Asian America

I’m not positive if this is the case with every Asian immigrant parent, but I won’t be surprised if it is.  My parents have the habit of trying to “guess” what type of Asian a person is whenever they see one in public, on TV, or in a restaurant.  They would ask me or each other (usually in Chinese)– “She’s a Korean, you think?”  Or “I think he’s Chinese.”

It almost has become a reflex for my parents and I always found it…intriguing. 

Because I don’t know that many Caucasian adults who do that whenever they see other Caucasians.  Unless the person has an accent, it’s not like they turn around and say, “You think, she’s Italian or American Cuban?” Or “he’s so Spanish looking!  Look at him!” 

Personally, I usually have some difficulty distinguishing between other Asian races, most likely because I’m white-washed as heck.  But I always wondered what brought about this impulse for Asians to seek to classify other Asians on sight.  Perhaps it’s a need to find kinship?  Or maybe it’s just good old human nature kicking in?  What say you?