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I don't work in SF, but the last time I visited and was walking down the streets of SF with my friend (both Asian American), I had someone tell us to go back to

I don't work in SF, but the last time I visited and was walking down the streets of SF with my friend (both Asian American), I had someone tell us to go back to our home countries. I haven't experienced that in Seattle, so I chalked it up to high economic tensions in SF (this was back when the Google Bus protests were a thing). > Yet somehow I still often feel like an outsider. As I've started becoming more aware of how race affects how you get treated in America, I've given up on identifying as American, despite growing up here, being a citizen, and not speaking my parent's native language very well. I find it much easier to identify as Asian-American now, and there is a sense of comradery, especially in cities with smaller AA populations. A nice side effect is that I no longer get bothered when someone asks me that oh-so-annoying question "where are you from" meaning "what ethnicity are you".

patleeman 10y ago
I'm Chinese American and I agree. I too find it easier to identify as Chinese-American / Asian-American. I live in and was born and raised in NYC around large Asian communities, so I feel like I'm fortunate to grow up learning about my parent's culture and where they're from but at the same time I'm a child of a completely different culture. I often find myself feeling torn between the two. I'm not Chinese, my birth certificate proves I'm American, however I often don't feel like I can represent myself as either. My fiance is White American and the glances and stares we get when we're in more homogeneous parts of the country are pretty telling.
- dsajames 10y ago
  My wife is two inches taller than me barefoot and wears heels. You should see the looks we get. What does it matter if you get looks from people who have no value to you? You would get even more stares in parts of China.

patleeman 10y ago

I'm Chinese American and I agree. I too find it easier to identify as Chinese-American / Asian-American. I live in and was born and raised in NYC around large Asian communities, so I feel like I'm fortunate to grow up learning about my parent's culture and where they're from but at the same time I'm a child of a completely different culture. I often find myself feeling torn between the two. I'm not Chinese, my birth certificate proves I'm American, however I often don't feel like I can represent myself as either. My fiance is White American and the glances and stares we get when we're in more homogeneous parts of the country are pretty telling.

dsajames 10y ago
My wife is two inches taller than me barefoot and wears heels. You should see the looks we get. What does it matter if you get looks from people who have no value to you? You would get even more stares in parts of China.