am I not Asian enough? not Western enough?

[michi]

Pride is kept in your heart, and not neccesarily needed to come out of one's mouth.

exactly. too bad some have more pride coming out of their mouth than in their heart.

 

[Golgo_13]

exactly. too bad some have more pride coming out of their mouth than in their heart.

If you had any pride in your heart you wouldn't go on "Oprah" and publicly state you hate Asian men and will not date or marry them and only want to be with white guys.

Fortunately, there was a panel of therapists on the show one of which pointed out that it's not about "Asian men" at all but about herself and how she views her own self and her race.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Fortunately, there was a panel of therapists on the show one of which pointed out that it's not about "Asian men" at all but about herself and how she views her own self and her race.

Well, any sane person would know that. Anyone that goes around denouncing anyone because of race or nationality has issues.

 

[Dream Time]

It's tough to grow up in a country where you are considered an outsider, a foreignor, no matter how well you speak English (How often do you still hear "What are you?" or "Where are you from?").

always

thats like the most common question when someone non-Oriental meets me

a Spanish friend of mine actually thought I was Japanese because she had the impression that Japanese people have whiter skin.....

 

[kirei_na_me]

I try never to ask someone where they're from, in that situation. If I get to know them a little better, I will ask them about their 'background', but I won't ask where they're from, because most of the people I've talked to like that are from the US! Also, I get the feeling that sometimes it makes some people feel like you're trying make sure they're of a nationality you approve of, if that makes any sense?

 

[Golgo_13]

always

thats like the most common question when someone non-Oriental meets me

a Spanish friend of mine actually thought I was Japanese because she had the impression that Japanese people have whiter skin.....

I stopped ansering such questions. If they insist on wanting to know where I'm from, I say "Brooklyn, NY". Then they say "No, I mean where you originally came from." I reply, "Oh, why didn;t you say so. I'm originally from my mother's egg and my dad's sperm."

"What are you?''
"I'm none of your business."

That's a phrase I use often. I'm blind in one eye as a result of a brain tumor growing near an optic nerve. Some insensitive strangers will ask "What happened to your eye?". I say "What happened to you manners? It's none of your business."

 

[RockLee]

To be scolded and made fun of must be very painfull...I myself was teased for many years...I felt like I didn't belong here...my parents had to take me home many times...I would cry all day and hated the other ppl...and why??I did nothing wrong...and neither do these ppl...they just get picked on because some jackass wants to draw attention!! ...I'm caucasian...so people don't get teased just by the fact they are oriﾃｫntal....but still being teased can change your life, you try to change and fit in...that's what happened to these people I think, they try to fit in and forget where they came from.But I think one should forgive but not forget...and just be yourself and don't let other people ruin your life...you will be accepted in time and make more friends then you can imagine...this is what happened to me!!

 

[Mayura]

I've heard that many Singapore people can't speak Chinese
I don't know why is that...

dunno... ppl learn both english and chinese here... but since chinese is like... more difficult? so... well... some schools don't require chinese anymore, or that's what I heard... but since most granparents speak chinese... err... most of them can "speak" chinese? maybe not really write but... oh well... (anybody correct me if I'm wrong...)

 

[Golgo_13]

Monsieur Rock Lee,

Your English is excellent, and you're only 21 years old?

In my 20's my idol was your fellow countryman Jean-Claude Van Damme or Jean-Claude Van Varenburg (his real name). I once saw him at Gold's Gym in Venice, California, but didn't speak to him.

Last time someone picked on me was when I was about 30 when I lived in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. I was walking home from the gym and a car pull up and some punks yelled "Hey faggot! You gonna be in the Gay Games?" I dropped my gym bag and said "Yeah, full-contact Karate, Get the F out of the car." They took off.

 

[RockLee]

Hehe thanks Golgo....hehe..them punks, always a laugh!!There are too many young kids that have no respect for elder people anymore..that kind of makes me sad ☝ ...this reminds me of the movie I saw an hour ago "Battle Royale" It moved me really...I was shocked en moved at the same time..I hope things wont be coming this far one day!! ☝

 

[sabro]

I like "Asian" better than "Oriental." "Oriental" sounds really old and outdated- kinda' like "colored." Also, it just means "eastern." East of what? And although I may be half eastern, I have been raised as an Occidental- language, culture, thoughts- all American. Asia is the continent my mother's ancestors hail from, I would love to learn all about it.

I would date Asians. But I'm already married.

Almost no one in my family married Japanese- only one cousin. Another married a Chinese girl. The rest married latinos and hakujins.

 

[dreamer]

Last time someone picked on me was when I was about 30 when I lived in the Chelsea district of Manhattan. I was walking home from the gym and a car pull up and some punks yelled "Hey faggot! You gonna be in the Gay Games?" I dropped my gym bag and said "Yeah, full-contact Karate, Get the F out of the car." They took off.

Lol you're lucky he didn't point a gun on you

 

[Mayura]

golgo - well... at least you could have REALLY beaten them up...

dreamy - they do such things?

 

[dreamer]

Well you never know in the US lol I usually just keep quiet when people harass me here...
Only hit someone once though -.-
Well...he and another guy were bullying a friend of mine and she isn't the kind to talk back... however it's sure that martial arts come in handy at times like this...

 

[Mayura]

yeah... *envys golgo* ^^;

 

[Dream Time]

some of my non-Oriental friends always do those Kung Fu things in front of me


a few years ago,a Mexican classmate of mine
I told him I am Chinese,and then he imtimidated those Bruce Lee moves and sounds...

 

[dreamer]

Yeah and they also make these weird cries like "watchoo..hiyahhh..."

 

[Dream Time]

Dream Time,

Why do you think I refuse to use the word "Asian" and continue to use "Oriental"? Because there is noting wrong with the word! And I'm not insecure or ashamed about being Oriental.

The American-born and raised Orientals began using the word "Asian" in the mid 1980s because they claimed that the word Oriental is derogatory.

Nonsense! It's only that they themselves hated being Oriental. There are people of many different races who live in Asia, so you CANNOT have an Asian race. People in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran all have the right to call themselves Asians because they live in Asia.

I once wrote an op-ed piece for the Rafu-Shimpo, a Japanese-Community Daily Paper in LA titled "Call Me Oriental, Not Asian," and guess what? I got some positive feedback. People said to me they hate saying "Asian", and felt the same way I did.

I once asked a Chinese gal why she preferred "Asian" and she said "oh . . . Asian just sounds better. Being called an Oriental is like being told you have slanted eyes." Oh my Lord! Doesn't she realize there is NOTHING wrong with her eyes? No matter what anybody says or tinks?

"Asian" SOUNDS better? Then it dawned on me. What happens if you add the letters C, A, U, and C in front of Asian? So, being Asian is almost halfway to being white !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder it sounds better to her, and to anybody else who hates being Oriental! This is nothing more than self-inflicted racism.

actually I never really thought about the difference of Oriental and Asian
never knew there are such meanings behind those words

 

[Mayura]

hmmm... yeah, remmeber when I was little... ^^ (my silly ol' classmates)

 

[Golgo_13]

Lol you're lucky he didn't point a gun on you

They were just cowardly punks. I knew they wouldn't be packed. Besides, who would open fire on a busy street during daylight?

There had been some gay-beating incidents around that time in NYC, I wanted those cowards to know they picked the wrong guy--in more ways than one.

I like "Asian" better than "Oriental." "Oriental" sounds really old and outdated- kinda' like "colored." Also, it just means "eastern." East of what?

I would date Asians. But I'm already married.

Almost no one in my family married Japanese- only one cousin. Another married a Chinese girl. The rest married latinos and hakujins.

But you still understand why the term "Asian" is unfair to non-Oriental people of Asia? If people hate the word "Oriental" so much, they should've thought of another word. But then, it's not even about the word--it's about how you feel about yourself. I guarantee you in a few years Orientals will start complaining how the word "Asian" is derogatory and they wanna be called something else.

I remember a good-looking U.S.-born Japanese gal in college. We passed each other on campus one day and I said "hi" and she looked away as if I were a leper. I went to a small school in the midwest and everybody said hi to each other.

Some Oriental guys have a policy of not dating Oriental women. I knew a guy in high school who said "that would be like dating your own sister."

It doesn't matter who you date or marry, but it is wrong to rule out a certain type of people because of their race--especially if its your own.

 

[Mayura]

golgo - so... was it painful? ...

 

[Golgo_13]

golgo - so... was it painful? ...

What you talking about? A rectal exam at the doctor's office? They don't hurt that much.


Being teased or picked on as a child? Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Mayura]

I meant the beating incident!... ^^

well... I've actually never really been "picked" on when I was younger, accept for some ppl who were really annoying, they actually composed a song bout me... well, one kinda making fun of me? but they would actually stop if I started crying... ^^;

 

[dreamer]

I meant the beating incident!... ^^

well... I've actually never really been "picked" on when I was younger, accept for some ppl who were really annoying, they actually composed a song bout me... well, one kinda making fun of me? but they would actually stop if I started crying... ^^;

Well as for me being the only chinese in my school from kindergarten to elementary school I was kind of...ignored when other pupils didn't bugged me ^^'

Some Oriental guys have a policy of not dating Oriental women. I knew a guy in high school who said "that would be like dating your own sister."

Well...I have to admit that every asian girl I know tend to act like my mom toward me and it's kind of annoying
However I don't think it's a reason to say "I won't date oriental women"...

 

[Mayura]

dreamy - hmm... I was never really ignored... or my teacher would have done something bout it... ^^; they were really nice ppl...

hmmm... like dating your own sister... is it maybe that there are very little asian girls at that place, so they are all kinda like close? so...