CAUBLINASIAN

Tiger made this term famous when he used it to describe his mixed ethnicity. A simple term made up by mixing Caucasian, black, Indian, and Asian into one word caused a huge debate. Ten years after Tiger mentioned the term on Oprah, I am still asked if I’m one of those guys who think they are Caublinasian. My laid-back nature does not allow me to be upset at the question, but it is frustrating to hear. Tiger said he developed the term as a child to help identify himself. I can totally relate. I remember answering the question of what’s my nationality by simply stating that I’m part of the human race. Can’t we all just get along? To this day, I refuse to answer race/ethnicity questions on surveys. I simply check “Other” and write in “Does it Really Matter?”

Many people have an issue with Tiger’s classification. Here’s this great athlete who has finally broken the color barrier in one of the “Whitest” sports and he doesn’t even consider himself an African-American. Their argument is that if you have one ounce of Black blood in you, then you are all Black. I’ve heard this statement from many nationalities, and I must admit, to me, it’s just pure ignorance. I have three main issues with this statement. First, no other ethnic group defines themselves by this standard. Secondly, as a person of mixed heritage, it is disrespectful because it forces you to identify with one part of your heritage over the other; and lastly, it perpetuates a slave mentality.

Conduct a test. Go out and ask people what their nationality is. You are going to get a myriad of answers, but they will be similar to this…
White person: My mother’s parents are Italian and my father’s parents are Irish, so I guess I’m half-Irish and half-Italian.
Hispanic person: I’m from Mexico or I’m from Brazil or my mom’s from Puerto Rico and my Dad’s Dominican.
Asian person: I’m Korean or I’m Chinese or I’m Japanese.
African-American: I’m Black.

Any other nationality can associate themselves with a country, but I’ve never heard of a country called Black. The African-American community in the USA has nothing to identify itself with due to the years of slavery, oppression, and inequality.

If you look at my family portrait, you immediately see that I’m not 100% Black. Actually, you don’t even need the family portrait, just look at me and you are going to wonder what I’m mixed with. As a kid growing up, I was called Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, a Chink, and even nicknamed Julio. It never bothered me and I never had any identity issues. I never felt compelled to be Black like my Dad or Filipino like my Mom. I never felt that I had to choose one over the other, and to this day, refuse to do so. Many will say that since my Dad was Black, then I’m Black. I totally disagree with that statement. My Mom is from the Philippines. She is from a culture totally different from my Dad’s and I refuse to just totally ignore that by classifying myself as only Black. It would be unfair to her to do so, especially since she was the primary caregiver in a single parent household.

“If you have one ounce of Black in you, then you are Black.” Okay, now let’s think about this. Repeat that statement over a few times. Close your eyes and ponder over it for a second. After you are finished, ask yourself this question, “Who would make such a statement?” Hmmm…Let me see. If I was trying to enslave and oppress a particular group of people I would have to make them different, make them inferior. Any mixed offspring may taint the superior race, so I have to make them different also. I’ll just say that if you have one ounce of the inferior blood in you, then you are inferior. Was this statement derived during the days of slavery or shortly thereafter? Honestly, I don’t know…It’s just a thought. What ever the case, you never hear people say if you got an ounce of German in you, then you are all German. No, the statement only applies to African-Americans??? I just don’t get it.

Anyhow, these are just my thoughts on multiculturalism. I do not disagree with Tiger for using the term Caublinasian and applaud him for not allowing others to label him. Please don’t misunderstand what I have written. Both Tiger and I are not discrediting our African-American heritage. On numerous occasions, Tiger has acknowledged African-American golfers from the past who paved the way for him to reach his current status, and his 1st Tee program (http://www.thefirsttee.org/Club/Scripts/Home/home.asp) has a huge impact on African-American youth. We both fully embrace and respect our African-American heritage. We are just not allowing the Asian side of our heritage to be disregarded. I know people are going to disagree with my thoughts here. But they are just that…my thoughts. The truth of the matter is, no matter how much time and effort I put into the above words or how much conviction I put behind those words, they simply do not mean a thing.

The real problem here is not how I identify myself. I can say I’m 50% this and 50% that all I want. No matter what I say, people are still going to look at me and say I’m Black. No matter how many times Tiger says he is Caublinasian, he will never be noted as the 1st Caublinasian to win the prestigious Green Jacket at the Masters tournament. No matter how many times they show his Thai mother in the stands at his events, Tiger will still be considered a Black golfer. Again, the problem is not how Tiger and I choose to label ourselves. The problem is how people label us.

Our cultural conscious sees things in Black and White, and unfortunately, does not allow for any shades of gray. Times have changed, but peoples’ cultural conscious has remained the same. Immigration, inter-racial marriage, trying “something new”, and a growing global economy means that the future is going to be even less Black and White. Current labels won’t be able to define the next generation. As long as they are still used, society will not be able to advance to the next stage. This is my cultural conscious…