My take on being a cyber-Asian
by Rasee Govindani, 18, Bangkok, Thailand
Dec 8, 1999
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I'm pretty obsessive about posting at Snuggles UBB(an online bulletin board) and recently I came across two topics that really got to me. One was called "AZN PrIDe" and the other was this American girl talking about how Asians have been emailing her and leaving nasty remarks in her guestbook, screaming that she is racist because of her post in the former section.

My answer to both sections were pretty much the same. I have never classified myself by my race, religion, or way of life. I don't believe in "Asian Pride" or any other clique as such simply because I would be saying "I'm better than all of you. So there."

I'm not.

I feel like I've dealt with this issue before, but suddenly it's become even more important to talk about racism and prejudice because the world is collapsing underneath people's narrow-minded views and beliefs. I think that the end of the world won't be brought about by some supernatural force. I think we're going to all self-destruct.

I don't understand the teenagers on the Internet who dedicate sections to "Asian Pride" then speak in ebonics, like that's the way Asians actually speak. Give me a break. And that typing! It makes me so mad that these insensitive and immature people classify all Asians under this one category and represent that category with all their stupidity.

The irony of all of this is that most of the Asians who support this nonsensical movement don't even live in Asia!

The one thing that I do know about Asians is that we're NOT racist. We accept others, regardless of race or religion, because we KNOW we're a minority when it comes to the industrialized world. We definitely have a certain amount of pride in our culture and our country, and also our people. But we do NOT go screaming that just because we're Asian, we're better than the rest of the world. We're probably not.

The concept of "Asian Pride" was conjured up by Asians living outside Asia who feel like they're not getting the respect they deserve. At least that's my theory. Since I live in Asia, I don't need to go screaming for respect because I'm surrounded by Asians AND other races, but even if I lived elsewhere, I wouldn't start yelling either.

I think it all comes down to being proud of who you are, regardless of race. Once you indulge in setting yourself apart from the world because of your race, you have become a part of the cruelty that is racism. Think about that.

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