Is there anyone else this article rubbed the wrong way?
I find it rather odd, the way he thinks that a white person even mentioning or discussing the fact that he is Asian is racist. He does admit that individual remarks are not a big deal, but still.
I go to a very diverse university. White people are a minority (the largest minority, maybe 1/3, but still.) Many, many students, and the vast majority of grad students (at least in STEM faculties - can't speak for the rest) are either international students or immigrants, or the children of immigrants. "Where are you from?" is definitely one of the first questions everyone asks when they meet someone. That goes for white students too. It's small talk, and nothing more. I am white, just give my province and city, and often get asked for my ancestry too. (All of Europe, people. Literally like 10 countries in the last few generations. Do you actually want me to run through it?) It isn't making people outsiders - it's getting to know them. It is NORMAL.
White people can't just *tell* if an Asian person is Chinese, or Japanese, or Korean, or Mongolian, or, hell, Tajik. That's not being racist, either. Could Bob Chang, average Chinese American, infallibly tell a random German from a Welshman from a Pole from a Norwegian from a Brit from a Frenchman? What about a hybrid of all the above, like me? Intentionally treating them as interchangeable, when you know already, is racist. Asking? What if you just want to know whether to wish them a happy Chinese New Year?
I completely understand that this guy has experienced racism. That sucks, truly it does. But hey, let's take his party punching dude anecdote and make it not about race. "What school did you go to? X University? Well, this is Y College town! It's MY territory! *sucker punch*)
That's ridiculous, and prejudice and douchebaggery are unacceptable. However, if that happened to a person, and they went around thereafter responding to every innocent "So, where did you go to school?" with "Bigotry! Prejudice!", that would be stupid. By that logic, any characteristic of a person that someone, somewhere is prejudiced against is verboten.
It's also weird to act like talking about race, specifically, is racist. (I know what this sounds like, but) my best friend is Chinese. We've been like sisters since the first day of high school. Of course we mention it. Sometimes I make jokes about her being Asian. Sometimes she mocks my white-ass ineptitude at rice cooking. Sometimes I ask her legitimately expert advice about old Chinese literature (anthropology being a hobby of mine). Sometimes I read Dream of the Red Chamber and tell her that it is irredemably fucked up. She then points and laughs at the existence of Sigmund Freud. Making fun of friends' idiosyncrasies is what friendship is about. If a person oversteps the bounds of friendship, that's seriously problematic. If a person says that joking about race inherently oversteps the bounds of friendship, that's pretty dumb.
One last thing about this guy - he isn't an honest SJW, he's only one with issues that affect him personally. Looking at his blog post that he mentioned - where he said women's hair should be smooth and shiny - hoo boy. He did admit that it was a trainwreck, but only with regards to the one line with racial undertones. That was probably the least of that post's problems.
I don't say that Mr. Hong has no legitimate points whatsoever, or that his experience of racism doesn't matter or doesn't exist. I do think, though, that this article has some serious drawbacks and makes some mistaken conclusions.
Thoughts?