Ooooh I am loving this topic. Big props to EAX for creating such dynamic discussions.

I too would like to make some points on how we are attracted to generalizations and perceptions people have of asians or whites (haoles as we call them here). You know I used to think about it, why is it that I have never had a haole boyfriend or even dated a haole guy? And I almost never hang out with any haole people here. I mean its certainly not because that I think they are unattractive. We all get googly eyed over hot white guys on tv, after all most of the people on tv are white.

But what I realized is the personality traits of white people (in general American majority) are different from those who are Asian (minority). The majority race never has to worry about racism so they dont understand how much harder things can be just from being a different race. To them the playing field looks even.

Ironically this is especially true to white people who are not racist. They assume since they themselves are not racist and part of the mainstream, that racism no longer exists so therefore why are all of these minorities still complaining? Especially since those asians are so successful. Little do they understand that Asians work harder and support each other more just to reach the same level white people do. Using the same amount of effort, they would be even MORE successful if they were white.

Hawaii is an unique place to study Asian/white dynamics. White people here always claim they feel like a minority because whites only make up about 30% of the population with the rest being Asian. Although if you take into consideration culture, you will find that the whites make up a majority. Most of the white people here are from the Mainland. And most of them have mainland values and habits: eat a lot of meat, drive big cars, are arrogant, loud, selfish, demanding, and are unaware just how priviledged they are.

This American culture is very distinct from both the culture of the "late asians" and "new asians". Late asians such as 4th generation persons such as myself and New asians representing many of my 1st and 2nd generation freinds from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, and the Philipines. Late asians not only endure todays racism, but also remember the racism that our parents, grandparents and great grandparents endured. Obviously it is not as bad as it was before, which could explain why a lot of new asians readily associate themselves with the Republicans and conservative movement in the US. Because like the modern white person, they dont see/experience racism much or at all. A good example being the Filipinos' overwelhming support of Hawaii's first elected Republican governer in 40 years. It is no surprise that one of the largest most recent group of immigrants in Hawaii are Filipinos.

But I digress. As I was saying, I often wondered why is it that with the diverse ethnicities of people in Hawaii, why is it that in my circle of friends and guys that I date not one of them is white? What I realized was it was the culture difference. Its not me against white people, it was me against mainland mentality. Of course there are a lot of asians from the mainland that act like "haoles", we call them katonks, bananas, or coconuts. Yellow or brown on the outside, white on the inside. They are quick to brag about material things they've acquired, are willing to step over people for their own advancement, shameless, etc.

So really... race is represented by other things. I could be green, he could be purple, she could be pink... it doesn't matter. What matters is what, why, and, how we associate those colors to mean anything. I wouldnt mind dating a white guy... if he had the personality of an asian...

Another historical tidbit:
Haole in Hawaiian literally means "foreigner" however the word grew only to be associated with white (American mainland) people because the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, and Portuguese who were brought over were categorized as the same lowly working class as the Hawaiians. So a lot of it has to do with economic advantage in addition to social prestidge. To this day even though the Portuguese are technically caucasian/white, in Hawaii decendants of the Portuguese immigrants are never refered to as haole.

So really, "haole" represents more than race, but an ideology also. Likewise when people say "white" or "potato" they are not only refering to ethnicity but socio-economic and cultural advantages and differences.

I've met a few white people from the mainland (very few) that can really understand and grasp what minorities go through. Unfortunately most of them are all much much older than me. I am still waiting to meet more white people from my generation to be so open-minded and understanding. And to be fair I have met much more Asians who are clueless of the inequalities both past and present that affect Asians which to me is very sad. And I hate to say it but it has a lot to do with the American/mainland culture of consumerism, greed, and success.

das a funny term... "sticky rice"... first time I hear dat one.

Thank you, Eric, for giving me so much credit. Give yourself a pat of the back for starting this topic with class and eloquence.

My points of view have lately been heavily influenced by the books and articles I read — from cognitive-linguists like Steven Pinker to cosmologists like Brian Greene and exobiologists like Paul Davies. How did their writing influence me? They all have in common, I think, this implicit belief that many complex phenomenon we observe can be produced by fascinating interactions of much simpler set of laws governing only the atomic parts of a system. This belief applies to anything as large as galaxies and as complex as jungle eco-systems. It would seem applicable to the study of human psychology as well — that even though experience is a major component in the formation of a person's psyche, genetics and biochemistry must have a signifcant role too.

The examples of rice and potato queens you quote, it sounds like that their motivations for getting into relationships are for many goals (money, power, prestige...) except simply falling for the lovely guy that came along. Has romance been completely eradicated from your world? Is it really true that rice and potato queens can never find true love with the men in the race of their choice? Are they really all just deluding themselves into settling for a goal that has nothing to do with love? :)