Personal Encounters WIth Racism

 Anonymous said...

I haven't felt discriminated and I think there's an American view of Asian Americans in a highly static way in that Asian Americans are either asexual nerds or overly sexualised fetishes for males and females, respectively which only feeds into the western discourse of orientalism.

May 14, 2013 at 9:45 AM

 Anonymous said...

3rd grade we were learning history and talking about pearl harbor when the Japanese bombed it. we were all sitting down on the floor together and my teacher was talking. when she said the Japanese bombed pearl harbor, my friend turned around and looked right at me. I have no idea why she did that and what the 'look' was insinuating. I dont know but i felt like i was being discriminated because she made me feel uncomfortable and as if pearl harbor was somehow my fault and my family's fault. (even as a third grader, silly i know) I know that after that day i had a small chip on my shoulder toward my friend and it hurt me for so long which is silly because we were 9! If i could go back to that day I would have not taken that moment so seriously and hurtful and let go of that tiny grudge. let me say I did not have to think hard about this story. I was proud to be a Japanese -American and I still am and I proud of my heritage. I think that is why I still feel a little hurt by that one, tiny motion.

May 14, 2013 at 9:47 AM

 Anonymous said...

Some guy was trying to con people into giving him money for a bus tickets back home for him and "his wife" and he came up to me and was like "hello" "hi" "do you speak English?"
my friends get excited when I eat Asian food
like rice or anything
or if we get Chinese food they're always like you're the only one who can eat with chopsticks 'cause you're asian

May 14, 2013 at 8:09 PM

 Anonymous said...

I remember being called jackie chan or jet li in school
saying things to me in the kung-fu accent in dubbed movies. I remember also the eye thing.. the one where people pull the ends of their eyelids to look asian..
If i could go back in time, i'd probably give a blank stare or something.
My girlfriend cracks on me all the time for being asian

May 14, 2013 at 8:32 PM

 Anonymous said...

When I first came to Oneonta, I was extremely worried about discrimination for being Asian, since the statistic was 3%. When I actually got here, a lot of people, predominantly white, were shocked to hear an American accent come out of my mouth... Most people have never heard of the Philippines either! The statistic of Asians in my school has definitely risen with the increase of international students attending Oneonta. These students were Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Most of the international students told me I was not a true Asian. They didn't even identify the Philippines as an Asian country. I get really annoyed when ever I hear it, too when it comes out in conversation. Even Miyu says, that she is a true Asian and that I'm not because I'm filipino. It usually pisses me off.

May 14, 2013 at 8:53 PM

 Anonymous said...

During middle school I remember kids would assume I liked anime and manga. A bunch of Asian American kids would get together at recess and sit at a table and draw anime characters. I never got into anime or manga and I never even sat down at that table during recess, but if I wanted to play football or hang out with other “white” kids they’d ask me why I’m not hanging out with the Asian kids. I felt like they wanted to cast me out and conveniently categorize me into a group. I’d overhear kids calling out other Asian American kids for their academic capabilities and instead of saying they’re advanced they’d say “his level is ASIAN.” Asians in my school were also more vulnerable to bullying. I think it was because other kids would assume we would be quiet and passive when confronted. In middle school I didn’t really have a sense of style and I was a victim to being stereotyped (completely based on physical appearance, not clothing). But by high school I started wearing outfits to make me look tougher and I learned to speak up if someone was harassing me.

Stereotypes About Southeast Asians

People create stereotypes not always to be hurtful, but it stems from ignorance. However, we can not blame them because media consistently portrays specific races in a certain manner. For example, Asian Indians are widely stereotyped for a variety of characteristics such as being hairy, dancing through fields or being cheap. With people not knowing how the Indian culture actually is, they fall into this belief of stereotypes that makes it hard for them to see Indians in any other light.

One of the most well known stereotypes about Indians is that they either become doctors or engineers. Indian parents have always valued education and had steered the younger generation in the direction of medicine or engineering because these professions provided stable jobs. This can be linked to the 19th century, a time when most Americans were working in the boom of the manufacturing industry. 

start video at 0:35

Peters' family was not accustomed to his hobbies that they did not know how to accept it because it was out of their norm.

 

People either look at Indians in two ways: dirty, smelly and uneducated or exotic, happy and interesting people. Granted some stereotypes have some truth hidden in there, but people have to keep in mind that it does not apply to the entire race and some people take offense to what they're saying.

The Model Minority.

Model Minority- Refers to some minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members are most often perceived to achieve a higher degree of success than the population average.


Quote:

Student: "Asians are threatening our economic future.
... We can see it right here in our own school. Who are getting into the best colleges, in disproportionate numbers?
Asian Kids! It's not fair."

Teacher: "Uh... That certainly was an unusual essay.
... Unfortunately, it's racist."

Student: "Um... Are you sure? My parents helped me."

-Garry Trudeau (From Chapter 2 of Yellow by Frank H. Wu.)
                     



1. This video was made by a Youtube channel that goes by the user name TheGrandMaster Chu, and they focus primarily on issues regarding the idea of the Model Minority within the Asian community. This video in particular is about a man named Vincent Chin, he was beaten to death on the night before his wedding by two men. As they shouted racial slurs at him, they blamed the Japanese for stealing American automotive jobs. Chin was a Chinese man not Japanese. The men were later sentenced by a judge to 3 years probation and fined $3,000. The video is a rap song using Fort Minors Kenji song instrumentals to explain the story of Vincent Chin. Chin was a Chinese American attempting to work like any other person in America and yet was targeted for "stealing jobs" from other Americans. This created a huge uproar in the Asian community, and they believed that the case was not properly handled.

-This video is a short clip of a full documentary about Vincent Chin. It asks people if they know who he is. As seen in the clip no one knows who Vincent Chin is. The fact that no one knows who he was supports the fact that the individuals who committed the crime were simply given a "warning" if you will for what they have done.

2. The show family guy has made several references to this idea of "Model Minority" within the Asian Community.

- In this first clip it suggest that Asians are all born or programed from the beginning to be smart and also makes reference to another stereotype of Asians having small genitalia.

-The second clip here, shows a scene where classes have come to an end and a group of Asians are already outside waiting in line for the next class day to start. This gives the sense that Asians have no life and do nothing but study or revolve their lives around academics which isn't true.

-These clips illustrate two different ideas in regards to Asians all being academically or intellectually above par. I believe that these expectations that are placed on these individuals by family members or perhaps peers is a catalyst for the continuation of these types of stereotypes.



3. This video is a piece from a CNN report on the controversial topic of "Are Asians Smarter." The Mission San Jose High School in Fremont California is the school in the spotlight. Mission San Jose High School is overwhelmingly Asian and is amongst the best test takers in the country. In 1972, 98 percent of the school was white and now is 20 percent white and nearly 75 percent is Asian. It is said that demographic shifts was the main cause for the increase in Asians. Asian Americans consistently out perform there white class mates on standardized test and nationally Asians lead in grade point average. Hazel Markus, a cultural psychologist at Stanford University says that it is not biological or genetic that Asians are successful but rather notes that in most Asian communities it is "your job" and is prized to bring honor to your family by becoming educated.

-This video was interesting because the stereotype that Asian parents are strict or hold academics close to them is kind of reinforced in this video. Or is it rather showing that academics and higher education is part of a cultural aspect? Statistical data isn't always the best way to go about analyzing ideas or information. Not all Asians succeed equally, many are different depending on where they come from or what their past life experiences are.



4. This image is one of many images that one can most likely find anywhere on the internet. This image in particular is referring to the stereotype that Asian are good in math. The imagine in particular is illustrating that this Asian can do math faster than a calculator that he doesn't need one.

-This video is another clip from the TV show Family Guy. In this scene Peter is taking a math exam, as the students take their calculators out he pulls out an Asian boy from underneath the desk and places him on the desk. Again an example of this stereotype that Asians have this innate characteristic to do math.


5. USA Today New Article: Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check 'Asian'

This is an article that was published in 2011 shedding light on the struggles of being Asian and applying to colleges. Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Tawan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. She considered herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian, but when applying to Harvard she checked White under the race box. The reason in doing this she said was because her mother told her that there was discrimination in the application process. The idea behind this is, critics believe that Asian-Americans are evaluated not as individuals but rather against thousands of other ultra-achieving Asians who are stereotyped as boring academic robots.

Some Asians' college strategy: Don't check box – USATODAY.comhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-03/asian-students-college-applications/51620236/1

-In this final photo sums up this over all issue within stereotyping, not only Asians face these issues. Why is stereotyping continuing to thrive? Why allow this to be the basis of how we look at others and how we associate ourselves with one another.

Dialect

Another stereotype is based on dialect. This goes far back. Language is communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols. Language is tied in with culture; it can access culture like food will. It is the oldest human form of expression. Because language is access to culture, it varies around the world. When a person knows one language but ties to learn another it blends into the second language creating an accent, some will say. According to dictionary.com, an accent is prominence of a syllable in terms of differential loudness, or of pitch, or length, or of a combination of these.

These accents are what people label and stereotype. But it is not people who are stereotyping it is also media. Media will have someone with no accent play a character with an accent because it is more authentic to what seems to be their culture but sometimes it is just for laughs. For example, it is exotic to come from another land with an accent than to play an Vietnamese girl who grew up in New York with a Brooklyn accent. 

In Breakfast at Tiffany’s ,  Mickey Rooney a white man plays the role of an Japanese man. He wore makeup and a prosthetic mouthpiece to change his features displaying his buckteeth.

Rooney was given a lot of criticism and complements for his role.

Another famous character that is stereotyped  is Raj  Koothrappali , played by an Indian actor Kunal Nayyar on The Big Bang Theory. His character has a thick Indian accent and plays a nerd scientist. He believes in Karma but eats beef and hates India. He’s timid to talk to women and like typical Indian men he loves to drink. He has many siblings but one appears in the show. His father plays a gynecologist, many Indian students are pushed into a medical field by their parents or into an engineering field. Most Indian college students feel as if they do not have a choice. 

The MetroPCS commercial also stereotype Indians with them flaunting their mustaches and thick accents around.

http://tcnjperspective.com/2010/04/04/boycott-metro-pcs/

“We like to think that if we had the chance to relive the past, we would break from old norms and stand up to injustices like sexism and racism. Here is our chance. Do not stand idly by while another minority group is victimized. Refuse to buy or use MetroPCS products.

Boycott MetroPCS”

Comments:

 Patel Punjab,  MON APR 5, 2010 at 8:52 AM

Calm down slum dog, its just a commercial. Its ironic that cheap indian’s are probably the number one customer of Metro PCS!

Anton DeNagrieve,  MON JUL 5, 2010 at 4:01 PM

Metropcs appears to be a scam company from the negative consumer affair complaints I’ve seen (over 100 and counting). Personally, I don’t care if the ads are racist or not, the last thing I want to see on TV are more indians…it’s bad enough I keep losing jobs because of them….why the hell Pakistan can’t doing something about it (hint) is beyond me. Where the hell is Custer when we need him? Oh, wait, that was the other Indians. Oh well, whatever works!

And no, I’m not a racist, just one small person tired of trying to work against the flood of INDIA Inc. Try doing what they’re doing in their country and see where it gets you.

Gedde Watanabe's as Long Duk Dong in Sixteen Candles. Dong plays an exchange student from an unidentified Asian nation. He tries to mimic the American language, such as slang. Some of his famous line are, “oh sexy girlfriend” and “what’s happening hot stuff?” On top of that every single Asian student in the high school was called ‘Donger” as well as “Bruce Lee because of him.  Ironically Bruce Lee is another stereotype in most his films he does his own sound effects for his action scenes.

Other stereotype characters in media are: Apu from The Simpsons, he has an thick Indian accent, mustache and shows off his chest hair. Lets not forget he has many children.

American Dad and Family Guy represents Chinese stereotypes  in several episodes
 -ironically instead of white parents adopting an Asian baby, Francine from American Dad was adopted by an Chinese couple.
S7. E5 "White Rice"

Asians making fun of other Asians...

This is how stereotypes start: 

Once someone hears something that is pronounced differently or oddly to them it can become an object for people to imitate. For example: saying all Chinese people say the same few words over and over again. But "ching chong wong" does not mean a thing in Chinese, there are several different languages in China not only Mandarin. Generalizing creates these stereotypes.

Not all Asians speak in a high pitch voice, put emphasis on every word or have accents like they are new to America, many are second or third generations. Even the term Asians is radicalization of  the nations in Asia. Each nationality wants to be an ethnic group. 

"Stereotypes lose their power when the world is found to be more complex than the stereotype would suggest. When we learn that individuals do not fit the group stereotype, then it begins to fall apart."

Ed Koch (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/stereotypes.html#fsSWJ2ldICZAdgBm.99)

The Perpetual Foreigner

The Perpetual Foreigner The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype is one of the earliest and most pervasive of the stereotypes of Asian Americans today. The Perpetual Foreigner stereotype began almost as soon as Asian people began to migrate to America in the 1830s.


What is it? An inability to assimilate which leads to the view that no matter how long the Asian American has been in American they are still perceived as "foreign". This is typically the line of thinking that leads to "Where are you really from?". Many white Americans believe that because an Asian American looks different than Caucasian Americans, that that person does not truly belong to America and that their skin color prevents them from truly being an American and always viewed as the foreigner, even though this person could have been born here and their family has lived here for over 12 generations! Asian Americans under this stereotype are often viewed as recently "off the boat" and many people in America often express surprise when Asian Americans do not fit this stereotype of Asians who, since their so foreign, share believed qualities exclusive to caucasian Americans, such as speaking "good" English.



 Example 1: This stereotype carries with it the idea that because of an Asian Americans ethnicity that they can't assimilate into mainstream American culture, which is viewed as Caucasian and Asians do not fit this mold. This is primarily one of the reasons that Asian Americans are typically excluded from mainstream "slice of American Pie" television shows, as in King of Queens (1998). While this show never had an Asian American as one of the main characters, in one scene they actually go against the perpetual foreigner stereotype by showing an Asian man who is not at all fitting the typical Asian, with bad english accent,  

Example 2: Virgin Mobile The story of this image actually speaks volumes just as the actual message behind the advertisement. Essentially, "dump your pen friend" is basically saying that the virgin mobile should stop messaging their uncool friends. The image they use to basically define the uncool friend to be dumped is the perpetual foreigner Asian girl portrayed through her peace sign she is portrayed as the typical Asian geek that should not be dumped. This girl to many of the people who viewed the ad viewed her as someone not from America, that it might be a picture of an Asian girl in Asia when in reality the girl is actually just taking a picture in front of a church bbq in Texas. In addition this picture was actually used in this ad campaign without her being informed. It was taken off a photo site that her pastor posted the picture to. I sincerely doubt they would have gone about using a picture for an ad campaign using a Caucasian person.

Example 3: The average Asian is a series of skits played on the sketch comedy series MAD tv. Played by Bobby Lee, the show literally focuses on the life of an actual Asian guy. He has none of the supposed characteristics of the typical Asian person other than his race, no superior intellect, foreign accent or as exhibited in this clip, any photography or musical skill. However, in the skit all those around him, like still in real life, impose these stereotypes onto him even though he actually does not exhibit these characteristics at all. Example 4: While the internet has given people of all ethnicities opportunities to express themselves, it has also made it a lot easier to spread racist and stereotypical remarks around. One site in particular, urbandictionary.com, is a site where absolutely anyone can define a word. I searched "Asian" on the site and the majority of comments were positive, some people showed pictures of themselves as examples of Asians, while others described the geographical regions they come from. However, some used the site to define Asians with stereotypes, but even with all that hate the majority of comments were in defense of Asian people. There rebuttles weren't to give the positive stereotypes of Asians but to actually just defend Asian people on the grounds that they are actually just people like anyone else.

A race of people from Asia or have Asian in their blood. Not everyone in this race is from a slut, nor gets straight As, nor is amazing at computer games. Stop with the biased definitions! Lets set everyone straight: No race is "stupid" or "slutty" or plain fat asses. Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, etc: we all are people. So don't stereotype and stop making up these crazy facts. And who the hell cares if one race is hotter than the other or one race has the geeks? Seriously. James: Dude did you see that Asian girl? She looks like such a slut. Ben: Shut the fuck up! Stop stereotyping, and that happens to be my friend! She's not a slut. *punches* by supergreen12 Example 5: One of the great things about social media sites and youtube is that anyone can bring attention to an issue and broadcast it to thousands to spread awareness. A particular project was done by a student on Youtube where she composed a video for people to look at to see whether or not they suffered from "The Perpetual Foreigner Paradigm". The video also has an accompanying Twitter account which people every so often given examples of when they were stereotyped. https://twitter.com/pforeigner Example 6: The perpetual foreigner stereotype essentially tries to put all asian people into a mold that they all retain this cetain "asianess", this video goes against the perpetual foreigner stereotype as it shows the many accents and personalities an asian can have.