Yeah, I prefer framing the issue as one of ‘marriage equity’ over ‘gay marriage,’ too. But I’m not sure how much explanatory mileage we get from this. The interesting issue for me is precisely the demise (?) of the 1970s/80s/early 90s style of ‘difference’ politics (which was hardly limited to the gay movement, of course) celebrating diversity of identity and lifestyle choice to one which emphasizes equity. It’s a matter of weight rather than strict dichotomies, of course, but still consequential nevertheless.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane. Lived on Oki twice 67-71 then hey wait it was three times, 71-72 (two months then got kicked off as my parents left), then 78-80 in the service.

Lived on Kadena as a kid, went to Kubasaki , dated Grace Umagat, Gary Umagats sis, who lived down by you in Ojana behind the A&W.
Go to Oki at least once a year to see Mark Payne and old friend and others.

Love the island and will retire there should something happen to my spouse.

Ron

There are different characteristics that impact the typical American Third Culture Kid:[1][23][24][12]

* TCKs are 4 times as likely as non-TCKs to earn a bachelor’s degree (81% vs 21%)[25]
* 40% earn an advanced degree (as compared to 5% of the non-TCK population.)[26]
* 45% of TCKs attended 3 universities before earning a degree.[26]
* 44% earned undergraduate degree after the age of 22.[26]
* Educators, medicine, professional positions, and self employment are the most common professions for TCKs.[26]
* TCKs are unlikely to work for big business, government, or follow their parents’ career choices. “One won’t find many TCKs in large corporations. Nor are there many in government … they have not followed in parental footsteps”.[26]
* 90% feel “out of sync” with their peers.[27]
* 90% report feeling as if they understand other cultures/peoples better than the average American.[28]
* 80% believe they can get along with anybody.[28]
* Divorce rates among TCKs are lower than the general population, but they marry older (25+).[26][29]
o Military brats, however, tend to marry earlier.
* Linguistically adept (not as true for military ATCKs.)[26]
o A study whose subjects were all “career military brats”—those who had a parent in the military from birth through high school—shows that brats are linguistically adept.[30]
* Teenage TCKs are more mature than non-TCKs, but ironically take longer to “grow up” in their 20s.[27]
* More welcoming of others into their community.[24]
* Lack a sense of “where home is” but often nationalistic.[24][28]
* Some studies show a desire to “settle down” others a “restlessness to move”.
* Depression and suicide are more prominent among TCKs.[27]

[edit] Notable TCKs

* US President Barack Obama was born in Hawaii from an American mother and a Kenyan father and grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii.
* British-born Australian actor Dominic Purcell, whose father is Norwegian and mother is Irish, now lives in the United States.
* Gerald Durrell grew up in India and Greece.
* Current NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, the Philadelphia-born son of professional basketball player Joe Bryant, lived in Italy from ages 6 to 13 while his father played in that country.
* Former NBA star and current team executive Steve Kerr, son of American academic Malcolm Kerr, was born in Beirut and spent most of his childhood in various countries in the Arab world, only moving to the U.S. permanently in high school.
* Another current NBA player, Wally Szczerbiak, is the son of professional basketball player Walter Szczerbiak; Wally was born in Madrid while his father was playing for Real Madrid, and spent his first several years in Spain.
* Zack Kim, Notable guitarist was born in Seoul, South Korea and grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
* Crystal Kay, a born-Japanese J-pop singer from an African-American father and a Zainichi Korean mother, who speaks fluent Japanese, English, and some French.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Culture_Kids
http://tckid.com