by Leeland Lee
Get ready to cringe.
The New York Post recently set up two random Brooklynites on a blind date in their “This Week’s Couple” segment.
Asian Americans Chris, 30, and Vickie, 27, met up for dinner at Café Serai in the Rubin Museum of Art, then provided post-game commentary for the New York tabloid.
Needless to say, the date was not a match made in heaven. These things rarely are. But this encounter was particularly bad, providing a glimpse into the sad state of affairs for Millennials, Asian Americans, or worse, Millennial Asian Americans on the dating scene.
In her account of their meeting, Vickie doesn’t pull any punches, immediately identifying that vulnerability familiar to so many Asian men: “My first thought when I saw Chris was that he’s not my type. I’m into tall guys, and Chris is about my height.”
Insert dagger, twist.
She does offers the pittance of a compliment for her man, adding that he’s “smart” and “nice.” Not exactly exuberant praise, since describing an Asian guy as “smart” and “nice” is almost like saying he’s got black hair.
From Chris’s point of view, Vickie is “quiet” and “reticent.” “I didn’t make her laugh once – I guess I was a really boring date,” he admitted.
Interestingly, Vickie also said Chris was quiet, and both claimed to have made flailing attempts to get to know the other better.
Reading this, you can almost imagine the awkward encounter between them. Vickie is physically uninterested in Chris, so it’s harder for her to find him interesting overall. Chris makes a half-hearted attempt at conversation, but finds it impossible to engage Vickie’s interest because he’s unable to talk outside of his only two comfort zones, sports and technology.
An evening of perfunctory Q&A ensues. Vickie sips her blue girlie drink, wondering the entire night if Chris bought his green v-neck from Sears. Chris cradles his rum and coke, feeling fidgety from the withdrawal of not having checked his iPhone for 20 minutes. Crickets chirp.
The couple didn’t even pretend to have a good time for the camera. Just check out this tortured look of excruciation on Chris’s face:
Quietness, meekness, passivity, and an absence of outside interests, of spontaneity, of wit: These are the problems that plague too many Asian Americans. And, oh yeah, we’re short.
Fortunately, the date was mercifully curtailed. Into the blustery New York night they went, each their separate way, all the while wondering whether it was bad luck or some sort of weird racism that they were set up with each other.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Leeland Lee has previously written for 8Asians.com about discrimination against Asian diners
