Learning Race - A Response

While reading Dalton Conley's Universal Freckle, I related to several of his ideas. As I age, mature and interact more and more with the society to which I'm connected with, I begin to realize how much of a minority I truly am. For starters, if I were in the author's classroom and asked to describe four of five attributes about myself, I would generally start off by calling myself a gay, Filipino-Canadian male. I suppose this is the lens that dominantly influences my life. Of course, it hasn't always been like this.

I agree with Dalton Conley when he says that "Race as we adults know it is something that has to be taught to us by parents, teachers and society more generally" (31). This reminded me of a story from when I was a child. My aunt was telling my mom how younger cousin Michael was talking with his classmates and they said "I'm white, what are you?" Michael, who thought of himself to be just like his friends, replied "I'm white too." As his friends laughed at him, he quickly learned that he was not white. At that point, my aunt figured it was time to do some explaining. He went from being completely innocent and equal, and was taught that he is something "different".

Another concept that Conley brings up is the fact that ethnicity can be chosen, but race is a master status that cannot be concealed (37). This is something that became clear to me while I spent ten months backpacking through parts of Asia. Each country that I went through the locals would shout out at me, guessing which country I came from. "Koni-chi-wa!", "You are China man?" and "Hello Korea!" are only some of the comments that I would receive. As well, they would often speak to me in their native language and when I would tell them that I didn't speak their language they'd ask where I'm from. When I'd say "Canada", this look of confusion embraced their face. "But, you are same as me…" they'd reply as they pointed to their brown skin. I'd generally respond by saying, "Yes, because my parents were born in the Philippines." This would generally create more confusion, probably because half of time they didn't know anything about the Philippines, or perhaps they generally associate Canadians with being a nation of white people. The point is, I cannot escape the color of my skin. No matter where I go, I will always be an Asian man.

On the other hand, it wasn't hard for me to figure out that I could change my ethnicity to my advantage. I met this first generation Korean-American (Mike) who would receive the same comments from the locals. As we were walking down a street, we inevitably got stopped and asked what we were. As usual, I tried to explain my situation which caused the Lao man to stop and contemplate. He then looked at Mike who quickly responded "I'm Japanese." The man from Laos, satisfied, smiled and quickly went on his way. From that point on, if I chose to, I would be able to "pass" as a local or another ethnicity, given the different situations. For example, in Cambodia, since I was able to speak a little Khmer, there were a couple of times when I received a cheaper price at the markets than the obvious white-skinned tourists.

Dalton Conley also states that "it is acceptable for whites to appropriate African-American culture, but "it is unacceptable if the situation is reversed (28). In comparison, I find that there are many people who are discriminatory to Asian immigrants, yet will borrow from their culture. This concept is something that bothers me and I see it in our society quite frequently. They feel that these immigrants are inferior because they are not proficient at English and do not know our culture's norms. Yet, you will often find the exact same people sitting in a Japanese/Thai/Chinese restaurant exclaiming how they love ethnic food! And sometimes as they sit, they will remark at the slow service and/or the odd business practices. At this point I will confess that I have done this myself to a certain degree and it is how I know that it is done. I now realize what an ethnocentric train of thought it is! These people don't realize that these immigrants (and possible refugees) are actually humans as well. They have packed up their whole life to perhaps try and escape an impoverished country, earn some money and send it home to their remaining family who could not afford or qualify to migrate. All the while, these struggling immigrants are trying to learn a completely new lifestyle, not to mention a whole new language. You would think that people would be more accepting and helpful to these individuals, but instead they are the ones that create the obstacles.

It's funny how my perspective has indeed changed over the years. As children, my siblings and I used to make fun at my parents because they would always point out other Filipinos they'd see passing by. "What does it matter if they're Filipino? Oh look, there's a stop a sign, there's a tree" are the comment's we'd snicker, as if seeing a fellow Filipino was as trivial as seeing an everyday object. However, now that I've grown, I will often do the same thing, as well as point out other gays and lesbians that I see in public, and I realize that it’s a way to comfort myself, to have a sense of solidarity, a way to say "Hey, I'm not alone in this world."