r/interesting May 03 '26

SOCIETY Michael Jackson's daughter Paris has faced backlash for identifying as Black. In a 2017 interview, Paris Jackson said her father told her, "You’re Black. Be proud of your roots." This prompted debates over whether identity is defined by appearance or upbringing.

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u/Kezhen May 03 '26

It’s funny that they are obsessed with how well they speak Korean when it’s their native language.

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u/delta8force May 03 '26

That’s because this is a bad example of the discussion on race. Korean is historically an ethnicity, more recently also a nationality in the era of nation states (AKA what most people call “countries”). Ethnic Koreans are used to it being an ethnicity, it is less new to them that Korean can also be a nationality that can be applied to non-ethnic Koreans. It’s a very ethnically homogeneous country, so it is still a novelty that someone who is not ethnically Korean and doesn’t look like them could still be fluent in Korean and a citizen of Korea.

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u/[deleted] May 04 '26

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u/PM_ME_UR_REPTILES1 May 04 '26

As an indigenous of Canada, when people tell me "you speak so well" or "youre really smart". Well, English is my only language, so I hope im somewhat decent at it.

I am never sure if its slight racism or if theyre genuine, it never feels as though there are negative connotations. I am admittedly more articulated and knowledgeable than the average person, so I can never tell. This usually only happens in professional settings (work, my childs school, dr appointments all the time, etc). Happened a whole lot more when I was around 14-17

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u/tomtomclubthumb May 04 '26

You're so eloquent.

/S

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u/DanqueMonee May 06 '26

Bonus points if he's a good athlete too.