Vietnamese but feel white-washed

[Mr.NiceGuy]

I'm 100% Vietnamese, and i grew up in a french community. Nothing wrong with that, spent 13 years learning french and making french friends. It wasn't untill 1st year University that i started to notice how much (pardon me if i appear a little blunt) white'er i am than i am asian. I can't help it, dispite my efforts to befriend asians.

For example, instead of hip hop and all that stuff, i listen to rock. I eat my rice with a spoon (even tho i can use chopsticks, but not that well) I wear skater clothing (which by the way makes me look like a kid).

I guess what i'm trying to say is that i just don't have any common grounds. Which is quite sad, every party i go to i'm the only asian guy there. Every girl i've ever dated has been white. It pretty lonely life.

Anyways, i could talk about this all day, so i would like to simply ask you folks. What would it take for me to start befriending asians, and maybe have a serious realtionship with someone more like me.

[Chad]

Are you from Montreal?
Don't worry about this.. be yourself.

[LaiSteve66]

Hi, I'm half Vietnamese and I hung around a Viet crowd growing up. I'm not sure if the advice I can give would be useful but hey I'll give it a shot.

I'm assuming you live in France (correct me if I'm wrong). I live in Houston and I'm guessing things work a little differently in France and I have no idea how the Vietnamese community is over there.

First, can you speak Vietnamese? If so, that will help.
Second, try befriending one Viet and I guess ask him/her for pointers on how to not be "white-washed".

Also, do you want to be a cultured Vietnamese, or hang around a Westernized non-whitewashed 1.5/2nd generation Vietnamese/Asian crowd? Those are two very different things.

[Mr.NiceGuy]

I Live in Canada, Not Montreal. Winnipeg Manitoba.

I can understand vietnamese, but i can't speak it your write it.
Unforturnatly the vietnamese culture doesn't really interest me. If i was to discribe my ideal culture it would have to be Tokyo Japan. I'm big into the technology and the engineering conquests. But at the same time and balanced by peace with nature and believing in sancturary. I'm not trying to befriend mainly vietnameses (Frankly i don't see how we'd have anything in common except for our ethencity. I just wish i had a more vibrant and colourful circle of friends with diffrent values and ventures.

[Seamus]

I'm 100% Vietnamese, and i grew up in a french community. Nothing wrong with that, spent 13 years learning french and making french friends. It wasn't untill 1st year University that i started to notice how much (pardon me if i appear a little blunt) white'er i am than i am asian. I can't help it, dispite my efforts to befriend asians.

For example, instead of hip hop and all that stuff, i listen to rock. I eat my rice with a spoon (even tho i can use chopsticks, but not that well) I wear skater clothing (which by the way makes me look like a kid).

I guess what i'm trying to say is that i just don't have any common grounds. Which is quite sad, every party i go to i'm the only asian guy there. Every girl i've ever dated has been white. It pretty lonely life.

Anyways, i could talk about this all day, so i would like to simply ask you folks. What would it take for me to start befriending asians, and maybe have a serious realtionship with someone more like me.

Hey, I don't listen to hiphop. I listen to rock and even country and that doesn't make me white. I also don't eat rice (not a big part of all Asian cultures anyway), though I can use chopsticks (also not a defining characteristic of all Asian cultures). The things you named (food, who your friends are, etc.) are all pretty superficial things. If you want to make more Vietnamese friends, fine, but I wouldn't stay up at night stressing about things. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Whatever friends you've had growing up, whatever background you have--that's who you are as a person, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Ancestry doesn't determine what kind of music or friends you should like, whom you should date, or more generally, who you should be as a person. Why is it a "lonely life"? You have friends, you get girls. Just appreciate who you DO have around you.

[LaiSteve66]

I Live in Canada, Not Montreal. Winnipeg Manitoba.

I can understand vietnamese, but i can't speak it your write it.
Unforturnatly the vietnamese culture doesn't really interest me. If i was to discribe my ideal culture it would have to be Tokyo Japan. I'm big into the technology and the engineering conquests. But at the same time and balanced by peace with nature and believing in sancturary. I'm not trying to befriend mainly vietnameses (Frankly i don't see how we'd have anything in common except for our ethencity. I just wish i had a more vibrant and colourful circle of friends with diffrent values and ventures.

I see, then I would take Seamus's advice. I wouldn't worry about listening to rock music since alot of Asians I know listen to rock music and I also wouldn't worry about eating rice with a spoon (I also eat rice with a spoon). I have friends of many different ethnic backgrounds but this is a by-product of living in a very diverse area.

[moJo]

huh. since when is hiphop = asian? i listen to rock and willing to bet that you eat more rice than i do. there are bound to be other asians like you, don't fret.

[pikachupacabra]

Honestly...if eating rice and listening to hip hop is a barometer for being asian, then I'm sorry, lots of our brothers and sisters have really fallen by the side of the couscous-dave matthews road and never really gotten off. Fight my brothers! Fight my sisters! Deny the evils of whole grain organic semolina flour!

[kimpossible]

I can't really speak towards the idealized version of Japanese culture but as to musical and food tastes - no one's going to take away your Asian membership card for that.

What do you feel you're missing out on in relationships with Asians? Is it a case of not knowing any or not having had a chance to plug into the local Asian community where you are?

[SunWuKong]

eat lots of pho. and say du ma whenever the opportunity presents itself. or even if the opportunity doesn't present itself. obviously that is the measure of how Vietnamese one is.


just kidding. sounds like you have a dilemma on your hands. in my opinion, you're not going to get more Vietnamese friends unless you purposely go and find yourself some people that are Vietnamese, and it seems like you'd be opposed to doing that because you think you have no common grounds with them.

well, you can't have a "vibrant and colourful circle of friends with different values and ventures" unless you go and get to know people that are different from you. you gotta make up your mind here.

[VV o n g B a]

others will tell u u don't need this stuff to be asian. but don't be fooled. this is the real deal.

wongba's 9 easy steps to becoming asian.

here's what u do:
1. make sure ur parents hit u w/ every household object that can conceivably be wielded and nag u about getting A-'s. and make sure they gossip about ur grades to other asian family friends.
2. buy banana republic / express / armani exchange / diesel stuff. make sure most of it is in a flat black. for god's sake, no pleats! and get those square toe shoes. sophistication is a must.
3. get tech. ipods, bluetooth accesories, video/mp3 cellphone (clamshell style preferrably), 5gig usb-on-a-lanyard, viao laptop. whatever shows that u are in the now.
3. cut ur (undyed) hair short, and spike it w/ Lots o' Gel(TM). lose any facial hair.
4. buy an import coupe. extra points for putting custom rims, headers and exhaust on it but otherwise keeping it low profile.
5. start listening to electronic music and hip-hop and going to asian clubs and lounges. extra points for learning how to dance... bboy or popping. extra extra points for getting ur face to turn beet red when u drink a beer or have a shot.
6. change ur major (if it's not already) to one of the following: econ/finance, engineering related, math, pharmacy, law, medicine. there is no exception to this. if u're not in college at ur age, u have no hope. extra points if u join the university's pan-asian association.
7. when u inevitably get a posse of other similar asians, make sure u talk in a mix of english and whatever asian language u know in front of whites. this is true even if some members of the posse don't speak ur particular language and it's okay b/c they'll be speaking theirs at times.
8. when u inevitably get the asian girl who is into ur newly acquired stuff, interests and friends, make sure she expects u to pay for everything, carry shopping bags etc., and treat her like a princess in general. there's no exception to this.
9. eat at asian places whenever possible unless it's recommended to u by whites.

and there it is. everything u need to know about being asian. so get to it, time's awastin.

[robotic]

you can like all of those things at the end of the day, and still "be" asian :wink:

are there other aspects that you feel connect you to other asians and vietnamese, other than ancestral culture?

[Kennyb]

I'm 100% Vietnamese, and i grew up in a french community. Nothing wrong with that, spent 13 years learning french and making french friends. It wasn't untill 1st year University that i started to notice how much (pardon me if i appear a little blunt) white'er i am than i am asian. I can't help it, dispite my efforts to befriend asians.

For example, instead of hip hop and all that stuff, i listen to rock. I eat my rice with a spoon (even tho i can use chopsticks, but not that well) I wear skater clothing (which by the way makes me look like a kid).

I guess what i'm trying to say is that i just don't have any common grounds. Which is quite sad, every party i go to i'm the only asian guy there. Every girl i've ever dated has been white. It pretty lonely life.

Anyways, i could talk about this all day, so i would like to simply ask you folks. What would it take for me to start befriending asians, and maybe have a serious realtionship with someone more like me.

Come on mate, it's not asthough it is the end of the world now, is it?

Obviously you are going through that stage where you are figuring what your identity is. Yeh, you feel somehow out of place but majority of us had (or having) that too. Don't see this as a bad thing, it is probably the best thing to experience, as you get to realise more about yourself.

Since you're still young, take things lightly instead and whatever floats your boat, so be it.

[ahsingjai]

IT DU MAtter. lol

Anyway, I use forks when I eat rice. I only use chopsticks when I'm at a resturant.

If you feel you want to befriend more asians, try to be curious about their lifestyles.

[etcj]

Gwahaha, I can't sympathasize with your plight, but I think your experiences aren't too uncommon to many Asian Americans in that lil' country just south of you.

Part of the questioning phase you're going through is normal, frightening, and embarrassing. I think the mistake that people who go soul-searching through their ethnic heritage is that they over-compensate for their supposed lost time. No one can readopt or refamiliarize themselves with their own culture overnight.

If you're craving some attention from your own ethnic community, one of the best places to start are colleges and universities. In almost every school, there is some kind of student cultural organizations out there to support students. Other great places would be non-profit organizations that work inside the community, either with youth, new immigrants, etc.

If you got a few bucks to spend, then come to the United States! You will find a very vibrant Vietnamese American community throughout the country, but Southeast Asians are so much more spread out than any other Asian ethnicities, so you have plenty of options. Heh, I could make a plug for BOSTON, ahemm..

[Flow to Live]

I'm a Vietnamese and have very few vietnamese friends. I grew up around Blacks, hispanics, and whites, but im fine with it because people are people wherever I go.As long as they are chill then they can hang out with me.

[eXNBP]

I was born in France and moved here in '90. I've felt the experience of banishment from the asian table at school lol. Although I've grown up to realize I am who I am and if people aren't going to accept me then they are the ones with the problem. I've made more friends of different cultures and backgrounds with time. Hope everything turns out good for you man :)

[Leinad]

For example, instead of hip hop and all that stuff, i listen to rock. I eat my rice with a spoon (even tho i can use chopsticks, but not that well) I wear skater clothing (which by the way makes me look like a kid).

Anyways, i could talk about this all day, so i would like to simply ask you folks. What would it take for me to start befriending asians, and maybe have a serious realtionship with someone more like me.

y don't u simply blend in by listening to 'hip hop and al that stuff', 'use chopsticks', and don't wear skater clothing?

bro despite that, you already seem to know what 'viets' wear, listen to, their main cutlery. if ur really desperate.

[Emperor_Mike]

The moment you begin to segregate your social circle into categories based on skin colour on the account that you think it's only "proper" that you have a certain variety of friends, you will have done yourself a great disservice. Friendship should know no racial, economic, or religious boundaries. Beware of those who would tell you otherwise.

On the other hand, if you want to make Asian friends just to "round out" your circle then you need do nothing more than be yourself. Take those who accept you for who you are and discard those who think you're not "Asian" enough. Why change the emotional and psychological constitution of your being in order to satisfy somebody who wants to associate with the person you're not?

[diving_cats]

I'm 100% Vietnamese, and i grew up in a french community. Nothing wrong with that, spent 13 years learning french and making french friends. It wasn't untill 1st year University that i started to notice how much (pardon me if i appear a little blunt) white'er i am than i am asian. I can't help it, dispite my efforts to befriend asians.

For example, instead of hip hop and all that stuff, i listen to rock. I eat my rice with a spoon (even tho i can use chopsticks, but not that well) I wear skater clothing (which by the way makes me look like a kid).

I guess what i'm trying to say is that i just don't have any common grounds. Which is quite sad, every party i go to i'm the only asian guy there. Every girl i've ever dated has been white. It pretty lonely life.

Anyways, i could talk about this all day, so i would like to simply ask you folks. What would it take for me to start befriending asians, and maybe have a serious realtionship with someone more like me.
um just bc u wear skater clothing and listen to rock doesnt qualify u as "white". those are not the "white ppl standards": is to listen to rock and wear skater clothes. i know ppl of all races who eat rice with a spoon wear skater clothes AND LISTEN TO ROCK. SEEMS like you're being a bit stereotypical here of what falls under a "race category/standard" you seem confused with urself, maybe if you open up ur mind a little bit more u will stop stereotyping what certain races do, eat or like.

The moment you begin to segregate your social circle into categories based on skin colour on the account that you think it's only "proper" that you have a certain variety of friends, you will have done yourself a great disservice. Friendship should know no racial, economic, or religious boundaries. Beware of those who would tell you otherwise.

On the other hand, if you want to make Asian friends just to "round out" your circle then you need do nothing more than be yourself. Take those who accept you for who you are and discard those who think you're not "Asian" enough. Why change the emotional and psychological constitution of your being in order to satisfy somebody who wants to associate with the person you're not?

and yay i also agree with this guy everything i wrote i was trying to say what he had nicely written in his first paragraph. just to be clear.:biggrin:

[ahsingjai]

um just bc u wear skater clothing and listen to rock doesnt qualify u as "white". those are not the "white ppl standards": is to listen to rock and wear skater clothes. i know ppl of all races who eat rice with a spoon wear skater clothes AND LISTEN TO ROCK. SEEMS like you're being a bit stereotypical here of what falls under a "race category/standard" you seem confused with urself, maybe if you open up ur mind a little bit more u will stop stereotyping what certain races do, eat or like.

I will stereotype an asian if they know nothing about their own ethnic culture and only about another.

So, if you only know white culture, wouldn't that make you white?

[diving_cats]

I will stereotype an asian if they know nothing about their own ethnic culture and only about another.

So, if you only know white culture, wouldn't that make you white?
TRY REREADING WHAT I TYPED. not once did i say what qualifies as the "white standards". READ. AND NOT once did i write I knew about white culturea nd only white culture. seriously i think u need to learn english or to learn how to read properly before you go conjuring up statements that I clearly did not make.

TRY REREADING WHAT I TYPED. not once did i say what qualifies as the "white standards". READ. AND NOT once did i write I knew about white culturea nd only white culture. seriously i think u need to learn english or to learn how to read properly before you go conjuring up statements that I clearly did not make.

ALSO I DID not even say i did not know anything about my own culture. NOR DID I say anything for anyone to make that comment, that "I know nothing about my own culture". I never even mentioned my own culture. YOU need to read and comprehend what is written before tossing in here a bunch of bullshit goods.

[ahsingjai]

TRY REREADING WHAT I TYPED. not once did i say what qualifies as the "white standards". READ. AND NOT once did i write I knew about white culturea nd only white culture. seriously i think u need to learn english or to learn how to read properly before you go conjuring up statements that I clearly did not make.

Now What are you talking about?

Your saying there can be people dressing up like white people and listening to white music and still not be "white" but I'm saying it does if they know nothing else but this.

[diving_cats]

COME ON WHAT THE HECK R U TALKING ABOUT NOW?!
---
QUOTED FROM YOU:

but I'm saying it does if they know nothing else but this.

how can they know nothing else but this!? this is 2006 even still back in the 90s there were MANY DIFFERENT GROUPS NOT JUST SKATERS, ETC. DONT SIT HERE and tell the world that when u go to school u only come across "white" ppl and skaters, and rock music only. YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE knows theres more than just this group of ppl when u attend school to say the entire school only listens to rock and r skaters, ur just feeding the world more bullshit. AND AS LONG AS HE WAS EXPOSED TO THE OTHER GROUPS NOT JUST THE SKATERS, ETC he coulda chose to be like the other ppl. HIM choosing to be a skater/rock lover, whatever is his problem.

I GREW UP not hanging around with a lot of asians bc i did not speak chinese that well BUT THERE WERE STILL ASIANS IN MY SCHOOL maybe not a lot but if i tried hard i coulda been their friends. I JUST PICKED THE GROUP I WAS MOST INTERESTED IN. and there wasn't just white, black or middle eastern groups, there were italians and whatever the hell u stereotypical ppl think they listen to. don't sit here and cloud everyones minds telling them well you only act like what u know. well I HIGHLY DOUBT THIS GUY WENT TO SCHOOL AND EVERYONE IN HIS SCHOOL WERE SKATER/ROCKERS. doubt that. be realistic. I don't feel sorry for this guy at all, you make what you are, if you choose to listen to rock thats ur own choice and your obvious interest. so if the asians in ur school dont listen to that, and that meaning u cxant be friends then tough shit. get over it, if u want to learn about ur own culture read the net. its readily available. and quit whining about nothing.

[ahsingjai]

If you going to use caps then ok.

IF A ASIAN DOESN'T KNOW IT'S OWN CULTURE AND ONLY KNOWS ABOUT THE AMERICAN WHITE CULTURE. THEN THIS ASIAN IS WHITE.

But Since you like to have the asian label anyway, I can say your white washed asian. twinkie. Is that better?

[diving_cats]

just be cause they dont know about their own culture doesnt make them white.! HELLO! READ! SO SKATER/ROCK MUST BE CONSIDERED WHITE FOR YOU. JHESUS CHRIST QUIT STEREOTYPING PPL.

[ahsingjai]

just be cause they dont know about their own culture doesnt make them white.! HELLO! READ! SO SKATER/ROCK MUST BE CONSIDERED WHITE FOR YOU. JHESUS CHRIST QUIT STEREOTYPING PPL.

So do you listen to Black rock? Asian Rock? What kind of rock do you listen to?

[mfhLA]

To the original poster - There are plenty of North Americanized Asians out there. You just haven't met any. We're not all immersed in our ancestral cluture or something like that. You're blowing things out of proportion.

[diving_cats]

So do you listen to Black rock? Asian Rock? What kind of rock do you listen to?
WHAT ARE YOU STEREOTYPING THAT ROCK=WHITE? hello just because a white person preforms rock doesn't qualify it as a white thing. WOW u have no idea what you are saying at all.

To the original poster - There are plenty of North Americanized Asians out there. You just haven't met any. We're not all immersed in our ancestral cluture or something like that. You're blowing things out of proportion.

agreed.

[ahsingjai]

WHAT ARE YOU STEREOTYPING THAT ROCK=WHITE? hello just because a white person preforms rock doesn't qualify it as a white thing. WOW u have no idea what you are saying at all.


Yes I do. Just accept it. Your a twinkie that doesn't like to be called a twinkie.

[Laz3n]

If he listens to rock, doesn’t use chopsticks, and wears skater clothes, generally people are going to assume he’s white. That’s just how it is. There’s nothing wrong with doing any of those things either.

But yah, you are a twinkie, but there’s nothing wrong with you. If you want to “befriend some Asians”, you can start by maybe learning more about your Vietnamese culture and history.

[Filiprish]

The moment you begin to segregate your social circle into categories based on skin colour on the account that you think it's only "proper" that you have a certain variety of friends, you will have done yourself a great disservice. Friendship should know no racial, economic, or religious boundaries. Beware of those who would tell you otherwise.

On the other hand, if you want to make Asian friends just to "round out" your circle then you need do nothing more than be yourself. Take those who accept you for who you are and discard those who think you're not "Asian" enough. Why change the emotional and psychological constitution of your being in order to satisfy somebody who wants to associate with the person you're not?

Ditto.

In addition - you aren't alone/special in this, there's plenty of APIAs in North America who have had and are having similar experiences. Also, it'd help if you redefined, better yet flush, your concept of "white." Don't forget that APIAs and Hispanics in the US contributed A LOT to the skate and rock world. Have you seen the recent "Lords of Dogtown" movie?

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/columbia_pictures/lords_of_dogtown/_group_photos/victor_rasuk12.jpg

If not, I recommend it.

[grimfan]

There's nothing wrong with being "whitewashed" if you grew up in America. Remember that there's no homogeneous white culture, and that many white families who immigrated to melting pots like America had to give up a lot of their traditions as well.

[Flow to Live]

Well i am an Asian and i listen to rock music and wear skate cloths too, but i would not relate those two things with race, rather you adopted a culture. Skateboarding isn't dominately WHITE anymore ,for its becoming more diverse and there is a hip hop culture within the skateboard community. Companys like Circa, Zoo york, LRG, DC shoes, Ipaths(there reggae too) are all hip hop orientated. The only thing wrong with skateboarding is there are alot of poser that adopt the mainstream image of skateboarding and assume that it is white, so i ask you do you know anything about the skateboard culture or even skateboard?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Authority25/baker.jpg

[Fireblade]

Skater culture is not exclusive to white people.

It's exclusive to suburbia. That's it.

[TB4000]

Though things like skating, rock, and "extreme sports" are known to be "white people things", same as rap, pimped out cars, and baggy clothing are known to be "black people things". Though the latter always has a negative connotation.

[deez nuts]

let's cut through some of this feel good bullshit. you're a twinkie. nothing wrong with it.

it is what it is and you are what you are; you shouldn't give a shit about what other people think of you. your friends are your friends and who gives a shit what race they are. plus you dated white chicks; you're a champ.

[Flow to Live]

Well the best skateboarder, as if now, is a Hispanic kid(Paul Rodriguez Jr.) who wears baggy cloths and is hip hop orientated. Not only that but snoop dogg is coming out with his own skateboard company-->http://news.softpedia.com/news/Snoop-Dogg-Launches-Skateboard-Company-6917.shtml

[Filiprish]

let's cut through some of this feel good bullshit. you're a twinkie. nothing wrong with it.

it is what it is and you are what you are; you shouldn't give a shit about what other people think of you. your friends are your friends and who gives a shit what race they are. plus you dated white chicks; you're a champ.
Thanks, deez, for sharing your OG wisdom.

Though things like skating, rock, and "extreme sports" are known to be "white people things", same as rap, pimped out cars, and baggy clothing are known to be "black people things". Though the latter always has a negative connotation.
True, hip-hop does get less respect from middle-agers than rock, extreme sports, etc. despite the two being highly-linked - both are still considered far left though. Think "Harold & Kumar." I know some old skool hip-hoppers even suggest considering skateboarding the sixth element of hip-hop, yet most "white" kids who listen to urban music on the radio don't know this.

Skater culture is not exclusive to white people.

It's exclusive to suburbia. That's it.
True, there's loads of (suburban) APIAs and Hispanics into skating. Btw, skating tends to be popular in coastal places too.

[Fireblade]

True, there's loads of (suburban) APIAs and Hispanics into skating. Btw, skating tends to be popular in coastal places too.

Suburbia on the beach. You won't find many skateboarders in San Francisco as you would in Pacifica in California. Little difference really.

[grimfan]

Where would rock be without African rhythms, Chuck Berry, and Jimi Hendrix? It'd probably be country music, which is REAL white music.

[Deadpool]

Come to Vancouver.
Theres assloads Vietnamese people here.
Theres a Pho restaurant on every street.
Come to my city and bask in the racial tension between Asians and white people.
Don't worry about the fact that you were born, raised in Canada and speak the language fluently. It won't matter. Ur still Asian and will be treated as such.

If he listens to rock, doesn’t use chopsticks, and wears skater clothes, generally people are going to assume he’s white. That’s just how it is. There’s nothing wrong with doing any of those things either.

There are tons of Japanese students living here that fits the above description. Except they can barely speak english.

[ahsingjai]

Well the best skateboarder, as if now, is a Hispanic kid(Paul Rodriguez Jr.) who wears baggy cloths and is hip hop orientated. Not only that but snoop dogg is coming out with his own skateboard company-->http://news.softpedia.com/news/Snoop-Dogg-Launches-Skateboard-Company-6917.shtml

Snoop Dogg hangs with Neptune. Therefore he becoming more white.

[grimfan]

Don't worry about the fact that you were born, raised in Canada and speak the language fluently. It won't matter. Ur still Asian and will be treated as such.

I want to hear some horror stories.

[diving_cats]

Well i am an Asian and i listen to rock music and wear skate cloths too, but i would not relate those two things with race, rather you adopted a culture. Skateboarding isn't dominately WHITE anymore ,for its becoming more diverse and there is a hip hop culture within the skateboard community. Companys like Circa, Zoo york, LRG, DC shoes, Ipaths(there reggae too) are all hip hop orientated. The only thing wrong with skateboarding is there are alot of poser that adopt the mainstream image of skateboarding and assume that it is white, so i ask you do you know anything about the skateboard culture or even skateboard?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v648/Authority25/baker.jpg


THANK YOU FOR THIS POST, EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO POINT OUT, AMEN!

Ditto.

In addition - you aren't alone/special in this, there's plenty of APIAs in North America who have had and are having similar experiences. Also, it'd help if you redefined, better yet flush, your concept of "white." Don't forget that APIAs and Hispanics in the US contributed A LOT to the skate and rock world. Have you seen the recent "Lords of Dogtown" movie?

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/columbia_pictures/lords_of_dogtown/_group_photos/victor_rasuk12.jpg

If not, I recommend it.

I SEEN IT with the bf and it was good. the ending was sad the boy who was dying. but not all the skaters in that movie were white there was an asian girl and also a hispanic boy. i think he was mexican:confused:

[Filiprish]

I SEEN IT with the bf and it was good. the ending was sad the boy who was dying. but not all the skaters in that movie were white there was an asian girl and also a hispanic boy. i think he was mexican:confused:
That's what I was saying, most people don't realize that Asians and Hispanics were among the great pioneers of skateboarding. Yeah, the ending was sad. It was cool what they did for him.

[Flow to Live]

^^^Jeff Ho(who was Japanese or something along that lines) was the creator of the Zephry Team and owner of the Zephry board shop that created the who skate scene.

check it out http://www.juicemagazine.com/JEFFHO56.html

[diving_cats]

That's what I was saying, most people don't realize that Asians and Hispanics were among the great pioneers of skateboarding. Yeah, the ending was sad. It was cool what they did for him.
thank you all of u girls/guys for replying to point out that rock/skating/habit of eating with spoons is not the white stereotype.

bc the guy who kept disagreeing with me kept at his opinion which i thought was completely ridiculous and stereotypical views.

and about the movie i was a lil mad at then end thought that tony guy really had no showed up to see his sick friend, but he was already there fooling around in the empty pool! and yes tony was hispanic!

[ahsingjai]

No it isn't completely ridiculous and stereotypical.

You will see asians in there who are intergraded in to that culture would of course get in to it actively. But as a whole, it is dominated by white people.

I ain't saying skateboards is white, I'm saying everything the person makes up as a whole is white.

For example, if you don't speak your ethinic language, if you have no clue about your own ethnic culture, and all you know is this "americanized" culture, generally, people will say you are white washed.

[TB4000]

I notice that "acting black" and "acting white" are the only two ends of the spectrum. No one ever acts asian or latino, unless they're just trying to be funny with a stereotypical accent. Basically you either act or sound like a white person, a black person, or a person with a native accent apparantly.

[diving_cats]

No it isn't completely ridiculous and stereotypical.

You will see asians in there who are intergraded in to that culture would of course get in to it actively. But as a whole, it is dominated by white people.

I ain't saying skateboards is white, I'm saying everything the person makes up as a whole is white.

For example, if you don't speak your ethinic language, if you have no clue about your own ethnic culture, and all you know is this "americanized" culture, generally, people will say you are white washed.
you didnt make that stereotype? r u sure? want to scroll back up several posts and reread what you YOURSELF wrote. now ur trying to change what u had originally said bc everyone else is also posting their opinions on this topic.

[ahsingjai]

you didnt make that stereotype? r u sure? want to scroll back up several posts and reread what you YOURSELF wrote. now ur trying to change what u had originally said bc everyone else is also posting their opinions on this topic.

I never said I didn't make that stereotype. Why don't you reread my post again.

I said skateboards itself isn't white, but the whole cultural thing around is.

Just cuz some hispanic and asians contributed to that culture doesn't make it asian or hispanic because they just adding on to it.

If a white person wrote chinese poems, does it make the chinese culture white?

[uhhden]

Technically, there's nothing wrong with being "white-washed," but I commend you for recognizing your roots and wanting to reattach yourself to them...

My advice though is to just be yourself, embrace your roots and be open-minded about all cultures.

[wucifer]

blah

[Gunz]

I am guilty of being white-washed.

I have lived exclusively in white communities. I completed university with white classmates. I speak the English language properly. I have graduate degrees. I detest ebonics, hip hop slang, and uneducated athletes who are millionaires.

I dress consertively in button downs, blazer jackets, and proper trousers and dress shoes. I work in a management role with technical and financial responsibilities.

I have never associated with blacks or hispanic social groups. I find hip hop to be vulgar, angry, offensive, and denigrating to women and mulitple racial and ethnic people. I find the gaudy clothing styles and jewelry to be low brow.

I live in an exclusively white neighborhood, with economicaly barriers to entry, i.e. purchasing price. I drive an SUV with neutral colours and factory options.

I enjoy piano music, soft jazz, classical music, opera, theatre, and various forms of film media. I find intellectual stimulation in multiple languages, cultures, customs, and ballroom dancing. I find polished mannerisms to be refreshing and preferable to the common familiarity of most Americans (bro, buddy, pal, etc.).

I find white women to be visually appealing with their defined cheekbones, and facial features. I prefer their curvy bodies, tall frames, and daring sensuality.

It is all an adaptation. It is a mechanism of survival to exist in a world filled with whites, and competing for the same resources as the whites.

I am not white, and they know it and I know it.

I am most comfortable, relaxed, and happy with other Vietnamese, Laotians, Chinese, and all of the bi-racial components of the above. I love the laughter and sounds of the Asian languages. I find pho and other Asian foods to be so much more flavorful, spicy, and satisfying, than the American and French crap filled with dairy products and potatoes. I find eating with chopsticks to be a more refined way of selecting morsels of food items. I am delighted to hear my name spoken in Vietnamese; the exact pronunciation with proper inflections. I like the way Vietnamese and Laotian girls smile and laugh.

I seek out these mini-communities when I travel. I feel better immersed in a crowd of yellow-skinned, black-haired, brown-eyed people.

I am Asian. I was born Asian, and I shall die Asian. It took a long time to fight the sense of difference from whites, but I know I do not belong in that world. I exist there to make my fortunes and survive. My true self and identity lie with other Asians. I find these places and I practice retention of language and culture.

For those who see enough of the French plates: "Je me souviens."

I remember who I am.

Gunz

[ahsingjai]

Nothing wrong with that, just know who you are and be proud of it. I'm sick of people being self conscious about their idenity.

[Maru_chan]

most viets i kno are black washed lol. listen to rap and wear baggy clothes and are "gangsta"

[AliBabaIncorporated]

A lot of Indians in Malaysia pretend to be black gangsters, wear hip-hop clothing, and start rap-groups, but I wouldn't call it black-washed. (For one thing, they're rapping in Tamil and BM).