For some time I’ve been following this website called 8 Asians. I’ve long been interested in the perspective and perception of Asians in America, whether they are Asian-American (personally defined as those who are Asian with a mix of Asian culture and American culture), Asian-Asian (those living in America, but call an Asian country home), or Asian-Adoptees (which I separate from calling Asian-American).
When I was young, I used to joke about wanting to be President and then reminded myself it was a pointless dream since I was not born in the States and thus it would be an impossibility for me to take on any high-level White House position. Though disappointed, I would frequently throughout my life think how very few Asians are seen in the public eye.
Thus, when I found this site, I was quite happy and have been enjoying reading about the Asian presence in America and various Asian perspectives. As an Asian-Adoptee it is somewhat hard to relate to everything that is written, but at the same time I feel a connection to the voices.
This article “Do Asians Hate Asian Americans?” was quite interesting to me. After living in Japan and having people think I was Japanese and thus judging my language and behaviors on the Japanese scale, I related to this article well. Also, having visited Korea and not speaking a word of Korean despite looking as if I should, I can understand how it feels to be out of place and dismissed though we share similar genetic make-up. Though Koreans will tell me that a Korean is a Korean no matter what, I think there are still sentiments of superiority to those who do not have Korean culture and language as their identity. The only thing that gets me out of too much disdain is that I’m adopted and the shame of this in Korea makes them much more forgiving. π
-T
