A Response to being a CBC
Now, all of you can go to Warren's blog (link's on the side) to read his post "Curse of the CBC", to get a full understanding of what I am responding to.
First, I'd like to point out that I have many Chinese friends, and I am quite proud of my heritage and where my family originates. I CHOOSE not to speak Chinese, not out of spite (even though that is a good reason), but the fact that my thoughts function in English so that is how I tend to express myself.
This post is a counter point to Warren's misplaced guilt, which I believe is the real reason why he chose to speak Cantonese to the old man rather than an ill fated attempt at practicing his language skills. I'd like to point out that when Warren ventured into the Chinese plaza he should not have felt the need to communicate with the server in Chinese at all. This is akin to walking into a French restaurant and starting to speak French to them. I mean, yes there is pretty good chance that they will understand your Chinese, but there is probably a much better chance that they'll understand English considering you are walking into a store in CALIFORNIA not SHANGHAI!! (Of course if Warren was actually in Hong Kong, I would have appaulded his efforts of trying to fit in, and not be the pushy foreigner that tries to impose their language on others in a country where they are not from).
Here's why I think Warren felt the need to bust out the Catonese in the middle of Irvine (for no apparent reason because its pretty clear that the old man had workable English), I think that Warren, when he was faced with dealing with a Chinese person in a Chinese environment, felt compelled to PROVE himself to be as Chinese as everyone else that was in that plaza. This just might be some 2 bit psycology on my part, but in all honesty, I've felt that pressure in my own life as well (I've become much more militant against it, so it is no longer a problem for me).
So you might be asking yourselves, why in the world would he feel like that? Having grown up in the GTA, Warren and I (much like our other Mississauga/Oakvile Chinese friends, shout outs to Chueeey and Wooly) have been endlessly told by more "traditional" Chinese people (aka dumbasses who choose to live in the farmland known as Markham, as opposed to the much more scenic Lake Ontario waterfront) that we are not "Chinese" enough because unlike them we don't exclusively hang out in enormous Chinese entourages, and gasp, we might not even like karoke, and we definitely aren't fans of Canto-Pop/TV. These individuals tend to be the close minded sort, and when they see you function in English, they feel compelled to tell you that you should be more "Chinese" and speak less English and try to use your "Chinese" more. I find it pretty silly for someone to say they are "more" Chinese then me because they like to spend time in little rooms listening to their friends butcher random songs, where I would prefer to kick it on a patio somewhere enjoying the view (hot chicks) and having a Cervesa. At the end of the day I LOOK no less Chinese than the other person.
Warren, being a banana shouldn't cause you to feel like you are selling out or you are any less Chinese then the FOB guy (who may or may not actually be a chick because let's be honest you can't really tell when FOBs are involved). In fact when Chinese people tell you that you aren't Chinese enough, its really because they are jealous of your ability to integrate yourself into your surroundings because obviously they have failed, which is why they feel compelled to hang out in their Asian-only entourages, and try to bring you down, so they can feel less bad about themselves. There is no curse to being a banana, in fact, it is much more advantegous to be one considering where you're from, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.
So Warren, don't try to order Chinese food in Chinese when your in California, otherwise you might end up trying to speak Italian at the Olive Garden.
First, I'd like to point out that I have many Chinese friends, and I am quite proud of my heritage and where my family originates. I CHOOSE not to speak Chinese, not out of spite (even though that is a good reason), but the fact that my thoughts function in English so that is how I tend to express myself.
This post is a counter point to Warren's misplaced guilt, which I believe is the real reason why he chose to speak Cantonese to the old man rather than an ill fated attempt at practicing his language skills. I'd like to point out that when Warren ventured into the Chinese plaza he should not have felt the need to communicate with the server in Chinese at all. This is akin to walking into a French restaurant and starting to speak French to them. I mean, yes there is pretty good chance that they will understand your Chinese, but there is probably a much better chance that they'll understand English considering you are walking into a store in CALIFORNIA not SHANGHAI!! (Of course if Warren was actually in Hong Kong, I would have appaulded his efforts of trying to fit in, and not be the pushy foreigner that tries to impose their language on others in a country where they are not from).
Here's why I think Warren felt the need to bust out the Catonese in the middle of Irvine (for no apparent reason because its pretty clear that the old man had workable English), I think that Warren, when he was faced with dealing with a Chinese person in a Chinese environment, felt compelled to PROVE himself to be as Chinese as everyone else that was in that plaza. This just might be some 2 bit psycology on my part, but in all honesty, I've felt that pressure in my own life as well (I've become much more militant against it, so it is no longer a problem for me).
So you might be asking yourselves, why in the world would he feel like that? Having grown up in the GTA, Warren and I (much like our other Mississauga/Oakvile Chinese friends, shout outs to Chueeey and Wooly) have been endlessly told by more "traditional" Chinese people (aka dumbasses who choose to live in the farmland known as Markham, as opposed to the much more scenic Lake Ontario waterfront) that we are not "Chinese" enough because unlike them we don't exclusively hang out in enormous Chinese entourages, and gasp, we might not even like karoke, and we definitely aren't fans of Canto-Pop/TV. These individuals tend to be the close minded sort, and when they see you function in English, they feel compelled to tell you that you should be more "Chinese" and speak less English and try to use your "Chinese" more. I find it pretty silly for someone to say they are "more" Chinese then me because they like to spend time in little rooms listening to their friends butcher random songs, where I would prefer to kick it on a patio somewhere enjoying the view (hot chicks) and having a Cervesa. At the end of the day I LOOK no less Chinese than the other person.
Warren, being a banana shouldn't cause you to feel like you are selling out or you are any less Chinese then the FOB guy (who may or may not actually be a chick because let's be honest you can't really tell when FOBs are involved). In fact when Chinese people tell you that you aren't Chinese enough, its really because they are jealous of your ability to integrate yourself into your surroundings because obviously they have failed, which is why they feel compelled to hang out in their Asian-only entourages, and try to bring you down, so they can feel less bad about themselves. There is no curse to being a banana, in fact, it is much more advantegous to be one considering where you're from, and you shouldn't feel guilty about it.
So Warren, don't try to order Chinese food in Chinese when your in California, otherwise you might end up trying to speak Italian at the Olive Garden.
posted by Billy Bee Absentee at 7:43 AM
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