An ode to undeserved ethnic inferiority complexes (of sorts)
Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 8:42 pm
‘Ti-bet, Ti-bet’
When the ethnic Asian woman boarded the shuttle bus, Jordan didn’t immediately conclude that she almost certainly would celebrate that Chinese New Year’s day, as he’d readily concluded about his mother’s Chinese-Canadian eye doctor during her annual check up less than an hour prior. (The eye doctor replied to the boy’s presumptuous query with a clarification that she was raised in a family setting with solid footing on Saskatchewan soil and actually wouldn’t be celebrating the Year of the Dragon that same day.)
The facial features of the shuttle-bus woman seemed to Jordan to be unlike those of the many ethnic-Chinese Canadians that he’d come across over the last three decades. Rather, her facial features were quite like those of Nodip. In fact, they were such that procured from him a rush of memories from the mid-1970s that were left latent somewhere deep within his psyche ever since he was age eight, or nine at most.
Nodip was his older sister’s briefly befriended Grade 5 classmate, who, along with her four siblings and parents, was a fairly recent arrival to Canada from Tibet.
Though, ironically (and it was especially so way back in the day) her mother worked a relatively well-paying job while her father seemed to be chronically unemployed, for whatever reason. That fact was likely at least partly why, even as a large family of seven, they were ‘housed’ in what could quite accurately be described as a claustrophobically small cabin. It was one that stood out conspicuously, as it was situated along a street otherwise completely lined on both sides with dual-floor houses; plus the averaged sized lot upon which the cabin-home sat only highlighted its black-sheep status all the more.
And like so many people young and old, Nodip had her own ‘big secret,’ which she shared only with Jordan’s sister during the approximately 18 months that the twain were good friends: “I’m from Tibet.”
Although, his sister couldn’t recall ever inquiring of Nodip as to exactly why her family decided to immigrate to Canada, a half-way across the globe; nor did sis recall ever being told by Nodip as to where they may be planning to eventually permanently settle, presumably within the Greater Vancouver regional district. Jordan’s mother, as forgetful as she could be, had said that his sister informed Mom more than three decades prior that Nodip and kin actually emigrated back to Tibet.
After the three had discussed the topic, Jordan realized just how forgetful his sister apparently could be, especially when considering that she was only in her early 40s. Their mother’s recollection about Nodip-and-kin’s last whereabouts, however, didn’t at all seem plausible: The family had originally left their ancient homeland—perhaps even just barely succeeding—due to the brutal Chinese occupation (since 1951) and Tibet’s eventual complete annexation in 1959, after the Chinese army’s physical suppression of the brief Tibetan revolt. The occupation essentially condemned the Tibetan people to cruel physical, psychological, religious, spiritual, political and cultural repression and/or violence—even death for those daring to put up any bothersome resistance. Really, Jordan mused, why on Earth would Nodip’s family willingly return?
Although Jordan’s older brother wasn’t in the least the teasing sort—actually, that role was nominally, annoyingly taken up by the younger Jordan—he, being no more than 12, took up a very brief interest in Nodip’s ethnic and cultural heritage. Sis, however, sworn to secrecy specifically in regards to that category of information, would not betray her friend—for as long as she could manage, anyway.
Big brother adequately verbally though playfully pecked at sis to get her to relent and decide that the secret was not worth such endurance (after all, it wasn’t at all as though Nodip’s parents had likely committed some serious crime, etcetera). Thus, sis reluctantly ‘talked,’ albeit with the precondition that her brother remain silent about the privileged info. Yet, he was seemingly dissatisfied with finally knowing Nodip’s ‘amazing secret’ (well, what did he expect—Mars?) and therefore pushed matters a bit further by teasing sis: “Ti-bet, Ti-bet,” he repeated a few times.
“Shush!” sis pleaded. “Be quiet—you promised!”
After a few seconds, he’d henceforth keep his original vow of silence on the matter; however, he likely remained perplexed as to exactly what the big deal was all about in the first place.
Had big brother, even as but a 12-year-old, known about the dire conditions endured by the Tibetan people for so long, he’d not have pronounced the tiny brutally-troubled and illegally-occupied nation’s name in such a childishly mocking manner—especially as a future devoted Amnesty International type of thinker.
Even Nodip, had she the advantage of hindsight, would’ve likely trusted with her ‘secret’ such later-in-life humanitarians as her brief-though-best friend’s brother, not to mention the many other progressive minds out there.
As for why Nodip treated her fine, unblemished ethnic and national heritage a ‘secret,’ as though she was embarrassed about the fact, Jordan felt that he had a good idea, although only via his own 20/20 hindsight: Such secrecy had to do with the small pacifistic nation remaining in international news, albeit as a victim of an adjacent-nation zealous superpower that insists upon Tibet, along with Taiwan, being assimilated into Chinese nationality.
From the opposite side of the coin, Jordan mused further, perhaps many Chinese nationals whom he’d met that just immigrated to Canada felt the same way as Nodip ... *
Frank G. Sterle, Jr.
When the ethnic Asian woman boarded the shuttle bus, Jordan didn’t immediately conclude that she almost certainly would celebrate that Chinese New Year’s day, as he’d readily concluded about his mother’s Chinese-Canadian eye doctor during her annual check up less than an hour prior. (The eye doctor replied to the boy’s presumptuous query with a clarification that she was raised in a family setting with solid footing on Saskatchewan soil and actually wouldn’t be celebrating the Year of the Dragon that same day.)
The facial features of the shuttle-bus woman seemed to Jordan to be unlike those of the many ethnic-Chinese Canadians that he’d come across over the last three decades. Rather, her facial features were quite like those of Nodip. In fact, they were such that procured from him a rush of memories from the mid-1970s that were left latent somewhere deep within his psyche ever since he was age eight, or nine at most.
Nodip was his older sister’s briefly befriended Grade 5 classmate, who, along with her four siblings and parents, was a fairly recent arrival to Canada from Tibet.
Though, ironically (and it was especially so way back in the day) her mother worked a relatively well-paying job while her father seemed to be chronically unemployed, for whatever reason. That fact was likely at least partly why, even as a large family of seven, they were ‘housed’ in what could quite accurately be described as a claustrophobically small cabin. It was one that stood out conspicuously, as it was situated along a street otherwise completely lined on both sides with dual-floor houses; plus the averaged sized lot upon which the cabin-home sat only highlighted its black-sheep status all the more.
And like so many people young and old, Nodip had her own ‘big secret,’ which she shared only with Jordan’s sister during the approximately 18 months that the twain were good friends: “I’m from Tibet.”
Although, his sister couldn’t recall ever inquiring of Nodip as to exactly why her family decided to immigrate to Canada, a half-way across the globe; nor did sis recall ever being told by Nodip as to where they may be planning to eventually permanently settle, presumably within the Greater Vancouver regional district. Jordan’s mother, as forgetful as she could be, had said that his sister informed Mom more than three decades prior that Nodip and kin actually emigrated back to Tibet.
After the three had discussed the topic, Jordan realized just how forgetful his sister apparently could be, especially when considering that she was only in her early 40s. Their mother’s recollection about Nodip-and-kin’s last whereabouts, however, didn’t at all seem plausible: The family had originally left their ancient homeland—perhaps even just barely succeeding—due to the brutal Chinese occupation (since 1951) and Tibet’s eventual complete annexation in 1959, after the Chinese army’s physical suppression of the brief Tibetan revolt. The occupation essentially condemned the Tibetan people to cruel physical, psychological, religious, spiritual, political and cultural repression and/or violence—even death for those daring to put up any bothersome resistance. Really, Jordan mused, why on Earth would Nodip’s family willingly return?
Although Jordan’s older brother wasn’t in the least the teasing sort—actually, that role was nominally, annoyingly taken up by the younger Jordan—he, being no more than 12, took up a very brief interest in Nodip’s ethnic and cultural heritage. Sis, however, sworn to secrecy specifically in regards to that category of information, would not betray her friend—for as long as she could manage, anyway.
Big brother adequately verbally though playfully pecked at sis to get her to relent and decide that the secret was not worth such endurance (after all, it wasn’t at all as though Nodip’s parents had likely committed some serious crime, etcetera). Thus, sis reluctantly ‘talked,’ albeit with the precondition that her brother remain silent about the privileged info. Yet, he was seemingly dissatisfied with finally knowing Nodip’s ‘amazing secret’ (well, what did he expect—Mars?) and therefore pushed matters a bit further by teasing sis: “Ti-bet, Ti-bet,” he repeated a few times.
“Shush!” sis pleaded. “Be quiet—you promised!”
After a few seconds, he’d henceforth keep his original vow of silence on the matter; however, he likely remained perplexed as to exactly what the big deal was all about in the first place.
Had big brother, even as but a 12-year-old, known about the dire conditions endured by the Tibetan people for so long, he’d not have pronounced the tiny brutally-troubled and illegally-occupied nation’s name in such a childishly mocking manner—especially as a future devoted Amnesty International type of thinker.
Even Nodip, had she the advantage of hindsight, would’ve likely trusted with her ‘secret’ such later-in-life humanitarians as her brief-though-best friend’s brother, not to mention the many other progressive minds out there.
As for why Nodip treated her fine, unblemished ethnic and national heritage a ‘secret,’ as though she was embarrassed about the fact, Jordan felt that he had a good idea, although only via his own 20/20 hindsight: Such secrecy had to do with the small pacifistic nation remaining in international news, albeit as a victim of an adjacent-nation zealous superpower that insists upon Tibet, along with Taiwan, being assimilated into Chinese nationality.
From the opposite side of the coin, Jordan mused further, perhaps many Chinese nationals whom he’d met that just immigrated to Canada felt the same way as Nodip ... *
Frank G. Sterle, Jr.