Banana People

In Malaysia (I'm not sure about other countries), Chinese people who cannot speak Mandarin are frequently called 'bananas'. You know, yellow on the outside, but white on the inside. It's a way to describe (in not a very kind or affectionate way) Chinese who look like Chinese but have apparently forgotten about their own roots just because they can't speak Mandarin. 'Bananas' are already sucked into the Western way of life, thereby being white on the inside. Those 'very Chinese' people who think they can speak brilliant, flawless Mandarin think that these 'bananas' are not proud of the place they come from, i.e. China. Sometimes, people who can't speak Mandarin fluently but can actually speak Cantonese or Hokkien are called 'bananas' too. But the last time I check, Cantonese and Hokkien are also dialects of the Chinese language, aren't they? So isn't it unfair to call them people 'bananas'? VERY unfair!

Yes, I am one of those 'bananas' who always get teased. I know, and I admit that although I speak Hokkien everyday, I wouldn't rely on it to save my life. And I'm not that fluent in Mandarin, but at least I know, okay. I do converse in Mandarin. And I do not die in the process of it. So why on earth do I still qualify to be a 'banana'?!? It pisses me off every time someone tells me I'm a 'banana'. I just feel like crushing them and make them rotten bananas.

Anyway, every time I peel off a banana, I can't help but notice that the inside of a banana is yellow. It's a very light shade of yellow, but it's yellow nevertheless. It's so hard to make sense out of this world.