There will always be people with different boundaries and I often find myself wondering: where should the lines be drawn? Racism in America has a convoluted definition; it is hard to define and will only become harder to define as individuals experience the intricacies of it. This complication is exacerbated through the actions of both ignorant people, who may not even realize their own racist actions, and by hyper-sensitive people, who distort the meaning of the term by over using it.
Looking online, both extremes can easily be spotted. For example, I vividly remember scrolling through Facebook and finding a video of a Caucasian male creating his own tutorial for how he makes Phở, a Vietnamese dish. After finishing the video, I felt …show more content…
I’ve heard the offensive criticism older Asians can make about certain people of color, and the stereotyping they make towards all races. There was a time when my mom, my brother, and I were all in the car. My brother was joking around with my mom, asking about what type of person she wants him to date. Claiming one race was too dirty, another too wild, she playfully laughed all these comments off as jokes. In the midst of this, I made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror. She pointed out how I liked K-pop and asked if I liked Koreans. In response, I shrugged and said I didn’t really care about race. She snickered, replying that she wouldn’t like me with a Korean guy because they were “abusive to their wives.”
I frowned at her in the mirror, watching as she shifted uncomfortably and went back to joking with my brother. For a brief second, I thought I was overreacting. Though, I don’t blame my mom for having that mentality. My older family members sometimes say offensive, racist remarks. When others in my family point out how their statements may come across as insolent, they retort with more attacks. Claiming they “didn’t mean it that way,” and that we were being too sensitive by interpreting them
Looking online, both extremes can easily be spotted. For example, I vividly remember scrolling through Facebook and finding a video of a Caucasian male creating his own tutorial for how he makes Phở, a Vietnamese dish. After finishing the video, I felt …show more content…
I’ve heard the offensive criticism older Asians can make about certain people of color, and the stereotyping they make towards all races. There was a time when my mom, my brother, and I were all in the car. My brother was joking around with my mom, asking about what type of person she wants him to date. Claiming one race was too dirty, another too wild, she playfully laughed all these comments off as jokes. In the midst of this, I made eye contact with her through the rearview mirror. She pointed out how I liked K-pop and asked if I liked Koreans. In response, I shrugged and said I didn’t really care about race. She snickered, replying that she wouldn’t like me with a Korean guy because they were “abusive to their wives.”
I frowned at her in the mirror, watching as she shifted uncomfortably and went back to joking with my brother. For a brief second, I thought I was overreacting. Though, I don’t blame my mom for having that mentality. My older family members sometimes say offensive, racist remarks. When others in my family point out how their statements may come across as insolent, they retort with more attacks. Claiming they “didn’t mean it that way,” and that we were being too sensitive by interpreting them