The other day my Japanese friend from college came by to visit. The next day one of my other friends asks me who is this Chinese person I've been hanging out with and I answered "He's not Chinese he's Japanese".

My friend answered "Eh whatever, Chinese, Japanese... it's all the same" I then said "Well using that logic the English, French, German, Italian... it's all the same. Do you see how stupid that sounds?" and he didn't have an answer and gave me a blank look.

I hate how people still think this way when it comes to Asians.

It's an ignorance. You have to pity ppl like that.

that's ignorance and a shame. i've heard people say that about salvadorians are pretty much mexicans because they both speak spanish. grouping people together like that is just dumb. if your friend had asked "who's this asian person you've been hanging out with" it would've been better, but at the same time...that just sounds bad at the same time.

They are not all the same; I work with asians, and they are from china, taiwan, hong kong, and I can tell you they are different but, they are the same in some ways but, are all from different parts of the world.
_________________________________________________________________

The other day my Japanese friend from college came by to visit. The next day one of my other friends asks me who is this Chinese person I've been hanging out with and I answered "He's not Chinese he's Japanese".

My friend answered "Eh whatever, Chinese, Japanese... it's all the same" I then said "Well using that logic the English, French, German, Italian... it's all the same. Do you see how stupid that sounds?" and he didn't have an answer and gave me a blank look.

I hate how people still think this way when it comes to Asians.

To us they may look similar, but they come from different cultures and backgrounds. You may not always be able to tell by just looking at them and that's why I just keep my mouth shut.

I don't think it's right to call them the same, but I will say, it's hard for me to tell whether they're Chinese, Japanese or whatever just by looking at them :crazy:

To us they may look similar, but they come from different cultures and backgrounds. You may not always be able to tell by just looking at them and that's why I just keep my mouth shut.
Same here. I enjoyed how Jack Soo's Nick Yemana on Barney Miller would always comment on that. There was one victim who was roughed up by a cop, and Barney has him take a look at all the guys on his squad.

Re: Yemana -

Victim: No, he wasn't Chinese.
Yemana: Neither am I!

it does annoy me, but what annoys me the most is when people assume all asians are either chinese or japanese, and they don't even consider that someone who appears to be asian may be vietnamese, thai, cambodian, filipino, korean, indonesian, or something else.

it also annoys me when people say filipinos aren't asian, but hispanic or latino which they are not, despite the country having been ruled by spain for a while. i have a filipino ancestor somewhere in my recent past on my mom's side of the family and as a result, my brother has what people describe as asian eyes. and yes, it annoys me when people say, YOUR BROTHER IS CHINESE?

but my biggest annoyance when it comes to these types of things is when people assume that all people who speak portuguese are from brazil, and that everyone who speaks spanish is from mexico. there are many other countries who speak both of those languages, including the countries in which they originated.

My friend answered "Eh whatever, Chinese, Japanese... it's all the same"
that sounds like what i would have said. i can't speak for him but i would have meant it light-heartedly, not that china and japan are actually the same country.

They are not all the same; I work with asians, and they are from china, taiwan, hong kong, and I can tell you they are different but, they are the same in some ways but, are all from different parts of the world.

Very true. I have some Asian classmates and there are slight, but noticeable differences between Chinese and Koreans for example.

People also think that all Hispanic people are olive-skinned(not sure if that is the right term), when in fact there are white Hispanics with strong European/Caucasian features and black Hispanics. Hispanic is a race, not a color.

I was going to post one word, but everyone beat me to it: IGNORANCE!! (which is where racism comes from)

I also hate it when people call them all "Orientals". And I know Milasians hate being combined into just "Asian". I don't blame them a bit. It's like someone finding out I'm Canadian and lump me in with Americans. Not that I have anything against Americans, but we all like our proper identities.

Freaky ... vernacular decay just posted a similar thread regarding Spanish and Portuguese-speaking people and I was gonna reply with my answer to THIS question. :lol:

Anyway, that annoys me too ... a lot. I mostly get it from my brother and my sister who assume that all Asians are "Chinese." It's really annoying, and really ignorant. :rolleyes: We live in culturally diverse San Francisco too!

My nanny Ondine is Vietnamese, French and English and she's one of the most beautiful people I know. I have a lot of asian friends and family friends so I think it's really stupid and ignorant when people act as if Asia is a country or something.

I think it's stupid.

I have met many Asian people, and they are all very different. I don't group people as being the same.