Things I remember from my youth:
- watching Kung Fu every afternoon after school
- going to the Obon Festival every fall at the Buddhist Temple down the street
- eating manju on special occasions
- visiting family in Hilo
- wondering if Yul Brenner was really Thai when I saw The King and I
- my grandparents telling me they didn’t vote because when they moved to California, no one would let them buy a house in a white neighborhood
- all the sansei coaches in the basketball and baseball leagues
- all the nisei men gardening
- all the yonsei half-breeds
- thinking “shoyu” and “soy sauce” were different things
- my brother firing pretend bullets at the real remains of Manzanar
- my friend Cindy Lam explaining that her father was killed when they escaped from Vietnam
- being really proud of Lenn Sakata, the only major league baseball player I knew of who was Japanese American
I didn’t know yet that David Carradine in Kung Fu was not cool. Little did I know that it had been decided that American was not ready for an man of Asian ancestry to play a lead role in a television series. And I didn’t understand the Yul Brenner caricature. All I knew was that here were Asian characters and that the rest of the world knew (however insensitively) that we existed. So what is it about all of us Asian Americans who run to the television when an Asian face appears? What makes us flock to each other in this sea of diversity we call the United States? What makes other groups stick together? What are we looking for when we identify with an ethnic group?
32 comments:
Firstly, I'd just like to say it's amazing how naive we are to the wrong-doings of the world when we're little. Secondly, I think as humans, we tend to want people around us who "get us" - people that understand where we come from, possibly even share the same morals, culture, religion, appearances and needs. We seek others to share experiences with, and often those that have experienced similar events in their own lives (which helps them to better understand us perhaps).
In your post, there are definitely a lot of thoughts I could relate to and agree with. Coming from a korean-american background, I also had a similar mind set to yours. I think it's funny that nothing has really changed from your growing up in the 1970s and my growing up in the 1990s. Since I am a 1.5 generation korean-american, I have more of what you could call an "american" mindset since I do not have many memories of Korea itself.
When I look around me, I tend to see asians mostly with other asians - this could be because they share the same thoughts or can relate to each other easily. Some people even say that they feel uncomfortable speaking to people of different color because they believe they will be rejected.I am surrounded by many first generation koreans, and I know that they stick together because they believe that when they stick together - they are much stronger and have more power.
Like ninja_j said above, people like to look for people with common ground - so that they can share and grow together.
Myself, I am an Asian American. Laotian to be exact. Growing up in the 90's as a first generation Asian American definitiley made things difficult. Yes I associated more with other asians, but in California it wasn't always because our races were the same. The schools I attened were 90% asians and our neigghborhoods were just the same.
I consider myself, as the previous entry stated, to have an american mindset. I was raised to speak english and lao, but these days I only use english; even with my parents. The things I enjoy are american sports, probably because it's been drilled into my head. Although I didnt' like baseball until Ichiro Suzuki showed up. I felt this appreciation that he was asian and made it to the big leagues, which few have ventured. If I could have watched more asians in sports and on television, I'm sure I'd be diffent than I am now.
Although I'm not Asian-American (I think I must be one of the few in this class that isn't), I can still relate to being part of a smaller group not necessarily part of the mainstream. I was homeschooled for all my academic career until I came to Highline at 18 last year, and I was also raised in a very conservative Christian family. This experience gave me a set of values and background I share with very few other people. When I meet another homeschooler we can often find something very specific to laugh about, such as listening to our mothers read aloud historical fiction novels for hours in our childhood, or reciting pages and pages of Bible verses at church, or being shunned from our public-school peers at youth group. Many of my friends do not share the same background as I do - it would be boring if they did - but knowing people have grown up the same way you did is extremely comforting. You know that they've been there and know exactly what you've gone through and that's a bond you can't share with anyone else. I imagine that people of the same race feel the same way.
I am not Asian American but I can understand many of the secret or closed societies they may have as my mom is native american (my dad Latino) and in my mother's culture they are very private and untrusting of outsiders. I grew up this way not really knowing why I couldn't trust outsiders just that this is the way It was. The Native American community stays close striving to help each other and holding our elder community in the highest standing, being respectful and submissive. I don't question the old customs but treat them with respect even If I disagree with certain views. I feel our communities sometimes respond the way they do because of experiences and tragedies they may have suffered in the past whether with the government and their laws or people in day to day life. I feel ethnic communities strive to "belong" to a culture, area, or belief. In belonging you feel accepted and that's a good thing.
I am the youngest out of my two siblings and I am also the only one born in the U.S. My parents came to America in escape of the Khmer Rouge. Growing up I learned to speak both English and Cambodian but as I started getting older I slowly dropped my native language and only spoke English. When my parents speak to me in Cambodian I will always respond in English. It’s almost like I feel uncomfortable speaking my native language. In high school the majority of the people I hung out with were Asian and it wasn’t because I wasn’t open to being friends with people of a different race. I just felt like I was able to relate and get along with them easier. I think people feel closer to other people who shared the same interest and culture as they do. I think it’s something that we all naturally do.
it sounds like all of us understand the feeling of being part of a small group inside of a larger one. even if we're persecuted in some way for being how we are, sticking together seems to be uniformly important to all of us.
another question: why did you decide to take asian-american studies? how did being asian (or not asian, whichever fits your situation) affect how you felt about taking the course? for me, honestly i'm taking this class becos i needed an online class that fulfilled the global requirement, and it's just a bonus that i happen to love history.
In all honesty I signed up for this class because it was one of the only classes still open when I registered late. At first I was worried I wouldn't enjoy this subject at all, but upon reading the syllabus it became apparent that this class will give me some much needed insight into what my grandma who is Japanese and her family went through living in America during World War 2. Her distrust of the government still lives on today. But can really blame her? She had to live in a internment camp for years of her childhood. My mother and aunt would tell me stories of how they were called racist names on the bus and at school when they were children, and how I'm lucky I am that I will never have to put up with that kind of thing in this day and age. While I've never actually have, I don't truly believe that it doesn't still happen somewhere every day in this country.
I also signed up for the class to fulfill certain gradutaion requirements, but after doing some research I've become stimulated to learn more. The Wing Luke Asian Museum looks like a very interesting place to go, I'll most likely go visit this weekend or the next.
I know everyone faces their own form of racism somehow, I suppose it's how you deal with it matters most. I've had my share. I've been called everything in the book against asians. The racism was generally from other minority groups like hispanics and blacks. I've never meet too many, but they made an everlasting impression on me.
Nice to meet you Tarisa Matsumoto-Maxfield. Your entry is definitely interesting.
I could see that there are several things in your memory as an Asian-American. I myself am not an Asian-American. I come from Thailand. However, I could related to your topic well maybe because we have the same Asian blood. A lot of Asian-American found themselves in the middle and could not decide which one is their "real" nationality. However, whichever they may choose, they will want the country to accept them as the citizens and they will need the same opportunity as the other races.
People can get along because they share common belief and goal and if there is the place they should belong to, that particular land will bring them together and then the nation is formed. I believe Asian-American have that place too. Perhaps, it's or it's not United State?
Lastly, I wanted to say that no matter what made of Asian-American, they are people for sure, people who have dream and people who want to live in their own country!
(Interesting Fact: Yul Brenner is not a Thai. The King and I is banned in Thailand due to the content that contain the discrimination toward Thai dynasty.)
Responding to the original post, I think it really is just human nature to flock to people who give us the feeling of belonging. I wanted to take this class to get more insight about Asian American cultures. I am Nigerian by way of London, England - and I found it terribly hard to acclimate myself with the "American way" growing up. It seemed I couldn't really relate to many people, so it was safe for me to surround myself with other minorities who I felt would understand me. That seems to be the case in previous entries - being in our "comfort zone". Now, I'm taking this class because it does fufill a requirement but also because I enjoy learning about different cultures and understanding various views.
Hi my name is Jonathan I am 21 years old and am half Chinese “Cantonese” my father’s side his family immigrated to the United States in the early 1970’s. My mother is a mixture of western European ancestry and her family has been in Tacoma Washington for almost four generations. I definitely growing up tended to stick to an ambiguous ethnicity being neither white nor Asian. Unless it was beneficial to me meaning that the other kids would be excited by the exotic nature of my being something other than white. The concept of calling myself Asian was very foreign to me considering that my upbringing was in a predominately white neighborhood. Most of my friends growing up where white and for the most part my friends are still predominately white.
One of the major goals of my being enrolled in this class to help me bridge the gap between the mainstream American culture which I identify with and actively participate in and between the semi closed Chinese American community which my grandparents and some of my other full Chinese relatives belong to. I feel that if I am able to even marginally immerse myself in the Asian American culture than I may be able to remove some of the mystery and discomfort I feel at times. Though I have never felt anything other than love from my family I wish that I could more easily identify with the Chinese American side of my family.
As a child, identity is one thing I had troubled with growing up. I was raised in the island of Guam, which is predominantly populated with Chamorros, Micronesians and Filipinos (some may call it just a military base, while others like me call it home.) I am Filipino and all my siblings speak a mixture of our native language and English. As a child I always wondered why my parents had Spanish last names yet from my mother's side she was partial Chinese with slanted eyes & fair skin and my dad looked like the Polynesians I see in TV. And yet I am told over and over I should speak English and learn to “fit in” in an American territory. This mixture I saw as a child stayed within me and I began to be curious about other cultures. My friends are a mixed of people (Asians,Europeans,Micronesians,Chamorros or Caucasian) often times I feel like I meet friends because I am curious about their cultures. I would say the familiar sound of someone else speaking my dialect and the facial expressions that I find humorous yet unusual makes me think of my family, with mixture of the English language. It is ironic how the more I move away from my culture the more I end up trying to learn about it.
I forgot to note that I grew up in Gardena, California, which is a town south of Los Angeles. Technically, Gardena is part of South Central L.A., land of gang wars and drive-bys that you see portrayed in movies. A few years ago, Los Angeles took down everything that made reference to "South Central" and prefers to call the area "the South Bay." Obviously this is an attempt at improving the area's image.
But for decades, Gardena was known more as a Japanese American community than gang territory. In fact, the city flag has a bonsai tree on it! Growing up in this community definitely changes the notion of "other." For me, Japanese Americans were the norm. That was the majority. You can imagine my shock when I went to college in Iowa. I finally figured out why I rarely saw people of Asian ancestry on television or in movies (and yes, Yul Brenner is definitely not Thai)...Asian Americans are not the majority. But for my existence, this is what I grew up knowing.
I see that many of you who have responded so far have similar experiences, whether that experience is marked by ethnicity, race, multiethnic background, education, and schooling. It's interesting to me that some of you state that there doesn't seem to be a difference between the 70s and 90s. We pride ourselves as a nation on being a diverse society, but it seems that many groups still struggle with representation and belonging.
I wonder if this can simply be reduced to the human experience in general...that we organize ourselves into groups that have tension with other groups?
This class is surely going to be interesting and I am glad I sighed up. But what is really behind my excitement? Is it because I can relate with most comments here, or is it because I feel like I am with the “right group”. I was born in Kenya and joined the migrating masses to this culturally diverse country eleven years ago. The longer I live in this country the more I want to learn about other people. I would say that is what pulled me to this class.
To respond to the main post, I see it as a way to feel more fitting and a way of looking for a sense of belonging when a group of people stick together.
As children we have innocence to ignorance, but as we grow older we are exposed to stupidity. Many people have prejudice and biased opinions because they fear the unknown. Unfortunately instead of learning about others, we sometimes judge and steer clear of socializing because of fear. I don’t blame certain groups of Asian people for staying just within their group or sticking together. As diverse and excepting America can be, it can be cruel and judgmental. I have a diverse background like many others in this class. I'm 75%Black and 25%Italian. I was raised to accept all people regardless of race, ethnicity, etc. I have also spent have been in the military for eight years and exposed to many different races, etc. I honestly don't know too much about the history of Asian American, but the little that I do know, intrigues me. I plan on a career in Journalism, so I want to base my writing on facts. I feel this class will be beneficial to me personally and professionally.
Even though I'm not Asian-American, but i always was interested in Asian history. I never knew That Asian-American people had a really hard time in American society. I think all of the immigrants of diffrent cultures had problems to be part of America, because I'm my self came to this country as an immigrant from Russia. But in our time we don't have to suffer as much as people of other generations, so we have to te thankful that our parents worked so hard so we can have a good future. And I think this class really helps you to understant that live in America can be really hard and I think its really important for us to know this kind of history.
I believe the need to belong is important especially when one has to leave their birthplace in able to survive. All I remember is that my mom and dad said we have to leave the Philippines so we can have good food to eat & a home to stay, there were no forewarning about learning a different culture in a different place and my parents always assured me that we will learn to be part of a new place.
Perhaps feeling like a visitor in Guam the first time I arrived made me think of the new things I can explore and the new friends I could meet, even when I was constantly teased about my differences, like the way I would pronounce certain words because of my accent, I made the assumption that maybe they haven't met anyone like me yet. You could say it is the naivete in me.
Im not Asian nor Afrcan American though black in colour and and i come from deep down i come from Africa where our cultural vallues are more like the same Asian communities where they respect their cultural heritage like we do back in Africa so i have so much to relate with unlike the black-A mericans who seem to be lost in their cultural heritage, For example when they here you tryingg to speak engllish they start laughing at you that you have an accent and you have nothing in common. Therefore i believe growing up as an Asian Amrican is not easy, still they face the same struggles like any immigrant trying to start a new life in America. But at the end of tthe day life is what you make it, every one struugles to make it here even the American natives them selves.
I think that in king county you will see alot of different races. When i go out with my friends we always run into other people and see all the different people that live in the area. But i never really noticed there race when i was younger but now that i am older i see that there are asian americans and mexicans and all sorts of races. To me i have never been really part of a cultural backround because i am part mexican and part german. I really never learned about my heritage until i wanted to find about it. And i think alot of people these days are like that. My grandfather was a second generation mexican and when he joined the military he left his home and came to live in seattle and he married my german grandmother. I never see my mexican family because they all live in california. So i never experenced that side of my family. Or the ideas that they believe in. I know that i seek out people that like and believe in the same things i do. But i think alot of the time people seek companions in people that are the same visualy or have the same thoughts as them, so that they can strengthen there own beliefs.
My name is Tony and I an asian american like the majority of people in this class. vietnamese and chinese to be exact. I took this class mainly to fill up my diversity and globalism credit. But also, i want to learn more about the history of my culture. There is alot of negative and possitive things i want to learn throughout this class
Today a lot of people have thier jobs in countries where they were not born in and I think that is not rare at all. Asian actors play a role in American movies and Asian athletes let thier dreams come true in the US. Now I can say that, but I feel it must be hard to make it in America when Asian Americans' parents or grandparents started moving to the US becuase there must be discrimination and other difficulties.
Even in this school, HCC, there are many kinds of people from many countries, so it makes me wonder what the US looked like when a word "diversity" wasn't familier.
I am a Filipina that was born in California, grew up in hawaii, then moved to Puyallup Washington. Puyallup probably had a population of 5% asians went i went to school there and i tended to stick around with the asian's. They were my main hang out group (not that i wasn't friends with any other race), but i felt more comfortable due to the fact that we had alot of things in common...
I have a question... I'm filipina but i really dont understand whether i'm asian or pacific islander. A lot of filipinos tend to have a variety of different answers. Yes, Philipines is an island by the pacific, but we're also neighboors to asian country's. What do you think?
I am an Asian American, born and raised in Seattle, WA. I'm half Laos and Cambodian and is the oldest child out of six kids. I have three sisters and two younger brothers. Growing up was a little tough for me because my parents were really strict at the time. I couldn't really do much. Especially in high school. They would never let me go to school sports game and school dances. Now watching my sisters grow, they have the ability to do whatever and my parents don't have any saying to what they do. I don't know if it was because I was the oldest?.. I just think it wasn't fair but I believe most Asian parents are usually like that.
To respond to the original post, I believe people naturally gravitate toward those similar to themselves. And when a person is finally secure personally, then he/she feels safe to venture out and meet new people of different cultures. It is not something strange, but it comes from the desire to belong to a group...and what better group to belong to than the group that physically and culturally looks and acts like you do?
I come from a Japanese-American background. My father was born in Japan and my mother was born in Chicago (she's Polish and Hungarian). And, like you Tarisa, I was surrounded by Asian-Americans as a child. I grew up in Seattle where we have a large Asian population, and my church was composed of mainly Japanese people. So I can honestly say, I have a very Japanese mindset, with an American twist.
I've experience firsthand the clashing of cultures through my parents, and I believe it is very important for people to try to understand the mindsets of different cultures. Anyway, I'm glad I'm taking this class.
Its hard for me to familiarize firsthand since I am not Asian-American, but I can see it only feels natural to people to gravitate towards others who are of like ethnicity and speak the same language. In the world today you turn on the tv and see mostly whites and very few other races, so when you see someone similar to you on tv, it would more likely be of interest to you since you can relate to them.
I think people in general feel a level of comfort and familiarity with others who understand them and where they come from, as a result bonding and sticking together.
When I signed up for this class I honestly had no interest in the subject and pretty much just wanted to take the class, pass it, and go on to the next quarter. But as I read the comments left by other students about their interest in this subject, it gets me a little interested too. Growing up, I can't recall any experiences where being asian-american left me at a disadvantage but I do know the stereotypes. You know, the typical ones like asian people are smart or that they are quiet. From elementary school to now, I've always been surrounded by students who were from many different cultural backgrounds so I know that you can't always apply stereotypes to everyone and that people do not fall into a certain categories because of their ethnicity.
I notice that asian people do tend to "flock" to each other and I think it just provides them a sense of familiarity and safeness. This could be applied to everyone. When I'm in a situation where I do not know a soul in the room I find myself searching for the person who appears to be most like me. For instance, there are two groups of people in the room, one group is dressed in black tie attire and the other in sweatsuits. You're dressed in a sweatsuit. Which group would you feel most comfortable in?
People just have a tendency to want to belong to a group so they find people who they believe are similar to them. It could be based on race, culture, gender or anything.
As an African American Woman i have to say that many minority groups today tend to be judged in today's society so crucially that we have no choice but to stay amongst each other. I'm not trying to get on the topic of racism because that's not the case. I feel people today are afraid to be different and show their true side of themselves because of acceptence. I grew up in a middle-class home in Long, Island, New York where i had two working parents. Both of my parents were in the military and spent most of their time in Korea. They experienced many things in Korea that they probably wouldn't had learned in the United States. From what they ate, the clothing they wore, traditions, and hobbies they encountered, they are not that different from us. Sure they experience different things than us but i feel we all have some kind of connection. Many of the militants discovered great things about people of the asian descent and embraced it. But if you come back to the United States it's a totally different story. You are quick to hear comments about the way people look or the type of foods you eat. It can be really ridiculous. I'm not going to lie, but as a minority i tend to seek friends that have more in common with me. But as i got older i learned to embrace people and their different backgrounds. I work at a company that is predominantly white (caucasian,I get along with the people and I surround myself with people of all colors, shapes, and sizes. No matter what when you see someone that shares the same values, traditions or even wins a high achievement of some kind, a voice in the back of your head says to you we did it.
It seems that one of the things that we are gravitating toward in this discussion is identity and self-determination. Who decides what we are? Nadia asks whether she's Asian or Pacific Islander? I've read several articles about how Filipinos should be considered Caucasian because of the 400 years of Spanish colonial rule they experienced. The argument is that the Philippines is as much Spanish as it is anything else.
So, if we decide that we are going to classify ourselves by race or ethnicity, shouldn't we choose? Does someone else choose for us? When I was growing up, there was no choice of "multiracial" or "other" on school forms, so many of my elementary school teachers decided my race for me. And I suppose the larger question is why do we need to classify ourselves by race and/or ethnicity? What is the importance?
Coming back to Nadia's question, if she has to choose between Asian and Pacific Islander, then that must mean that intrinsically, there is a great difference between the two groups. What is that difference? Is it biological, or is it social/cultural? And for example, if I were of Japanese ancestry, but grew up in Peru (where there are a lot of people of Japanese ancestry), then could I choose to be Latina if I identify myself as Peruvian?
I once had a student in this class a couple of years ago who was ethnically Korean, was raised since infancy in Panama, and had become an American citizen. His first language was Spanish and he spoke English with what was clearly a Spanish accent. But ethnically he was Korean. He struggled a lot with who he was since he felt more Panamanian. But he didn't know if he could claim himself as a Panamanian because of his ethnic background.
So really, what is identity? How do we define it? We'll look at these questions soon.
I remember when I first came to United States as an eighth grader. I hung out only with Korean people simply because I could not speak English. For two years, I had problems with simple communication in English so I started to build relationship with other Koreans who I could communicate with. So, for two years, I build most of my friendship with other Koreans and I think that is the case for most Korean students who come to United States to studay. However when I became able to communicate in English I still found myself being able to relate more to other Koreans and even asians such as Japanese and Chinese. There are just so many things that Asians understand without much explanation. Conversations are more smooth because of the culture and environment we grew up in. Although I cannot deny that our looks have alot to do with how comfortable we feel with eachother. We all look alike and and human beings seem to feel more comfortable when they see things that are familiar-looking to them!
To start off, I read everyone comments and thought they were so interesting. There is a lot to be said and it’s cool to read everyone responses; so, I can see a class join many different cultures together. My first taste of culture was in a Sociology 110 which was taught here at Highline and I loved it! I totally became addicted to peoples culture and the many stories everyone has.
I'm a little French and Norwegian. I know culture is a part of everyone; but, I think culture gets lost in the Caucasian race. I’ve learned privileges are given to us with a good moral assumption that due to our color we can get further and get that job. I think that’s wrong; however, that’s society. My goal throughout life is to use that culture power wisely. To be an advocate for the minorities set in the United States. To get educated in the minority groups and know people better; because, we all have so much to say regardless of our skin.
I took this course at the last minute due to a foot injury; however, I love culture related classes. I would much rather be learning about people than music. I hope to learn more specifically about Asians Americans and who they are and what are their struggles. I can’t wait to read more.
In my own words, the definition of Asian American is the people with Asian blood and faces born in United States, following the American cultures, and focuses in the American language.
I was born in Hong Kong, until 1998, I moved to United States. I've been asking myself, am I considered as Asian American? I lived here in this country for 10 years, which is a long time. I can still manage two different cultures and languages at the same time, the good reason is because I lived in another country for many years.
The Asian born American are Americans with Asian blood and faces, following the American every thing, but not all. There are Asian born American exists to follow American and their own Asian cultures at the same time depending on their family educations.
The way how I would identify the Asians are Asians American or not is to see who they hang out with, listen to their speaking accents, their attitudes, or possibly their appearance. I agree with cpark about Asians mostly with Asians because of the common background, because I went through the same road. People nowaday that I noticed is how people don't tend to communicate with other people with different colors is because they builds up a barrier between themselves and other colors, not only because they feel different, because Asians from Asian countries should know that they must face American people, cultures, and languages.
I'm not surprise of seeing Asian people getting along with American people, instead, interesting. Although it seems interesting, I still would like to know how all these started. How and when and what made Asian American exist.
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