joyfulhuman comments

Hello - I have lived half my life in Japan and the other half pretty much in Hawaii - you ask someone "what are you?" or whats your ethnicity in Hawaii, its not uncommon to hear, "I'm half Hawaiian" or "quarter Chinese" - being a haafu myself I have no problem with the word - however I can't stand being called a "double"-although I do feel "doubly blessed, being a "haafu" - like being a "haole" in Hawaii or a "gaijin" here in Japan - its not really so much the word thats the issue I think, but the heart/attitude being the word. My son looks "haafu" but he is a "koota" (^.^) - not b/c he is a less of a person, but has 1/4 "gaijin/haole" blood running through his body. It seems those who have not lived in a "mixed race" area feels more offended over the word - perhaps they don't know how to truly use it or just doesn't get it - I haven't met a haafu that has an issue with the word - even those of us who use to get beaten up by the non-haafus as a kid.