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the white people who look down on diaspora for not speaking the langauge of their homeland or living outside of it entirely ignore history and their own privilege
my Japanese family recognized that my half-Japanese dad was NOT accepted in Japanese society back in the 60s
my Japanese family recognized that my half-Japanese dad was NOT accepted in Japanese society back in the 60s
it was shameful that my Japanese grandmother was impregnated by an American soldier and then quickly widowed
a single mom with a half-American child in the 1960s????
he was sent to the USA quite young as a result
a single mom with a half-American child in the 1960s????
he was sent to the USA quite young as a result
my father was discouraged from speaking Japanese in the States, and was pushed to act as white as possible in order to fit in. any Japanese culture I learned was a part of whatever could be preserved, heritage programs in my hometown, etc
and my father is not alone. I know so many POC who were discouraged from speaking Chinese, Spanish, etc because their parents were forced to feel ashamed by White American society. Sometimes all we were allowed were things like setting out a kadomatsu for NYE
I am very proud of what I was taught and I was lucky in a lot of ways to grow up in a city with such a large Japanese population. My American family also helped make sure I attend these heritage programs after I lost my father
White people don’t get to gatekeep these
White people don’t get to gatekeep these
I lived in China for many years. I was very immersed in Chinese cultural activities thanks to my uni, and while these things influenced my life, I would never in a thousand years lament that I can’t “claim” it. It’s not mine to claim. Ever.
It doesn’t hurt me to state that I am a guest in Chinese culture. It doesn’t hurt me at all. Because it’s not about me. It’s like being invited to someone’s home and then complaining you don’t get to keep the house. It’s not mine to keep
Being able to study Chinese Philosophy in Shanghai, studying Mandarin in both China and Taiwan, these things are privileges. They make me lucky. How many Chinese diaspora were discouraged from speaking Mandarin, Cantonese, etc???? Too many. Far too many.
So yeah, I don’t have any sympathy for these white people who lament that “boo hoo I lived in Japan for X years and I’m fluent but I can’t claim Japanese culture as my own”. Not when there are diaspora who literally were locked out in order to assimilate and avoid discrimination
