I will always say NO.
As far back as I can recall.. My closest friends were all half something or another.
The only person whom I can safely say is 100% purely Chinese is SJ.
For the entirety of my school life (college excluded), the amount of friends I was close to can be counted with one hand (or half of it if we're going to be nitpicky about things but I won't be)
My Mum reckons that my friends were never confined to the perimeters of the Chinese realm because I couldn't speak Chinese (and still can't).
Which is true.
Few incidences involving my friends and their race will ALWAYS stay in my mind only because it makes me question the necessity of recording the race of EACH and EVERY student at the start of a new school year.
Take Nut for example.. she's half Chinese (Dad) and half Eurasian (Mum).
The prefect came in to ask for all our races and she raised her hand at Chinese because by right (and I'm not sure who ordered it to be this way) our race would usually follow our Dad's race.
The prefect was convinced she was mucking around and insisted she was under 'lain-lain' (which means, 'others') to which Nut replied a very simple "No, I'm Chinese" followed by a recital of her full name.
Not five minutes before that, Shari raised her hand at 'lain-lain'.
Shari, as I understand, is half Phillipino (Dad) and half Indian (Mum) and she does fall under 'lain-lain' if the need ever arises to categorise us by race.
Again, the prefect insisted she must be Indian just because her skin is darker.
Which she refuted until the prefect relented and listed her as is right.
It is amusing to note, that in this country.. we are categorised not by what we're registered as but by our skin colour.
Chris is half Indian (Dad) and half Chinese (Mum) but she is probably fairer than me at the best of times.
In Form 5, she raised her hand at Indian and the prefect, quite bluntly, told her to be serious and was going to right her down for Chinese.
Her name, if I'm allowed to say this, starts with Christina and ends with Sebastian.
In which time, place, dimension and parallel universe does that ring the Chinese bell?
Why is it so important to know one's race and religion?
If not for the purpose of discrimination?
Now that I'm working and meeting alot of people I wouldn't usually have met.. I've realised just how many people in this world play the race cards without a full deck.
Why is it important to know whether the company I work for is a Malay company or a Chinese company?
Why is it important to know whether that girl with the darker complexion and small eyes is Malay or Chinese?
Why is it important to know whether the girl dating the Caucasian man is a Malay, Chinese or Indian?
(I'm quoting real questions that were raised in my presence)
Even in places that I wish did NOT have racist people I hear things like "Of course, he's Malay". As though, that explains EVERYTHING.
It does not.
You can't stereotype people based on 'common knowledge'.
There are those who fit the stereotype and there are those who don't.
A person is always more complex than what you think.
Allowing a person's race to alter your decisions or even change the way you look at the person or think of the person means you are RACIST and there is NO other way that I will ever say it.
Anybody who has made a decision based on RACE alone is racist. I'm sorry.
[I'm Chinese with Chinese friends and for some reason in this country, the Chinese are really against the Malays for whatever reason I do not understand.. therefore, you would notice that the examples I mentioned involves these two races alot]
