From: jpak@oakhill.sps.mot.com (Jim Pak)
Subject: Re: What is tacky today
Reply-To: jpak@manute.sps.mot.com (Kinder and Gentler Jim)
Organization: Motorola Inc.  Austin, Tx.
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 09:04:06 GMT

Regarding this thread, I will say that what the young woman said was indeed
tacky, but I can kind of see the angle she's coming from.  Remember my old
post a while ago about "the good things about being AA," or something like
that?  (Oh, you don't remember?  Fine!!  Be that way!!  :-) )  Well, I do
recall saying something along the lines of "I like the feeling of being
unique.  And when I go back and visit the BA, a small part of me feels like
saying inside, 'I'm not "special" anymore!' "  Perhaps the young woman was
trying to say something along those lines but it came out much tackier.

One more thing.  (I really ought to be shot for saying this, but I'll say
it anyway.)  When I was a twinkie and lived in those places where our family
was pretty much the only Asians I knew of, or darn near close to the only one,
it always made me kind of (grrr, I hate admitting this) "proud" that I could
speak English well, that others (meaning whites, mostly) saw me as "different"
from their normal perception of "Orientals."  When I got complimented on my
"good English," I used to beam inside.  Yecch!!

Anyway, I think I was pretty much still like that when I got to Cal, so yeah,
it pretty much blew me away at first to see and meet all these other "good
English-speaking" AAs.  :-)  And when it occurred to me then that I was no
longer "special" (meaning the only AA around I knew of who was reasonably
"Americanized," no flames please; remember, this was a long time ago), I kind
of didn't like it.  AT FIRST, anyway.  'Cause I was used to be the only
Americanized Asian person around.  It took a little while for me to get my
messed-up attitude adjusted.

What I'm trying to say is that I can kind of see where that young woman is
coming from, because I've felt the same thing.

In article <4920070@hpcc01.corp.hp.com> joanne@hpcc01.corp.hp.com (Joanne Petersen) writes:
>I'd like to know what it's like to be an Asian person living in the deep
>south and Texas!  (Jim Pak, that's for you :-)  The impression I have of
>the south (and Texas :-) is that Asians are tolerated but racism against
>Asians is there.  I've never lived in those areas.

Hey, thanks for the intro Joanne :-), but to tell you the truth, I feel
uncomfortable speaking on the "life in the South" perspective since I haven't
grown up here.  I *have* grown up in areas where there were few Asians, yes,
but it wasn't in the South.  To get the "Southern perspective," I suggest
we ask Kerry or Dwight or Judy or anybody else who reads here and pretty much
grew up in the South.  And it would be nice to get both the male and female
AA perspective on this, since I think there *may* be a difference (but then
again, maybe not).  Tim Tsai, are you still there?  He goes to school in
Mississippi, and he once gave me an excellent answer in e-mail about his
perspectives on life as an AA in that state.  (I think I forgot to reply to
him at the time, so if you still read Tim, sorry about that.  I still owe
you one.)

AA Southerners, unite!!  :-)  Share your experiences with us!!

Jim