Asian Majority

Here is yet another post on different types of Asians. I touched up on this a little in the last “Types of Asians” post where ABX is American Born X, where X can be like C for Chinese. I, for example, am an ABC. For simplicity sake, I will use that for the rest of this post but substitute whichever ethnicity you like or even country like CBC for Canadian Born Chinese.

ABC is a term usually for someone who is ethnically Chinese but born in America.

I’m going to go off on a quick tangent, but I hate it when someone asks me where I’m from, and I tell them I was born in Wisconsin or tell them that I grew up mainly in NJ. After which they say, “No, but where are you FROM?” I have no problem asking me what my ethnicity is, but if that’s what you want, just ask what my ethnicity is!

Anyhow, back to ABCs…for those of you who don’t realize, there are such a huge range of types of ABCs which really depend a bit on where you grow up, what your parents are like, your interests, and factors as such. One differentiator is how much of your ethnic heritage you retain. For some people it’s hardly possible. If your family has been in the US for a few generations, you might not even be exposed to some of the cultural aspects and may be like a “typical” American, although you still might have dealt with discrimination.

Where you are raised can affect this as well. My folks are first generation to be in the US, and I was raised mainly in Pennsylvania during my youngest years. Not many Asians out where I grew up. So, yeah, when people asked me if I was related to the other Asian kid at school, the answer was yeah cause he was my brother. That was about it. As a kid, often you just want to fit in, so sadly I was ashamed of my heritage and was teased some as well. With media (which I must say has improved a bit) not really portraying Asians in a positive light as well, the pressure is a lot. Some people never change that viewpoint and grow up not really wanting to acknowledge their Asian heritage.

It wasn’t until I was older that I fortunately realized my folly and how I had bought into the media and society falsities. It’s sad to be ashamed of who you are. No more.

Now if you grew up in certain parts of California and some other places, the Asians are actually the majority. Some of those people actually make fun of other non-Asians (which I don’t endorse either). That’s definitely quite a different upbringing. A lot of these people may or may not be Americanized as well in varying degrees. I have even known an individual who has an accent even though he was born in the US. Yet others don’t have much of their heritage at all aside from having mainly Asian friends.

This topic really is limitless. You could further break it down into further distinctions based on interests/careers: ppl into cars, ppl into being gansters, ppl trying to be bankers, lawyers, consultants, Ivy Leaguers, nerds, musicians, sports…but really, is that any different than your average American? There do tend to be certain areas that more Asians gravitate towards though.

I’ll end with really what I admire. It’s the Asian that is in tune with both his American side as well as his ethnicity. Someone who has mastered English as well as the language of his/her forefathers. Someone who understands both sides and can effortlessly relate to both. That, to me, is impressive.

This is an incomplete coverage of the topic, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

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