Relationship with your non-Asian family

[kimpossible]

Title says it all.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

father's brother is an unemployed leech. father's sister is on her 5th marriage and has a junkie kid floating somewhere around the nation. the rest of the family are in Chicago or Virginia. Haven't seen 'em in years. As a Catholic, hanging around Protestants wackjobs who think I'm going to hell over my belief in transubstantiation of communion wafers gets kinda old. Their, ah, lack of support when my grandparents committed suicide also let to a certain rift.

Basically I never had to worry about whether to associate myself with them or not cuz my dad is already so anxious to disassociate himself from them.

[Hiroshi2]

That's practically the only family I know, seeing as how my asian family is 8,000 miles away in asia.

Although I do remember being called "the little chinese cousin" sometimes at family gatherings by the other little kids.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Mar 22 2003, 04:53 PM
father's brother is an unemployed leech. father's sister is on her 5th marriage and has a junkie kid floating somewhere around the nation. the rest of the family are in Chicago or Virginia. Haven't seen 'em in years. As a Catholic, hanging around Protestants wackjobs who think I'm going to hell over my belief in transubstantiation of communion wafers gets kinda old. Their, ah, lack of support when my grandparents committed suicide also let to a certain rift.

Basically I never had to worry about whether to associate myself with them or not cuz my dad is already so anxious to disassociate himself from them.
i think that's the first time i've seen the word "transubstantiation". :P

but woh... both your grandparents committed suicide? that's heavy man. sorry to hear that.

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Mar 22 2003, 08:12 PM
i think that's the first time i've seen the word "transubstantiation". :P
Godless pagan! Burn in Hell!

[thaite]

None of 'em near me. They all live in the midwest. I hear from them once in a while, but don't really make a whole lotta effort to keep in contact. Whenever I do see them, our cultural differences mostly pertain to regional US differences, as this is one of the times I tone down the 'Asian-ness.' We've known each other since we were kids, but not much afterwards, and I'm not gonna jump on their cases for not being entirely politically correct.

[tapestrybabe]

i get a long with my parents just fine...
i consider them my REAL parents... i dont view them differently as if they werent...

however, when it comes to my interest in korean culture and stuff like that...
i keep those types of interests separate from them...
i feel thats my territory, not theirs... not their buisness for them to be concerned about...

[BeTheReds]

They think it is strange when in certain situations I react in a way that they would not expect. Furthermore they think I am crazy for wanting to live in Japan and/or Korea.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Mar 27 2003, 06:13 AM
They think it is strange when in certain situations I react in a way that they would not expect. Furthermore they think I am crazy for wanting to live in Japan and/or Korea.
i think eric (alibaba) has said the same thing of both his parents. is this a common reaction from the families of mixed people?

i'm not mixed, and while my parents didn't think "i'm crazy" for wanting to move back to asia, it took some time for them to swallow. while i was in HK, they kept asking me when i think i'll be moving back to the US. but because of the shitty economy in HK right now, i finally did decide to come back here in the US. then they saw how miserable i was for the first couple of months that i was back, and now they wholly support me wanting to live in asia.

but i think it's probably just a common reaction for parents when faced with a child wanting to move to the other side of the world.

[BeTheReds]

Well my mom didn't think I was crazy. It was my grandparents and my aunts and uncles. They are all like.. can you eat the food there everyday? Aren't you gonna miss American food? That's about it...

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Mar 27 2003, 07:34 PM
Well my mom didn't think I was crazy. It was my grandparents and my aunts and uncles. They are all like.. can you eat the food there everyday? Aren't you gonna miss American food? That's about it...
you know what just occured to me besides the fact that i'm drunk? what is "american food" anyway? is it like that stuff they serve at TGI Fridays and places like that? i mean i've been in the states for years and i still don't have a grasp what "american food" really is.

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Mar 28 2003, 01:59 AM
you know what just occured to me besides the fact that i'm drunk? what is "american food" anyway? is it like that stuff they serve at TGI Fridays and places like that? i mean i've been in the states for years and i still don't have a grasp what "american food" really is.
hamburgers, french fries, salisbury steak, hot dogs, apple pie, etc.

[Fireblade]

weird, cuz of american commericalism all of our "american" food is made avalible overseas. stuff like mcdonalds, chevy's, and etc, is there. so i'd really doubt you'd miss it much if you go over there.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Fireblade@Mar 28 2003, 01:46 PM
weird, cuz of american commericalism all of our "american" food is made avalible overseas. stuff like mcdonalds, chevy's, and etc, is there. so i'd really doubt you'd miss it much if you go over there.
hah. hah.
you've never had "asianised" american food have you? :lol:

[thaite]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Mar 28 2003, 12:59 AM
what is "american food" anyway?
Fishsticks and green Jello with peas and crap in it.

[BeTheReds]

American food is not really definable, especially if you have asian immigrant parents, but if you go over to your white grandma's for thanksgiving, then you know exactly what American food is... or is that Italian American food? DOH!

[kuanyin]

n/a

:confused:

[golden_buns]

Originally posted by kuanyin@Apr 5 2003, 06:51 PM
n/a

:confused:
so you've never been around your non-asian relatives?

[kuanyin]

no.

[kimpossible]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Mar 31 2003, 09:10 PM
American food is not really definable, especially if you have asian immigrant parents, but if you go over to your white grandma's for thanksgiving, then you know exactly what American food is... or is that Italian American food? DOH!
Ooh I know what you mean. Only in my case it was farmer food. My dad's mom was French-Canadian and his dad was from the south. Christmas in upstate NY with them rocked. Lots of presents, home cooking, playing in the snow and love. But outside of my paternal grandparents and my grandmother's brother I didn't really know any of my relatives on my dad's side.

American southern food can get pretty fobby for American fare. My dad and grandfather used to eat pig brains and other non-commercial animal parts. I can't think of any Asians I know personally that would dig into a nice breakfast of brains.

[SunWuKong]

we use pig lungs for soup though! :D

[BeTheReds]

lung?

How does it taste?

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 7 2003, 11:17 PM
lung?

How does it taste?
i'm not sure i've ever had it myself.
and if i did, i don't remember actually eating the lungs. probably just drank the soup.

[speshllkay]

well, let me tell this little story about my husbands ignoramus cousin. She's supposed to be "educated".

this twit on her way to NY from ATL with her mother and my mother in law had to sit next to some Koreans at the airport in ATL. She didn't want to sit next to them because they might have SARS. (we've only had one sconfirmed case in here) And i don't mean she just moved her ass. She was very verbal about the situation. My mother in law was pissed that she acted like that. "I don't want my baby to get SARS." She's pregnant. Her moms was making a big stink about it too. Then they get to NY and the only reason my mo-in-law went was to see Chinatown. They refused to go there because "THEY MIGHT GET SARS." mo-in-law should have left their asses in the car while she went. She's still upset about not going there.

So now I have to say something...next time I see imma tell her she might not want to sit next to me because I might have SARS and I don't want to sit next to her because "you know how Black folks have EBOLA."

Sometimes people can be so stupid. This is the same broad who once said under her breath something about picking up a wig at the "ching chong ching" store.

And then there's the cousins of mine who think that the Hmong in Minnesota are given guns by the government to hunt sparrows for food. But that's a whole nother story of ignorance.

[Emperor_Mike]

Both of my parents are of mixed heritage and so are both sets of grandparents, albeit of different sorts (Chinese-Filipino, Chinese-Dutch, Chinese-Burmese, Chinese-Russian.) Family gatherings have been few, but I've met some of my distant non-mixed Russian and Chinese relatives. I got along fine with my Chinese relatives, but the Russian cousins, aunts, uncles, and what not were a bit more...erm...challenging. There was a substantial language barrier (they spoke Russian and I didn't and *still* don't) but we more or less managed with English (somewhat.)

My family history (on both sides) is convoluted to say the least and the odd mix of nationalities probably has much to do with the fact that the great-grandpas and great-grandmas were not of enough "social" consequence to bother with the "must marry within your own race" mentality of the previous century. I have no clue. The family seems to be rather touchy on this matter.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by speshllkay@Apr 18 2003, 10:50 AM
well, let me tell this little story about my husbands ignoramus cousin. She's supposed to be "educated".

this twit on her way to NY from ATL with her mother and my mother in law had to sit next to some Koreans at the airport in ATL. She didn't want to sit next to them because they might have SARS. (we've only had one sconfirmed case in here) And i don't mean she just moved her ass. She was very verbal about the situation. My mother in law was pissed that she acted like that. "I don't want my baby to get SARS." She's pregnant. Her moms was making a big stink about it too. Then they get to NY and the only reason my mo-in-law went was to see Chinatown. They refused to go there because "THEY MIGHT GET SARS." mo-in-law should have left their asses in the car while she went. She's still upset about not going there.

So now I have to say something...next time I see imma tell her she might not want to sit next to me because I might have SARS and I don't want to sit next to her because "you know how Black folks have EBOLA."

Sometimes people can be so stupid. This is the same broad who once said under her breath something about picking up a wig at the "ching chong ching" store.

And then there's the cousins of mine who think that the Hmong in Minnesota are given guns by the government to hunt sparrows for food. But that's a whole nother story of ignorance.
there's been a confirmed case in atlanta?

this friend of mine (chinese) was just telling me tonight that he had a transfer flight in ATL and this white lady was sitting there with a mask on, at the airport terminal. and he thought that was really strange because it's atlanta and i guess nobody really knows that there's been a confirmed case there. so i guess that's why she had the mask on. anyway, he went to sit next to her, and lo and behold, she got up and sat somewhere else. hahah!

[BeTheReds]

dude, avoiding chinese people is stupid.

There are plenty of white people who have gone to Asia. No one is avoiding them. Meanwhile they avoid abcs who have never left the country?

Some people are just paranoid.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 28 2003, 12:36 AM
dude, avoiding chinese people is stupid.

There are plenty of white people who have gone to Asia. No one is avoiding them. Meanwhile they avoid abcs who have never left the country?

Some people are just paranoid.
well, how would you know just from looking at a chinese person whether or not he just came from asia?

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 27 2003, 10:36 PM
dude, avoiding chinese people is stupid.

There are plenty of white people who have gone to Asia. No one is avoiding them. Meanwhile they avoid abcs who have never left the country?

Some people are just paranoid.
This coming from a guy who avoids AAs for completely different reasons :P

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 29 2003, 01:30 AM

well, how would you know just from looking at a chinese person whether or not he just came from asia?
You can't, that's my point. There is no reason to avoid Chinese looking people any more than there is to avoid white people or anyone else.

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Apr 29 2003, 04:03 AM

This coming from a guy who avoids AAs for completely different reasons :P
Personality clash vs. fear of SARS....

Anyway I'm more likely to get sars than any of you given that I live in Asia.

Obviously I am not paranoid about it because otherwise I'd have gone home by now.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 29 2003, 08:11 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Apr 29 2003, 01:30 AM

well, how would you know just from looking at a chinese person whether or not he just came from asia?
You can't, that's my point. There is no reason to avoid Chinese looking people any more than there is to avoid white people or anyone else.
but that's exactly why i wouldn't blame them if they avoid me. chances are, it would be an asian person from asia that would carry it. it was a chinese woman that took the virus to toronto. we're talking about a virus that can be transmitted through the air, has no cure, and has killed people.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 29 2003, 08:12 PM
Anyway I'm more likely to get sars than any of you given that I live in Asia.
not for people living in toronto! :P

[deez nuts]

yeah, but it's mad funny to see the look on the faces of white people when you start to cough a little.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 29 2003, 07:12 PM
Obviously I am not paranoid about it because otherwise I'd have gone home by now.
nah, I doubt it, cuz you live in a country which is perfectly happy to be racially discriminatory at immigration checkpoints, stop foreign-looking or foreign-speaking people on the street at random to check their IDs and their bike registration, post signs saying "look out for people speaking Chinese" whenever some Fuzhou illegal commits a crime in the area, etc. I wouldn't wanna be Chinese in Japan and have a cold or a smoker's cough right around now ...

If this disease gets spread further, it's probably gonna be by Chinese people trying to leave China, not tourists going and then coming back, since most tourists with sense have already cancelled their trips. So it makes sense for public health reasons to be more suspicious of Chinese people. Japan will be able to manage this more effectively since they aren't afraid of stomping all over racial sensitivities like we are here in the US.

If I recall, Japan doesn't even have any confirmed cases of SARS yet. You might be in more danger from transit passengers than those of us here, though ...

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 30 2003, 09:44 AM

If I recall, Japan doesn't even have any confirmed cases of SARS yet. You might be in more danger from transit passengers than those of us here, though ...
Well that's certainly the government's position, tho Tokyo is a major hub for all transpacific flights connecting with Asia, so I can't believe that SARS has not entered the country at all.

[YuheiCarreau]

Originally posted by BeTheReds@Apr 29 2003, 07:26 PM
Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Apr 30 2003, 09:44 AM

If I recall, Japan doesn't even have any confirmed cases of SARS yet. You might be in more danger from transit passengers than those of us here, though ...
Well that's certainly the government's position, tho Tokyo is a major hub for all transpacific flights connecting with Asia, so I can't believe that SARS has not entered the country at all.
But Narita is like, a 2-hour bus ride from Tokyo, isn't it?

[BeTheReds]

Originally posted by YuheiCarreau@Apr 30 2003, 04:52 PM

But Narita is like, a 2-hour bus ride from Tokyo, isn't it?
Well yes, but I'd say 80 percent of the people who land in Narita go to or pass thru Tokyo. And trains are not all that sanitary as you must know...

[Hiroshi2]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Apr 29 2003, 07:35 PM
yeah, but it's mad funny to see the look on the faces of white people when you start to cough a little.
lol

[PuChAi]

My dads family is not the greatest, although i grew up mainly with my mom in thailsnd.When i did come here , i found they are all a little"off in the head" except my dads mom.She is kinds and great , but i rerally think she like me cause my skin was a light tan or yello like my dad when he was a kid and now.the rest od them were tan or reddish.But what do yu expect when yu come from brazil??.