My thoughts on Virgina Tech, Asians, Condolescences, Racism and etc

My thoughts: Asians, Virgina Tech, Condolescences, Racism and etc
Originally uploaded by triciawang 王 圣 㨗.

I was walking to teach my section today when a student approached me and asked if I would like to sign a banner that would be sent to the students at Virginia Tech.  I looked over - and it was organized by the KOREAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ASSOCIATION at UC San Diego.

I asked the student why I should sign it and how that would support Virginia Tech, and he said “well I'm Asian and you're Asian - and we need to support the students. “

I asked “what does that have to do with being Asian” and he said he said “ we also need to fight racism against Asians - since the shooter was Korean. ”

When I glanced at the banner again, I realized the 20 students signing this Korean Association Banner for Virginia Tech were all Asian.  I took a picture and walked away. Then one of the Korean Student Assoc. girls yelled out – “instead of taking a picture you should sign our banner."

As I watched from afar, I noticed that the student who was asking students to sign the banner was only approaching Asian students for signing their banner.   Although Asians are the ethno-racial majority on campus, there were plenty of white students around and he didn't ask any of them within the 5 minutes of my observation.

I walked away very upset at what just happened.  I felt it was so petty to worry about Asian racism (they did it by cloaking it in "we're concerned for students at Virginia Tech) when this horrific tragedy just happened!

Why is it that this Virginia Tech shooting prompted this Asian Club to address racism – when really there are more immediate issues that this shooting has brought up – like gun control policy, identifying psychological maniacs on the verge of massacring others, emergency planning, effective campus security, and emotional reverberations around other college campuses? 
 
And then immediately I thought of the e-mail that Liane just sent me – it was a press release post from the Asian American Journalists Association, urging the media to refrain from using racial identifiers of “Asian” or “Korean” in reference to the shooter.  “There is no evidence at this early point that the race or ethnicity of the suspected gunman has anything to do with the incident, and to include such mention serves only to unfairly portray an entire people. The effect of mentioning race can be powerfully harmful. It can subject people to unfair treatment based simply on skin color and heritage,” said the release.

This press release made me very upset, not because of what they are urging (which is a great idea but a bit too late).  First of all racism is not the immediate concern in this situation.  What I am most upset about is that the Asian American Journalists are only expressing concern for this specific situation because they fear that they themselves
will face epiphenomenonic racism. The wouldn't have spoken up if the shooter were white or Black.  Although there is nothing wrong with being concerned about the potential racism one will face, as it will also upset me when the stereotype of “Angry Asian Man Gone Wild” develops (which my friend Christian sent me this link to show that it already has developed) – what's wrong is that they only choose to speak up when it became a fear that Asians themselves would face discrimination because of the shooting. 

This is one of the reasons why I find it difficult to work with Asian-American non-profit, organizations, or collectives that create spaces for equality and community – because ultimately  it is too often that Asian activists who fight against discrimination and for representation, are only fighting for Asians.  They forget that their are other minorities that are fighting for the same causes, and that building coalitions and solidarity with Blacks, Latinos, Queers, Jews and other minorities  - is a more powerful strategy to fight for equality. 

Jewish, Black and Latino organizations are always fighting discrimination when it happens to an individual or group other than themselves.  They really take on Martin Luther King’s quote – that "injustice anywhere is is a threat to justice everywhere."  But Asian organizations don’t speak up enough when discrimination happens to another group other than themselves.  

Last summer in NYC, when Miss Jones made the racist comment in their parody about "Chinks" drowning in the Tsunami, there was tremendous support from Black, Jewish and Latino based groups.  They organized protests, press conferences and press releases alongside and with Asian activists to admonish Miss Jone's racist comments about Asians.  But when a racially motivated attack or injustice happens to someone who is not Asian – who may be white, queer or black  - Asian organizations are not there for them. 

What Asian groups need to realize, is that if they are really fighting racism/discrimination, then they need to fight equally for all races/ethnicities  - otherwise they’re just favoring one race/group when they are fighting – themselves.  They speak up when they become worried that they, as Asians, may face similar forms of discrimination that Blacks, Latinos, Jews and anyone else who is dark has had or continues to experience  - especially in the aftermath of a highly public shooting/massacres/murders.  Where were Asian groups during post 9-11 Muslim/anyone-wearing-a-turban/dark colored person discrimination period?  Where were they when Matthew Shepard was killed for being gay? Or for the Amadou Dialo shooting? 

This is not the case for ALL Asian individuals or organization in America – I am reflecting on what I have noticed as a community organizer and media researcher.  I am sure there are individuals and organizations who do speak up,  but nationally Asian groups have not made a great media impact when fighting for others  – at least nothing comparable to the effort they are now putting into fighting potential racism against Asians in the face of Virginia Tech.

On this last note – I think one of the best Asian American role models I admire is New York City Councilman – John Liu.  He is the councilmember for  a predominantly Asian population in Queens, NYC.  However, he is a great example of a councilperson who stands up and fights for issues that cut across all income stratas and ethno-racial groups.  He always speaks up publicly in the media for any person of color who experiences racism in NYC.  He fights for policy changes on issues that effect people in different boroughs, neighborhoods, and classes.  He is one of my favorite Councilperson in NYC. He honors his Asian roots while serving his all his constituents of NYC equally.