An open letter to Asian people from a weeaboo
10 June 2011 | 14 comments
Note: this post is a companion piece to O-Talk episode 10, in which Otaku Dan and I share some of our most embarrassing weeaboo tales. Download the podcast here.
Dear Asian people,
I’ve never been shy about this on my blog. I, Lauren Rae Orsini, am a weeaboo. But now that weeaboos are having a sort of anti-heyday, I think I should clarify a bit more about what I mean.
It’s not that I don’t try to be appropriate. Let’s take an outing I went on last week. I was with a group of friends from graduate school at a Korean restaurant, my first time attending there. One friend had invited his Korean friend to attend, since she loved the restaurant, too.
Now my friends from graduate school know my deep and terrible secret. After I once lent him my spare pair of chopsticks at lunch, one of my friends congratulated me on being more Asian than he was. (Is it bad that I took that as a compliment? Of course not, you guys are awesome!) So they weren’t surprised when I got excited to see the hot pot placed in the middle of the table.
“Do you like Korean food?” the new girl asked me.
“Well, I haven’t had it. I just, remember seeing this kind of thing in a… TV show I like,” I said. I immediately knew this was the wrong answer.
“Oh, what TV show?” she asked.
“Lauren loves Japanese cartoons,” one of my grad school friend chime in good-naturedly. “She thinks she’s Asian or something.”
I insist I only like them a little, that I don’t think I’m Asian, etc. Conversation moves on.
Then, we decide to pick up some dessert from a nearby grocery store, that carries distinctly Asian specialty foods. I cook a lot of Japanese food at home, so I start picking up ingredients.
“What’s all that for,” asked the new girl.
“Oh… well, sometimes I like to cook international foods,” I said. That’s normal, right?
“Lauren loves Japanese food,” my friend adds, too-helpfully.
I haven’t seen that girl since and by now I’m certain she thinks I’m appropriating Asian culture. I feel awful, perhaps like a dog who has been caught eating cat food? Or more accurately, like a white person stealing yet another group’s culture.
Perhaps, outside of my blog, you could say I’m one of those “self hating weeaboos.” I can’t help who I am and what I like, but I do my best to make sure my lifestyle doesn’t offend you.
I think a lot of us weeaboo are full of shame. We keep to ourselves and downplay our interests. (Then again, there are those that do that opposite… and I really can’t speak for them.) I hope that you will forgive us for appreciating your fantastic culture and take it like the compliment it’s intended to be. Honestly, we think you guys are great! So don’t judge. In return, we
- will not assume that, because you are Asian, you are interested in the same things as us.
- will not force you to become our unwitting language partners in the Asian language study of our choice.
- will not creep on you or give you any unwanted attention. It’s your culture we’re crazy about, not you per se.
Love and appreciation,
Lauren
Kawaii desu ne. XD
well as an asian point of view, japanese or korean isnt the entire asian population. your friend got it wrong and she/he needs to be educated. like seriously educated.
liking japanese stuff isnt asian! .. and i reckon the korean friend would feel awkward regarding your love for japanese stuff.
just saying =P
Wait, which friend?
And I do mention my Chinese friend in there, too. So that’s three countries represented. Luckily, I have yet to offend most Asian populations.
The fact that Asian people, Japanese or not, would feel extremely awkward about my love of Japanese stuff is the whole point of the letter.
First off…that was the first time you’ve ever had Korean food?! For shame! Your part of the country has a pretty large Korean American population, and I assume lots of Korean restaurants (I’ve driven through one Koreatown-esque area in Virginia that had a few).
Korean food is absolutely my favorite, by far. This could be because I’m Korean and grew up on it, but…
And secondly, I think I should note that Asians and Asian Americans (Koreans at least – maybe not those of other nationalities) sometimes become “greedy” with their cultures. Instead of enjoying the fact that others, like yourself, enjoy it, some find it weird and are put off by it. These people are immature. So rock on, Lauren!
@Charles, it was indeed my first time, and I can’t believe I’ve lived without it my whole life! It’s so sweet and spicy. I was in Annandale, which is easily the most Korean part of the state. The stores have signs written in Korean first and English second.
I haven’t actually ever had an encounter with a Korean person (or any other ethnicity actually) who flat out told me, “Go find your own culture to like!” I am just cautious about it. Thanks for sharing! Sometime you’ll need to take me out for Korean food and then I’ll take you out for Italian.
It’s absolutely a deal. If we ever wind up in the others’ part of the country, we’ll food it up.
Im asian and i have a couple of asian friends who are weeaboos too. Actually i prefer non-Asians who are interested in our culture rather than those who brag about every little itsy bitsy bit of America and how it is much better than asian stuff. I had a school mate like that and we dislike him.
ok. I’m a little embarassed here. I’ve never heard the term weeaboo before. Most asian / japan / whathaveyou centric geeks I’ve known are normally just called geeks. Then again I’m not heavily soaked in that particuliar culture.
I’m still amazed that something like this in geekdom was going on and I had little to no awareness of it.
On a side note, I’m hungry for Korean now thanks to you. There is no Korean near where I am for miles. If you hear a geek weeping in the distance, you now know why.
No Korean food for miles? But you’re in DC! The Takorean food truck is actually right outside Gallery Place/Chinatown RIGHT NOW.
I thought Tex-Mex/Korean fusion trucks were strictly a southwest thing! They’re not at all a bad sampling of what Korean food has to offer.
With this particular anecdote, it’s a Korean vs Japanese thing. Half-jokingly, or
perhaps it’s true?
Hmm. I’ve been in a position where I’ve wanted to be, I guess, some sort of Ambassador for Non-Awful White People where I subtly acknowledge MAN I HAVE TOTALLY EATEN JJAJJANGMYEON or MAN I TOTALLY WILL ORDER THIS DISH AS KAI-LAN AND NOT CHINESE BROCCOLI I worry that it might just make me look like more of an awful whitey-try-too-hard jerkoff. It legit concerns me when people shit things up by doing things like WHY OF COURSE ASIAN IS THE NEW PC TERM FOR CHINESE or other dopey things said out of earnest ignorance or whatever. I dunno.
I did impress a friend’s friend of Chinese ancestry by eating a lobster brain and declaring that I had gained its knowledge. I was under the influence of A Substance at the time. I think he was impressed. I think I also spend too much time worrying about what non-white people think of me, but I get so worried about the damage done by white people such that I am grouped in with other white people when JESUS H. CHRIST IN THE LAST CENTURY PEOPLE IN MY FAMILY GOT KILLED FOR BEING THE WRONG KIND OF WHITE AAAGH I’M NOT THE ONE YOU HATE FOR REALS and whatnot.
Haha, might have been a while since you’ve probably looked at this, but after reading this, I probably wouldn’t have taken offense to you if I were to spend time with you in real life. Personally I would be surprised that you like Japanese stuff and culture and whatnot, but the thing that separates you from an actual weeaboo is that you aren’t annoying with situations. I’ve heard and seen worse and to be frank, you’re as far from a weeaboo than what i’ve observed. You’re Wapanese, in my book, or a Japanophile.
@masahiro, thanks, it’s a relief to hear that! I like the term Japanophile, too.