Saturday, April 30, 2005
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Unity
A
couple of radio "personalities" in New Jersey seem to think that Asian Americans are not "real" Americans. Sammy and Taku have written their thoughts on the matter and they have expressed eloquently virtually anything I would have to say on the subject. Of course, I have already expressed my concern about racism, but that was almost a year ago. My views then--how people, without believing they are being malicious, can manifest racial sentiments--elicited responses that expressed attitudes that underscored my very concern; and not all of them were non-Asians. So it is not surprising that these New Jersey Radio guys said what they said. If well-intentioned folk don't get it, then how the fuck are idiots going to get it.
But there was one thing that Sammy mentioned that was actually the topic of something I was going to write about last week but never got around to it: Why aren't Asian Americans active in politics? Actually, my thought was more along the lines of: Why is it that Asian Americans--specifically East Asian Americans--don't seem to wield any political clout.
This was the topic of a conversation I had with a former student of mine, a Korean American, now attending law school in the DC area, and we tentatively concluded--and I should stress that these conclusions are personal and anecdotal, based on personal observations with have no hard evidence to back it up--that Asian Americans don't manifest poitical clout because we can't unify. Of course, this begs the question, why...
I should write a paper on this--and perhaps you should too--but I think there are two basic reasons for this situation.
- History dies hard.
- The lack of a shared "American experience" does not arouse empathy for each other, an important ingredient to solidarity.
First, the history and the resulting baggage each individual group often still carries prevents people from connecting at a significant level. I am an American of Japanese descent and am sometimes reminded by Korean Americans (KA) and Chinese Americans (ABC)--usually first or rarely second generations--that I still carry the sins of my fathers. Yes, the Japanese raped Nanking. Indeed, Japan colonized Korea. I recognize this and as an instructor of Japanese literature (and culture) I take every opportunity to relate this to my students as well. It is not a matter to be brushed aside and forgotten. But this has nothing to do with me personally. When I am reminded that my ancestors were guilty of these sins, I can't help but think that those reminding me of this probably view me as "the other", rather than someone with whom they feel a connection. Don't get me wrong: These people are polite and very decent. There is nothing about them that suggests that they hate me or Japan (usually), but this attitude--you (your predecessors) injured us and I won't let you forget it--is not conducive to solidarity.
Indeed, I never get this attitude here on Xanga--well maybe once or twice. As I have never been made to feel this way with other Asians. I can't help but think that it is a reflection of the official stance still taken by the Chinese and Korean government, as the latest brouhaha over the most recent textbook controversy would illustrate. But as I said, this is usually expressed by first and, on rare occasions, second generations, and the number of these comments is generally declining.
And this is a good thing.
Perhaps more importantly is the lack of a shared experience in America. As individual groups, Asians in America have a completely different "American experiences" and it might be difficult empathize with each other and ultimately rally under one common cause. Chinese were perhaps the first Asians to "officially" come American and they led a very difficult life building railroads and generally living the life of paid slaves. The Japanese had their own struggles, but they were the only Asian group to be incarcerated in detention camps during WWII. Indeed, comparisons between the friendly Chinese and the "dirty Jap" were common and hardly promoted mutual support among Asians. Koreans came later and their history in America is centered in an urban setting with racial tensions not only with whites but with other urban minorities. So, since our collective experiences are rather diverse, it could be hard to rally effectively for solidarity.
Indeed, we are all treated differently by mainstream society. I'm sure virtually all of my Asian readers have been asked at one time or another, "Where are you from"? China? Korea? Japan? Vietnam? And the mainstream will often react differently depending on the answer. In contrast to this, how often do we make similar distinctions with Hispanics? I'm sure--no, I know--that they differentiate among themselves which Latin American countries they come from, but do we? I may consider significant the difference between someone from Cuba and Mexico, but between Honduras and El Salvador, I make little--if any--distinction. If we see a Spanish speaking person, do we unwittingly insult them by lumping them together as denizens from "south of the border". I am ashamed to admit this, but I sometimes find myself doing just this. And when it comes to second, third and fourth generation Hispanics, even the pretense of distinction is virtually gone. So these Hispanics--insulted by the likes of me--have a shared experience in America. They may express there differences among themselves, but they can unite in the face of racial discrimination and mistreatment, an experience that is more often shared than not among them.
So the first thing that Asian Americans must do--What WE MUST do--is find common ground. Without it, some amorphous "Asian" solidarity will never work.
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Comments (16)
When you wrote about the attitude-- "(your predecessors) injured us and I won't let you forget it"-- and finding it here on Xanga once or twice, I wondered whether my mention in a post of mine of the Filipino experience on the Death March in World War II was felt by you in this same light. At the time I wrote it, I was aware that saying nothing was an option but at the same time I felt that both positive and negative events are the basis for a shared history.
Some Asians groups have the 'super minority' tag and are highly visible even though according to the most recent US census, Asians and Pacific Islanders comprise only 4.4% of the US population.
I have observed the Asian movement in political solidarity in two places: Chicago and California. In Chicago, Asian legal associations such as NAPABA and others, worked very hard for the nomination/election of Asian judges into the courts. In all cases, the people supported by NAPABA possessed more than adequate education to be capable in the respective positions and I remember the jubilation we all felt when as Asian judge won during the elections.
California, I believe, has more visible Asian political representation than any other state. Asians comprise 12% of California's total population (and over 1/3 of the 4.4% of the US population). Here is a link for political scholarship for asian americans http://www.apa-politics.org/aoki-takeda.html.
I think it is just a matter of time.
The reason why I've had such a difficult time assembling an Asian-American political organization is just that... it was difficult to make it "Asian-American" and things always quickly became "Korean American" or "Chinese American"... at least since I was the only representation of Japanese-America in the group, here in Georgia.
The group was comprised of individuals who were "interested" but never "motivated" which drove me insane at times... and as far as "shared experiences" are concerned, we were quick to talk about the LA riots but a discussion concerning JA internment and the discussion lasted all of 10 minutes before I became the only voice heard in the room... of course, regarding any topic of AsianAm history, I'm vocal and involved and I do my part in researching the issues, but people tended to quickly shut up and even justify JA internments... it was quite sad.
I hardly had any difficulty being "involved" back in California... and I think the population density of Asian Americans in California played a definitive role in that. But even in GA, we have organizations like JACL, KAC, OCA, NAAAP, NAPABA and it's turned itself into a complete social organization and stands for little, if any, social issues... people look at me as if I'm crazy when I suggest we do something.
I think most individuals are concerned with their daily lives and their immediate surroundings... most think it doesn't concern them because they won't see many immediate changes in their settings. Though they're sadly mistaken, I find this to be the popular stance... ... ... I dunno... sometimes I wonder why I even care.
btw, I wrote my halfway article on a topic similar to this.
unity among all asians is such an idealistic thought. i don't think it will ever happen.
i am part of the asian student union at my school and ASU is suppose to be the umbrella organization for all other asian groups on campus such as chinese american club, the korean american club, the japanese club, etc. but even when they are "unified" under one umbrella everyone still has their own agendas and it is soo hard to get everyone to do something together because of certain tensions between the groups even though some of them don't admit it. even though we do have an Asian Night event that all the groups participate in, they only do it because the ASU tells them to. the only time when we did unify to fight political issues was when several Asians students were beat up on campus by a couple of racist white students. that was a few years ago but even back then, the ASU did not fight back until the Latin American Student Union started rallying for us.
many people have said that the ASU doesn't do anything and i have to admit that it's true. all we are focused on is putting on cultural shows for fun and games and we don't focus enough on important issues such as politics.
Also, why is it that we, as Asian-Americans, cannot say "Maryland" or "California" when asked where we are from? The asker will say "NO, where are you really from?" I continue to say "Maryland." Why can't I ask the same of them? Did they rewrite history such that they "found" this country and never came here by boat from England, Britain, Ireland, Germany, etc?
You *should* write a paper about this. You should write it for my publication. And it can be an opinion piece since we are not a law review. We are a magazine dedicated to diversity issues that have legal consequences (i.e. political unity, etc.). :). Or if you don't I decided that I will write it for the spring issue of the publication. Or we could write it together. See all these options! It's interesting that you call me Korean-American because I don't identify as a Korean at all. Being adopted changes a lot of those dynamics for me. I don't feel Korean. I don't speak it. Yet I'm clumped in that group. Oh, and I'm reading an interesting book right now about how there's a presumed alliance between black and latinos as minorities, but that it's not there. Same thing, just substitute black for Asian. What I find interesting is that the author a) puts everything in the context of his Mexican-American experience, b) refers to the Koreans in L.A. interchangeabley with Asians in LA, and c) never tells the reader who exactly is making that presumption. But enough randomness.
I also wanted to let you know that I've started writing again (really!), but not on the Xanga site. I have more friends on myspace and they all yelled at me to keep a journal while I'm in Argentina, Belize and Mexico this summer. So if you're interested: www.myspace.com/triphopx.
...I'm gonna digress before I deviate from the topic.
Anyway, the folks at NAPALC would agree with you wholeheartedly... I think you've hit upon the biggest problem with Asian-American unity being the primary hurdle for exercising political clout. By contrast, I see most Latino students able to exercise much more unity among themselves, despite if their Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, or Brazilian. But, Hispanics and Chicanos too have a larger (not necessarily longer, but larger) history in the US than any Asian groups.
Sure, unity might be achievable, but it's more likely to be a century or so on down the line... KF
Nice post. On some days I feel optimistic that AA's can progress toward a strong and unifed movement, and other days I feel like we will never achieve anything. There's no question that much has yet to be done.
Figured I would toss in a few of my own observations.
For one, I think Asian-Americans are for the most part still in too small of numbers in most areas to make any real political impact. Outside of Hawaii, California, and New York, there simply isn't a critical mass large enough that is capable of supporting any real political activitiy.
With regards for the history, I think that is something that will fade with time. The first generation of course will have history fresh in their minds having been born and raised in their homelands. The second generation will pick it up from their parents, but I feel that by the third generation, it will fade. Afterall, you can only play the "Japanese barbarian" card or other crap like that for so long before.
My biggest problem with the so-called "Asian-American" identity was the sheer artificialness of it. It's more than just a lack of a common "American experience", it's a lack of a common cultural background. Let's just start with the four you mentioned: Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese. Sure, we kinda look alike, eat with chopsticks, and are built around a Confucian order, but the differences in culture, philosophy, and organization are immense. Even the commonalities I mentioned differ: the Chinese implimentation of Confucianism differs greatly from the Japanese, Koreans use different types of chopsticks from Vietnamese, and there are some physical distinctions that can be made between the different groups. When you start entering other Asian minorities, the differences become more and more distinguished.
Thus, when I see people calling for an "Asian-American" community, it feels like we're trying to force ourselves into a false grouping; with some Asian minorities, I feel no more commonality with them than I do with other minorities in general such as Hispanics or Blacks.
It's funny though, because I used to not thing this way. If anything, I was a very strong advocate for Asian-American solidarity. Yet the more I was exposed to other Asian cultures, the more I realized just how different they really were. Not just superficial differences, but in the perception of the world. Even between related cultures, the differences were big enough and in key places that it made less and less sense.
EVen if that question were resolved, their original ethnic identities are still too strong to work. Most of the "Asian-American" movements I've seen end up being culturally dominated by one group or another; that's what usually killed its diversity. As a friend once put it in college, "Why should I go to the Asian Student Association? You might as well call it the Chinese Student Association..." Even when the balance and diversity was achieved, it always felt funny to me; I felt as if I was suppressing a very large part of my heritage for the sake of political and social convenience. This problem will probably fade as the majority of the Asian-American immigrant community goes into the 3rd and 4th generations, but I think that for 2nd generation immigrants.
I do agree that we need some sort of Asian-American coalition for political advocacy in certain areas. However, I wonder how the agenda will be set? Afterall, the political goals of each group are probably very different from one another.
There you go, just my two cents.
I've never experienced really bad racism. For someone to say Asians living in America aren't real Americans... the nerve.
to be brutally frank, i think as a whole, AsAms just don't give a fuck about being involved in politics.
i won't delve into cultural AsAm stereotypes but bottomline is, vast vast majority of us do not care enough to get involved with American politics to even vote, let alone run for office. percentage-wise in terms of ratio of size to actual voting population, AsAms are the smallest by a far stretch. we do not care. why? i think many reasons:
- much too focused on family and own career to have a social agenda.
- as far as inter-racial relations go, Asians typically do not "make waves" or have on-going racial troubles.
- we can be very secular as a culture, which is not an Asian-only thing for immigrants and i think also a racist America as a whole issue. really, we're only about 30 solid years into Asiam immigrants coming to America. it took just as long if not longer for other waves of ethnic immigrants to become involved and accepted by mainstream America. people were freaking out over JFK being elected coz he was irish and also roman-catholic. wtf?