All Asians Are Not The Same

[EastbayMike]

"May I have your name, Sir?"

 

Yes! Learned by lesson the hard way. I'm no longer in the service industry but I learned that night never to assume anything.

[marylander1940]

Well remember Vietnam was two separate states then, north and south, and most that came here were from the Democratic South Vietnam. My parents came here as refugees, and I was born in the US. Vietnamese people here in the US are proud of their culture, not the Communist government of Vietnam. Vietnamese culture dates back 2000 years, while Communism has been around maybe 7o years in Vietnam. In fact, most Vietnamese in the US are extremely anti-Communist. Also, 70% of the population alive today in Vietnam were born after the war ended, so they literally have no memory of the war.

 

As for young Asian-Americans who were born here, I would say it doesn't bother people if they are misidentified. It comes down to context. Are you asking because of being curious about someone's background or are you calling someone "chink" or some other racial slur.

 

And being Asian, I can mostly tell someone's ethnicity. A typical Vietnamese person is going to look different from a Korean. It's easier to tell the difference from a SE Asian person with an NE Asian person. It becomes harder to tell a Northern Chinese person from a Korean person because they'd share more common traits due to geography proximity. As a generalization, the further two ethnic groups are further from each other, the greater the differences in physical traits. Of course there are those Asians with a "pan-Asian" look and can blend in with multiple Asian ethnic groups.

 

Is your bf last name Nguyen?

 

Almost 40% of Vietnamese people have that last name?

 

Also SE Asian have darker skin, the Thai might be the darkest ones. Also in Japan Okinawans have relatively darker complexion.

[nynakedtop]

Is your bf last name Nguyen?

 

Almost 40% of Vietnamese people have that last name?

 

Also SE Asian have darker skin, the Thai might be the darkest ones. Also in Japan Okinawans have relatively darker complexion.

just a point of information.... i did my graduate field work in thailand and its population, like many nations, is mixed.... there are chinese-thai, lao-thai, malay-thai, and so on.... people from the northeast (Isan) province tend to be more dark skinned but cenbtral thai people much lighter in skin tone.

 

the implications of that in the hierarchies of thai society is a topic for a whole other discourse, hehe

[marylander1940]

Huh? I think you quoted the wrong person. Lol ..... MY last name IS Nguyen

 

that's what I meant.... it's very popular last name in Vietnam.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen

[510guy]

I am actually somewhat surprised how many Asians on this board.

[gallahadesquire]

I am actually somewhat surprised how many Asians on this board.

 

Especially the housewives in Peoria

[P Gren]

I am actually somewhat surprised how many Asians on this board.

Why?

[MikeBiDude]

I am actually somewhat surprised how many Asians on this board.

Really? Elaborate?

[510guy]

Really? Elaborate?

It's not that I don't think there are gay Asians, I know they are just as common. I guess I was just not sure how may actually hire. I admit I am not active in the gay scene so I am pretty naive about this.

[Maxl]

Are you Asian?

 

Can Asians tell a block away if someone is Chinese, Korean or Japanese?

 

I know that in Korea "ugly like a Japanese" is a terrible insult.

 

I do know Puerto Ricans who get offended if confused with anybody else, including Cubans.

I'm surprised about it because I find Cubans to be one of the most successful immigrations we ever received, very similar to Jews, Iranians, Indians and Greeks.

I am Chinese. Maybe I am more possibly able to recognize Japanese, Korean or Chinese people. And for me it is much easier to distinguish Northeast Asian and Southeast Asian (https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/today-i-feel-like-having-asian.120272/page-33#post-1404697). But I also make mistakes and I think this is normal.

[Maxl]

When I was a student at UC Berkeley in the 80s, I worked on campus at one of the faculty clubs that also acted as a hotel hosting visiting academics. Late one night I was expecting two arrivals, a Mr. Takemoto and a Mr. Kim. One of the two gentlemen arrived and I tentatively asked, Mr. Takemoto? He was silent for a few seconds, started gritting his teeth and turning red, then said in an angry voice said "DO I LOOK JAPANESE TO YOU!?!" I was a naive kid still unaware of how Korea suffered under the Japanese during WWII. I learned my lesson and never assumed anyone's nationality/ethnicity again.

Good story. Some Chinese would also have Mr. Kim's (over)reaction. But it is unfair to blame you. I do believe that many many Asian including Korean people cannot 100% distinguish Korean and Japanese.

[TruthBTold]

just a point of information.... i did my graduate field work in thailand and its population, like many nations, is mixed.... there are chinese-thai, lao-thai, malay-thai, and so on.... people from the northeast (Isan) province tend to be more dark skinned but cenbtral thai people much lighter in skin tone, the implications of that in the hierarchies of thai society is a topic for a whole other discourse, hehe

 

It sounds very much like the implications for Italians in the hierarchies of society depending on how "high/low" on the boot one is born. There are skin tone differences and at huge dialect differences (the dialect differences exist even until today). For example, when asked where in Italy you are from one always says the region that is higher up on the boot. That supposedly gives you a higher "class."

[gallahadesquire]

It sounds very much like the implications for Italians in the hierarchies of society depending on how "high/low" on the boot one is born. There are skin tone differences and at huge dialect differences (the dialect differences exist even until today). For example, when asked where in Italy you are from one always says the region that is higher up on the boot. That supposedly gives you a higher "class."

 

Tuscany? Bene. Umbria? Molto bene.

Calabria? Oi vey!

Edited November 20, 2017 by gallahadesquire

[marylander1940]

I am actually somewhat surprised how many Asians on this board.

 

They are likely to be wealthier, also some of them are closeted till they gain full economic independence from their family... therefore they hire a lot.

[510guy]

They are likely to be wealthier, also some of them are closeted till they gain full economic independence from their family... therefore they hire a lot.

 

Good point. I can see why this would be the case and I can relate.

[+ Charlie]

So many problems arise in this discussion from the failure to distinguish among three different categories: ethnicity, nationality and geography. Then it gets more confused by the overlapping names. China, for example, is a nation, but not all Chinese (nationality) are Chinese (ethnicity), and not all Chinese (ethnicity) are Chinese (nationality). East Asia and South Asia are places (geography) that contain people of numerous nationalities and ethnicities. "America" is a place (geography), but many people think of it solely as a nationality (United States of America). "Indian" can be thought of as a description of a person from India (nationality) or a representative of a particular religious group (Hindu), but in America it is frequently used to describe the natives who were living in North and South America when Europeans arrived (ethnicity and geography). Trying to make valid generalizations about individuals on the basis of membership in such confusing groupings is pretty difficult.

[Rudynate]

So many problems arise in this discussion from the failure to distinguish among three different categories: ethnicity, nationality and geography. Then it gets more confused by the overlapping names. China, for example, is a nation, but not all Chinese (nationality) are Chinese (ethnicity), and not all Chinese (ethnicity) are Chinese (nationality). East Asia and South Asia are places (geography) that contain people of numerous nationalities and ethnicities. "America" is a place (geography), but many people think of it solely as a nationality (United States of America). "Indian" can be thought of as a description of a person from India (nationality) or a representative of a particular religious group (Hindu), but in America it is frequently used to describe the natives who were living in North and South America when Europeans arrived (ethnicity and geography). Trying to make valid generalizations about individuals on the basis of membership in such confusing groupings is pretty difficult.

 

My father's family were Germans from Russia, from the Volga River Basin. If anybody ever asks, I always say that they were ethnic Germans of Russian nationality.

[marylander1940]

My father's family were Germans from Russia, from the Volga River Basin. If anybody ever asks, I always say that they were ethnic Germans of Russian nationality.

 

The Federal Republic of Germany Repatriated them in the 1950s and 60s paying 10,000 Marks per person.

[LookingAround]

Tuscany? Bene. Umbria? Multo bene.

Calabria? Oi vey!

It’s spelled molto bene.

[gallahadesquire]

It’s spelled molto bene.

Fixed. My glasses were off.

[TruthBTold]

Tuscany? Bene. Umbria? Molto bene.

Calabria? Oi vey!

 

Funny you mention that. My family has roots in Calabria, Marche, and Sicily. We were taught to say that we were Marchesan when asked because it was thought to be of a higher class region (no matter how dirt poor you were.)