| Overseas " Chinese Bananas" | |
|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2007 20:40 | #11   |
 | Some ABCs told me that after they lived in China a few years, they felt that Chinese-Americans were more Chinese than Chinese people. (This is their opinion only) but It might be because Chinese mainlanders are becoming more materialistic and Westernized, and a lot of Asian immigrants to America maintained their cultural traditions fiercely after moving abroad. |
| Aug 9, 2007 21:55 | #12 |
| "It might be because Chinese mainlanders are becoming more materialistic and Westernized, and a lot of Asian immigrants to America maintained their cultural traditions fiercely after moving abroad." Chynagyrl, quite good and novel ideas. It might be true that overseas Chinese are more aware of the importance of national identity. |
| Aug 10, 2007 02:08 | #13 |
| I think it's important asian immigrants are able to keep their cultural identities while embracing the new, I will ensure my Han Jing keeps hers when she comes to London. |
| Aug 10, 2007 12:07 | #14 |
| >>>America is said to be a melting pot. Is it true that every immigrant can be melted into the mainstream "White people culture." The melting pot worked well when the immigrants came from the northern parts of Europe because everyone looked alike even though they spoke different languages. The melting pot still worked pretty well with the Italian and Greek immigrants although they held on to their native traditions more than other groups. The Chinese community has always been separate from but compatible with the rest of America. Everyone on this forum knows just how different our languages are and how difficult it is to learn the other's language. With that big a barrier, the Chinese had to create a separate community to survive - but the community was generally compatible with the rest of America. Unfortunately, the black community remains separate and largely incompatible with the rest of America. The melting pot did not work. That group of immigrants, once freed from slavery, was at first rejected by white America and when white America finally extended an olive branch it was rebuffed by black America. Please realize that this comment is a gross over-simplification and that there are exceptions on both sides. And finally after almost 50 years of government regulations forcing black and white people together in the workplace, many black and white people are finding common ground. And what America did to the native Americans was horrifying and then we put these people on reservations. We have never given them a chance to melt into the melting pot. In recent years we see that immigrants to America do not want to melt into the melting pot. This is usually marked by an unwillingness to learn the English language, but beyond that is marked by a separate and incompatible communities. In the case of the Hispanic peoples, many within those communities are illegal aliens. So that is a grossly over-simplified look at the state of the melting pot. >>>I have ever heard of " the Supremacy of the White" principle in US. Is it the case still existing in US? Fortunately, White Supremacists are a small fringe group of white people. Some of them are just crazy; some of them are racists; some of them are just plain bad. There are racists and crazy and bad people within every community...although at times it does seem that America produces a bumper crop of them. :( |
| Aug 11, 2007 05:00 | #15 |
| Griz, nicely put. Dodger |
| Aug 11, 2007 06:35 | #16 |
| Yes, there is such a thing as "White Supremacy" or its equivalent. It is physically there like what is described above & where people practise it. The other type of "supremacy" is in the minds of the other parties ( in this case, the other colours) - you think that they are superior to you. This is the worse form of the 2 & infact is more widely accepted. It is called "voluntary colonisation of the minds". In my view, both forms are present right here in this Forum. |
| Aug 12, 2007 20:18 | #17 |
| Wow, Griz,Dodger, Gryokan. Insightful thoughts. Is it safe for me to say that America is not a paradise for all people although although some politicians claimed that America is a promised land for anyone who works hard. Many people are still left behind despite of the the prosperity of the whole economic landscape. Quite a lot of immigrants are alienated from the mainstream society and lived in the invisible corner of the United States. |
| Aug 13, 2007 01:49 | #18 |
| Very insightful inputs. Thank you very much for all the ideas!! |
| Aug 13, 2007 05:30 | #19 |
| I moved from one country to another by choice. I no longer consider myself English and my kids who came to Australia at the ages of 2 and 4 most certainly see themselves as Australian. There may be aspects of British culture that are better than Australian (but it's hard to think of any, lol). So the same for ethnically Chinese who migrate, the major component of their lifestyle should be that of the country in which they live...how else can that society achieve its own 'harmonious society'? (Of course if the new nation discriminates that changes the argument considerably.) And that is exactly what happens to the second and third generations onwards. There are people in Australia whose ancestors came from China 150 years ago and often look like ethnically Chinese people, but they are clearly Australian. Some take an interest in Chinese culture but just as an interest. I used to disagree with an ex TCG member from Singapore who claimed to be Chinese, no he is Singaporean. Anything else is racism, we are products of the society in which we live, we should not be concerned about our racial background. If for some reason I chose and was allowed to live permamantly in China I would then want to have Chinese citizen and be able to say I am Chinese...what I look like or where I or my parents originated from becomes immaterial. |
| Aug 14, 2007 01:34 | #20 |
| Let's not mix up race with nationality/citizenship. Else this thread should'nt have been raised in the first place. |
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