--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In some ways I consider myself more…" description: "\"In some ways I consider myself more Chinese, because I live in San Francisco, which is becoming a predominantly Asian city. I avoid falling into the bl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/richard-rodriguez-6515_america_in-some-ways-i-consider-myself-more-chin_166734.jpg" --- # In some ways I consider myself more Chinese, because I… ![“In some ways I consider myself more Chinese, because I live in San Francisco, which is becoming a predominantly Asian city. I avoid falling into the black-and-white dialectic in which most of America still seems trapped. I have always recognized that, as an American, I am in relationship with…” quote by Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/richard-rodriguez-6515_america_in-some-ways-i-consider-myself-more-chin_166734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/richard-rodriguez-6515_america_in-some-ways-i-consider-myself-more-chin_166734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/richard-rodriguez-6515_america_in-some-ways-i-consider-myself-more-chin_166734.jpg) > “In some ways I consider myself more Chinese, because I live in San Francisco, which is becoming a predominantly Asian city. I avoid falling into the black-and-white dialectic in which most of America still seems trapped. I have always recognized that, as an American, I am in relationship with other parts of the world; that I have to measure myself against the Pacific, against Asia. Having to think of myself in relationship to that horizon has liberated me from the black-and-white checkerboard.” [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author sees identity as fluid, linking personal self‑definition to broader cultural horizons beyond binary US perspectives. **In simple terms:** Identity is shaped by cultural connections, not just national labels. Key Takeaway Embrace multicultural perspectives to broaden self‑understanding. Themes identity culture perspective globalism self‑reflection Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - living in multicultural cities - cross‑cultural work - personal identity exploration Key Concepts intersectionality cultural hybridity relational identity Questions to Reflect On - How does your environment shape your sense of self? - What benefits arise from seeing identity as relational? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency in favor of cultural determinism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Asia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asia/) [Asian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asian/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Checkerboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checkerboard/) [Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Dialectics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialectics/) [Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horizon/) [Pacific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacific/) [Relationships with others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships-with-others/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I consider the Chinese government's policy among the most intelligent in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/i-consider-the-chinese-government-s-policy-among-the-most-intelligent/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [I grew up in a predominantly Asian and Mexican community, and because I did breakdance and poplock and all that, I did get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taboo/i-grew-up-in-a-predominantly-asian-and-mexican-community-and-because/) [Taboo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taboo/) > [Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/animation-can-explain-whatever-the-mind-of-man-can-conceive/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I want people to look at a checkerboard and think of me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chubby-checker/i-want-people-to-look-at-a-checkerboard-and-think-of-me/) [Chubby Checker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chubby-checker/) > [Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is time. If you hesitate before moving, or neglect to move promptly, your men will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/life-is-a-checkerboard-and-the-player-opposite-you-is-time-if-you/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Man created the checkerboard; God created the karass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/man-created-the-checkerboard-god-created-the-karass/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [There are areas using what's called the "checkerboard strategy." 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Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums! And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly, Stuffed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/pop-guns-and-bicycles-roller-skates-drums-checkerboards-tricycles/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [“In parting, I would remind you that “Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is time. If you hesitate before moving, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/in-parting-i-would-remind-you-that-life-is-a-checkerboard-and-the/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/whatever-the-mind-of-man-can-conceive-and-believe-it-can-achieve-2/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I think I have in fact been situated in most of the squares on the political checkerboard, one after another and sometimes simultaneously: as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/i-think-i-have-in-fact-been-situated-in-most-of-the-squares-on-the/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Only the sea, murmurous behind the dingy checkerboard of houses, told of the unrest, the precariousness, of all things in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/only-the-sea-murmurous-behind-the-dingy-checkerboard-of-houses-told/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [For the ordinary man, whose mind is a checkerboard of crisscrossing reflections, opinions, and prejudices, bare attention is virtually impossible; his life is thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kapleau/for-the-ordinary-man-whose-mind-is-a-checkerboard-of-crisscrossing/) [Philip Kapleau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kapleau/) ## More by Richard Rodriguez > [“Human unhappiness is evidence of our immortality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/human-unhappiness-is-evidence-of-our-immortality/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [In the Sacramento of the 1950s, it was as though White simply hadn't had time enough to figure Brown out. 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But there is an emerging intellectual set coming out of Washington think tanks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/i-think-the-universities-have-co-opted-the-intellectual-by-and-large/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [You don't know Mexico, man. You have trivialized Mexico. You are a fool about Mexico if you think that Mexico is five blocks. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/you-don-t-know-mexico-man-you-have-trivialized-mexico-you-are-a-fool/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [After the second chapter of Days of Obligation, which is about the death of a friend of mine from AIDS, was published in Harper's,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/after-the-second-chapter-of-days-of-obligation-which-is-about-the/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [What has happened in the last generation is that Tijuana has become a new Third World capital - much to the chagrin of Mexico…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/what-has-happened-in-the-last-generation-is-that-tijuana-has-become-a/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [We're looking at complexity. 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It's in that intersection that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/the-drama-of-the-essay-is-the-way-the-public-life-intersects-with-my/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) [Explore all 99 Richard Rodriguez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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