Comments

1. ren wrote:

   Re: Hapa use rising among Asian-Americans Nationally

   Research reveals:

   “American Idol contestant William Hung’s fame perpetuated the worst stereotypes about Asian People.”

   *smacks self on forehead*

   I could have saved them four months of conducting interviews and wasted dollars, by telling them everything they concluded for free. Actually a white person could have told them the same thing merely by utilizing the faculty of reason. Leave it to a consulting firm to engage in research what they could have found out by checking a 13yr old Asian’s myspace profile. We all know Hallyu is where it’s at… but the New Japanese? Hold on, when was Japanese pop-culture that prevalent in the US? Apart from import cars, sushi, and creepy guys who like decking out their girlfriends in Hello Kitty attire.

   A question for those Asians that are of mixed-race, are you comfortable with the word hapa? Of the very few bi-racial Asians that I know, it tends to be split down the middle. Half are fine with using the term, the other half regard it with the same appreciation they do the term AZN (keep in mind none of them are related with Hawaiians). It’s not so much the term that bothers them, but like AZN, they feel it constitutes a certain mentality that they find ultimately cringe-worthy. If it keeps a certain group from adoringly utilizing the word “twinkie” I approve, but I personally don’t feel comfortable using it to refer to mixed-Asian.

   Posted 17 Feb 2007 at 8:30 am ¶

2. kim wrote:

   On: love and kidney—

   What a sucker for a real love story! That is great, just great.

   I am still amazed at the folks who think that a visible aspect of someone’s everyday existence is seen and experienced as an affliction – day in and day out. Doesn’t anyone look at themselves and ask, how am I found to be outside of the other person’s norm?

   My sister-in-law, in the middle of a protracted marital make-or-break situation, once presumed that my husband and I had an automatic rallying point which kept us glued together, knowing our common goal, setting the tone for how we engaged with the world and nurtured and sheltered each other: eliminating racism, educating others about racist thought and acts.

   Ha! We’d never done either, though we both mentored children through the NAACP, and he was then an associate professor of engineering…but, being inter-racial, I guess that translated to “teaching about race,” in every instance of our lives.

   This is a great love story simply for its own sake, its simple unfolding – its quiet and layered complexities being more pronounced and problematic for OTHERS far more than it would ever be for the couple.

   Posted 17 Feb 2007 at 11:53 am ¶

3. Lyonside wrote:

   Re: NPR

   I love NPR, but articles/stories like this remind me why Tavis Smiley (allegedly) left – THIS is news? THIS is their idea of “diversity?”

   Kill me – there is nothing in the writeup of this story or the broadcast that hasn’t been covered AD NAUSEUM both here and everywhere else. I also would have liked it if the mothers seemed to have more of a clue on how to talk about racial features, etc. “White” hair? ewww….

   And does NOONE identify as biracial anymore? Am I some 70s throwback? Some of the mothers were adoptive moms, and I don’t know which mom was speaking, but everyone on the program kept saying “black boys,” “black men.” *sigh*

   Now, the show is trying to develop into a regular NPR show, so I should cut it some slack, but as some of the commentators said, skin color alone doesn’t determine if your bio kids “look” like you, and the one-droppism of the title was annoying at best, offensive at worst. And what about OTHER types of multiethnic families that have the same societal experiences and issues?

   Posted 17 Feb 2007 at 12:23 pm ¶

4. kim wrote:

   This is truly scary. From: NPR: Mocha MOMs segment, comments section:

   I was very disappointed in the segment on “White Mothers, Black Sons.” I am the only white member of my family, and it never occurred to me to look at my children as anything other than individual people. No, I’m not deceiving myself about how other people might perceive my two boys (mixed black & white), but that is not part of the definition of who they are. Nor is their so-called heritage important. They are not their ancestors. I have always been bewildered by Americans who adopt children from foreign lands, feeling that they must give the child foreign language lessons and teach them their forebears’ customs and traditions. They are Americans, plain and simple. To think otherwise is just another form of bigotry. Further, the lady who said her son bumped into an older woman in New York who assumed he was after her money: did it ever occur to her that the woman was not thinking that he was black therefore dangerous, but merely that he was a person who had bumped into her and therefore dangerous? This self-definition of a person of color makes the world perceive you that way. My husband does not see himself as black, he sees himself as who he is. And black is not part of that definition, and I hope it won’t be for my boys either.

   Sent by Xenia Black | 4:17

   Posted 18 Feb 2007 at 11:53 pm ¶

5. Lyonside wrote:

   Kim: re: NPR comment…

   Well, she’s living in a dream world, isn’t she? I haven’t been that naive since I was about 8.

   It’s great that she thinks the world works that way. Her sons (since we don’t know the ages) will likely set her straight at some point.

   Ethnic heritage is nothing to fear and therefore can and should be embraced. It doesn’t make you any less American. I wonder what her definition of “American” is that she fears ethnic identity so much – maybe she is out of touch w/ her own ethnicity(ties) that she fears being left out of the loop…

   Posted 19 Feb 2007 at 12:06 pm ¶

6. kim wrote:

   “I wonder what her definition of ‘American’ is that she fears ethnic identity so much – maybe she is out of touch w/ her own ethnicity(ties) that she fears being left out of the loop…”

   I wondered as much myself, and thought it a huge juxtaposition for her to say “…foreign language lessons and teach them their forebears’ customs and traditions. They are Americans, plain and simple.”

   Just what does she think the customs and traditions of ‘being American’ are, that they fall outside of a consciousness of, and associative behaviors that line up on the side of, race and class. We should bemoan, versus celebrate these divisive aspects of self, but exactly what blank slate is she using that she can erase these aspects off the page?(I’ve got some leather scuff marks on my kitchen floor that I’m having a hell of a time getting rid of, maybe she could help…)

   And that name…alright, yeah, sure. Considering she may live there (in Ohio), or maybe in nearby Yellow Springs, I even understand the type of community in which she may be living, which fosters and seeks to truly “be” inclusive, and plain-old, plain-old, everyone-is-welcome. But, honey, don’t drive down to Cincinnati, you’ll be in trouble.

   (What I started to say is…considering her geography, and the pronunciation of towns like Versailles, Lima, Russia, Newark…which American English will have the greatest impact on the lives of her children, and thus “place” them when they leave her (presumed) small environs? Speech will be just one way her children are placed, unless she is living in Pleasantville….)

   Posted 19 Feb 2007 at 1:13 pm ¶

7. Rob wrote:

   That woman’s comments smacks of two things.

   1.) Her xenophobia of other cultures is very telling. As a Chinese American, I’m just as “American” as the next person. However, just because I choose to celebrate my ethnic heritage doesn’t make me less American. I am not willing to forget my ethnic heritage for my nationality. What do “Americans” do differently that I don’t already do? I might be greedy but I want it all.

   Every time I hear about these types of complaints, it just smacks of fear of anything else that isn’t white. They’re afraid that they won’t be included in something so they don’t want you to practicing what is deemed “ethnic.”

   It’s like the sole kid you knew in class that didn’t want to do the extra credit question. This kid sees others doing their extra credit question but instead of taking the extra effort to do the extra question as well, they try to get others to not do the question either.

   2.) Her ability to be “colorblind” just shows the pinnacle of White Privilege. Whites have the innate ability to choose to ignore race as she chooses while minorities are defined by what their race is by whites.

   I’ve come to the conclusion that “non-racist” whites are just as clueless as racist ones.

   Posted 20 Feb 2007 at 10:17 am ¶

8. Katie wrote:

   “Hapa” never really worked for me because it felt really west coast – for some reason I really feel like there’s less use of it on the east coast. Anyone agree/disagree?

   Posted 20 Feb 2007 at 1:30 pm ¶