I feel like when people think of racism, they think of hardcore racism against African American people. Though that is prevalent and a horrible problem, there are also a lot of other problems with racism as well. For example, racism against asians. Though I am probably extremely biased, there are so many things I have never really expressed that really perplex/upset me. There have been so many instances where I have been categorized into asian stereotypes, whether it be my ability to do math, or what my parents look like. Though it seems like a joke at times, it never ceases to offend me in some way or another and sometimes could even have a negative effect on a person.
The other day I met a fellow "asian" he seemed like a really nice person and I thought we got along well, however was shocked to find out that he didn't like me. When I asked "why" (expecting to hear that he possibly just didn't agree with me on something) I was nonchalantly responded with "I just really don't think he likes asians."
I knew there was racist against asians, but racism within your own race? This event in particular really sparked my curiosity and made me consider reasons why he didn't like me.
The only reason I could possibly come to think of, is that he feels insecure about his own race and for that, pushes away anything to do with his race in order to feel more apart of societies "caucasian norm." Maybe he didn't want to "hangout" with other asians in order for him to feel less like one himself.
It's probably not fair for me to make accusations, but I feel like a large reason as to why I believe that, is because I personally used to feel that way as well. I used to be very insecure about my race because of all of the negative stereotypes I would hear, and the image that being asian would usually provoke. I essentially, would do the same thing as he did to me. The fact he didn't like me really didn't upset me as much as why I believed he didn't like me.
These acts truly make me sad. I would hate for anyone to feel as though they can't be comfortable with their own race. It hurts me to see people try and change themselves so they can fit in. Websites like these really make people feel terrible about themselves!
Regardless of it's asian jokes or any sort of race, people really need to start thinking harder on how it impacts people around them.
I think this really feeds into some underlying concepts in our CSP about the rights of the minority-- we often talk about major, marginalized minorities (which sounds like a contradiction, but if you think about it: headlined, often-thought-of minorities) for one very important reason.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that we're ignoring Asians, Indians, Native Americans or any other minority race when we discuss racial issues; it's simply that it's much easier to use larger examples of black oppression or Latino oppression when doing discussion. There's more research, more recognition and more groups trying to move towards equality.
But I think that that in itself is an interesting concept. Because they're less well-known, does that mean we're marginalizing other groups even further? And don't forget the huge role geography plays in our concepts of "minority".
It's an interesting quandry.
This is really interesting, because I watched a documentary in Pauley last night called "What's Race Got to Do with It?" It was about a group of Berkeley students talking about race. Most of it was Hispanics and black students enlightening the white students on how they are lucky to be white because they have "white power" and talking about how they had a really tough life because of their race. It struck me that the Asians in the room were kind of in the middle, and even were lumped with the white students in the category of people having "white power." So where do Asians fall on the spectrum of oppressed minority and the privileged white? I can't really tell. Maybe they just fall in the middle, which is why they tend to be ignored as a minority race.
ReplyDelete