Chaos2Frozen
Member
It also just occurred to me that there's a possibility people may directly associate Asian culture with being weeaboo.
Literally thinking (east) Asian = weeaboo
And therefore by some arbitrary nerd hierarchy, should be stomp on.
Do Asian Americans eat with chopsticks?
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It also just occurred to me that there's a possibility people may directly associate Asian culture with being weeaboo.
Literally thinking (east) Asian = weeaboo
And therefore by some arbitrary nerd hierarchy, should be stomp on.
When I think weeb, I think skinny ass white guy who is way into anime and manga and probably in their school's anime club
Tevious
Member
On the reverse side of the coin, I'm an American living in Asia and I use metal chopsticks. I only use a fork in meals where chopsticks aren't really viable, such as situations where I use the side of the fork to cut pieces of food rather than bothering with a knife or food scissors.
weeaboo refers to Japanese subculture though right? There are plenty of Asian weeaboos. In a way it's a (south-east) Asian thing.
BronsonLee
Member
John Kowalski
Banned
I wish i could use chopsticks. Seemingly all of my friends know how to use them perfectly fine and they all make fun of me for never managing to do it.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
At least originally, weeaboo was a replacement word for "white Japanese". It wasn't that different from the word "wigger".
I can agree it's just come to mean Japanese pop media fanboy of whatever ethnicity.
Definitely not, as were threads about racism towards Asians.
These threads pop up once in a while and there are always a bunch of people dismissing them.
I remember one time I was told that I was just a White guy with an obsession towards Asian culture and I am constantly being told "I bet you've never been to X country."
I always just put those people on ignore list. I don't feel I need to prove my ethnicity to these bigoted comments, and it makes my NeoGAF experience better without seeing posts from these people. It does make me sick that such behavior is tolerated.
Chaos2Frozen
Member
The term was originally for some extremely hardcore western fans of Asian (specifically Japanese) culture.
But the most important aspect is that they think the Asian/Japanese/Chinese etc culture is SUPERIOR to any other culture in every thing. So like your "Katana-Cultist" falls into this category.
It's also extremely derogatory.
My sister, mother and I all use regular old silverware. Our grandparents still used chopsticks though. My mother occasionally uses them when cooking certain things but rarely for actually eating.
It's been a very long time since I visited them but I recall my cousins in Canada still used chopsticks.
I'm actually pretty terrible with chopsticks. I can kind of use them but I'm not nearly as proficient as me mum or sis.
It's been a very long time since I visited them but I recall my cousins in Canada still used chopsticks.
I'm actually pretty terrible with chopsticks. I can kind of use them but I'm not nearly as proficient as me mum or sis.
just practice, like anything else in life, except it's actually a really basic thing and a lot easier than most things in life, so you got this man
Thelonelykoopa
Member
a way to practice is to get a pair of chopsticks and a container of Tic Tac ; pour the Tic Tacs on to a table and pick them up with the chopsticks and place them back into the container. Repeat this process to improve speed and handling.
I didn't know it was derogatory, sorry. I'll use the British "Japanophile" instead.
To be honest though, I've met so many people like that, and at some point was like that myself when I was 13 haha.
Definitely don't after visiting Japan for years though, as a side note.
EDIT: I could use chopsticks since I was like 8, because my best friend was Chinese-Irish back then. It's hilarious when people praise you for being able to use them, as if literally everyone middle class can't already.
Zoe
Member
Former Vietnam? Surely you mean non-Vietnam.
voodoojohn
Banned
Yea, let's chill out over casual racism. It is okay . /s
TwEE-N-Toast
Banned
How did a conversation about eating utensils turn into accusations of racism? Was there a certain point in the thread that I couldn't see, or is comparing forks, chopsticks, spoons and sporks just too far?
Oh, whew, for a second there, I thought you were trying to dismiss a person's grievances against perceived casual racism because some people on this forum like Japanese culture too much. Good thing you weren't saying anything.
It's just part of the culture in some places. Eating with your hands is also fun.
BronsonLee
Member
Did you just roll into the conversation headfirst or something
Food is war
There are a lot of foods meant to be eaten with bare hands though.
My Sri Lankan mate ate curry with his hands... I puffed my cheeks at it.
N.Doximis has never had a hamburger or wings in his life!
BLOODED_hands
Member
What does that mean?! Why did you say that name?!?!?!?
This whole thing is sort of like BvS: DoJ
BronsonLee
Member
I eat my burgers with a wine opener
I eat mine like a pie eating competition, face/mouth only.
Oh yeah I'm aware, disagree that it makes it easier to sip hot soup though. Can sip just fine with a regular spoon with the added bonus of being able to use it for mouthfuls of food. Wins out on volume though for sure.
I eat my burgers with a knife and fork...
Professor Beef
Banned
WELL WELL WELL, lookit mr hoity-toity over here!
Kitsunebaby
Member
I'm white and there's plenty of foods I find easier to eat with chopsticks than a knife and fork. I couldn't imagine eating noodle soups like ramen or pho without chopsticks.
There's a stir fry place at my local mall that doesn't have chopsticks and it drives me nuts. Trying to twirl noodles that are thicker and chewier than spaghetti with big chunks of meat and veggies around a plastic fork is maddening.
There's a stir fry place at my local mall that doesn't have chopsticks and it drives me nuts. Trying to twirl noodles that are thicker and chewier than spaghetti with big chunks of meat and veggies around a plastic fork is maddening.
GoutPatrol
Forgotten in his cell
I was invited to an Indian festival by my Indian coworker last year and everything was eaten with your hands. There are different ways of eating with your hands and they said it kind of shows if you grew up rich or poor depending on how you hold it.
Randy Monk
Member
I use chopsticks when I eat on my Murphy bed
Everything except the Chicken Tikka Masala, which was eaten with a knife and fork, right?
British dish, in case that didn't mean anything to you
plasmawave
Banned
I've seen people eat chips with chop sticks.
I sometime eat peanuts with chopsticks.
Back in college, we made some pan-seared steak at our dorm once. We got them on plates, we were all excited to eat it...
And then we realized we had no forks. No knives. Only chopsticks. Lol.
But yeah I grew up using chopsticks and I primarily use chopsticks, even for stuff like spaghetti and penne pasta.
And then we realized we had no forks. No knives. Only chopsticks. Lol.
But yeah I grew up using chopsticks and I primarily use chopsticks, even for stuff like spaghetti and penne pasta.
It's funny, I've been living in China for several years and a couple of times Chinese people have used chopsticks vs. fork/spoon as an analogy, explaining how chopsticks are more precise and fork/spoon is more of an imprecise and blunt instrument. The clearest example I can remember was a person trying to get me to pay for a personal gym instructor, explaining how it was better than using impersonal guides.
The thing is that people that are very experienced with chopsticks basically see them as an extension of their fingers, while in the West it has the stereotype of being slippery and imprecise instruments (because of the unfamiliarity). Someone really good at chopsticks is picking things up very lightly without use of force.
The food in chopsticks countries are designed around chopsticks. Dipping into a bag of Cheetos is the easiest example to look at, if you tried to do that with a fork, you would need to apply pressure and probably make the bag fold into itself, you probably would break some Cheetos in half instead of stabbing them through:
But other more Asian examples of food designed around chopsticks:
Hot pot (you need to pick inside the soup for pieces of food):
Dry pot (similar to above, you need to pick around for food):
Soup dumplings (they are filled with soup, stabbing or scooping the delicate skin would cause the soup to leak out--the dumpling is specifically designed for chopsticks to grab the knot/neck of the dumpling):
General family style dining (the food is prepared in a way to be picked up and meant to be picked up from across a table, chopsticks allow you to extend one arm's reach without needing leverage or another hand):
The thing is that people that are very experienced with chopsticks basically see them as an extension of their fingers, while in the West it has the stereotype of being slippery and imprecise instruments (because of the unfamiliarity). Someone really good at chopsticks is picking things up very lightly without use of force.
The food in chopsticks countries are designed around chopsticks. Dipping into a bag of Cheetos is the easiest example to look at, if you tried to do that with a fork, you would need to apply pressure and probably make the bag fold into itself, you probably would break some Cheetos in half instead of stabbing them through:
But other more Asian examples of food designed around chopsticks:
Hot pot (you need to pick inside the soup for pieces of food):
Dry pot (similar to above, you need to pick around for food):
Soup dumplings (they are filled with soup, stabbing or scooping the delicate skin would cause the soup to leak out--the dumpling is specifically designed for chopsticks to grab the knot/neck of the dumpling):
General family style dining (the food is prepared in a way to be picked up and meant to be picked up from across a table, chopsticks allow you to extend one arm's reach without needing leverage or another hand):
Kinda off topic: I'm pretty decent with chopsticks and use them at restaurants and such, but I've only recently been introduced to sushi. I love it, and can handle it with chopsticks well, etc, but someone told me that you have to eat the whole piece in one bite. Is this true? My mouth is way too small to accomplish that with any sort of grace.
You don't "have to", but good sushi is supposed to me. You don't really need chopsticks for Nigiri imo.
Thanks for answering
. Last time I had sushi I was frustrated and cut the pieces in half before I ate them 
Oh whew for a second there I thought you were ignoring the shared cultural context of the site and the ongoing conversation.
Almost the opposite through sarcastic dismissal but by all means get incensed.
Calling people weaboos and asking them to be banned in a thread about using chopsticks is a "shared cultural context"? lol. That is some kind of mental gymnastic. Yea sure, if the shared cultural context is to put down asian culture.
Forks >>>>>Sporks
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
I'm not Asian but use chopsticks all the time, now.
blame space
Banned
this is making me hungry
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