What a beautifully rich combination!
Haha, thank you
I'm so glad you participated. Thanks! I find this ^ eternally amazing. How children don't even register racial differences initially. My Brother is married to a wonderful Girl from Taiwan and they have a new child, so the concept of being 'mixed' is one I have high interest in.
I always am intrigued to observe different people's reactions to my Brother's marriage.
Ya honestly I think the views on racially mixed families depend on the mix and the place. For example, in America, there's still people who frown at those families that have a white parent and a black parent. Meanwhile, I don't think in America there's as much of that connotation for mixes of white and Asian. However, in Asia there's a bit of a different connotation for mixes of white and asian. Particularly in my Asian side (Korea) they view themselves as one blood. They literally all see themselves as a larger family, one people. However, half white half asian people are not really in that group. When I've gone to Korea my brother and I have been called half-bloods. So we aren't really in that network so to say. That's not to say it's an inherently negative connotation. My brother and I have been called handsome many times due to our mix, and in many ways we're seen in a positive connotation because we're American (which is a country they generally like) and because Koreans kind of like the appearance of white people (in my opinion). I don't think this is just unique to Korea. There's a lot of very famous models, actors, and singers in Asia who are a mix of white and asian.
So, do you think that ultimately the stereotypes were a positive influence?
Hm I'm really not sure. I had a lot of cognitive dissonance when I was younger regarding the stereotypes. I really hated being told I was in a box (YET HERE I AM AT TYPOC), and I just didn't like the idea of people acting like they knew me before they knew me. So I really acted out as a kid. I'd say it was pretty negative, until I came to acceptance with the stereotypes, and realized it really wasn't a bad thing to be those things.
Still, I do notice undercurrents. Not long ago, my SIL was having a hard time at Customer Service. She was being accused of trying to cheat the business when really she was trying to do an exchange. I had been shopping around and then walked up to see what was taking so long? When I walked up, the representative looked surprised we were together and immediately let me explain what we wanted done and promptly fulfilled the transaction. But, my SIL had been saying exactly the same thing
Yeah I mean I believe they're subconsciously there. Thankfully I really have been around a diverse areas and I don't really stand out or get treated differently because of my ethnicity. Although, I did move to a place that was almost all white, during University. I believe the University that I attended was like 75% white, 15% black, 5 % latino, 5% asian. But I got treated great. I mean some places that have a southern culture can be really really friendly. In fact, one of my cousins on my white side swears that when he gets older he's going to move to the south, (I'm in the NE) because the North East is so unfriendly and uncaring. So I mean other than the diner where I got stared at, I got treated well when I was in a dominantly white area. I don't know if that would be the same if I were half black or not, but at least for my mix I'm not treated too bad. And that reminds me, I've known two people who were half black half asian. Both were really awesome people. I remember one of them was half korean and she and I use to joke that we were brother and sister.
Have you ever been to Korea or the European countries in your background
So I haven't been to Europe at all. I've gone to Korea about 5 times in my life, and I might be going there again in a couple of months. I've always been amazed by how fast it has changed. It was very different when I was young, compared to the recent time I visited. I mean I've even noticed the culture change, where in many respects the youth act VERY like the youth in America. Always staring at their phone, wearing very stylish clothes and hair styles. Really interesting stuff. One of my most memorable experiences, is when I was staying at a very fancy hotel my first time in Korea, I was probably around 10. And right across the street, I was in a parking lot for the hotel, there was a hut. It was raining very hard, and I noticed a old lady in the hut peeling onions. I don't think that noticing such a stark contrast in wealth ever affected me as much as it did then.
So story time, I know its already a long post, but I figure you guys might find this funny / interesting, I know most people in my family do.
Oh, and I purposefully didn't mention other royal ancestry, such as King John
So I'm related to a king as well. It's not very far up my line. He was my great-great-great grandfather, I believe; and he was on my German side. He wasn't a great king by any means, and by great I mean a king of a large kingdom. He was a king of a smaller kingdom, at the time when Germany was ruled by many different kingdoms. Apparently Bismark, I believe, called on all the kings to help in a war. So my grandfather (I will call him grandfather so I don't have to use great so much), left his kingdom to go fight, and left his brother in charge while he was gone. When the war was over he came back, however, his brother banished him and claimed the kingdom. My grandfather then went to America with nothing but a silver spoon (literally). Eventually the American Civil War occurred. My grandfather had extensive military experience, and offered to take the place of a rich man's son for money. The offer was accepted, and he was put in the Union cavalry as an officer. He eventually got shot in his back, I believe, and ever since had to use a cane to walk. Now my great grandfather was raised by my great-great-great grandfather (the german king), because my great-grandfather's father (my great-great-grandfather) died before he was born. Now from what I hear, my great-great-great grandfather was a real hard ass, real strict German (in fact pretty much all the males on my father's line are real hard asses). So he was raised getting beat up by a cane and such. Anyway, with the money from the civil war my great-grandfather and great-great-great grandfather started investing in apartments in the Bronx. Apparently they became very very wealthy. I'm talking about equivalent of 5-10 million current USD. However, they stored their money in the banks. When the run on the banks occurred during the great depression my great-grandfather lost all of his money. He apparently suffered a nervous break down, and my grandfather suffered the consequences. My great-grandfathers wife (or my grandfather's mother) died working in a factory. She worked underneath a vent which blew in cool air, and got pneumonia, she died very shortly after. So my grandfather's life was very harsh, because his father was abusive from the nervous breakdown, and his loving mother died when he was around 15. So in short my grandfather became a real hard ass to my dad because his dad was a hardass, and that explains why my dad is such a hard ass!
End of story!