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The L.M.C.
[10.20.03]
“Want to eat dinner?” Jim whispered.
“Alright. Right now?” he replied, looking up from his book. He was feeling a bit hungry after reading nonstop at the library for three hours. It was six o’clock, just around the usual time he ate dinner.
“Yeah. How does Sagi’s sound?” Jim asked. Sagi’s was a small Japanese restaurant, about seven blocks down, known for its student-friendly prices. They packed up their books and made their way down to the restaurant.
“Any luck these days with your search?” he asked.
“Nope. I went to a career fair yesterday, but it was mostly financial stuff. But I did finish my website and put my resumé up for potential employers to see,” Jim said.
“Oh yeah? Do you think they’ll actually check it?” he asked.
“Well, some may, and when they see the effort I’ve put into it, maybe it’ll influence their thinking a little,” Jim answered optimistically.
They arrived at Sagi’s and decided to eat there, although the restaurant was no bigger than half of a small single in a dormitory.
“What are you going to get?” Jim asked.
“I’m going to have the pork katsu. How about you?”
“I guess the teriyaki chicken sounds okay. Oh yeah, I’ll get you for this one. I think I owe you from last time,” Jim said.
“You sure? I hope this doesn’t entail any special obligations later on,” he joked.
“Haha, I was under the impression that you’d provide the dessert,” Jim answered with a sly look.
Jim paid and they didn’t have to wait long before the food was ready. They sat on the stools at a bar-like table that faced the window. The sound of chewing and swallowing allowed for few words to be exchanged except a “want to try some of this?” offer from both sides. Once the respective dishes had expressed their full flavors, the eating slowed down and conversation ensued.
“You know what – I remember going to a Hapa event about interracial dating last year and they said, statistically, that the Asian female and white male combo was the most out of all the categories. Even more than the black-Hispanic combo or the black-white combo,” he said.
“Well, that makes sense I guess. Think about all those Asian girls who’re born in America, and they want to be ‘accepted’ as American so they get white boyfriends,” Jim said, “I mean, it was actually natural for me, too. I remember there was this ugly Chinese girl in my class when I was in 3rd grade and all the white kids said we should marry each other. That made me want to like only white girls. It wasn’t until college that I got into Chinese girls.”
“Haha, yeah. That’s pretty funny. I remember I had to translate for this fobby Korean girl in 2nd grade and everyone thought we were boyfriend-girlfriend because we talked in Korean. I think I had a thing for Jewish girls at that age,” he said, “But I don’t know – how come we value Asian girls so much while they think white guys are such hot shit?”
“Well, it’s probably got a lot to do with the way the Asian male is portrayed as less of a man or at least of an inferior order than the white male. And it’s not like we’re black and have something extra to offer, you know?” Jim said.
“Yeah, I heard something about how one way a powerful group enforces its position is by having the males of that group get with the females of the lower group. I guess it’s kinda like those plantation masters who hit up those slave black women back in the day; but of course, Asian girls have the ‘freedom’ to make their own choice, so I’m sure it’s because white guys are just superior to us,” he said, the latter part of his comments attaining a sarcastic tone.
“I’m sure most Asian girls will argue that ‘race’ wasn’t a factor in dating a white guy, but that he was ‘sweet, smart, and very compatible’ so they’ll most likely reject any of our objections,” Jim said.
“Yeah, but I mean – if given a choice between the coolest Asian guy and the coolest white guy, who do you think they’ll choose? I mean, I’m sure there is an ample number of Asian girls who dig Asian dudes, but for those girls who like white guys, I don’t know if the coolest Asian guy will ever impress them enough,” he said.
Their conversation soon became an extensive exercise in identifying the social injustices of being an Asian male. They remembered the Newsweek article a few years ago when Asian males were seen as the “new trend” in dating for their “gentle” and “hard-working” attributes. They expressed displeasure at the sight of the de-masculinized Asian guy posing with his white girlfriend in the article picture. “What the fuck – he looked liked a freaking pet,” they noted. They agonized over Jackie Chan’s sterility in The Tuxedo in which Jennifer Love Hewitt was cast as his partner. “She hooks up with every male lead in all her other movies but of course, Jackie Chan isn’t allowed to pop a boner the entire movie.” They even found faults with the supposed romantic movie Anna and the King in which Chow Yun Fat’s position of power is nullified by the greater virtues of the moral Anna. “At least they showed him with a lot concubines, so Hollywood acknowledges the fact that Asian men can have sex.”
“I read in this course reader for Asian American Youth Studies about how in gay porn, they always make it so that the Asian guy takes it up the ass from the white guy. That’s pretty fucked up, too. We’re passive even in gay butt-sex. That’s pretty embarrassing,” he remarked.
They finished their dinner and began walking back.
“You know, if we both had hot girlfriends, we’d probably be a lot less embittered about white guys getting with Asian girls,”he said.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s kinda like how people here get really mad at immigrant workers when the unemployment rate goes up. Like those Indian programmers who come here and work for less. But it’s not like immigrant works are hogging up jobs and creating the unemployment” Jim said.
“Haha, good analogy. I think I saw a report on that on the Lou Dobbs show on CNN. But definitely – we’re just lonely and looking for people to blame,” he said.
“But lonely by choice – sort of,” Jim said, “I mean, it’s not necessarily because we can’t get girls, but it’s either because we can’t find someone to really like or because we’re not really willing to put in the time to become a viable boyfriend.”
“Haha, yeah. Lonely by choice. That does make me feel better,” he said, “Plus, we have much more important things to do anyways, and I don’t want to waste my time giving my full attention to some girl.”
“Yeah. I feel that I’m not at the point where I can just settle down and be committed to someone. I can barely handle my day as it is,” Jim said.
“Well, that’s why we’re both proud card-carrying members of the Lonely Man Club,” he said.
They both grinned and walked back onto their campus.
“I’ve got class council meeting now, so I’ll see you at the library later,” Jim said, as he walked into the student center.
Walking back to the library, he stayed alert, hoping but knowing he probably wouldn’t see her. Hehe, the Lonely Man Club, he thought. He treated himself to a smile of self-pity.
Go back
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