tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10004193.post6481373568860892672..comments2024-03-29T02:25:16.047-05:00Comments on Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas: I ‘Went Back to China’ — and Felt More American than Ever By Crystal ChenAngela Valenzuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16377527828841110131noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10004193.post-73950612247042310282016-10-24T06:16:52.630-05:002016-10-24T06:16:52.630-05:00Overall, I'm not impressed by Chen's story...Overall, I'm not impressed by Chen's story. She apparently worked in a cushy job in Hong Kong that employed many expats ("...cast myself with a privileged lot of expatriates") and probably had little interaction with average locals. She even had access to a domestic helper.<br /><br />Her life in Hong Kong is not the reality for most Hong Kong people. In other words, she had no more than one foot in Hong Kong, while the other foot was somewhere else - probably the U.S.<br /><br />While Chen is correct in her description of Hong Kong's brand of classism and racism, she was wrong to think that she could escape prejudice by relocating to a place where she would presumably be one of the majority.<br /><br />This indicates that she didn't grow up with fellow Chinese Americans in the U.S.<br /><br />I know because I used to think the same way. I started out by living in a neighborhood that had few Chinese. Like Chen, I put up with my fair share of racist remarks.<br /><br />When I had a chance to attend a school that was over 90 percent Chinese in Chinatown, I thought that I'd finally escaped the prejudice that I experienced during my early years.<br /><br />Then I found out that people will always find ways to separate themselves from their peers. Among Chinese Americans, divisions would sprout up between those who were born in the U.S. and those who had immigrated or between those with more money and those with less.<br /><br />So, when I returned to Hong Kong, I bore no illusion that simply going to a place where I can blend in with the locals would spare me from prejudice.<br /><br />Also unlike Chen, I found it quite easy to leave the U.S. I never regretted my decision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com