Paper Tiger

A friend shared this article called Paper Tigers on fb today. It's a series of writings by Asian American males, presumably in response to the controversy created by the Tiger Mom . Upon clicking through, you will see pictures of close-ups of Asian male faces, in defiance, tough looking. And this guy, Wesley Yang, really has some strong opinions about his "ancestry."

First of all, I am not an "ABC," although I can kinda relate to the feeling of "in between," I have no idea what the kind of ordeal ABC's are going through when it comes to cultural identity. However, I feel offended by his disdain toward the Asian culture, coming from someone obviously knows nothing about the deep heritage of his root. His frustration stems from the inconvenience of his Asian face, that inhibited him from achieving what he has in mind, cuz ppl think he is a quiet and timid Asian guy with no personality but loads of perfect grades. Plz, get over yourself, find a better excuse if you must whine about your insecurity. If deep down, you are so non-Asian, prove it with your action, not with your face... ...

Another disconnect from Yang's rant also comes from the different contexts. Growing up in China, I never entertained the idea of culture identity. We are all a big happy family of Chinese people, some are aggressive, some are timid, but none can be representative of whole culture... not until I came to America, when the Asian culture is juxtaposed with others, especially the American culture, did I realize that we are indeed more cautious and less outspoken than the Americans. But, I am more speaking from the perspective of immigrants. We are not speaking our mother tongue, and we do live in a foreign country. Then I wonder why the American born and educated Asians will still exhibit the similar traits? Is it largely due to the upbringing of the first generation immigrant parents? But what about the 2nd or 3rd generations, why would the "Asian traits" persist if they can not help the Asian americans survive in the western world? Or are there hidden treasures in this very culture that helped this ethic group planted their root and started life on a new continent? People like Yang would blame the racists and other ABC's who projected such image onto him. But hey, isn't this some kind of self-fulfilling prophesy?

At last, I want to leave you with the thought that, Asians are capable of taking over the world, and we are doing this right now, as long as we don't put limit on our own abilities and play victims of our own insecurities. Paper tiger or real tiger, you know it the best yourself.