Choosing Sides

[Johnathan]

I have a question for you all...

Do you choose one side of your family to identify with, or do you represent both sides equally?

Personally I try to ALWAYS acknowledge both sides of my heritage. I find it to be a dishonor to my mother if someone says "oh you just black". How do you guys feel about this subject?

[Dangjin]

With all honesty chief, the title of this topic scared me.
The idea of choosing sides? Image if you were introducing your whole family to someone - someone really closed-minded at that (added challenge yae), and you only acknowledge the Black side. Maaaaaan, man (u_u)

I've run into the "oh you just black" situation before. It (unfortunately) turned into an argument - bashers excite me. I ended up being labeled as "stuck on his race" and "being a hater of his own race" at the same time. Confusing yo

Personally, I identify with as much as I come in contact with. I always represent my COMPLETE family.

[Jordan]

When I'm asked(which is all the time) I always acknowledge my Japanese side.

[Kimberlee]

well i do lovee my famliy but yeauh i dont choose side and that becuzz the pplz on dad side there blak they are always telling you sound white i dress white and bluh bluh and sometime they say iam not blak but i still love them, i lovee being on muh asian side of the famliy becuzz they dont talk as much mess as muh dad side and no one ever told me that iam just black they say iam just indian although iam mix with it. but i do hate choosing side and sometimes i feel bad =/

[Kawaii Baby]

Well its very hard to do that when both your parents are blasian and they dont know much about the Asian side nor a real black side! So I usually like to go and find out about other cultures since I really dont have one! Yes black has hip-hop and all that but that should be what Black people are all about. Hip-hop could be done by everybody! Black people are just better at it thats all. I do look all that asian so I would just tend to go with any race someone percieves me as!

[Ramon]

difficult question...i try to represent all sides, both black and japanese, but culturally i identify more with ja's because i was raised by my mom and her side of the family. i don't know my father's family that well, if at all. i'm always seen as not black enough, which is ok with me. and japanese don't see me as japanese either, which is fine with me. i'm a chameleon, able to blend into other ethnic groups.

besides race/ethnicity, the other factor to consider is class. all of my friends share the same class, which is middle/upper middle. and education too. that's a huge factor.

[Ricardo Esono]

i represent both sides equally. Ain't nothing wrong being both, besides we have to see it this way...we get the best of all worlds, and it's great!

[KieuT]

Unfortunately, I just identify with Black. If asked, I acknowledge my asian heritage, but, due to bad blood with my dad's family, we don't even really speak, so its more of a personal issue for me. If things were different b/t the two families, then I would prolly have an equal bond. But I did give my daughter an asian middle name, so that makes it ok, right? J/k! But seriously, its just bad blood b/t our two families.

[Mz.Sharie]

its incredibly hard to choose a side...when it comes to my mothers side i always feel like i need to pronounce more that i am black because i am the "black sheep" of the family and it is very apparent in their eyes and those that see me and dont kno that that is my family...also my mom has always put on my birth certificate and when i fill out questtionaires that ask race that i am black...and sometimes i feel down when i have to just put black because there is more to me than just that...and then with my fathers side i feel more compelled to talk about asian things and such because they look like me and they understand and can relate...its really hard when u have more of one races influences upon u than the other...

[The OriginalBlaSian]

I would NEVER and have never chosen sides!!
Now ask me if black people fully accept me and I can tell you no.
Ask if Viets fully accept me and I can tell you know (most still frown upon mixed Viets and most don't like blacks).
Heck most everyone I know (including whites) tell me that I'm the whitest black/Asian person they know.
And that's crazy because I didn't grow up around a LOT of white kids.
I actually grew up with other Air Force brats (and they were "outcasts" also).
But I will ALWAYS rep both heritages regardless.

And yes, it would be a dishonor to moms to claim only to be black.

[Johnathan]

aren't a lot of us blasians products of military relationships? lol.

[Toya]

lol yeah...I've noticed that pattern as well,
it seems the majority of blasians came from military parents

[Toya]

When I was younger I guess I chose my black side.
I felt like I was forced to,
I mean, with all those fill in the bubbles crap, that make you bubble in your ethnicity,
I always had to choose black.
But now that I'm older Ive started to embrace my asian side.
I dont choose one over the other though...