Accent doesn't matter for Caucasians?

[michfr]

In U.S. and Australia, speakers of Engish as a second language often would like to get rid of their foreign accents, so people will think they're native-born Americans or Australians

But as a Caucasian, no matter how much I practice to get rid of my American accent when speaking Chinese in China, people would just look at me and know I'm a foreigner. So why should I bother shedding my American accent? As long as I'm understood, should be good enough.

[Yuchi]

I don't know about other foreigners, but I got rid of my accent because I didn't want to sound like a moron, and so americans could understand me.

They already distinguished me as a foreigner just by my looks, I'm not going to do DNA restructurization just for them.

[bunni87]

I don't think it's so much trying to seem "native born" as to just be understood CLEARLY.

I'm not sure if you've ever had a foreign-born teacher/professor who refused to shed his or her thick accent and causes the students great hardships as a result...

So try your best to get as accurate a pronunciation as you can, even if you don't think you can perfect it.