History Main / AllAsiansAreAlike

Also, it may surprise some [[strike:complete idiots]] people, that India is, in fact, in Asia, and borders China. Thus Indians are, in fact, Asian (and yes, they do eat rice!) Interestingly, the quintessentially 'Asian' temple-gate seen in Chinatowns around the world, is probably descended from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torana Indian temple-gate]]. India is not in the 'Middle East' and certainly NOT IN AFRICA.

They [[FarEast confuse Asian counties]] (such as labeling all Asian martial arts as ''karate'' when karate is specifically Okinawan/Japanese in origin, or by mistakenly associating {{Anime}} with China instead of Japan). They may see a Japanese samurai and say 'I love all that Chinese culture'. They may see a Chinese person and say 'go ask that Japanese guy'.

* In the American version of ''{{The Office}}'' episode ''A Benihana Christmas'', Michael Scott (after several drinks) was confused as to which of the two Asian waitresses brought back from the episode's titular restaurant was with him. He went as far as to mark the arm the correct waitress with a sharpie.

** Their depiction of a non-Oriental Asian works better, with his Filipina neighbor. That's because Filipinos are Malay.

* Carefully [[AvertedTrope averted]] in the JulesVerne novel ''AroundTheWorldInEightyDays'' (At least the translation this troper read). When Passepartout arrives in Japan, the narration makes a point of mentioning how different the Japanese and Chinese are in appearance.

Also, it may suprise some [[strike:complete idiots]] people, that India is, in fact, in Asia, and borders China. Thus Indians are, in fact, Asian (and yes, they do eat rice!) Interestingly, the quintessentially 'Asian' temple-gate seen in Chinatowns around the world, is probably descended from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torana Indian temple-gate]]. India is not in the 'Middle East' and certainly NOT IN AFRICA.

** I'm quite sure the Nazi's had something similar for recognizing Jews and they definitely didn't like them.

-->-- Chris Tucker, Rush Hour

Also, it may suprise some [[strike:complete idiots]] people, that India is infact in Asia, and borders China. Thus Indians are infact Asian (and yes, they do eat rice!) Interestingly, the quintessentially 'Asian' temple-gate seen in Chinatowns around the world, is probably descended from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torana Indian temple-gate]]. India is not in the 'Middle East' and certainly NOT IN AFRICA (yeah, I've actually met people who thought that...)

Non-Asians mistaking that all Asian people are of one ethnicity in particular, maybe even going as far as saying all Asians look alike. Also, they confuse the same with things from Asia (such as labeling all Asian martial arts as ''karate'' when that's one specific Okinawan style, or associating {{Anime}} with China instead of Japan).

On a personal level, it's probably a good idea for you to learn to [[UsefulNotes/AllAsiansAreAlike avert this]] as soon as possible, if you haven't done so already, especially since many major Asian countries and cultures [[{{Understatement}} don't have the best history with each other]].

* The aversion to this (all white people look alike) can be justified when it comes to nationality; how many people can easily tell the difference, just by looking, between a Dutch, French, English, or German person? There are some differences, and some Caucasian nations have more differences (those from Scandinavians and Mediterranean nations are generally more easily identifiable).

* ''{{King of the Hill}}'': When Hank Hill first met Khan, he asks him "are you Chinese or Japanese?" Even when Khan explains that he's Laotian, Hank still doesn't get it. ("Which ocean?")
** Subverted with Hank's father, Cotton Hill, who is able to identify Khan as Laotian without ever being told. His experiences in WWII likely helped. Not that he isn't also a lot more racist than Hank: he identifies Khan as Laotian by ''smell'', and then immediately assumes he's Hank's servant.

Non-Asians mistaking that all Asian people are of one ethnicity in particular, maybe even going as far as saying all Asians look alike. Also, they confuse the same with things from Asia (such as labeling all Asian martial arts as ''karate'' when that's one specific Japanese style, or associating {{Anime}} with China instead of Japan).

--> Which is a bit odd as Japan traditional blended their ethno-faith (Shintoism) with Buddhism, and still does despite the splitting of Shinto-Buddhism in the Meiji era. And Buddhism is not the traditional religion of China or Korea. It is technically only ''traditional'' in the kingdom of the Shakyas, in India and Nepal.

** To be fair, however, this happens [[MistakenNationality very often]] with other ethnicities.

* This is also true if you are African-American. I'm sure any black person can tell you they have been mistaken for another.
** Additionally... don't call someone from, say, Kenya or Ghana an "African-''American''."
** When they do not live in America, they are not African-Americans. Similarly, if they are African, they are not necessarily black.
* SamuelLJackson has told stories that, on more than one occasion, he's been mistaken for LaurenceFishburne. Considering that apart from their skin tone the two really don't share any physical similarities in their build, size or voice, it's more than a little confusing.

* It can even happen to white people. During WorldWarII, many Poles and other Eastern Europeans were persecuted under the assumption that they were German spies.
** It gets worse when you consider that the Slavs were persecuted by Germans, including about Poles being sent to the concentration camps, so rather unlikely to be working for them.
* This troper recalls a time while in Poland, where a man was talking about a business trip to San Francisco two meet two partners. The three of them stopped at a small restaurant in Chinatown, and at the end of the meal, they went to pay. The owner joked that among him, the cook and waiter, one was Chinese, one was Japanese, and one was Korean, and if the three Slavs could guess who was who, they'd eat free. The Polish man then replied that among him and the two others, one was Polish, one was Ukrainian, and one was Russian, and if the owner could guess who was who, they'd pay double.
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* {{Eastenders}} - The Fereiras. (Granted they were South Asian but still). One member of the family had a Hindu name, another had a Muslim one. This would be the equivalent of Ross and Monica from Friends having a brother named Jamal.