Inspired by a recent question someone else posted.

Note: Tourists do not count since they are merely visiting, not staying.

  • TheRedSpade@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    This is the first time I’ve encountered the word “Diaspora” outside of the social network. Seems to just mean migrants. Why would I think anything of them?

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
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    7 days ago

    Which wave?

    Or are you just talking in the general sense?

    I ask because I’ve heard the term applied specifically to the Chinese workers on the railroads in the late 1800s, here in the US, plus another that came between the end of the first World war and some time after the end of the second.

    In the specific senses, it’s too far in the past for me to think of it much at all. The more modern wave has essentially integrated and their descendants are just plain old americans for the most part; meaning they hang onto the parts of their ancestral culture to the degree they want, and otherwise may not have any connection in that regard. So it’s more a point of historical interest than something influential on current events. That seems to be the prevailing take I’ve run into with others as well.

    More recent immigrants, I don’t have enough experience to have formed an overall take. My area doesn’t run high to Chinese immigrants. We get more folks from the Americas and African nations. But I haven’t had any standout bad encounters, nor have I seen any patterns that would make it seem like a bad thing.

    Can’t lie, racism against asian folks in general is present here. It isn’t as prevalent as that against Latinos, Africans or African-Americans, but it’s there. Afaik, nobody thinks of it as an overarching “thing” at all. Folks here tend to look at immigration on a smaller scale than a diaspora. If there isn’t a significant inrush of a given group, nobody really notices.

  • FiniteBanjo@feddit.online
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    7 days ago

    If they chose to live outside of China, forfeiting their rights to return, then they seem like good people to me. Some Chinese heritage have lived in the US since the colonial days, being a very distinct group from modern Chinese culturally and an important part of American Culture. During the pandemic a lot of racists used the Chinese origin of the virus to push agendas and harass them; which I was strongly opposed to then and now, despite having no tangible connection to them I would protect their rights as much as my own.

    Something I have trouble trusting is when they are still allowed to return to China, and/or they come to the USA specifically to learn and work in the medicine and tech industries before returning. That just seems like espionage.

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    I live on the edge of my city’s Chinatown (Oakland, California) and it’s an important part of the local culture. I’ve lived, worked, and studied with Chinese/Taiwanese nationals, and if they weren’t there I’d feel like something was missing.

    • Cuz I’m one of them and I’m just curious lol.

      One of the things I notice a lot is microaggressions.

      I hear the “Do you speak english?” question get asked a lot… which is mildly annoys me once I recognize the implications… cuz I’ve been in the US since I was 8 basically close to a native born IMO, so that kinda made think like: if I was white they probably wouldn’t have asked that right?

      I mean I don’t really get that offended, there are a lot of Asian immigrants… so they probably have a statistical bias in their mental image…

      Literally 2 days ago I had an appointment for my depression and the… I guess a therapist (cuz not licensed to write medications so not a “psychaitrist”)… a white male… was like “Do you speak English?”…

      I was just like… 🙄

      (Its fine tho, vibes were okay)

      so I was just wondering what sterotypes people have…

  • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    UK resident here. Absolutely no issues whatsoever - why would there be? People are people at the end of the day.

    Funnily enough, the route between my bus stop and my office takes me through Manchester’s Chinatown. Even though I walk through it every week, I still think I’m really lucky - the archway is awesome, the decorations are interesting and the shops sell all kinds of stuff it’s hard to find elsewhere.

  • Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    People are people, m’theydy. While I don’t really concern myself with what other people think, I’m not aware of anything divisive. Thanks for trying though.

  • Zer0_F0x@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    In Greece they all seem to own or work at big stores that sell randomly branded clothing and low to OK quality tools, fishing gear, cooking pots, gardening stuff and a myriad of random electronic devices like flashlights, LED strips, chargers, selfie sticks etc, all sold dirt cheap.

    Some of them learn the language at some point, but most don’t. They don’t seem to even hang out amongst themselves, it’s seemingly isolated families here and there.

    They keep to their own and bother no one.

  • Em Adespoton@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

    What exactly do we consider the Diaspora to be? First generation?

    Because there are people living in my area whose ancestors came from China 200 years ago.

  • wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io
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    7 days ago

    For someone to completely uproot their life, separate from most of their family, their friends and their upbringing takes guts. I’ve moved within my own country a few times and it was jarring enough.

    People who are willing to such should be celebrated. I personally appreciate the culture, entertainment and food that they bring with them.

    That said, I worked at UConn for a few months for a project, and I was taken aback by how many students were of Asian descent compared to how many were white or black. It made me reflect just how much more populous that part of the world is.

    And while I do celebrate culture, and am even a proponent of open borders generally, I do think culture needs to be preserved. I live in the US and not China for a reason. The people who move from China, for more than a short term visit, should expect to follow American laws and social norms. That is to say, come freely to add onto our patchwork quilt here, but be ready to add to it, rather than replacing an existing patch with your own.

    As for what people think here. I live in a small college town. We have folks from other cultures here already. I think they would be welcomed in town generally, but the outlying county folks would have more reservations - they’d be more accepting for those that talked or acted like them, hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, big trucks and all of that.

  • whaleross@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    Sweden. It is common with Chinese students here in the universities. I don’t think anybody thinks much anything of them. They are just people.

  • thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world
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    7 days ago

    At least for me, a lot of them I encountered are wealthy and were opposed to the current government and sought escape.

    They seem to believe in US exceptionalism.

    Most I meet seem privileged and detached.

    From the ones who aren’t fell wealthy families they are just like everyone else generally very kind and polite.