“Go back to where you came from!”
You have no idea how many times this has been directed at me and/or my friends. And it still astonishes me how these ignorant fools think it’s some kind of valid insult. Now when I hear it or think of it, the original pang of pain that crept up in between those words has turned into a slight twitch of the eye; nothing more than an annoyance in a daily routine. A hiccup.
How many times have I answered? Not enough I guess. Ranging from angry cries of “I’m from LA bitch!” to silent glares of disbelief, the response is never enough to actually get them to understand the full extent of their ethnocentric, fake-patriotic stupidity that will never cease to baffle me.
What I really want to say is this:
I am American. I was born in Chinatown, Los Angeles, raised in Burbank, in a middle-class white suburban neighborhood, which is also in America. If you’re telling me to go home, to Burbank, then we can stop here. But I have a feeling you’re trying to tell me something else.
I am American educated, I have travelled to different parts of the world and lived in several places both in and out of our country. I speak a few languages well enough to get by in their respective countries, which is usually more than what the people who are on the offensive end are able to say. Yeah, I don’t look very “American” by your standards, sir (most of the times I’ve been accosted by men), but look around you.
I am America. I don’t expect you to see it, but I represent the vital multicultural aspect of America that keeps us interesting, growing, and unique. We are a country of countries and how is that not something to love and appreciate? America is evolving, and it’s straight up Darwinism; if you can’t evolve with the changing world around you, you will eventually die off along with your shitty ideals and one-track ways. And I can’t wait for the day when people as close minded and dim witted as you taper off of America’s radar. Either that, or grow and learn- evolve with the times and give me my space to be American.
This is my patriotism and you can’t take that away from me. I stand for my country and I stand for my people. If you think I should go back to where I came from, well I’m already here- and I’m here to stay and protect my right to be noticed and to be American.
I wish a response like this would stumble out of my mouth rather than the more profane and less productive kind of responses I usually dump out, but any response is better than no response. To help these fools evolve we have to tell them what’s up, otherwise who will? We need to speak for ourselves when given the opportunity and not wait for someone with power to do it for us first.
As difficult as the struggle is, it is an important and beautiful one that all Americans should be fighting for. In order for our kids and their kids to become a stronger society with curious minds and full hearts, we should, no- we need to instill a sense of an American bond no matter where our parents may be from.
It’s 2012 and still, a young black boy wearing a hoodie is shot in cold blood without an arrest. Evolution is painstakingly slow and at times it seems like we often regress. I don’t want to have to tell my children to be wary of their looks. I want to tell society to stop looking at my kids the wrong way. I don’t want to tell my kids to be careful what they wear. I want to tell the aggressors to open their minds and think critically.
Unfortunately, we hold the heavy end of the burden. I can’t tell society how to view my kids, but I can tell my kids that they’ll be discriminated against and empower them with the right tools to handle the situation. But it pains me to think that I’m passing that baggage onto my children.
My goal is to create a better America for my kids (who will undoubtedly be Asian-looking in one way or another), free from the same idiotic remarks that littered my life growing up. An America for Hyphens to get the respect and dignity they deserve and the patriotism they are allowed. One where the response to someone yelling,”Go back where you came from!” is “I am home.” and there would be nothing to question that beautiful logic.
