Dunno if you're aware but on my YouTube channel, under Other Channels, is a link to entitled1's Channel which is my old YouTube account which DOES have a picture of me on the profile. But I guess the photo is a bit small on there so here is a picture that is a bit normal sized. Now that we've established that I'm not a mere talking potato, let's move on.
- Wanna post any photos of yourself?
It interesting what listening to your mom means in this western internet society. Not saying everyone thinks like this but there's the flying stereotype that anyone who listens to their mom is still very much a child or a loser. In real life this is less remarked upon (for in real life most cannot deny the power of their own mother on one's self) but on the internet I notice this a lot more. This probably has to do with the fact that there's another stereotype of the "momma's-basement-gamer." You know, the 40 year old basement dwellers... Now that's pretty extreme from even my point of view; but let's move on to something a bit normal.
A 18 year old playing a game gets called away by his mother to take out the garbage. "One sec guys, my mom wants me to take out the garbage." While with most friends and mature peers this is hardly worth noting other than perhaps a 5 minute wait for the guy, to some others just the fact that that sentence had "my mom" in it is enough to start making stupid judgments or stupid "jokes." These types of people are usually just trolls but from my perspective, something like this just bothers me. It may have to do with the fact that people have judged me and my interactions with my mother my whole fricking life.
Here's the major difference: I'm Asian. Other Asians out there will probably agree with me when I say that the relationship between child and mother in western-North American society and eastern-Asian society is VASTLY different. I was rather dumb founded when my elementary school best friend (grade 4) said to me that her mom wanted to be like her best friend to her (this was 2 years after my immigration to Canada). Mom and best friend being synonymous? Or even, just mom and friend?! Unheard of! Of course on the flip side, my friends always thought it really weird the way I kept having to refer to my mother for ANYTHING even beyond elementary school and into high school.
If I was a a friend's house and it was 6 pm I HAD to call home to just check in with my mom. It didn't matter that I had pre-arranged this get together 3 days ahead and my mother knew full well that I was sleeping over. Nope. 6 pm, I had to call. I forgot to call once when I was in grade 8. Oh yeah, big punishment time. I also envied my friends' freedom to make spontaneous plans. "Hey Nicole, want to come over to my house after school today?" "Sure!" was something I NEVER could do. For me that conversation would go "Hey Lyn, want to come over to my house after school today?" "Uh.. I dunno, I have to check with my mom." *calls mom* "Mom, can I go over to Miranda's after school?" "What, all of the sudden?" "Yeah...?" "No. You have to make plans at LEAST a day in advance." After which ensues a sad face on my visage and a confused one on Miranda's. No, it absolutely did not matter that neither my mother nor I had any plans that day; it just mattered that it wasn't set up ahead of time.
I'm getting a bit off track here but I guess my point is that for people of some other cultures, mothers mean a lot more than just mother. It also means Boss Lady. Most Asian mothers never give up the role of Boss Lady until the day they die and most of their offspring will always respect them and their wishes until the day they themselves die. The hierarchy of the family is much more strong felt than in most western cultures. My cousin back in Korea (who is arrogant and violent enough to scare me though he was only 14 when I was there visiting and 16 now. He permanently damaged some girl's eye at school by pushing her up against a wall and spraying the fire extinguisher in her face... which btw could have killed her through suffocation) once said to his mother something along the lines of "don't treat me like a child" and boy did he get beat up by my aunt and uncle for that. Kids here say that ALL the time heh. Defiance of authority is not cute in Asia; you will get your ass fucking beat.
So, yes, I still listen to my mother. To be honest, my parents are still better than a lot of other Asian parents out there and through all my grumbling about them I can recognize that I'm lucky. Next time you hear something about someone's mom... don't judge, you have no idea what their relationship is like.
My mom's the same, note that I too am Asian. Always 100s, no 100, then a trip to a day of work in my dad's restaurant. Most of my friend's moms are laid back now but I still can't leave home after 5:00. My friends came up with a motto for Asian families,"Always 101, nothing higher, nothing lower."
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to by the difference. I have a chinese friend in Canada and she was telling me how harsh her parents were about school and how she was grounded yes at the age of 20 for getting 1 bad grade for a month lulz. I was just thinking wow if more parents in the U.S would act like that things would be alot better. I could disappear at the age of 14 till 1 am or 2am before they got worried.
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