Ethnocentrism
This semester, I'm learning an interesting subject called "Culture and Learning" (or something to that effect, because the BM name is "Budaya dan Pembelajaran"). Right now we're studying terminology (race, ethnicity, society, etc) and the various different cultures in Malaysia.
It's a pain to talk about all the ethnic groups in Malaysia because there are just SO MANY. My group presented a discussion on different ethnic groups and their demography in Malaysia this morning. It took me 4 hours of research and editing last week to put together the slide presentation and my part on the Chinese ethnic group. No kidding.
At the end of this presentation, I was left with a clearer understanding of the main ethnic groups in Malaysia - except my own.
I have no idea which ethnic group I belong to. Biologically speaking, I am of the Chinese race. But apart from my fair skin and small eyes and flat features, I really don't know what else in me is Chinese in ethnicity. I can speak Mandarin, but only because my parents sent me to a Chinese primary school to acquire the language. Dialects? Harhar. I grew up on a solid diet of English books, hence developed a more Western mentality. However, I'm not all that liberal either - my way of life is guided by Christian values and principles (arguably Jewish). =P I don't have any of those Chinese superstitions and taboos which are related to folk religion or Buddhism. And I don't even know how to use chopsticks the proper way. I don't even feel BAD about not knowing how to!
Everything I know about the Chinese, I learnt from the internet. XD
I don't feel a sense of belonging to the traditional Chinese community. In fact, it's as though I'm on a different wavelength when I mingle with them. To me, there's this mentality barrier that divides the Chinese-educated and English-educated, and I cannot seem to get past that. Even though I was formally educated in a Chinese setting, I feel that my real education comes from the books I read - English books.
So where do I stand? I'm definitely not a traditional Chinese, but I'm definitely not Caucasian either.
Does it matter, really? I kinda like my undefined status. I feel I'm more objective when evaluating desirable/undesirable traits in anyone because I'm not clouded by strong Chinese traditional values, and I don't have a strong sense of ethnocentrism. I won't feel offended if you say something offensive against the Chinese, because I think I'm anut unique case. In fact, I told my friends just now :
It's a pain to talk about all the ethnic groups in Malaysia because there are just SO MANY. My group presented a discussion on different ethnic groups and their demography in Malaysia this morning. It took me 4 hours of research and editing last week to put together the slide presentation and my part on the Chinese ethnic group. No kidding.
At the end of this presentation, I was left with a clearer understanding of the main ethnic groups in Malaysia - except my own.
I have no idea which ethnic group I belong to. Biologically speaking, I am of the Chinese race. But apart from my fair skin and small eyes and flat features, I really don't know what else in me is Chinese in ethnicity. I can speak Mandarin, but only because my parents sent me to a Chinese primary school to acquire the language. Dialects? Harhar. I grew up on a solid diet of English books, hence developed a more Western mentality. However, I'm not all that liberal either - my way of life is guided by Christian values and principles (arguably Jewish). =P I don't have any of those Chinese superstitions and taboos which are related to folk religion or Buddhism. And I don't even know how to use chopsticks the proper way. I don't even feel BAD about not knowing how to!
Everything I know about the Chinese, I learnt from the internet. XD
I don't feel a sense of belonging to the traditional Chinese community. In fact, it's as though I'm on a different wavelength when I mingle with them. To me, there's this mentality barrier that divides the Chinese-educated and English-educated, and I cannot seem to get past that. Even though I was formally educated in a Chinese setting, I feel that my real education comes from the books I read - English books.
So where do I stand? I'm definitely not a traditional Chinese, but I'm definitely not Caucasian either.
Does it matter, really? I kinda like my undefined status. I feel I'm more objective when evaluating desirable/undesirable traits in anyone because I'm not clouded by strong Chinese traditional values, and I don't have a strong sense of ethnocentrism. I won't feel offended if you say something offensive against the Chinese, because I think I'm a
'You'll never be able to insult me regarding my ethnicity. HAHA.'
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