Politics and your non-Asian parent

[thaite]

How do you differ with your non-Asian parent with it comes to political discussions such as the Vietnam War, Korean War and other Asian and international subjects? Do you argue passionately or vehemently, or do you just agree to disagree?

[kimpossible]

I avoid talking with both parents about politics. My mom will agree with anything WASP and my dad is the type of guy that still calls Taiwan 'Formosa.'

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by Hello_Hapa@Dec 30 2002, 12:15 PM
my dad is the type of guy that still calls Taiwan 'Formosa.'
same here

I've never heard my mother discuss politics in my life.

My political views, although still moderate, tend to lean towards the left, especially when it comes to wars fought in asia in the past 100 years or so.

[YuheiCarreau]

My father isn't too political, and as a Japanese national he doesn't really have a vehement opinion on the war in Viet Nam (other than that it was unecessary, which is the view most people have). My mother is a few years younger, and we pretty much share the same politics when it comes to that stuff. Being married to an Asian man, it would be pretty hypocritical for her to lambast or stereotype Asian countries. When we went to Viet Nam she (and my father, to a lesser extent) was very into connecting with the country she'd protested for so many years ago.

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 30 2002, 01:27 PM
How come? Is your mom afraid to have her own opinion on such matters? Would that be upsetting to your parents relationship?
To really get the flavor of the dynamics in my family you would have to get the long version. I'll give you the short version.

My grandmother was disowned and spurned by her family when she refused to let her father (a doctor) abort her bastard halfbreed barbarian spawn child (my mother). As a result my grandmother and mother go out of their way to seek approval from WASPish people in the US. I think the modern terminology would be white-washed. They don't qualify as banana because as hard as they try to be 'American' they do it in a really Japanese way. I think my mom is very much afraid to have any opinion that might disagree with the old white Republicans in her social circle.

My father is an ex-federal agent and military man. That man is so white, if you cut him he would bleed flour. My parents are divorced so they don't have a relationship.

[Hiroshi2]

my dad is the type of guy that still calls Taiwan "Formosa"

*can't edit my previous post*

I mean, he's not really a redneck-type, just an old-school military type.

[axi0m]

Originally posted by Hiroshi2@Dec 31 2002, 02:54 AM

*can't edit my previous post*

I mean, he's not really a redneck-type, just an old-school military type.
My dad is a redneck old-school military type. How's that? Oh, and not to mention he hates all my viet friends with a passion.. Probably 'cause he fought in the war.

-Satoshi-

P.S. I still have more viet friends than anything.. Oh well. :)

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 30 2002, 10:43 PM
Interesting all you hapas here have a parent that was involved with the military.
My father is a banker and my mother is a potter.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 31 2002, 12:43 PM
Interesting all you hapas here have a parent that was involved with the military.
eh, my mom is a legal researcher at a non-profit agency, and my dad is a contractor doing computer work for public utilities. though my granddads on both sides were in the navy.

my dad's politics and mine are pretty similar, actually. except he's cynical about both people and government, whereas I'm mostly just cynical about government. ironically, my sister, who was actually raised by my parents, is the most strongly opposed to my dad's political and social opinions of the entire family.

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by tazadar@Dec 30 2002, 08:43 PM
Interesting all you hapas here have a parent that was involved with the military.
My mother actually served also. She outranks my father.

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Dec 31 2002, 12:30 AM
ironically, my sister, who was actually raised by my parents, is the most strongly opposed to my dad's political and social opinions of the entire family.
When you say that, do you mean you were not raised by your parents, yet still agree with your father? Or do you just mean your sister grew up the same way you did (both raised by your parents) yet has very different views from the rest of you?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Jan 1 2003, 04:26 AM
When you say that, do you mean you were not raised by your parents, yet still agree with your father? Or do you just mean your sister grew up the same way you did (both raised by your parents) yet has very different views from the rest of you?
when I was 4, my mother got sick. I moved in with her parents, my sister moved in with my dad's parents. Then, I entered school. When my mom recovered, I kept on living with her parents so I could stay at the same school I started at, but my sister moved back home. So I was raised by my grandparents (and hence, by my grandpa's brother, and by all their family friends) for a good portion of my life (until around age 11).

[BeTheReds]

The question in this topic is flawed as it assumes that we all share the same views of politics as our Asian parents and are opposed to those of our non asian ones. I'd have to say that I am an amalgamation of both.

[thaite]

No, it's not. I wasn't asking about the difference of political views between hapa children and their Asian parent, but the difference of political views between hapa children and their <i>non-</i>Asian parent.

If I wanted to hear the other way around I would have asked it that way.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by buoywonder@Jan 8 2003, 08:02 PM
No, it's not. I wasn't asking about the difference of political views between hapa children and their Asian parent, but the difference of political views between hapa children and their non-Asian parent.

If I wanted to hear the other way around I would have asked it that way.
I think it's just in the way you phrase your question ... not "Do you have differences?" but "How do you differ?"

Kinda like "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" :P

[thaite]

well, if I wanted to know "how are you the same" I would have asked that. But no, I asked for differences. Sheesh!

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by buoywonder@Jan 8 2003, 08:32 PM
well, if I wanted to know "how are you the same" I would have asked that. But no, I asked for differences. Sheesh!
I think it's a valid question to ask, seeing as how most YW members are American, most Americans are White, and most of the Hapa posters are part White. Stands to reason that a White-Asian Hapa (who, regardless of how he percieves himseld, is typically percieved as Asian) would have different experiences and different politics applied those experiences than his White parent.

[BeTheReds]

But see that's the thing. You asked how do you differ with your white parent. That question inherently assumes that on most political fronts I am very different from my mom and am more in tune with the political views of my dad. They basically have almost the same political view on most things, however DAD is a republican and mom is a Democrat.


Okay well the only ways I differ with my white mom...

I think that women should be allowed to decide for themselves if they want to abort or not and she thinks that they should not.

I think it is okay to wear fur if it was farm raised rather than caught in the wild, and she thinks that all fur is bad.

As for politics and such, we almost always have the same view on current events. My Asian dad also has pretty much the same view. I think Nixon was great except for Watergate tho... but she thinks Nixon was evil. I think Kennedy was not so great and is only revered as such because he was young and tragically killed, while she thinks he is a saint for starting the peace corps and making the trip to the moon possible.

[speshllkay]

My white father is a huge ignoramus who has "let's always blame the victim" syndrome. And my mothers been too busy trying to make a life in the US to care about what's going on.

If I talk with my father we do nothing but argue. He's also racist towards other Asians and Blacks. That doesn't sit well with me so we don't talk.