Quote:
Originally Posted by KathyM
(((Heyitsme7))
If people only see you as "Chinese," would it really matter if they attached "American" to the term? My husband is Mexican-American, born and raised here - he's never even been to Mexico. Still to many people, he's not "American" enough - because all they see are his features and skin color. They don't even know how to break past that barrier and see the real person. All they know is the stereotype, and that's all they want to know.
The same goes for my son with his African-American heritage. For some, he'll never be "white enough" to be a real citizen. From the time he could talk, he's been asked "What are you?" An honest answer could go either way. It can veer off into derogatory jokes about blacks, or it could turn into a history lesson about black people that have nothing to do with my son OR his father. Then people would turn around and ask me if I even knew his father or had I been raped. Is this really a good topic of discussion for a child to hear about his mother and father - or his beloved grandparents, extended family? 
After a while, when people (young and old) would ask the "What are you" question, he'd respond with "Nice" or "Human" or "Hungry." 
My husband STILL gets asked that question on almost a daily basis. When he's in no mood (or too busy) to discuss the issue, he'll sometimes respond with "I don't know - my mother was raped." If they ask about his mother, he'd say "I don't know - she was killed by my father when I was a baby." That usually shuts them up real quick - blank stares all around.  At the very least, it might make them think twice before asking such personal questions. 
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I hate when even my own race ask me that. I'm like,"Can't you tell that I'm chinese, since all asians have distinct looks?" then again, if they could differentiate between different types of asians, they would not have mistaken a chinese person for being japanese.