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Tenth in a series of unedited blog articles from Grandson Daniel – “Question from a reader”
QUESTION “Hi Daniel, I am wondering how you, as a grandson of an Asian but growing up in US, view your cultural position. Do you consider yourself different from those with Caucasus blood, or you simply does not feel it as an issue? Do you find it easier to make friends with people with similar background as you? Do you think your Asian origin plays a role in your social life? (And if so, what kind of role?)”
REPLY FROM DANIEL I would classify myself as an Asian-American. I was born in America as were my parents. My father’s parents are Korean and my mother’s parents are Chinese. However, I grew up speaking English, and to date, it is the only language I am fluent in. As you may or may not know I have my grandfather translate the comments that are left in Chinese for me so that I may respond.
There are many Asian clubs and fraternities that I know of, but so far I have not joined any of them. They are a great way to meet other Asian people though. I have made friends with people from all different backgrounds, but I know that for some people, it is easier to make friends with those who have similar backgrounds to themselves. I do not believe that my Asian origin plays that big a role in my social life. These are all thoughts specific to me however.
I am obviously Asian. My face, my hair color, all show those traits. But I am also an American. America is a nation of immigrants, people from many different cultures have come together to share in one nation. That is why we have terms such as Asian American and African American. In the end, I don’t think it really matters to most people that I am of Asian origin. That’s not to say that I have never met people who judged me solely by my race, there will always be people like that. But for the most part, I feel that it is more about your personality than what you look like. Added notes by blogger Yu-Chi Ho: I have said this before and often that as a minority the United States is my first choice as a place to live. US is the most tolerant, inclusive, and open minded country. That said, overt and covert discriminations against Asian of course still exist here and there. However, I would say the greatest obstacles to the advancement for Asians occur at very high occupational level, i.e., the so-called “glass-ceiling” effect also encountered to a lesser extent by women. President Obama as part of his promise to the 80-20 Asian political movement (http://www.80-20initiative.net/) has so far appointed two Asian cabinet secretaries and several federal judges. A very good start.
Not added 8/27/10 The executive director of 80-20 has called to my attention the following revision:
Pres. Obama has appointed 3 not 2 Asian Am. Cabinet Members. Please see
It carefully documents 80-20's effort in the 2008 presidential election and how its effort has paid off to the benefits of Asian Ams.
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-1565-356012.html
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