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Thread: Asians raised overseas: do you feel alienated from your Asian heritage?

  1. #1
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Default Asians raised overseas: do you feel alienated from your Asian heritage?

    Well, DO YA?!

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://musicmaven.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/frampton-comes-alive.jpg')

    Bonus points if you can guess what the above album cover has to do with this.

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    I don't feel or care for any sense of belonging to any heritage. So No.
    I guess that's me being raised with a western mindset, all individual.
    We went over quite a few studies in Social Psych classes about the many differences existing in collective societies and individualistic societies.

    Alot of it comes down to the different views between my parents and myself. They believe in having a good prestigious job. I believe in being awesome.

    They believe in a stable and studying, I want to go out there do different things.

    I don't know, what else is there?

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    Senior Member remember_Cedric's Avatar
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    No. I embrace and love my heritage more than ever. Nothing stops me from hiding behind the coconut tree.
    What can I say? I'm still standing! No weapon against me shall prosper! I am more than a conqueror!!!

    I don't care to sit by the window on an airplane. If I can't control it, why look?

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    Senior Member Yeung Gor's Avatar
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    I feel like I belong somewhere in the middle, where I have the freedom to cross over both cultural fences.

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    Senior Member xJadedx's Avatar
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    I don't feel alienated from my heritage, since for me, my heritage involves acknowledge of my own ethnical background (i.e., Chinese), knowing of the traditions/histories of my culture, etc. In that respect, I'm fairly well off in my opinion. I have a good grasp of Chiense history, literature, arts, and the Chinese language.

    As to behaving like a traditional or "stereotypical" Chinese person - I have often got told by people that I'm not like the average Chiense person people meet. I suppose the reason for this is because I left China when I was seven, and proceeded to live in Europe and North America. Therefore, I have been living in and influenced by a more "Western" culture since I was very young.
    Because I'm somewhere in between,
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    Senior Member jiang bao's Avatar
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    I also immigrated when I was young, a little older than Wener. I think that as young first generation immigrants, we have a unique experience that only others who have spent a substantial number of years in both Eastern and Western cultures can understand. I find that I don’t quite fit in with purely ABCs or with fobbies. I can hang with them, and as recently as Saturday hung out with a bunch of fobbies who came from abroad to study, but there just isn’t that connection I have with other fellow Asians who immigrated when they were young. In mindset I am closer to the Western side, but I am also more conservative in social behavior than Westerners in general. But I am also less conservative than fobbies.
    What are you fighting for? Just mix them into pissing beef balls, stupid.
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    Junior Member Wuxia_FTW's Avatar
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    i left vietnam when i was 2yrs old and family migrated to the US. i never problem with fitting with other asians or even americans.

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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Not a single person has guessed the album cover connection yet, which only goes to illustrate just how alienated I've become from my Asian heritage.

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    You're abusing drugs now because of a near death experience? You became an American citizen after 9/11?

    This is kinda from left field.

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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    OK, here goes:

    1. I am a (relatively) young Asian.

    2. Young Asians, for the most part, do not listen to classic Western rock music. Even if they do, they do so casually, and couldn't really tell one performer from another. They might know some really huge iconic performers such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, but someone such as Peter Frampton, though a big star in the UK, the U.S., and other Western countries, would probably be known to only a relative small number of Asians...and only those who were at least teenagers during the 1970s.

    3. Even if above had *heard* of Peter Frampton, they would not know many details of his performing career. Many Caucasians of a certain age group would, including those younger than expected to be Frampton's fans (because Frampton is a part of their collective pop culture).

    4. I'm not a huge fan of Peter Frampton, although I do like a few of his recordings. However, I do know enough about him to know that he had this HUGELY popular series of concerts during the mid/late 1970s, of which one memorable performance was captured on the FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE album. During the song "Do You Feel Like We Do," Frampton famously improvised the lyric, "Well, DO YA?!" which was not on the studio recording.

    5. I knew of the above. Many Caucasians also do. Almost no Asians would.

    Ergo, I feel alienated from my Asian heritage.

    Follow all that?

  11. #11
    Senior Member Trinie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yeung Gor View Post
    I feel like I belong somewhere in the middle, where I have the freedom to cross over both cultural fences.
    Same with me.... I am somewhere in the middle as well. I am both asian and american too.I can go back and forth depending on the situation.
    Respect other people's opinions and views. If we learn how to do that than all of these fights and arguments will not occur.

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    I personally believe that whether someone knows who Frampton is is based on age as much as ethicity. That doesn't even include personal muscial tastes. If memory serves, you and I are about the same age and while I know the name, I couldn't tell you a single song by him. And I grew up in Heavy Metal central in the 1980's.

    Do I feel alienated from my fellow Taiwanese/Chinese? I did feel like a fish out of water in Taiwan. But here, everybody is the same.
    Last edited by Dennis Chen; 09-28-09 at 04:08 PM.

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    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis Chen View Post
    I personally believe that whether someone knows who Frampton is is based on age as much as ethicity.
    It's a bit of both, probably. That record came out before I started Kindergarten, and I didn't know of its existence until I was in high school, after which point I became a bit (understatement) of a rock head, so...

    Do I feel alienated from my fellow Taiwanese/Chinese? I did feel like a fish out of water in Taiwan. But here, everybody is the same.
    I feel like Americans "get" me (and I, them) more than other Asians do (and I, them).

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    I assume when you type "American" you mean non-Asian people? Do black people and white people get you equally and you them? Do Hispanics get you and you them?

    I'm sure while non-Asian people love a good kung fu flick as much as an Asian, many of the non-Asians wouldn't get the deeper meanings of what we discuss in the Wuxia Forum, while you seem well versed and knowledgeable in that respect. Does that make you more Asian than American? Will that make me "get" you more even though I don't listen to Frampton? Does that make it harder for an American to "get" you?

    I guess my question is:

    What do you mean by "get"?

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    Senior Member Trinie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    It's a bit of both, probably. That record came out before I started Kindergarten, and I didn't know of its existence until I was in high school, after which point I became a bit (understatement) of a rock head, so...



    I feel like Americans "get" me (and I, them) more than other Asians do (and I, them).
    I personally don't know who Frampton is myself. I am Americanized, but still Asian as well since I am more into Asian celebrities and Asian related stuff rather American stuff. You seem to be really into Asian series and Wu Xia Ken, so I feel that you seem to be more Asian in that aspect. BUt with other aspects, I don't really get it...
    Respect other people's opinions and views. If we learn how to do that than all of these fights and arguments will not occur.

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    Senior Member xJadedx's Avatar
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    I knew who Frampton is, and about that album.
    I didn't know the specifics of that particular concert.

    That has little to do with race, but how much you actually want to dig into random music knowledge. I would guess that the only Caucasians who even know about that tiny little detail are those who are into the kind of music Frampton makes, or better yet - fans of Frampton. If you ask an average Caucasian person - I doubt that many of them would immediately get that.
    Because I'm somewhere in between,
    My love and my agony.

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    I think Ken's post is more than just music preference and knowledge. He's refering to the culture. Being part of a rock culture that almost no asians can relate to. And so he feels that more Americans can relate to him because they shared the same experience, come from the same niche.

    I feel like I'm one of the only Asians that follow MMA and Brazilian Jiujitsu, but I fit in in my gym far more than alot of other groups I hang out with.
    I don't hang out with other Aussies cause their conversations tend towards Aussie Rules football, and cars.

    I don't really fit in with the Asians when they start talking about WoW, Cars, how much they hate the communists and what not.

  18. #18
    Senior Member xJadedx's Avatar
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    While there are some generic "stereotypes" about culture and music preference (i.e., Caucasians like rock, African-Americas like rap/hip hop, etc.), with the way information and music is transmitted through the various media these days, these stereotypes are slowly starting to wear out. There are plenty of Asian people who are very into rock (and not just into a couple of the generic rock bands, but really into the nuts and bolts of rock music/history). If you look in the "What are you listening to" thread on SPCNet, you'd see quite a few of such examples. Likewise, there are plenty of Caucasians into rap/hip hop or even Asian rock (which was originally thought to be known only to Asian kids), etc.

    Maybe Ken hasn't had the opportunities to meet many Asians who share the same level of knowledge as he does, but it doesn't mean these people don't exist or that there aren't a large group of them.

    Also, just because one group can relate to your music preference more does not mean that they will be a more suited niche for you than another group. Unless, of course, music plays one of the most important roles in your life (which seems to be the case with Ken).
    Because I'm somewhere in between,
    My love and my agony.

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    Maybe Ken hasn't had the opportunities to meet many Asians who share the same level of knowledge as he does, but it doesn't mean these people don't exist or that there aren't a large group of them.
    To a certain extend, these people to you don't exist until you've come across them. If he doesn't know about them, they don't affect his world view.

    Also, just because one group can relate to your music preference more does not mean that they will be a more suited niche for you than another group. Unless, of course, music plays one of the most important roles in your life (which seems to be the case with Ken).
    Yeah, that's a valid point, but what about shared experiences. Growing up to the same things.

  20. #20
    Senior Member xJadedx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Banh Mi View Post
    To a certain extend, these people to you don't exist until you've come across them. If he doesn't know about them, they don't affect his world view.
    I agree. But he doesn't need to physically meet them per se - like I said, with all the media today, it's not hard to at least be aware of the fact that there are many people who share similar interests in music. But of course, if for him, actually personally knowing these people is considered important, then I can see how he feels that way.

    Quote Originally Posted by Banh Mi View Post
    Yeah, that's a valid point, but what about shared experiences. Growing up to the same things.
    Again, music is only one of many things people share in common. But like I said before, it seems to be a major component for Ken.
    Because I'm somewhere in between,
    My love and my agony.

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