Accents

Guest Blogger: Su Yin

Jamal and Tamika,
I swear I am about to cry as I write this. I really thought this day would never ever come, not in my lifetime not in the lifetime of the kids I hope to have one day, not in the lifetime of the grandkids I hope to have one day. But it has come.

For centuries people have been making fun of the way Asians and Asian Americans talk. Everyone seems to think it’s a normal thing to mock someone’s accent. I get made fun of by kids in school, adults in offices, or celebrities on TV (shout out to Rosie O’Donnell, Al Roker and Kathy Lee Gifford) On top of that I think I will never hear “what kind of Chinese is that?” when I tell people that I’m Taiwanese. People used to act like they’ve never heard of Taiwain, (except as the place all plastic was made) let alone understood the relationship and struggle between China and Taiwain.

But today…today I woke up to a world where I will never have to hear the words “ching chong” again. On top of that, no one is ever going to say to me again “you speak such good English!” Thinking I’m an immigrant, instead of someone whose family has been here for three generations.

I really never thought the day would come when something that had haunted me my whole life would be handled in such a mature, respectful and beautiful way. I think I can actually think about starting a family now- now that there’s one less terrible thing my kids will have to face in this world.