I think it is worthwhile to differentiate between the two terms “Asian” and “Asian American”. They are not equivalent. The basis of our inferiority complex as Asian Americans stems from our upbringing in a country that has a Caucasian majority. Asians from Asia, on the other hand, never had to deal with the same oppression that we do, so they do not exhibit the same angst. For example, why don’t we have Asian American singers and professional athletes? I venture to say that it’s because we have bought into the stereotypes that Asians can’t sing and are useless at sports (except for table tennis). We essentially disqualify ourselves from these professions. Yet, there are plenty of talented Asian performers outside the U.S. As for athletes, we are importing them from Japan, Korea and China to play on our professional teams, and Asian countries regularly kick butt at the Olympics! I’m not into watching professional sports, but sports, and the people who excel at them, are highly valued by our society. Maybe discouraging Asian Americans from this industry is another type of marginalization. Hmm. Something to think about
The irony is that Asian Americans look down on Asians, calling them FOB’s and making fun of their accents. By doing so, we are only displaying our Caucasian-centric racism and perpetuating the victimization of our own kind. What we should be doing is holding these individuals up as proof that Caucasian stereotypes of Asians (and Asian Americans) have no basis in reality.
Monday, August 27, 2007
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