some white people can be annoying

[SunWuKong]

some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.

[kimpossible]

Ah. More late night slightly drunken posting from monkey.

But I'll bite. Don't you think this is more of an American tendency than Caucasians around the world? My experience in Europe is that Europeans have a much more distinct sense of identity. To the point where it's terribly insulting if you mistake someone's nationality.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Sep 24 2002, 11:53 AM
Ah. More late night slightly drunken posting from monkey.

But I'll bite. Don't you think this is more of an American tendency than Caucasians around the world? My experience in Europe is that Europeans have a much more distinct sense of identity. To the point where it's terribly insulting if you mistake someone's nationality.
hehheh no i wasn't drinking last night. :)

but yes, i was referring to white americans when i said that. europeans have a much better sense of ethnicity.

[kimpossible]

I'm going to start a tangently related topic in rant.

--HH

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 08:13 AM
some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.
I say that. But I say it to remind people that that's the way it SHOULD be. And to shove it in people's minds to start treating people more equally.

[mrazntre]

most white american people don't know where the hell they came from. it's part of the whole US propaganda of the 'melting pot' concept. there used to be a great deal of awareness in the earlier years of the US, we usually hear of Scotch-Irish, Italian, German, English, French, etc sectors and areas in US cities. However, the push was made for immigrants to deny their children of their former cultural identity and remain pure to the american culture. I know of some older people whom their parents purposely did not teach them how to speak their native tongue because they were afraid that the accent would come out and hurt their chances later on in life. too tired to type anymore.

YADA YADA YADA.

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by mrazntre@Sep 25 2002, 02:07 AM
most white american people don't know where the hell they came from. it's part of the whole US propaganda of the 'melting pot' concept. there used to be a great deal of awareness in the earlier years of the US, we usually hear of Scotch-Irish, Italian, German, English, French, etc sectors and areas in US cities. However, the push was made for immigrants to deny their children of their former cultural identity and remain pure to the american culture. I know of some older people whom their parents purposely did not teach them how to speak their native tongue because they were afraid that the accent would come out and hurt their chances later on in life. too tired to type anymore.

YADA YADA YADA.
^-- Doesn't the same apply to some Asian people, too? To some extent, at least?

Parents who purposely don't teach their kids the language so that the accent doesn't hurt them later...?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 24 2002, 10:58 PM
Originally posted by mrazntre@Sep 25 2002, 02:07 AM
most white american people don't know where the hell they came from. it's part of the whole US propaganda of the 'melting pot' concept. there used to be a great deal of awareness in the earlier years of the US, we usually hear of Scotch-Irish, Italian, German, English, French, etc sectors and areas in US cities. However, the push was made for immigrants to deny their children of their former cultural identity and remain pure to the american culture. I know of some older people whom their parents purposely did not teach them how to speak their native tongue because they were afraid that the accent would come out and hurt their chances later on in life. too tired to type anymore.

YADA YADA YADA.
^-- Doesn't the same apply to some Asian people, too? To some extent, at least?

Parents who purposely don't teach their kids the language so that the accent doesn't hurt them later...?
does that happen often? the only time i read that happened was after the japanese internment when japanese people wanted their children to be as american as possible.

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 25 2002, 04:02 AM
Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 24 2002, 10:58 PM
Originally posted by mrazntre@Sep 25 2002, 02:07 AM
most white american people don't know where the hell they came from. it's part of the whole US propaganda of the 'melting pot' concept. there used to be a great deal of awareness in the earlier years of the US, we usually hear of Scotch-Irish, Italian, German, English, French, etc sectors and areas in US cities. However, the push was made for immigrants to deny their children of their former cultural identity and remain pure to the american culture. I know of some older people whom their parents purposely did not teach them how to speak their native tongue because they were afraid that the accent would come out and hurt their chances later on in life. too tired to type anymore.

YADA YADA YADA.
^-- Doesn't the same apply to some Asian people, too? To some extent, at least?

Parents who purposely don't teach their kids the language so that the accent doesn't hurt them later...?
does that happen often? the only time i read that happened was after the japanese internment when japanese people wanted their children to be as american as possible.
*Shrug* I know a lot of people who said that their parents always had them speaking english in the home (no matter how hard it was for the parents) because they didn't want their kids to have to learn it as a second language and have some accent.

I know that when I was growing up, it was impanted into my head that I was American. But I think that had a lot to do with the fact that both my parents had been here for a long time before I was born and they wanted to raise us as ... "colorless" as possible. They did all the "white mom and dad" shit... coaching softball, bake sales, girl scout stuff, hanging out with my friend's parents... etc

[Arex]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 09:02 PM
does that happen often?  the only time i read that happened was after the japanese internment when japanese people wanted their children to be as american as possible.
I'm not sure if it's a common thing, but I can vouch for the fact that at least my dad didn't want us growing up speaking anything but English. My mom, being a second generation and having already lost her Chinese language skills, wanted us to grow up bilingual with her speaking to us in English and our dad speaking to us in Shanghainese. My dad, the stubborn and non-traditional first generation, refused and wouldn't speak anything but English. He now regrets it.

But back to the topic at hand... It's all fine and dandy if whites shed their unique European cultural identities in favor of becoming "white Americans" over the course of many generations, but it is very annoying when they insist that that's how it should be for every group in the name of equality. What happened to embracing the differences? Acknowledging that I'm an Asian or Chinese American doesn't make me any less an American than any other "American" (read: "white American").

Alex



<!--EDIT|Arex|Sep 24 2002, 11:59 PM-->

[SunWuKong]

hmmm interesting... i'll have to make note of this if i decide to get married, to find a girl who wants to speak chinese at home. actually if i were to raise kids in HK, i might speak english at home because everywhere else chinese is spoken.

i saw this really cute kid in HK once, he must have been 3 or 4, and him and his mother were at the counter of the bookstore. they were buying something and he kept saying "let me bei chihn, let me bei chihn ('pay' in cantonese)". so his mother let him pay the woman at the counter, and then she said, "what do we say?", then the kid said, "xie xie ('thank you' in mandarin). it was really adorable, hahhah!

and my father has a friend in montreal who married a taiwanese woman (he is HKer cantonese). his kids grew up learning all of mandarin, cantonese, english, and french. then i have this friend from south america that speaks mandarin, cantonese, hakka, dutch, spanish, and english. :blink:

[amietron]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 11:46 PM
i saw this really cute kid in HK once, he must have been 3 or 4, and him and his mother were at the counter of the bookstore. they were buying something and he kept saying "let me bei chihn, let me bei chihn ('pay' in cantonese)". so his mother let him pay the woman at the counter, and then she said, "what do we say?", then the kid said, "xie xie ('thank you' in mandarin). it was really adorable, hahhah!

and my father has a friend in montreal who married a taiwanese woman (he is HKer cantonese). his kids grew up learning all of mandarin, cantonese, english, and french. then i have this friend from south america that speaks mandarin, cantonese, hakka, dutch, spanish, and english. :blink:
i think the key is to start 'em while they're young.

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by Arex@Sep 25 2002, 06:57 AM
But back to the topic at hand... &nbsp;It's all fine and dandy if whites shed their unique European cultural identities in favor of becoming "white Americans" over the course of many generations, but it is very annoying when they insist that that's how it should be for every group in the name of equality. &nbsp;What happened to embracing the differences? &nbsp;Acknowledging that I'm an Asian or Chinese American doesn't make me any less an American than any other "American" (read: "white American").

Alex
Hmm... I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I have this friend who's white. He knows what his roots are, but he proclaims his being "WHITE AMERICAN." This is simply because his family has been in America since the friggin founding of the nation. So he considers himself just "American." He knows about his roots elsewhere, but since his family took part in the whole colonialism thing, that's what he identifies with.

He's not "Dutch American," or "German American," or anything like that the way we are "Asian American" because he didn't immigrate from anywhere. His family STARTED this nation, they didn't come here after the nation was founded.



<!--EDIT|angel nympho|Sep 26 2002, 01:56 AM-->

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 25 2002, 08:55 PM
Originally posted by Arex@Sep 25 2002, 06:57 AM
But back to the topic at hand... It's all fine and dandy if whites shed their unique European cultural identities in favor of becoming "white Americans" over the course of many generations, but it is very annoying when they insist that that's how it should be for every group in the name of equality. What happened to embracing the differences? Acknowledging that I'm an Asian or Chinese American doesn't make me any less an American than any other "American" (read: "white American").

Alex
Hmm... I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I have this friend who's white. He knows what his roots are, but he proclaims his being "WHITE AMERICAN." This is simply because his family has been in America since the friggin founding of the nation. So he considers himself just "American." He knows about his roots elsewhere, but since his family took part in the whole colonialism thing, that's what he identifies with.

He's not "Dutch American," or "German American," or anything like that the way we are "Asian American" because he didn't immigrate from anywhere. His family STARTED this nation, they didn't come here after the nation was founded.
i think he's probably referring to white people who are descendents of 20th century european immigrants.

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 26 2002, 02:07 AM
Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 25 2002, 08:55 PM
Originally posted by Arex@Sep 25 2002, 06:57 AM
But back to the topic at hand... It's all fine and dandy if whites shed their unique European cultural identities in favor of becoming "white Americans" over the course of many generations, but it is very annoying when they insist that that's how it should be for every group in the name of equality. What happened to embracing the differences? Acknowledging that I'm an Asian or Chinese American doesn't make me any less an American than any other "American" (read: "white American").

Alex
Hmm... I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but I have this friend who's white. He knows what his roots are, but he proclaims his being "WHITE AMERICAN." This is simply because his family has been in America since the friggin founding of the nation. So he considers himself just "American." He knows about his roots elsewhere, but since his family took part in the whole colonialism thing, that's what he identifies with.

He's not "Dutch American," or "German American," or anything like that the way we are "Asian American" because he didn't immigrate from anywhere. His family STARTED this nation, they didn't come here after the nation was founded.
i think he's probably referring to white people who are descendents of 20th century european immigrants.
*shrug* oh. my bad. I toldja, I didn't know what he was asking.

In that case, my friend isn't one of the people you were referring to. Yay, I can still call him "WHITE."

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by amietron@Sep 26 2002, 12:09 AM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 11:46 PM
i saw this really cute kid in HK once, he must have been 3 or 4, and him and his mother were at the counter of the bookstore. &nbsp;they were buying something and he kept saying "let me bei chihn, let me bei chihn ('pay' in cantonese)". &nbsp;so his mother let him pay the woman at the counter, and then she said, "what do we say?", then the kid said, "xie xie ('thank you' in mandarin). &nbsp;it was really adorable, hahhah!

and my father has a friend in montreal who married a taiwanese woman (he is HKer cantonese). &nbsp;his kids grew up learning all of mandarin, cantonese, english, and french. &nbsp;then i have this friend from south america that speaks mandarin, cantonese, hakka, dutch, spanish, and english. &nbsp; :blink:
i think the key is to start 'em while they're young.
Werd. I can't do SHIT to learn a second language now, but when you're little, you can learn ANYTHING SOOOO easily.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 25 2002, 09:22 PM
Originally posted by amietron@Sep 26 2002, 12:09 AM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 11:46 PM
i saw this really cute kid in HK once, he must have been 3 or 4, and him and his mother were at the counter of the bookstore. they were buying something and he kept saying "let me bei chihn, let me bei chihn ('pay' in cantonese)". so his mother let him pay the woman at the counter, and then she said, "what do we say?", then the kid said, "xie xie ('thank you' in mandarin). it was really adorable, hahhah!

and my father has a friend in montreal who married a taiwanese woman (he is HKer cantonese). his kids grew up learning all of mandarin, cantonese, english, and french. then i have this friend from south america that speaks mandarin, cantonese, hakka, dutch, spanish, and english. :blink:
i think the key is to start 'em while they're young.
Werd. I can't do SHIT to learn a second language now, but when you're little, you can learn ANYTHING SOOOO easily.
i wouldn't necessarily agree with that. i met a friend in HK who is from midwest US of A. after he graduated from his midwestern college (i forgot which one), he packed up and moved to Taiwan, learned mandarin, married his mandarin teacher, moved to Paris, then moved to HK, now he's working for the UN in Africa. somewhere along the line before he moved to Paris or while he was living there, he picked up french as well.

so don't sell yourself short. the key is to force yourself to speak the language. :)

by the way he's white.



<!--EDIT|SunWuKung|Sep 25 2002, 09:30 PM-->

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 26 2002, 02:29 AM
Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 25 2002, 09:22 PM
Originally posted by amietron@Sep 26 2002, 12:09 AM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 11:46 PM
i saw this really cute kid in HK once, he must have been 3 or 4, and him and his mother were at the counter of the bookstore. they were buying something and he kept saying "let me bei chihn, let me bei chihn ('pay' in cantonese)". so his mother let him pay the woman at the counter, and then she said, "what do we say?", then the kid said, "xie xie ('thank you' in mandarin). it was really adorable, hahhah!

and my father has a friend in montreal who married a taiwanese woman (he is HKer cantonese). his kids grew up learning all of mandarin, cantonese, english, and french. then i have this friend from south america that speaks mandarin, cantonese, hakka, dutch, spanish, and english. :blink:
i think the key is to start 'em while they're young.
Werd. I can't do SHIT to learn a second language now, but when you're little, you can learn ANYTHING SOOOO easily.
i wouldn't necessarily agree with that. i met a friend in HK who is from midwest US of A. after he graduated from his midwestern college (i forgot which one), he packed up and moved to Taiwan, learned mandarin, married his mandarin teacher, moved to Paris, then moved to HK, now he's working for the UN in Africa. somewhere along the line before he moved to Paris or while he was living there, he picked up french as well.

so don't sell yourself short. the key is to force yourself to speak the language. :)

by the way he's white.
Werd. But when you're older you actually have to TRY to learn the language. When you're a kid, you just listen and absorb. I never was *TAUGHT* how to speak korean. Seriuosly, not even my parents tried to teach me. I just learned. And by the time I was like, 5 or 6, I was awesome at it. 'Course Its mostly forgotten now. But I have videotapes of me speaking kickass Korean that boggles my mind. I don't even understand what I'm saying in them... =x

[Faithless]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 23 2002, 11:13 PM
some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.
The problem is they don't think they're being naive; they think they're being revelatory.

[Deadpool]

Originally posted by ChottoMatte@Jun 30 2003, 11:15 PM
The problem is they don't think they're being naive; they think they're being revelatory.
Hahah...yea. They kinda remind me of the Borg.
"Yooouuu must assimilate..we will assimilate youu..."
TO me I think the whole melting pot thing is a crock. It's more like a "You must be like us act like us or you are not American" I don't think maintstream america tolerates ethinicity well and even if you do take up White liberal culture(It's pretty shitty culture and they hawk it like its the best thing and all will be fine and dandy if everyone does) and completely abandon your own you still won't ever be part of the White liberal society because your skin is a different color.

[Faithless]

Come to think of it, swk, this does seem to be a recurring theme of yourn. :dance:

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by ChottoMatte@Jul 1 2003, 11:50 AM
Come to think of it, swk, this does seem to be a recurring theme of yourn. :dance:
hehheh to put this particular thread into context, i made this rant after talking to a very good friend of mine who is white. i've known him for over 10 years. he's a really nice guy, but damn, he's also kind of dumb.

[Faithless]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jul 1 2003, 09:49 AM
hehheh to put this particular thread into context, i made this rant after talking to a very good friend of mine who is white. i've known him for over 10 years. he's a really nice guy, but damn, he's also kind of dumb.
It's all good.

There's probably some white guy, right now, venting about Asians:

* Chicks he can't get.
* Asianistic things that bug him.
* Why Asians can't drive.
* And, "Schezuan food buhnz muh tunguh."

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by Deadpool@Jul 1 2003, 06:15 AM
Hahah...yea. They kinda remind me of the Borg.
"Yooouuu must assimilate..we will assimilate youu..."
TO me I think the whole melting pot thing is a crock. It's more like a "You must be like us act like us or you are not American" I don't think maintstream america tolerates ethinicity well and even if you do take up White liberal culture(It's pretty shitty culture and they hawk it like its the best thing and all will be fine and dandy if everyone does)&nbsp; and completely abandon your own you still won't ever be part of the White liberal society because your skin is a different color.
White liberals always assume minorities want their kids to grow up to be white liberals. After they've met some minorities who actually are white liberals, except with a different skin color, they assume that "culture" is whatever cute little differences they found between themselves and their minority friends.

White conservatives already know minorities don't want their kids to grow up to be white conservatives. (Except neocons seem to have forgotten this).

[Chester]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Sep 25 2002, 09:19 PM
Werd. But when you're older you actually have to TRY to learn the language. When you're a kid, you just listen and absorb. I never was *TAUGHT* how to speak korean. Seriuosly, not even my parents tried to teach me. I just learned. And by the time I was like, 5 or 6, I was awesome at it. 'Course Its mostly forgotten now. But I have videotapes of me speaking kickass Korean that boggles my mind. I don't even understand what I'm saying in them... =x
It's definitely a lot harder to learn as you get older...but it's far from impossible. I guess it all depends on how good you are at languages.

Our household had a lot of Cantonese going on when I was a young kid. I understand a lot of general conversation but am pretty mute...I can repeat stuff but I can't really muster things myself. But...when I spend an extended period of time around Cantonese speakers, a lot of stuff comes back.

I didn't learn Mandarin until college when I took classes. My pronunciation is pretty good and what I know I know very well. But my vocabulary is for shit. Primarily a function of never really needing to use it.

But if I had the opportunity to live in China for an extended period, I think I could make a quantum leap in proficiency -- it's just about either needing to use it all the time or having the discipline to simulate the need.

[angel nympho]

What really annoys me are people who think the cultural divide is so great that it's nearly impossibe to even relate to somebody with a different skin color than you. It also really annoys me when skin color and race are of the most important topics going on in your life. It's also really annoying when people refuse to accept the fact that they're in America, and, like it or not, they're picking up little pieces here and there of something I'd like to call *MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE*.... so maybe you have more in common with the white guy next door than you think.

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Jul 2 2003, 09:36 AM
What really annoys me are people who think the cultural divide is so great that it's nearly impossibe to even relate to somebody with a different skin color than you. It also really annoys me when skin color and race are of the most important topics going on in your life. It's also really annoying when people refuse to accept the fact that they're in America, and, like it or not, they're picking up little pieces here and there of something I'd like to call *MAINSTREAM AMERICAN CULTURE*.... so maybe you have more in common with the white guy next door than you think.
You must be annoyed with the majority of Yellowworld like me then. :lol:

Yet you and I keep coming back.

Arguing is so fun isn't it?

[maxdacat]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Jul 1 2003, 11:31 PM
Arguing is so fun isn't it?
No it's not.

[Chinese Tourist]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 23 2002, 11:13 PM
some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.
who cares, they r morons

some day you'll understand


there's no need to be fair to everybody
it's ok to be arrogant toward people
there are people who are worthless and whose opinions can be discounted
you cannot blindly trust the weight of authority
etc

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chinese Tourist@Jul 2 2003, 08:14 AM
who cares, they r morons

some day you'll understand


there's no need to be fair to everybody
it's ok to be arrogant toward people
there are people who are worthless and whose opinions can be discounted
you cannot blindly trust the weight of authority
etc
again, to put it into context, i made that post after talking to a very good friend of mine who happens to be white. i've known him for over 10 years. he's a really nice guy, but he can be annoyingly ignorant at times. he asked me just a couple of months ago if Korea is still divided. yet you don't really want to get rid of him because it's not like he's an ass or anything. so you just sort of put up with it when he's being annoying. it's like Screech from Saved By The Bell.

[Chester]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jul 2 2003, 11:58 AM
again, to put it into context, i made that post after talking to a very good friend of mine who happens to be white. i've known him for over 10 years. he's a really nice guy, but he can be annoyingly ignorant at times. he asked me just a couple of months ago if Korea is still divided. yet you don't really want to get rid of him because it's not like he's an ass or anything. so you just sort of put up with it when he's being annoying. it's like Screech from Saved By The Bell.
To me, it's not about him being white. It's about him being ignorant.

The fact that he's a white American (I'm guessing) sort of forces him to be more pro-active in learning about international history and affairs, but, in the end, it's more about him being uninformed than him being white...or American.

Also...I totally know what you mean in terms of getting annoyed with answering ultra-elementary questions, but at least he's asking. Presumably, at least he doesn't dismiss the topic altogether.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chester@Jul 2 2003, 04:46 PM
To me, it's not about him being white. It's about him being ignorant.

The fact that he's a white American (I'm guessing) sort of forces him to be more pro-active in learning about international history and affairs, but, in the end, it's more about him being uninformed than him being white...or American.

Also...I totally know what you mean in terms of getting annoyed with answering ultra-elementary questions, but at least he's asking. Presumably, at least he doesn't dismiss the topic altogether.
you're right. i shouldn't attribute it to him being white. it's just that most people who would ask me these ultra-elementary questions are white Americans.

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 24 2002, 02:13 AM
some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.
I agree completely, except it's not just white people. I've met quite a few black people who are the exact same way. Hispanics don't seem to be this way because they're a victim of that mentality too- the Puerto Rican guy who's always referred to as "Mexican", for example.

[Chester]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jul 2 2003, 12:55 PM
you're right. i shouldn't attribute it to him being white. it's just that most people who would ask me these ultra-elementary questions are white Americans.
Well, yeah. Or Americans of all ethnicities.

But Chinese people are constantly asking me silly, elementary questions about America. One girl from Shanghai, who lives and practices law here, once asked me about a shirt I was buying in Beijing: you don't think people will beat you up if you wear that? The design had a portrait of Mao on it and she wasn't joking -- she actually thought that anti-Communism might be so violent in America that wearing a shirt with Mao on it would get you an ass-kicking.

But, overall, with American media so pervasive around the world, it's not all that remarkable that Americans know less about the rest of the world than the rest of the world knows about Americans.

[Uncle Tat]

Some white people?

But some "insert race here" are annoying too!

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by Chester@Jul 2 2003, 06:37 PM
But, overall, with American media so pervasive around the world, it's not all that remarkable that Americans know less about the rest of the world than the rest of the world knows about Americans.
American media isn't as pervasive as you think. Average number of movies watched in Japan, per capita per annum: 1.1. Compare to US 5. The only countries in which American TV shows are regularly shown at prime time are ones in which the TV stations are owned by national monopoly and are too incompetent to produce their own content, usually third world countries. People prefer by far to have their TV shows and news locally produced.

In fact, the only media field in which America really retains dominance overseas is music. Most foreigners, even those who have studied English extensively, can't even understand the lyrics of American music. So it doesn't really convey much information about American life.

In reality, most people know a lot about the US cuz they live in countries which are the size of smaller US states and aren't gonna be able to sell the whole output of their economy just to domestic consumers. They need a market for their exports. The US is most peoples' biggest one, so they figure they should learn about it. Whereas most US citizens aren't involved in producing stuff for export. So they don't see any reason to learn much about other countries.

As for that girl from Shanghai: the mainland educational system is seriously fucked up in terms of what it teaches about how to face the outside world. I have met various Tsinghua and Fudan grads who spout ridiculous racist conspiracy theories about how Japan is trying to take over the world, Japanese police beat up Chinese immigrants in the street in broad daylight, etc. It's really rather disturbing.

[angel nympho]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Jul 2 2003, 07:31 AM
You must be annoyed with the majority of Yellowworld like me then. :lol:

Yet you and I keep coming back.

Arguing is so fun isn't it?
I actually am (not you though!). It's the fact that many people on this forum bother me that keeps me coming back.

Weird.

[ChinaLama]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Jul 3 2003, 01:26 AM
Originally posted by BeTheReds@Jul 2 2003, 07:31 AM
You must be annoyed with the majority of Yellowworld like me then. :lol:

Yet you and I keep coming back.

Arguing is so fun isn't it?
I actually am (not you though!). It's the fact that many people on this forum bother me that keeps me coming back.

Weird.
you masochist. :lol:

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Originally posted by angel nympho@Jul 2 2003, 05:26 PM
Originally posted by BeTheReds@Jul 2 2003, 07:31 AM
You must be annoyed with the majority of Yellowworld like me then. :lol:

Yet you and I keep coming back.

Arguing is so fun isn't it?
I actually am (not you though!). It's the fact that many people on this forum bother me that keeps me coming back.

Weird.
Remind me to bother you more next time ~^

[kasia]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Sep 23 2002, 11:13 PM
some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.
usually when they hold that attitude, though, they're also being very hypocritical. they don't want to believe that there are any cultural differences but are unwilling to accept many parts of our culture as their own. instead, they rationalize it away by treating those parts as anomalies or something not instrinsic in our culture.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chester@Jul 2 2003, 07:37 PM
you're right. i shouldn't attribute it to him being white. it's just that most people who would ask me these ultra-elementary questions are white Americans.

Well, yeah. Or Americans of all ethnicities.

But Chinese people are constantly asking me silly, elementary questions about America. One girl from Shanghai, who lives and practices law here, once asked me about a shirt I was buying in Beijing: you don't think people will beat you up if you wear that? The design had a portrait of Mao on it and she wasn't joking -- she actually thought that anti-Communism might be so violent in America that wearing a shirt with Mao on it would get you an ass-kicking.

But, overall, with American media so pervasive around the world, it's not all that remarkable that Americans know less about the rest of the world than the rest of the world knows about Americans.
actually "ultra-elementary question" isn't the right term. i read over my first post in this thread and the thing that bothered me was that it's always the white Americans that want to assert that "we're all the same". (don't know many black people, so they may be like this, too, according to Hiroshi)

and it's not by virtue that they're white. because Europeans have a much better sense of ethnicity.

[nonamerasian]

some white people can be really annoying. i hate the ones that always want to assert, subtly or overtly, that there's really hardly any cultural difference at all between different peoples. it's like they want to believe that there's peace and harmony in thinking that we're all the same. "what's the difference? isn't it the same?" fuck... i know they're just naive, but fuck it can be annoying.

That certainly isn't only a White thing nor solely a White-American thing.

Many people in this country refuse to acknowledge cultural differences, and if they do, sometimes they only acknowledge their difference, but not the differences of others.

People who see nearly all Hispanics as the same, people who see all Blacks as African-Americans, people who view all Whites monolithically (same heritage), and others.

It's subtle, but annoying.

Touche on the peace and harmony comment, though.

Many people like to praise this country on being racially mixed. A supposed demonstration of the country's tolerance or whatnot. However, ironically, some of the same people I've heard make such a comment seem threatened by non-physical differences. As if they feel cool with the situation if all white, black, red, brown, yellow, polka-dotted people act exactly the same and everything, but are uncomfortable that that isn't the case.

If everyone acted the same, that wouldn't really be a test of tolerance.

[kimpossible]

The only Asians you talk to are female? I'm asking because that's all you've cited. What do the Asian men in your life say?

[SunWuKong]

I think it's quite wrong to generalize on White people seeing no differences between Asians. The people that some of you have met are quite simply ignorant. They don't know any better and in truth they should do.

Even before I dated Asian women I knew that Asia did not simply mean China or Vietnam, but a whole different and diverse group of countries. Indeed, some of the Asian women were pleasantly surprised that I knew quite a bit of Asia and the many differences between certain nations. I've had Asian women compliment me that I am not their "usual" White guy that they date and so forth. They always told me alot of the White guys they dated were real ignoramuses when it came down to understanding their culture or language, so it was a breath of fresh air that I was deemed different.

and yet you feel that Asian women in general have one personality type that's compatible to you...

[coagulated fat]

I don't think I really explained myself: I think that Asian women (alot of them) have similar personality types as myself which makes us quite compatible.
This is not explaining yourself. This is reiterating what you already said. Explain to us how many Asian women have similar personality types. What is this personality type? Do tell.. I would like to know.

I know many white guys who hang out among asians (male and female) and get along with asian males just fine.

[ChinaLama]

Just want to remind everyone, this thread is not called "Trial of Just_Some_Guy." :-)

[deez nuts]

http://www.gottshall.com/squirrels/BK02.JPG

[SunWuKong]

This is not explaining yourself. This is reiterating what you already said. Explain to us how many Asian women have similar personality types. What is this personality type? Do tell.. I would like to know.

I know many white guys who hang out among asians (male and female) and get along with asian males just fine.

yeah, i knew that white people are annoying but that Asian women all have similar personality types is quite a new and refreshing idea to me.

[kimpossible]

Well, from my experience I've only been interested in Asian women and so it makes sense that I only speak to women. Alot of the Asian men that I've spoken to have been quite angry at me for being the White guy who dates the beautiful Asian women. Needless to say, I have been abused (subtley) by various Asian men who disagree with IR relationships.

Not every Asian male cares if white males date Asian women. There are quite a few Asian males that date white or non-Asian women so for the average guy on the street, it's a non-issue. Internet sites are where you'll find the most vocal anti-IR Asian males, and many haunt multiple sites.

Odd, my grandfather is a white male married to an Asian female and my mother married a white male. Both father and grandfather have always related to the Asian males in the family without issue. I am married to an Asian male and I can't imagine not relating to Asian females.

I'm not an Asian male and I find it odd that you single out Asian females for companionship while excluding Asian males. I don't think this is an accurate representation for most or all white males dating Asian females.

[ChinaLama]

In reality I'm a shy man and so it does'nt take a genius to figure out that I like shy women -- most notably Asian women.

But there are a lot of boisterous Asian women, and there are a lot of shy white women. I think it's an unfair stereotype you'll need to examine if you think Asian women are more likely to be shy than white women.

[SunWuKong]

Are you sure? Yes, some people don't care whether WM's date AF's but I must admit I've met my fair share of AM's that made it known to me that they did'nt want their women dating a "honky" like me. BTW - I don't dissociate myself from AM's completely - it's not my own volition; it's more like AM seem to dissociate themselves from me and my girlfriend.

i don't really want them dating a honky like you but i wouldn't mind them dating white dudes that aren't like you.

[nonamerasian]

i don't really want them dating a honky like you but i wouldn't mind them dating white dudes that aren't like you.

Was the term "honky" really necessary?

[AngryABCGirl]

Was the term "honky" really necessary?

I think it was. White men who assume all Asian women or any race of anyone to be all the same will get a serious reality check.

[AngryABCGirl]

http://www.gottshall.com/squirrels/BK02.JPG

I'm confused but amused by this.

[SunWuKong]

I think it was. White men who assume all Asian women or any race of anyone to be all the same will get a serious reality check.

not just all the same either. but all shy.

[SunWuKong]

I'm confused but amused by this.

here you go (http://forums.yellowworld.org/showthread.php?p=182670&highlight=squirrel#post182670)

[ChinaLama]

ok this thread is getting really stupid.