16 posts were split to a new topic: Discrimination faced by ABCs in the US
Yes, we donât know the details. You and most of the others here want to extrapolate and fill in your version that points to the Taiwanese people willingly speaking English until Peter forces everyone to change. I suggest there is another way of looking at the situation that challenges the likely worldview of the OP. I accept the reality; everyone there was free to speak whatever language they wanted - if you believe that the Taiwanese had the choice as to what language they wanted to speak notwithstanding OPâs presence, I donât see why you think they suddenly didnât have such freedom after Peterâs comment.
You mention Peterâs supposed comment on how âamerica is so racist towards asian peopleâ and âEddie Huang.â Per the OP, Peter said that no one in America would ever switch from speaking English to Chinese for so long to accommodate a foreigner, and that it was unlikely he (an Asian guy) would get invited to hang out at all - you view this as âracismâ but I imagine that most ABCs and foreigners view it as ânormalâ in the sense that we wouldnât expect the dominant culture in America to accommodate or privilege us. (if ABC or other minorities are going to talk about American racism in the era of living people, the Japanese American internment, Jim Crow, the death of Vincent Chin, the persecution of Wen Ho Lee, Trumpâs Mexican wall, and Black Lives Matter are going to come up first), Eddie Huangâs fame isnât about Taiwan or âmaster of Asiaâ as you put above, it is about his experiences as an Asian American and growing up in America including racist experiences - not sure what the Taiwan connection is either.
I can see how such perspectives might challenge the worldview of those who would prefer to believe in an America free of racial privilege and discrimination, or a Taiwan free of privilege for white English speakers. But you reference the fact that Taiwanese sometimes pay Blacks and Asians less for teaching English - so you know that English and white privilege exist among Taiwanese. I invite you to consider that it exists in social as well as workplace contexts.
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I find this topic quite an interesting one. Iâm not from the US so I canât really comment on the American / ABC part of it. But I have either studied or taught in 4 different countries. 2 in Europe and 2 in Asia.
Normally, when I make friends with locals and I am invited to a âpartyâ (using the term quite loosely here) it turns out to be âStory Time with Meldrewâ. Whether it be Spain, China or Korea the âpartyâ turns English, for a time, and most people want to ask me questions and talk to me. Mostly, because theyâve not really met a foreigner in a social setting before and partly to practice English. Iâve always found them quite intrigued and wanting to know a lot of stuff about me and where Iâm from. Like a Q and A session, or an English Corner at work. Like I said⌠âpartyâ.
I feel like it wasnât a party weâd come to know from our university days if there were more people it would have fractured into a couple of little groups regardless of how interesting the OP was. If there was music, people wouldnât be able to hear the OP. It didnât sound like it, so I would guess there were less than 10 people all in (Of course, Iâm filling in the blanks from my own experience) and more of a gathering than a party.
Iâd prefer this wasnât the case, not because I want to use my limited knowledge of their language but because Iâm quite introverted and shy. At parties I prefer to âhideâ in the crowd and then introduce myself in English 1 to 1⌠a little easier to do that in Europe.
Now, whether or not Peter was being a douche is not for me to say but what he did has not happened to me before. The gatherings, after a while, start losing interest in the foreigner because a) theyâre struggling with the language or/and b) theyâre getting drunk so theyâre struggling with the language and their attention span is rapidly decreasing. That didnât appear to be the case in this story.
Back home, I grew up in quite a multicultural town. You get invited to hang out with people if youâre a decent person regardless of your nationality. The fact Peter made a point in saying âback in the States youâd not even be invited to hang outâ⌠I guess thatâs an indication of problems he faced growing up. It sounds like he hasnât let them go. However, in my experience:
- If youâre a bit of a dick, you wonât get invited.
or
- If the people you want to hang out with donât want to hang out with you then theyâre probably dicks and you should find people that do want to hang out with you.
Hopefully the OP comes back and gives us a little more information about his story.
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Peter was and probably consistently is a douche. Donât hang out with Peter. Problem solved.
What is an âABCâ?
Itâs like a BBC, only average.
âAmerican-born Chineseâ
Thanks!
Youâre funny!
bbc - british born chinese
abt - american born taiwanese
bbb - british born british.
And the most important group, the CBC - Canadian Born Chinese
Do be careful with these terms, as some of them have more than one meaning.