I've come to the conclusion that I really dislike the term Asian-American, and I will, from now on, refrain from saying it personally. I won't be offended by others who use it (especially those who simply aren't knowledgeable enough to tell the different ethnic groups apart), and I will only get annoyed at first-generation, American-born and/or raised Chinese who are talking about something specifically Chinese but apply it to all Asians. Because they should know better.
Asian-American-ness to me is useless and inaccurate.
When people say Asian in the Asian-American context, they are often referring to people with yellow skin and slanted eyes--East or Southeast Asian (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc.) and the brown-skinned, Caucasian-featured South Asian are often not included. And oftentimes, Americans of Chinese descent use the term to speak for Americans of Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese descent when they really have no right to do so. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam are pretty different from China culturally and historically. And even among the Chinese, there is a split, but I will talk about that another time. Perhaps what bothers me the most is when a white Caucasian person makes fun of a person from China, and it is those who call themselves Asian-Americans (noticeably many Chinese-American women) who are the most eager to agree and the first to laugh. They laugh because they want to make sure people know that they are different--they are Asian-American, not Chinese. In reality, they're only sabotaging the cause to end discrimination.
Theoretically, one would think that an Asian-American identity would give us more political power and create a block vote, but I think we are way too divided to have that be effective at all, and so I abandon that thought altogether. I applaud minorities who become firsts in their political positions--persons such as President Barack Obama, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Governor Bobby Jindal, Congressman Joseph Cao, and gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley. But I believe their accomplishments are based on merit, not race.
I am proud to be American, and I am proud to be Chinese. But I am not Asian-American.
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3 comments:
I can understand the discontentment of being "labeled". It is one of the many flaws of American Society. Our need to "label" everything and everyone so that there is a continuation of the separatism that is maintained in our Society. Without Labeling, no one would "know their place".
Is there a way to describe people of color/minorities other than...? Yes, but can you tell a Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Cuban from one another? Possibly, maybe not. Hispanic-American is their label. Technically, Latin is a culture, not an ethnicity. Does Hispanic-American include those from Spain also? I doubt anyone is thinking along those lines when they placed that "label" on this particular ethnic group.
On another note, I am descended from Native American's moreso than African, yet I cannot fully call myself either. So, how do I describe my ethnicity? If you were to look upon me, you would just see a "black" woman or African-American. I'm often mistaken for someone from Jamaica or the Virgin Islands, but hardly ever am I assumed to be American by those that ask the question "Where are you from?"!
So, I do see your reasoning, unlike most Americans, I've grown up around Southern Asians (India), but I know my Geography also, Asia, the continent (not country) houses parts of Russia and other ethnicities besides those that live in the Eastern region of Asia, but rarely will you come across an American with that knowledge already.
So in the end, we may not like it, but we cannot change it (just yet). Eventually, there will be no need for labels, until then, we have to suffer through the ignorance and thank those who aren't so linear.
I think you have a great argument and wonder if you've ever thought of asking this question on Youtube to see the responses from other Americans of Asian descent.
Do you know this blog site? http://www.racialicious.com/
I will note that there is no such thing as "race" in the human population, there are ethnicities, but we are all Human, which is the only Race in our species. It is easier for many to just divide everyone into Races instead of Ethnicities. Which is another topic.
Insightful post and shud garner you more feedback if put in a public arena! ;D Take care.
Ronee
Ronee,
Thank you for your very thoughtful comments.
One thing I should clarify is that I'm not really saying that no one should use the term Asian-American. It is rather that I will stop using it myself because of the way Chinese Americans tend to use it to dissociate themselves from China one level, because they are ashamed of being Chinese. Yet when they Chinese Americans call themselves "Asian American," they are often not speaking for the interest of other Americans of Asian descent. We are still new to America--many of us, like myself, are immigrants or children of immigrants. We have to reconcile the land that we or our parents left behind with our home--America.
I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with labeling, and I will not be offended if others call me Asian American. As you say, it is a description to help characterize me by someone else, especially if they don't know that I'm Chinese.
I wrote this entry because I had a particular axe to grind yesterday regarding an incident on Facebook--someone started a discussion thread to make fun of a Chinese immigrant's name, and a few Chinese Americans jumped in to make fun of him more, perpetuating more racism toward Chinese.
I'd be interested to see how Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, or Cubans choose as an identity. I have often wondered about exactly how harmonious Latin American countries are with each other. Asian countries have had over a thousand years of warring history and there is a lot of baggage from previous generations. But thrown together by circumstance here in the States, they are forced to be more united, since Americans of non-Asian descent often group them together.
Do you identify yourself as African American? Or Native American? From what I understand, most African Americans have been here for generations and have been part of the American landscape for a long time, unlike Americans of Asian descent, who are still not quite accepted as "American." Certainly there is still plenty of discrimination against African Americans and Hispanic-Americans, but both groups are politically stronger and much more united than Americans of Asian descent. AA's tend to hate confrontation. So, when there are not enough complaints about discrimination, people will continue to pick on them.
I'm not sure if you notice, but these days, Hollywood is much more careful about being politically correct about African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Not so with Asians. They seem to have free reigns with Asian jokes--especially Chinese.
Thanks again for your comments. I will check out the link you sent.
Lisa
Thanks for posting and responding, Lisa.
To your question, I don't identify with either, I do identify with just being American or Black American, however I do try and avoid placing myself also with a certain label. I do not mind, like yourself, if someone else needs to use the term to identify me. Of course, we also can't avoid it when it comes to paperwork either. My features are very much that of my great-grandmother who was Native American, so that is where much confusion of my heritage come in.
As for the "getting along" within the Hispanic communities, they are very separated also. Do not mistake a Cuban for a Puerto Rican or vice versa, they have their own very negative view of one another. I've seen anger from each side at being mistaken for the other. lol It's not pretty. smh
You are right when it comes to the longevity of each group, I have to agree that America's history is extensive but never talked about how much many cultures contributed to it's history. Including East Asians. There is much history I can go into but I'm going to stop right here.
Thanks again for responding and reading my post.
Ronee
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