2 posts tagged “asian”
The media is not helping obama by referring to him as the "First Black President." Even John Stewart referred to him as America's First Black President and I rely on him for the real news. The media is also not helping Obama if they ONLY show working-class blacks as identifying with Obama - because guess what - OBAMA ISn't ONLY BLACK and It WASN't JUST BLACKS WHO VOTED OBAMA INTO OFFICE!
What about all the working class white people who voted for Obama? And what about middle-upper class whites? And all the Latinos who voted Obama? The Asians - well the asians we are totally absent from the story. What about all the other minorities who together formed a large bloc of voters?
My point is that the media needs to give a more balanced coverage of voters who support Obama. Obama won because he is a unifier - he didn't JUST appeal to blacks. ANd in his speech on Nov. 4th - he ackonowledged all the people from diff classes, ethniciteis and races who helped get him into office.
So please, call him bi-racial, post-racial, multi-culti, multi-ethnic, human, mixed - whatever- just stop calling him black - that's not helping him and it's alienating all the whites, latinos, asians and other minorities who worked hard to get him into office.
The media discourse needs to do a better job of reflecting reality and the kind of reality we want to achieve - one that is open to all backgrounds.
addendum: I posted on twitter 2 days ago: "today is one of those days I truly feel my country's joyful soul - we finally have our first CONSCIOUSLY bi-racial pres" so I said "consciously" because there is such thing as only black or only white - especially in the US with america's history of slavery.
addendum #2 of a comment from facebook:
my friend wrote this comment to my post:
ME:FRIEND:
'm not sure what to think about this. I see your point, but allow me to play devil's advocate: it also seems to me like insisting on identifying him as multi-racial advances a sort of biological-essentialist, where race is determined exclusively by parentage. What seems more important is that he fits the prevailing social conception of blackness, and to some extent embraces it. I doubt his white mother makes racists like him any more. In that sense, I think he's overcome just about all the obstacles he would have faced if she had been black, and to take note of his blackness is to acknowledge the magnitude of his accomplishments in overcoming them.
well and you knowI am the first person to agree with you that "race' is a very freaking problematic category - yes. but I was just giving some alternative "words' for the press to use- it's all problematic no matter what. obama himself insists that he is post-racial. i am simply echoing what obama himself has asked of us = which is to not refer to him as ONLY black, and to keep in mind everyone who voted for him
FRIEND:
Right. I do have a major problem with the fact that seemingly few people, even people within the media, have even stopped to give any thought to this.ME
yah you're right.
I mean either way -if we talk about 'race itself" or of "social conceptions of blackness"- well its' just that - it's socially constructed - historically constituted - orally created - blah blah - I mean what is the "black experience" - to even single out one black experience ignores the diversity of blacks - like not all blacks are working class and etc . so even to say "black" does not refer to a singular experience. this is not to say that people can't say he's black - or that someone can't just say "I'm black." What is going on is that it's all complicated, socially constructed and messy - and when the media is as powerful as it is- it should be more concsious of how it frames a "person" as powerful as obama now - even Obama is conscious of it - he has asked us not to call him black - this is not to say that he doesn't think he's black or that he's not black or denying the a "black experience."This is simply a matter of trying to figure out what is the best way to unite a country that has had and continues to have a diffcult time with race - so that is why I think he's asked us to consider him as "post-racial." in no way am I denying the whatever kind of life experience obama has had - or what other blacks have had . I just want the media to be more critical of how it frames obama and what kind of implications it has when it ONLY focuses on the happiness of black voters who can now identify with the president. i think the media should also focus on how iraqis can now have hope this war will end, how soldiers can know that they were will be an end to this terrorism we have waged on the middle east, on all the undocumented migrants who can have a chance to become documented, on all the gays who can now have hope that on a federal level there can be more openess to equality - for latinos who have also worked their asses off to become citizens and many who just voted for the first time - also highlight those stories ALONGSIDE the 106 year old black woman who just voted for obama - a diversity of voices is reflective of our diverse country.
Differences, borders, lines, surfaces and boundaries do not really divide things from each other at all, they join them together. All boundaries are held in common.” Alan Watts
My thoughts: Asians, Virgina Tech, Condolescences, Racism and etc
Originally uploaded by triciawang 王 圣 㨗.
The Virginia Tech Massacre just unfolded. 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 the signatures 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” developing (which my friend Christian sent me this link to show that it already has developed) – what's wrong is that many pro-race equality Asian groups only choose to speak up when it became a fear that Asians will face discrimination themselves. In this case the Korean student group at UCSD was concerned that Koreans would begin to face discrimination.
This is one of the reasons why I find it difficult to work with many 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,
"injustice anywhere is is a threat to justice everywhere."
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 other minorities have faced - 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. 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 Massacre
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. 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.
