How many of you think of yourselves as American?

[AngryABCGirl]

How American do you consider yourselves as Asian-American? Do you hold loyality to this country? Culturally?

Personality, I need to have my Asian or Chinese and the hyphen. I can't find myself holding on to a country that won't ever accept me and probably will never accept my kids. I didn't grow up doing stuff like watching baseball or having BBQs and things like that. I can usually relate to the way someone thinks in Taiwan than I can to an American.

A few days ago at school, I heard this S. Korean guy saying how "we should snipe his ass" about the new S. K president just because he was anti-American. A JA said he loved the republican country and thought America was so great.

Something about that felt to me, so fucking wrong. When I'm out of my neighborhood, I get looks, I can't take the "American way is the good and only way mentality" because I'm not that way.

[Xishi]

I feel you...

It gets on my nervous so much when people deny that they are Asian...at least racially...
I am talking about those Asians who answer"I is the AMERICAN!!!!" when people ask them where they are from...
I mean...true...they are probably American and were born here so they dont have to answer" I am from China"...but by getting all defensive about denying their racial association with Asians and answering "I am American" when they know that people are not asking about of what country their citizenship is of... is just plain insecure and a prime display of unreasonable inferiority complex...

[Commando_turned_MD]

Originally posted by AzNBuffGrL@Mar 23 2003, 12:35 AM
Do you hold loyality to this country? Culturally?

Yes..........
Yes............

[Ch8Li179]

I define myself as Chinese. Culturally I am Chinese and ethnic wise I am of course, Chinese. I was born an rasied in the bay area but, I just don't find myself relating much to the American culture. Then again "American Culture" is hard for me to define. When I watch T.V. I don't relate to the sitcoms.
Then there are times when an "American" that happens to be an European desendent tell me that I'm not an American and that I should not be here. Thats when I tell them I am an American. Being born here means I am an American citizen and I have the right to be here! It's not guarenteed that I will be treated fairly but, you know how that goes. It is so offensive when someone says "Go back to your own country!" Damn, just because someone's skin color is a color other then white does not make them any less American.
Why are there people out there that say they are American and tell other people that they are not? For example, they can be Irish American and yet they are "American" but, someone like myself being Chinese American is not "American." Who came up with that?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

I'm an American and a Malaysian Chinese ... but I'm not a Chinese-American.

to be honest I'm suspicious of anyone who would use the word "Chinese-American" in their writing or speech. the only time I usually see such a word is when a white guy obsessed with political correctness is writing about Asians. it's a word used in organizational titles, not by people to define themselves, who will usually just call themselves "ABCs" or "Chinese" or whatnot.

[kangal]

Originally posted by AzNBuffGrL@Mar 23 2003, 02:35 AM
How American do you consider yourselves as Asian-American? Do you hold loyality to this country? Culturally?

Personality, I need to have my Asian or Chinese and the hyphen. I can't find myself holding on to a country that won't ever accept me and probably will never accept my kids. I didn't grow up doing stuff like watching baseball or having BBQs and things like that. I can usually relate to the way someone thinks in Taiwan than I can to an American.

A few days ago at school, I heard this S. Korean guy saying how "we should snipe his ass" about the new S. K president just because he was anti-American. A JA said he loved the republican country and thought America was so great.

Something about that felt to me, so fucking wrong. When I'm out of my neighborhood, I get looks, I can't take the "American way is the good and only way mentality" because I'm not that way.

Just posing a question though, If you identify more with Taiwanese and hardly with Americans, then is tehre even a necessity for the -American part? When people already assume that America won't ever accept them, then I feel that is a defeatist attitude. The issue that confuses me is when people say they don't share American ideals or culture, or even identify with America. What does that mean? Not to sound rude, but does that mean you don't even want to be in America? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but I'm trying to get a better understanding.

[kitty]

I think the term Asian-American refers to any Asian IN America... because we're in a country where we are an ethnic minority, we will have similar experiences and be similarly disenfranchised. So, yeah, I identify as Asian-American (the hyphen being necessary)... and even if you weren't born here and you don't identify a bit with white America, I think the American part is there for you because you are physically in a place where you are going to be discriminated against.

[YuheiCarreau]

Quick grammar question: Are you supposed to hyphenate? I was under the impression that Asian American, Jewish American, African American, etc were not hyphenated (and I prefer 'em that way).

[Danny]

I am only an American on the day when someone looks at me and does not see a man with Asiatic heritage first, but sees me as an American first.

[angelwiththesword]

i don't. i am canadian!

[Tao]

Originally posted by AzNBuffGrL@Mar 23 2003, 12:35 AM
Personality, I need to have my Asian or Chinese and the hyphen. I can't find myself holding on to a country that won't ever accept me and probably will never accept my kids. I didn't grow up doing stuff like watching baseball or having BBQs and things like that. I can usually relate to the way someone thinks in Taiwan than I can to an American.

I hear you on that one. Last summer, before I entered college I had wanted to get my citizenship (cause before I only had a green card) due to the financial aid process. And while I was filling out the form requests and stuff, I had realized I could legally change my name when I applied for citizenship. And somehow, this had startled me, cause it somehow meant choosing whether or not I truely wanted to "integrate" myself by adopting my english nickname (which is Tony) as my official first name, or whether I would keep my chinese name (the pronounciation of which every non-asian person slaughters) on my social security card. It was a tough decision for me cause I had wanted people in college to accept me, which a americanized name would, but then I also didn't want to appease them and change my given name (Chen Guang) just because "they" can't pronounce it.

So in the end I kept my first name of Chenguang and added Tony as my middle name, and of course kept my last name of Tao. What this all really means I have no idea, only that I somehow find it abandoning my family and heritage if I had changed it.

Um...now that I think about it, I really don't know if my response is releated to your quote :lol: oh well.

[angelwiththesword]

if i ever have kids, regardless of where they are born, i am giving them chinese names.

[AngryABCGirl]

Originally posted by kangal@Mar 23 2003, 08:29 AM

Just posing a question though, If you identify more with Taiwanese and hardly with Americans, then is tehre even a necessity for the -American part? When people already assume that America won't ever accept them, then I feel that is a defeatist attitude. The issue that confuses me is when people say they don't share American ideals or culture, or even identify with America. What does that mean? Not to sound rude, but does that mean you don't even want to be in America? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but I'm trying to get a better understanding.

I think I have the -American part because after all, I'm an ABC, and even if I identify with Taiwanese culture more, there's still a part of me that was made because I live here. If I packed my bags and to Taiwan today, they problaby wouldn't see me as one of them either, just because people here carry themselves differently.

As for being an American, I don't like many aspects of American "culture." I put it in quotes, because it's so largely undefined, is American culture defined as BBQs and baseball games? Or the marble statues in DC? Or even rap music? The part I don't like is that mentality that the American way is the right way, cow-boy politics.

No thanks, I'd rather be Chinese than an honorary white.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally posted by AzNBuffGrL@Mar 23 2003, 04:04 PM
As for being an American, I don't like many aspects of American "culture." I put it in quotes, because it's so largely undefined, is American culture defined as BBQs and baseball games? Or the marble statues in DC? Or even rap music?

Culture is just the collective shared experiences, attitudes, knowledge, and reference points of a group, expressed through daily interactions, social institutions, and the media, all under the umbrella of a specific language. Even if you can't define it down into words, American culture is still there making up a big part of the mentality of all of us who grew up in this country, by virtue of your participation in those daily interactions and social institutions with other Americans and your viewership of the media.

[Xishi]

For example, they can be Irish American and yet they are "American" but, someone like myself being Chinese American is not "American." Who came up with that?

I am only an American on the day when someone looks at me and does not see a man with Asiatic heritage first, but sees me as an American first.

This is the exact type of sentiments that I am talking about...
People wanting to deny the fact that they look apart from the mainstream and care so much about whether people see them as "American" or not...
I admire your idealism in that Asians should be seen as just as American as European Americans...which they are....but reality written on your face says that we obviously look different...and its really understandable that people see you as less American...at least by initial perception...
Really though..no need to even want to be seen just as "American" as the next Irish American...German American...
Besides...European Americans do not really have their own culture here in the USA that differentiates them from the mainstream culture...unlike Asians...
Why would you even care if people see you as "American"...?
Citizenship wise..yeah..I am technically an American too...but I always say that I am Chinese when people ask me what I am...because I am answering them what they are really wanting to ask and saving them from a second follow up question like"oh and where are your ancestors from" had I answered that I am "American"....

Actually...I enjoy people asking me where I am from...because it is something that I take pride in...
What makes me a little uncomfortable is actually when people try to be over-sensitive when asking the question and say something like "No offense...don't want to be rude..but can i ask where you are from...?" as if it is something that I should take shame in or something....
But this same sensitivity that discomforts me can also be attributed to people with the same views as the quoted above...
It is for people with those sentiments that probably get all defensive when asked about what they are that contributed to all this politically correct fuss...

*(Quotes were taken out of context to strengthen my views...no direct references to individuals whom they belong to intended...)