Invitation to non people of color to let their voice be heard =D

[[deleted user]]

I wanted to point out, that I notice some of the Caucasian members don't voice their opinions as much, unless they are agreeing with the topic in discussion.

I want to voice that it's alright if anyone does not agree with the opinion on a post, please just feel free to voice your opinion.

As a POC, it's only habit that I naturally bring up topics that involve race. But multiculturalism is not limited to race.

Feel free to bring any topics up, such as disability, or religion...or even the differences between national origin. I have a pen pal from Croatia, so I am very much aware that just because she lives in Europe, and the majority is Caucasian, that even they have issues with dealing with each other due to national origin. So it should become more than just race to bring up a discussion.

:)

If there is a topic to be heard, feel free to post it, or email one of the moderators and we'll bring up the topic for anyone interested.

[Heather]

It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America.

[Laurel]

Guinevere: interesting coincidence about your friend from Croatia. A friend of mine from the SCA still living in the crown province of Ostgardr (greater NYC area; for those who do not know, I lived for several years in first northern NJ and then Brooklyn) immigrated here from Croatia. I named one of the daughters of Queen Constance in book two, Ghosts of the Past, after her in appreciation for her help with the books. In particular, she helped me give a name to one of the foods I invented (and make; the recipe is the final page of Great Succession Crisis Extended) for the books. "Slatko" is a Croatian word for sweets. :)

[Laurel]

Heather wrote: "It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America."

Heather: I learned a lot befriending a lady from one of the fantasy book groups here on GoodReads who lives in Bristol, UK. Like me, she has a passion for history. But hearing the European side gives you a completely different outlook on things.

Now granted, as a medievalist, I am rather knowledgeable about medieval Europe -- and Asia. But Americans are very detached from the idea of monarchy; to someone in the UK, it's not theory, it's everyday living.

If you are American and have never spent much time talking to people in other parts of the world, you are truly missing out. You learn innumerable things that you just cannot readily learn only interacting with Americans.

[[deleted user]]

Laurel wrote: "Heather wrote: "It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America."

Heather: I learned a lot befriending a lady from one ..."

I totally agree Laurel, what I notice about many Americans especially a lot in the current generation, It's almost as if outside of the USA, no other countries exist to them. A lot of my co workers had no picture of where Haiti until something tragic happened. I lose count of how many people i've talked to at school that don't know that Luxembourg is a country and not a city to some larger European nation. Or that China alone has a multitude of dialects, not just "Chinese".

Some people are just stuck in their own little worlds and it's as if nothing about the world matters as long as it's not violating their "normal". It totally sickens me that with all the suffering that happens in the world people are more concerned with getting the latest hand bag than reading what's going on in the world.

[Araceli]

Thank you for the invite! Love the topic and Libertad! When I saw your name I thought wow finally they want to free me LOL!
bueno cuidate, y saludos,
take care and greetings.
www.araceliesparza.com
I'm a grad student had to read over 200 kid's lit incl. YA books in 9 months. Almost done and dead.:) but I am in the works of putting all that info on another blog.. we will see.. my writing focus is poetry and children's books, graphic novels, and shorts..
Again, thanks for the invite!

[[deleted user]]

Araceli wrote: "Thank you for the invite! Love the topic and Libertad! When I saw your name I thought wow finally they want to free me LOL!
bueno cuidate, y saludos,
take care and greetings.
www.araceliesparza.com..."

Lol, thanks for joining!Gotta say I love your first name.....mainly because it's my middle name so why wouldn't I love it?I'll be sure to check your blog and book out!

Ademas, Bienvenidos Araceli!

[Laurel]

Libertad wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Heather wrote: "It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America."

Heather: I learned a lot befriending a..."

Libertad: With respect, in trying to clarify something about China, you just blundered into the same mistake.

So please allow me to step in, as both a trained historian specializing in Chinese and East Asian history, and as the only gentle in the Society for Creative Anachronism to study the Jurchens and the Jin dynasty. This is an area of expertise for me.


There are two levels to CHINESE (the language of the Han ethnicity). First is as a linguistic group (you might be familiar with the Romance Languages linguistic group). In the Chinese linguistic group you have literally hundreds (close to 500) variations, all of which have been spoken in what modern westerners think of as "China." These tend to be (but not necessarily), the variations (what you want to call dialects) typically based on locality and created by the challenging topography of this unified continental power.

The second sense of "Chinese" language is standard Chinese. The term "mandarin" has its rooted in western imperialism. It does not correlate with the term used in Chinese language -- which are "zhong wen" and "pu tong hua." Putong hua translates as "common/public speech."

Who knew that when you were playing dungeons and dragons and your characters were speaking "common" that they were speaking standard Chinese? :)

Chinese is the language of ONLY ONE nationality in China. Being the continental power that it is, China the country envelopes nearly 100 (probably more) cultures. Last I heard, fifty of these are recognized as official nationalities today. Of those, several of them retain their own systems of writing -- which are seen on Chinese currency.

These cultures would have been separate, independent countries, if not for the conquest of most of the other cultures (most of the peoples north of the Great Wall came in later) by the Han Chinese in antiquity -- such as by Qin Shehuang, founder of the ancient Qin dynasty for whom the western name "China" is named. The Chinese themselves call the entire whole by the name of one ancient state, the "middle country," Zhong Guo (hence zhong wen, the language of the middle country).

I want to be clear that the languages of these non Han peoples typically belong to different linguistic groups than Chinese. Put to a metaphor I hope you can understand, if "Chinese," the language of the Han people is like Latin in Europe. These other languages, like Mongol and Manchu, then become like Russian and German relative to Latin.

Knowing Latin will not help you speak Russian -- but odds are good Latin is/was a trade language known to Russians just as Chinese has been a trade language across Asia for many centuries.

[[deleted user]]

Laurel wrote: "Libertad wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Heather wrote: "It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America."

Heather: I learned a ..."

thanks for clearing that up for me

[Laurel]

The misconceptions about Chinese and other Asians are appalling - and quite racist! I have many peeves about what Americans do towards East Asians and stopped watching the History Channel for their persistent spread of mis-information and refusal to use hanyu pinyin as the romanization system in which I am rather adept.

pinyin is simply a phonetic rendering of Chinese. Before the PRC standardized and published it in the 1950s/60s, every single country had their very own romanization system.

The worst of these older systems is called Wade-Giles and it is the American system that spells "dao" (to know) and doufu (bean curd) with a "t".

A "tao" actually is a measure word. Such as "yi tao hua" (a bouquet of flowers) or "yi tao niao" (a flock of birds). A "tou" is your head. So when you say "tofu" you are saying "head curd".

If someone wants to talk about Asian societies and Asian languages and stereotypes in another thread, I am happy to share my knowledge.

And so you know, my name in the society for Creative Anachronism is "Biya" which is Manchu for "moon." The character for Biya is one of maybe one hundred in Old Jurchen to survive the war between the Mongols and the Jurchens which spanned the 13th century.

The result of that war was that the Altaic (language group) Jurchens ended up with two different writing systems -- the one they used before and during the war with the Mongols (they were the second people attacked by Temujin Chinghis Khan after he unified the Mongols in 1206) is called Old Jurchen. The language system they used from the late 16th century forward is called "Manchu". In other thread, I can explain why.

[Laurel]

E.C. wrote: "Libertad wrote: "Laurel wrote: "Heather wrote: "It's very true, it would be interesting to see how multiculturalism is viewed in other parts of the world--not just America."

Heather: I learned a ..."


China is also vast -- and the oldest continuous civilization on the planet. But most Chinese know much more about the world and much more about their own history than Americans do. They also spend a lot more time learning to read/write, as I learned as part of the Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at the University of Iowa back in the 1990s. I was the only white face in the group, but because I love Chinese history, culture, and language so much, I was more than welcome.

The project part of my 3rd year final exam, I wrote a song in Chinese called "Wo men dou shi zhong guo ren," "We are all Chinese." It's about multi culturalism and acceptance of people who are different from you. :)

It could be the theme song of this goodreads group. :) Paraphrasing some of it, I sing how we come from many places, we have different physical features and different heritages, but we are all the one people, why should we think otherwise?

[Tom]

Whoa. I learned a lot from that, Laurel. Thanks.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears]

Always happy to learn something new from a fellow SCA'er, though I've been out of it for awhile.

[Heather]

Very interesting insights, Laurel, many of which I didn't know! (especially about the origins of Mandarin) Yes, I've always wondered how "multiculturalism" is perceived in vastly homogenous countries (Korea) v.s. diversified ones (Burma/Myanmar) for example, and what hurdles they've overcome.

It's interesting living in Hawai'i and becoming aware of the different attitudes of Hawaiians toward being "part" of the US today. On one hand, there's many who embrace the idea of America being the "melting pot" in terms of we can work through our differences and get along--but they warn about melting, or assimilating fully, into mainstream/Westernized culture, and losing indigenous knowledge/identity. So it's kind of a coming together and then separating.

[Cecilia]

Guinevere wrote: "I wanted to point out, that I notice some of the Caucasian members don't voice their opinions as much, unless they are agreeing with the topic in discussion.

I want to voice that it's alright if a..."

Hi Guinevere, I joined a few weeks back but didn't leave a message, always running up and down. Life *sigh** I'm much calmer today though..heheh Thank you for the invite. I'm glad to be here, and hope to hop by often.
I live and work here in Vienna as assistant nurse so I get to interact with a lot of people/cultures. Yep, your penpal is right. The issues dealing with each other are there, culture wise. Some don't get along, even though they share borders. As an outside(I was born in Kenya) it's interesting to see how people interact. Know what to do and what to avoid.