quote: Originally posted by aaronnn
the ones that psychosnowman and some others are talking about are just some typical mistakes.. but the one in AZN Pinoy Boy, that lady spoke to him in Chinese without even asking if he was chinese or not. this happened to me several times.. like at a chinese buffet, they just speak to me, out of nowhere, in chinese and i was like, sorry i dont speak your language.. he told me, "you look asian, are you not chinese?" i was like.. no sir, i'm korean.. and because i look am asian does not categorize me as a chinese person. this isnt the only time.. i was walking around the mall once and some chinese family came up to me asking for directoins i guess.. they assumed i was chinese and kept going at me in chinese.. they never gave me a chance to tell them that i wasnt chinese.. it's as if the majority of the chinese think that most asians are chinese here in the US. Chinese may be the majority for the asian population, but Chinese isnt the only asians here.. it would be nice if they asked what ethnic group i belong in before they start talking in their language..
that is a typical mistake i think as well. People talk to me in hindi, tamil, or somethign without asking. And, i just take it as a mistake, i mean i can see why they thought i was indian...or, hoped. I do not think that just because they may talk to you in chinese, they do not think that chinese are the only asians. They just came to the wrong conclusion, and the way they acted on their assumption might make it look worse, but it is not so grave of a mistake if they just talk to you in their language. Put yourself in their situation, some situations i mean, if you are a foreigner with no idea how to get somewhere, and you see an asian and ask them for directions in chinese becacuse you do not speak english...i mean it is not like they are thinking "you better be chinese", they are just hoping. And, if you did happen to speak chinese, then you can help them find their way. If not, then oh well. They probably know that chinese are not the only sort of asians in america.
But, i suppose asking beforehand would be a more optimal way to go about it. Not everyone thinks so much before they ask. If they do not know you are not chinese, kindly correct them. I think that the offendees are the ones that categorize themselves as "asian = chinese" moreso than the offenders do so. But, i am sure there are cases where the opposite is true.
-edit- i agree with alchemist.
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