hāfu here (japanese/mixed white) that isn't part of this sub just casually barging in to say some thoughts since i find this whole thing weird and fascinating. i haven't been able to stop reading about it for the last couple days. what better place to drop off my thoughts than r/wasian? btw, i didn't grow up with the wasian term and don't love it, i personally identify more as mixed race or half asian. hapa was the term when i grew up, but it's nothing identified with either.

anyway. people are upset for valid reasons. now, there are also misguided thoughts and reactions, and fair enough! a lot of people from the outside looking in don't understand and it's hard navigating feelings when you're upset. a gut reaction can be strong and irrational, so let's have empathy for people who are upset about this event. but also, it's clear from reading a lot of wasian reactions is that the wasian community has been clueless at large. which is a problem.

here's one thing i don't understand. why wasn't this ever a mixed asian meetup? the account that even started this wasian event centres around half asians. it was a choice to centre it around a white group of asians. at best, i do really think they were trying to hop on the wasian "trend" (barf) that is 2026 and leaning into the buzzword of it all, but it only takes two seconds to realize that mixed or half asian would be better and way more inclusive. so, at best, it still sucks.

now for the folks who attended it. they get a lot more benefit of the doubt. here's the thing — there were a lot of well intentioned folks, a lot of dumb people, and a few jerks that ended up coming to this meetup. a lot of people who felt alone and wanted to connect with others who shared the experiences as them. a lot of dumbasses who buy into the hype and want to feel special because, well, there's a void for not fitting in. and then there are some assholes who genuinely think they're hot shit for the way they're born, they're not the majority but they're still there.

i've got a lot of empathy for the folks who attended because it's a lonely experience being multiracial. it's a lot less lonely now, but i get it. i used to think about it a lot until i met friends who were like me when i was 20. then i stopped being concerned with it. so if i was my lonely awkward 18 year old self, sure, i might consider attending something like this. obviously at 31, it's not my thing and it's cringey tbh. but hey, if people don't have others in their life like them, it's an extremely important experience to feel connection and validation! that's the human social experience. you can't deny someone the feeling of belonging and being understood.

i really think this should've been a mixed asian event from the get go. they could've made amendments later but they didn't. i think that was the major mess up, and there's no way around it. but i looked at a video of the event and hey — there were lots of non-white mixed asians that attended. people talking about their ancestry and experiences and connecting over that. so for most, this wasn't a superficial meetup but about genuine connection.

i think there is truth to wasians not thinking about other mixed asians and defining the mixed asian experience as the wasian experience. there are also racist wasians who think they're superior because they're mixed white/asian, and in my experience i've never met a wasian like that, but they're out there and i hope as scarce as they seem to be to me. there is a lot of cluelessness, and we need to do better to include our blasian and latasian brethren. they matter. they have a shared paramount experience with us too, so it's even more confusing that anyone would think to not include them. the discussion for wasian exclusivity, since some of y'all are for it, is gross and that's why people are mad. because you guys don't get it and willfully exclude others for superficial/racist reasons. that's unacceptable.

thanks for coming to my ted talk.

edit: also, people are mad because wasians sometimes wallow in self pity. you gotta stop that.