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Just finished listening to episode 3 of the All-American: Tiger podcast and I'm just... angry. Angry that people in 2020 can watch all this old footage of Tiger Woods, then present someone's argument that Tiger was being hurtful or trying to dodge responsibility by choosing to
identify as mixed race instead of black, and then follow that stance with dialogue that offers little to no push back on the idea. Their dialogue is so fixated on the impact on the black community, they never even once consider what it means to those of us who identify as mixed
race to have one of the greatest athletes of all time identify in the same way.
And hilariously, as a mixed race person, I can't even be collectively outraged with my community over this cause there isn't one. The only way we're all connected is we all have to deal with this BS.
And hilariously, as a mixed race person, I can't even be collectively outraged with my community over this cause there isn't one. The only way we're all connected is we all have to deal with this BS.
So let's clarify: when you ignore someone's choice to identify as mixed and instead refer to them as X or Y race, all you're saying is "I don't care why you identify in that way, I only care about what I see when I look at you." That's... Pretty fucked up, man.
And with me, I
And with me, I
think it's especially fucked up because of why I myself identify as mixed in the first place. Now sure, I love my parents equally and my family history on both sides contribute equally to who I am, but that's not the main reason I fill in the bubble for "other" or "mixed."
The reason I fill in that bubble is because I've been excluded from the groups I should be a part of. When I was young I did think of myself as Asian, and I took great pride in it, but the older I got the less Asian I looked and the more "something else" I became. My Asian family
were quick and comfortable letting me know how seemingly overnight I was not one of them anymore, and my white school peers certainly did not think I was one of them either.
Even today I was reminded that I am neither Asian or White. I went to a Thai grocery, and although the
Even today I was reminded that I am neither Asian or White. I went to a Thai grocery, and although the
other Thai customers were speaking in Thai with the clerk, when I spoke to her in Thai she spoke back to me in English. Later, while trying to correct an issue with my transaction at Bunnings, the white cashier treated me like I was trying to steal something. Now maybe the Thai
woman thought I'd be more comfortable with her English... Maybe the Bunnings cashier is suspicious of all people under 40, but I've had enough confirmations that "yes that was racism" over the years to trust my radar when it happens.
So yeah, my not feeling welcome in any one
So yeah, my not feeling welcome in any one
racial group is largely why I choose the mixed race identity, because at some point I realized there were other people out there having the same experience, and for me that experience -- of having no community, of being an outsider -- was the most defining aspects of my racial
identity. And while not every mixed person identifies as mixed for this reason, they will likely know what I'm talking about first hand. And that experience is what I'm connected to. Cause I can tell you, my Asian cousins have never once had to question whether they were Asian.
Anyway, all I want is for people to respect other's mixed identity. There aren't many celebs choosing to identify as mixed, and those that do aren't often willing to push back when someone tries to squash the label. If Tiger says he's mixed, the right response is to celebrate it.
