Minorities Becoming the Majority in America by 2050

Just tonight, I saw a news report saying that by 2050, the minorities will become the new majority in America.

(For the online version of the story, see http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/17/national/main607022.shtml).

I found this to be a very interesting scenario and wondered whether or not that would drastically change the American culture if that were the case. This also made me start to wonder about whether there would someday be an Asian president of the United States.

With Hillary Clinton possibly becoming the first woman president or Barack Obama possibly the first black one--what would happen if America elected an Asian president? Or, more importantly, how would the Asian nations, like China, react to an American Chinese president?

Part of me thinks that the Chinese would simply see him as just as another American, given that most native Chinese tend to view all ABCs (American Born Chinese) as non-Asian (i.e. "gwei-lo") or, more bluntly, white. But, at the same time, I've seen many Chinese use certain American-Chinese achievements (Michelle Kwon) as bragging rights for they're own culture, even when that subject in particular is as American as any person can get.

Herein lies the problem.

From all the times I've seen it, if you're an Asian American and you haven't done anything special, most native Asians would view you as just another spoiled, naive "American". But, somehow, if you do something "special" or if you're known for something special then they would instantly credit your achievement as something achieved simply because your Asian.

So when it comes to a Chinese president of the United States, expect to hear this response from most native Chinese in general: "You see! Even America's president is Chinese! That's because we Chinese are so smart!!! He's gonna be the best president in American history!!!"

But if you're a regular ABC, like me, and take a trip to China, you might expect to hear more of this disgruntled whisper behind your back: "Huh...an American..."

See the difference.