Saturday, November 24, 2012
As American As Apple Pie
This Thanksgiving I saw an advertisement for the typical "American" holiday dinner, and the "American" traditions that go along with it, for example, having a turkey and apple pie. The ad continued on to talk about how "your holiday feast won't be the same without them", and I was surprised at what the advertisement company constituted as "American". It brought up questions about what it means to be "American" on national holidays like these, and why almost every family follows the exact same traditions throughout the years.
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Not to be racist, but I am Asian as racialized by the US. Usually I just call myself an American because I was born in America, only been around America, went to American public schools, and did everything an American kid would do. I remember a white co-worker once asked me, "Do you people celebrate this holiday?" I did got angry, but I replied, "Do you idiots know what this holiday is about?" He tried to apologize and said he was being sarcastic with me.
ReplyDeleteRacialization plays into who's American and who's not American enough. For an "Asian" like me who is 100% American, I still feel the need to buy/make an apple pie or pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving to feel American. So I can tell all my friends that my family not only made rice, eggrolls, and chow mein, but also made an apple pie. I guess having an apple pie makes us culturally citizens.
Note: My family always have apple pies every Thanksgiving because it's my mom's favorite.