could pass? Yes Do I think I look like them? No I've been to Cherokee NC where people are mixed white and Native-American. Do I think I could pass? yes Do I think I look like them? yes If a Vietnamese-American goes to Vietnam they will be surrounded by people that look like them. If a Greek-American goes to Greece, they will be surrounded by people that look like them. If a Bangladeshi-American goes to Bangladesh, they'll be surrounded by people that look like them. Okay in regards to Eartha kitt and Nia Long. To me Earth Kitt looked mixed black and Native-American. I thought she had an Asiany look to her and I think I look like her when she was younger. If I went into a roomful of women who looked like EArtha Kitt, I would only feel different because I'm lighter skinned. So to stay on topic, what I see in the mirror is a mixed woman, a white woman with some Asian features, and an Asian woman with white features or light-skinned Euro-Blasian
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Post by catgirl on Jan 17, 2009 14:01:49 GMT -5
I vote Yes, genetically. I just completed the American Community Survey (part of the US census) and I had to check the race box. I was on the verge of checking other (and you could do a write-in) but I realized you could check multiple boxes and went with Caucasian and Chinese (there's a little Burmese in there but who can really tell the difference?). If you weren't allowed to check multiple boxes I'd go with other. With no other, I'd have to leave it blank. Lol. Those boxes of yours ;D Cant you just write: I dont know?
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Post by betahat on Jan 17, 2009 15:36:53 GMT -5
See page 2: www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest09.pdfI said caucasian above - rather than pretend that I am from the Caucus mountains or whatever, they more appropriately listed "white" as a race. So I checked white and chinese. As another way to reframe the question to everyone reading this thread, which boxes would you have checked (and why)?
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Post by toyomansi on Jan 17, 2009 18:02:56 GMT -5
^ Well, since it's possible to check multiple boxes we're free to check the races that we are mixed with I also noticed on this form that even mixed Chinese/Viet, Japanese/Korean etc. have to check more than one box. But it's probably harder for those who are mixed with several ethnicities/races...
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Post by alphamikefoxtrot on Jan 18, 2009 2:08:58 GMT -5
^
Grape soda?
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Post by betahat on Jan 18, 2009 15:03:16 GMT -5
I don't understand why the US does things this way - especially why they have so much detail for Asia and so little for "white." That might be an interesting discussion for another thread - is the difference between German and Spanish or Norwegian and Italian equivalent to the difference between Viet and Chinese or Korean and Japanese?
I think the reason they do race separately from hispanic origin is to recognize the fact that there is a lot of racial diversity within the hispanic community that they want to measure. Hispanics in the US face particular challenges related to immigration and language, while visible blacks in the US face their own set of challenges. Black hispanics are doubly screwed. I suppose in Canada they might ask the equivalent question of whether you were francophone or not. An easier way to get at it win the US would be to ask "native language" rather than "hispanic origin" of course. In terms of tracking migration flows, you wouldn't want to miss out on migrants from Mexico or Colombia or El Salvador just because they consider themselves "white" or "Native Indian" so you certainly want some way of distinguishing them.
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Post by catgirl on Jan 18, 2009 16:49:35 GMT -5
See page 2: www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest09.pdfI said caucasian above - rather than pretend that I am from the Caucus mountains or whatever, they more appropriately listed "white" as a race. So I checked white and chinese. As another way to reframe the question to everyone reading this thread, which boxes would you have checked (and why)? Hmmm. If there are so many alternatives for Asian, where the h.... is the other alternatives for whites? Would say there is a big difference btw a Swede and an Italian Im sure if they had this system in Norway, SOS-racism would be there ;D
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Post by catgirl on Jan 18, 2009 16:54:44 GMT -5
See page 2: www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/SQuest09.pdfI said caucasian above - rather than pretend that I am from the Caucus mountains or whatever, they more appropriately listed "white" as a race. So I checked white and chinese. As another way to reframe the question to everyone reading this thread, which boxes would you have checked (and why)? WTF why do they want to know all of this? "Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?" We don't have these boxes or questions in Germany, you only have to write your nationality, never your ethnicity. They also don't ask you whether you're of "foreign" origin even though we have a lot of citizens of foreign origin (mostly Turkish). I already found it strange when I heard about the white, black, Asian or Latino boxes but now they even want to know especifically like Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, "other"?!!! Why don't they ask in detail about the white being British, German, Russian, or I don't know what?? And what's Italian, Portuguese, etc.? white? Why is Spanish not white then?? I would have checked white and Korean but I'd really be annoyed they want to know. I hear Brazil has the boxes and who ever is mixed white-black checks "mulatto" even if they're like 1/32 white They'd rather be mulatto than to be black... I think in Norway it is similar yes! The usual question in some job applications is: Are you born by 2 parents originally from Asia, Africa or Latin America, or if you re from these places originally. By some rules you re considered non-immigrant Norwegian if you have at least one grand-parent originally from Norway. Lucky me, I was just borderline ;D (Norwegian grandfather)
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Post by betahat on Jan 19, 2009 15:30:26 GMT -5
So Germany has no statistics on "race" and couldn't really say how many turkish residents it has since many of them are now German citizens? I would be surprised if they don't have some way of keeping track of this (maybe just based on immigration records extrapolated forward?)
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