I remember one time when my aunt was visiting my new place, I was chilling with my best friend and we were all partaking in conversation. Out of nowhere my aunt says: “You know you speak English so well?” And I was mortified. She proceeded to make even more a fool of herself asking things like “So how do you communicate with your parents? Do they speak good English?”

Needless to say, I had to have an in-depth discussion with my aunt about everything she did wrong. I honestly don’t know if she really understands but I left it alone and apologized to my friend afterward. It’s definitely an issue I find very specific to the Asian community (let’s be real, no one is going to compliment me on my English). Along with the assumption of the English language ‘belonging’ to the White man, I feel that “comical” stereotypes play into this as well. Notice how whenever a comedian or anyone mentions an altercation they’ve had with an Asian person they feel the need to reenact their accent as well. It’s embarrassing.

Thanks so much for sharing!