Mixed American Essay examples

Mixed American Essay examples Mixed American Essay examples Mixed-American â€Å"There is a drill that nearly all Asians in America have experienced more times than they can count. Total strangers will interrupt with the absurdly existential question â€Å"What are you?† Or the equally common inquiry â€Å"Where are you from?†...†(1) Living in Southern California as a â€Å"Hispanic American†, I have definitely received those same exact questions countless times. Although I know they are of good intention, I usually like to throw out the answer they weren't looking for and watch them get frustrated with my not so serious answer. I'm sure Mission Hills, California doesn't seem as â€Å"exotic† as Sinaloa, Mexico might sound (which is where my father is from), but I would still much rather be here than over there. Even though we are only a few hours away from Tijuana, Mexico; I still haven't even been to any part of Mexico. However, my eventual answer is that my heritage, or â€Å"ethnicity† is Mexican-American. Helen Zia needed someone to question the origin of her name, actually guessing if it was Pakistani, to help her awaken her own personal American revolution. Up until then, Zia was, â€Å"someone living in the shadows of American society...†(1). Later on, while discussing civil rights with her friend Rose, Rose badgered her saying, â€Å"Helen, you've got to decide if you're black or white.†(1). Problem was, she still wasn't really sure what she saw herself as, since the term â€Å"Asian American† hasn't been coined yet. The problem with racially identifying yourself, is that it is a complicated mixture of information that you absorb sub-consciously, â€Å"Everybody learns some combination, some version, of the rules of racial classification, and of their own racial identity, often without obvious teaching or conscious inculcation. Race becomes "common sense"- a way of comprehending, explaining and acting in the world.†.(5) The main problem is, when you ask an Asian-American to racially define themselves, they may have trouble defining themselves, similar to Helen Zia, not being sure exactly what she is. Zia felt that other â€Å"Americans† viewed her as the enemy, so she would be discriminated even though she wasn't the person we were fighting at the time, let alone the correct â€Å"race†. Victor Wong went through similar situations, referring to his face as, â€Å"the face of the enemy.†(3). While we may have only been at war with one country from Asia at a time, whether it be with China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, etc., The average American who wasn't out to war with a gun, was at war with all Asians in their own communities using their hard head as their weapon instead, and boy was it effective. This mindset that people have against Asian groups, turns them into â€Å"perpetual foreigners†(4), who no matter how long they live in the United States, they will always be labeled as foreigners from another country. It is not fair that we treat the ancestors of those who came here in the 1800's, working hard in the mines, and plantations, helping build the nation to what it is today, with disrespect. Even if it is not a direct ancestor, we should not be prejudiced towards any Asian group, because we all did our part in developing this nation, so we all deserve a piece of the proverbial American pie. Choosing your race seems like something that is not up to you, it seems like something that other people make up to help define you so they can single you out and put you into some group. However, â€Å"The effort must be made to understand race as an unstable and "decentered" complex of social meanings constantly being transformed by political struggle.†(5). Victor Wong said he had to â€Å"make my own manual to live in this country.† because being Asian-American was not simple. Race is not set in stone, since it is a mixture of many forces that come together to define the race, it constantly change from time