A recent news item that has been gaining in momentum is the story of a Louisiana justice of peace Keith Bardwell who refuses to marry interracial couples for the sake of the children as he insists that interracial marriages tend not to last as long as other marriages.

This news story has drawn nearly universal indignation as even the most knuckle dragging traditionalists among us mostly agrees that the 1967 Supreme Court decision that recognizing multiracial marriage was a good idea. Many would even consider it silly that in 2009 the nation should be debating the benefits and costs of interracial marriage.

Asian Americans have one of the lowest divorce rates – a measly 20% as compared to the 25% national rate. To top it off, being a college graduate also lowers one’s divorce rates (to 22%). Considering that the rate interracial of interracial marriage for Asians is among the highest of any group – a whopping 33%, I would say that we’re probably out forming strong interracial marriages.

It is true that interracial marriages tend to encounter more difficulties than same race marriages but so does marriages between those of different education levels, between people who marry in their early twenties and teens, and also among people who smoke. If one wishes to eliminate interracial marriage on the grounds that those marriages tend not to last then one should also deny marriage to those who haven’t received a college education, haven’t reached 25 and those who haven’t yet quit smoking. Otherwise, one would be in danger of being hypocritical.

As the couple in question themselves have stated, interracial marriage already suffers from covert discrimination, any attempt at open discrimination needs to be dealt with mercilessly. As Asian Americans, I feel evidence of covert discrimination in interracial relationships is well known to us all. From our friends who whisper “I don’t like it when I see white people dating Asians” upon seeing an interracial couple visiting a Bubble Tea house to websites — and comments from our own site –  committed to bring a greater stigma to Asians who want to explore relationships outside their own ethnicity, covert discrimination is in many cases tolerated, even encouraged. Although I do not believe that believe that such discrimination will lead to unfair laws or wanton physical harm, it is important for us to recognize and eradicate veiled discrimination in ourselves.

Everyone in the room erupts laughing. “Isn’t that the way it always is?” his hip publicist muses.

We dine on the 40^th floor of the Viacom building in Times Square with glorious windows under which laid all of midtown. When asked why his camera sat pointed out the window all morning, Se7en’s personal friend replied that he was taping the view. The view is immediately forgotten however as Se7en magnificently sweeps into the room wearing his signature fedora, fresh from a visit to MTV.

When asked if he will do the interview first or have lunch, Se7en smiles, eyes the unopened pizza boxes, and after much prodding from his gang, finally decides that lunch will come before the interview. “Have a slice of pizza,” he offers me.

So here I am, having lunch with a man who had won nine Korean Grammys at an age when most kids were getting ready to graduate college. Only four years later, in 2007, he would overtake Japan selling out arenas and being honored at the Japanese MTV awards. Now, two years later, he is ready to conquer the United States.

He recently partnered with Lil’Kim in making his transition to the states. Their video “Girls” has already received substantial buzz in the hip-hop community. About Lil’Kim he says “she is very tough on the outside but sweet inside.”

A true showman, Se7en radiates the easy confidence and charm of a man who had been on the stage since the age of fifteen. As he eats, he casually makes chit chat with me. I chat back although I do my best not to stare. It is difficult as his hat and sunglasses highlight his strong handsome jawline. He speaks with animation. He asks me where I am from and I tell him Queens, then wondering if he was familiar with the five boroughs immediately correct myself, and say Shanghai.

“I know some Mandarin,” he confesses shyly. “Ni hao ma?”

“Wo hen hao,” I reply reflexively. I am very well.

He smiles. “I know that and ‘Wo ai nimen’!” I love you all. He waves to an imaginary audience with his free hand and then takes another bite of pizza.

“What would you say is better, your English or your Japanese?” his friend asks.

“I haven’t spoken my Japanese in years,” Se7en laughs and then remarks incredulously, “I had to learn it all in two weeks.”

When I later ask him about the trials and tribulations of learning the English language, he tells me that he practices up to 2-3 hours a day with a tutor. Then he thinks for a moment and nervously fiddles with a remote control as though he’s unsure of how to make the endeavor sound harder. Indeed, although his vocabulary is not yet broad, his pronunciation is flawless. Finally, he tells me that he also has a place in LA where he is currently living that has been a great help.

When I ask him what he thinks of New York, he tells me that he loves New York City and the nightlife here. His entire demeanor changes as the topic goes from language to leisure. He breaks down into helpless laughter when the New York night scene is mentioned. Apparently at some point during the prior night he had coerced his entourage into doing quite a few shots.

“I had to call him at nine this morning to make sure he woke up,” one of his friends adds.

“He just kept pouring and pouring. It’s all his fault,” another says.

So the question of whether Se7en is really a nightclub ringmaster as his music video advertises has been answered. He is as wild on his own time as during camera time. Although his full American album has not yet been titled or given a set release date, I find myself welcoming a true “bad boy” Asian superstar. Although Se7en had been set to debut in 2007, he tells me there was no delay. In 2007 they had intended to release a single but later decided to make it into a full album. Now, it appears his American audience has much more Se7en to look forward to than ever.

As I close up the interview, I wish him well and tell him I’ll see him later that night. He agrees and shakes my hand in a firm grip. I ask him if he’s nervous and he looks confused. I tell him that the invitation said that he was giving a concert that night.

“Maybe I’ll sing a song or two,” he says haphazardly, as though he gave out award-winning songs as easily as tic tacs. “But it’s mostly a party.”

Credits: Chang Yu for photos, Christine Miguel for research and background information.

Factory Girls follows the lives of multiple girls who travel from the small farming villages in rural China to factory cities where they earn a pittance of a salary by our standards — yet, it’s enough for them to develop a taste for brands, glamour and modern sexuality. They go from towns without running water and sharing the house with livestock to cell phones and gourmet chocolate. In a culture where parents eagerly await the birth of the awaited boy child, spare girls are not only allowed but are encouraged to leave home to seek their fortunes. Like the second children of Christopher Columbus’ Europe, they are allowed to venture into the modern world to find employment and hopefully, to send their profits home so that the rest of their family might enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle.

In Leslie T. Chang’s book the girls take English classes and learn to pour a proper cup of Western tea (the cup must be 70% full) in order to move up a social class from factory worker into management. Height is highly desirable, as is youth. The typical employment period is between 18-25 as the girls are expected to return home for marriage before they turn 30. Some of the girls long to remain in the city married to a urban boy but those desires conflict with parental pressures to return home and marry a village boy. However, the girls discover that with financial power comes freedom from their parents and the tradition of their ancestors.

I was pleasantly surprised at how alike we were despite being separated by language and geography. Although it’s easy to idealize the working class of China for being hardy and self-made, it’s also important to realize that China has a great distance yet to come in the realms of education, health care and basic human rights. My uncle has always said that despite our apparent social loftiness from the average factory worker, we all sleep in a bed at night, we all eat three meals a day, and work most of the day. Despite our clothes being a little more expensive and our cars a little nicer – we’re not that different.