I don't know why Salon.com's advice column keeps getting letters from people with Asian-themed questions, but here's another one from last week:
My husband has Chinese ancestry but his son wants to keep it secret. To quote the good reader who sent this one in, "This is so messed up on so many levels." Indeed. But mainly, I'm disturbed with the letter-writer's fascination with this new factoid about her husband's genealogy—like it makes it a difference. Ooooooh. Who knows what "Chinese ancestry" really means—the woman could be making a big deal out of something that traces so far back, it's pretty much insignificant by most measures. And what's with the compelling need to tell her step-granddaughter? Get a clue, lady. Mind your own freaking business.
