(03/24/05)
Since I put up this site in January 2004, I've been meaning to write about race relations in the United States. However, I didn't have the time to do the research that I felt this topic deserved. Actually, I was too lazy to do it for my website which only about 20 people read regularly. But I've decided that too many Asian Americans have totally different ideas on what it means to be of an Asian ethnicity in the United States today, and I would offer my 2 cents.
<rant>
- Hate and prejudice
- We Asians have it easy. Asians don't have to really worry about racial profiling, because cops don't really bat an eye at an Asian driving a Mercedes, but a black man driving a $35k Lexus has to drive cautiously to avoid trouble. Unlike Native Americans, we don't have to worry about growing up in poverty-stricken communities where drugs and alcohol are commonplace. White supremacist groups direct most of their hate (and violence) to Blacks and Jews. This is why I believe that it is an inefficient effort to try to combat Asian-specific prejudice. Let's stop being so self-centered and fight racism in general, especially racist Asians. I hear too many dumbass Asians complain about being victims, and then drop n-bombs in anger at black people. Ridiculous.
- Yao Ming
- I hate how various Chinese and Asian groups get so giddy about Yao.
If anything, he's set us back in race relations. He sends the following
messages:
- All Asians are soft and unaggressive.
- Asians are unathletic and can only compete with a size advantage.
- With a size advantage, they still can't dominate.
- Asians can't jump.
- Affirmative Action
- Asians stand to lose on race preferences in the top undergraduate schools, medical schools, and any of the graduate professional schools, with the clear exception of law school. Still, I support race being a factor not because it's fair or unfair but because public schools need to serve all parts of the community by producing graduates from all sectors of society. I think it's retarded when I hear Asians complain about affirmative action in undergraduate schools and embrace law school race preferences. And yes, I hear it all the time.
- Media and Entertainment
- Rarely do we see Asian protagonistsin television or film. When we do, race is usually a big deal, and there quite possibly will be martial arts involved. Prominently. I wanna see Asian cops, lawyers, teachers and social workers on televions. Oh wait, there aren't that many Asians in these professions in real life. Which brings me to the next point:
- Assimilation
- I hate when I meet Asians who feel no need to serve anyone but themselves. They won't serve the community in any way, and sometimes even take money out of the community via small businesses (think Korean-owned liquor stores in black communities). Law, politics, law enforcement, secondary education, and anything else serving the community just isn't considered when most Asians are choosing careers. Most Asians I know generally stick around with other Asians, myself included. I think it's sad, however, when I meet Asians who don't have any real friends who aren't Asian. These are generally the people who complain most about white people and perceived racism, while refusing to work at assimilation into greater society. We can't expect white society to make the effort to embrace us, nor can we even expect it to meet us halfway. However, both parties will stand to gain from our assimilation, and we absolutely should work hard to achieve it (I think full assimilation will always be impossible, but we definitely can be doing better than the status quo).
- Education
- It makes me furious when I hear Asians imply that we are smarter or better in school because of innate ability. This is dead wrong. Most Asians I knew relied heavily on outside tutors and parental pressure to achieve the success they did in high school. We get better GPAs and higher SAT scores because our demographic consists heavily of descendants of immigrants who came to the United States on student visas. Basically, the former INS would only allow good students from Asia into the country, so it's only natural that their children be good students. The reason why we end up in engineering, business, and medicine is because these degrees tended to be worth more in immigration and naturalization, and we're too lazy to do something different from our parents. Stop taking credit for what the immigration filter has produced, dumbasses. Also, education is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Don't be that guy who graduates with a 3.8 and gets passed over every year for promotions in the workplace because nobody at work likes you.
</rant>
