Tag: Asian Americans

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The Problem With Asian American Racial Privilege

If you do a google search of “Asian privilege” you’ll see that the subject is generating a lot of chatter, both on the right and the left. But, much of the online discussion concerning Asian privilege ignores a couple of really important things.

First, “race” is a political category, invented to serve the interests of white supremacy. Second,  the Oriental “race” (what we were called before we became Asian) was conceived of in this context. When you consider these facts, it becomes clear that Asian privilege may be more complicated than we imagine.

On the first … Read more “The Problem With Asian American Racial Privilege”

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What LGBT America Can Learn From Asian American History

The growing number of states legalizing same-sex marriages has many in the LGBT community convinced that full assimilation is inevitable. But as an Asian American gay man, I’m unconvinced that assimilation for the whole LGBT community is inevitable or even possible, nor that simply being assimilated is even desirable.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand why some in the LGBT community are advocates of assimilation. I was shamed, bullied, and occasionally assaulted through a big chunk of my life, most of which was lived at a time when hatred of LGBT people was a sign of moral turpitude. There … Read more “What LGBT America Can Learn From Asian American History”

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Asian Americans Are the Same as Other Americans, But Not in the Way Frank Wu Seems to Think We Are

Frank H. Wu (author of Yellow: Race Beyond Black and White, a useful if not entirely satisfying examination of the racial status of Asian Americans) has been making waves with his recent Huff Post editorial, Jeremy Lin and the End of Asian Americans? In it, he makes the point that Asian Americans are distinct from Asians globally, both because Asians in Asia don’t share a pan-Asian identity, and because Asian Americans are neither well known to nor very much like the peoples of the countries in which we are ethnically rooted.

Good enough. I don’t disagree with that point. But … Read more “Asian Americans Are the Same as Other Americans, But Not in the Way Frank Wu Seems to Think We Are”

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Series Premier: Open Season on Asians in the Media (starring actual Dragon Ladies!)

[Spoiler Alert] This weekend, I watched the new blockbuster Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, ironically at a Queens, New York movie theater next door to a Hooters that was sued last year for inputting a customer’s order under “Chinx”. The movie had me and my friends cracking up in our seats.

Maybe you’re thinking, Wait, but it’s not a comedy! It’s a movie about the rugged individualism and determination of a White American woman astronaut under space duress! I suppose, even though the protagonist is ultimately saved by the apparition of her White male … Read more “Series Premier: Open Season on Asians in the Media (starring actual Dragon Ladies!)”

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Asian America’s Overlooked Diversity: A Video Interview with Scot Nakagawa

[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/r9TpomsIj50″]

The above interview was conducted by Laura Flanders of Grit TV and The Nation on the occasion of the release of the Pew Research Center’s report, The Rise of Asian Americans and my response, here, on Race Files.

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Real Rights Require Real Resources: An Interview with Scot Nakagawa on Grit TV

[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/FLmldH6Y7no”]

Above is an excerpt of an interview with me conducted by Laura Flanders of The Nation and Grit TV about how Real Rights Require Real Resources. The complete interview can be found here. Transcript on Truth Out to follow.

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Brand New Race Files

Dear Readers,

Race Files started as an experiment. During the media blitz that followed the breakthrough performance of former New York Nicks basketball player, Jeremy Lin, I found myself mumbling under my breath about the exclusion of progressive Asian American voices in media and the almost complete absence of useful racial dialogue, particularly concerning Asian Americans. Soon, writing took the place of all that frustrated mumbling and Race Files was born, my small contribution to the discussion of race in the U.S. that I thought would be read by, at most, a few hundred friends and colleagues.

That was a … Read more “Brand New Race Files”

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Why Are Asians So Racist?

I get asked that question and various riffs on it like “why do Asians hate black people?” and “why do Asians only stick with other Asians?” all the time.  While these questions may seem rude, I take them seriously, not least because they contain seeds of truth, even if they’re ultimately based on misinformation.

Before I get into what I meant by that, perhaps, confusing statement, let’s get real about racism. Racism is distinct from ordinary bias because it was created as the justification for and original blueprint of a society in which race and class were pretty much the … Read more “Why Are Asians So Racist?”

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On Being Asian Girlz (and Boys)

The controversy regarding Day Above Ground’s new song and video Asian Girlz has turned them into an internet sensation. Sigh. The video and song are based in the worst kind of juvenile, exploitative, dehumanizing sexism and racism. Worse, they’re selling it as a joke because, well, every body knows that racist exploitation is absolutely hilarious, right? That is, of course, unless you’re the brunt of the joke.

By the way, in case you think they’re alone in their idiocy, try doing a yahoo search of the term “Asian Girl” when you get to the end of this post. Go ahead, … Read more “On Being Asian Girlz (and Boys)”

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The P.I. in the A.P.I.

Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month has me pondering the question of Pacific Islanders and where that group fits in the Asian-Pacific American coalition. I’ve wondered about it because I fear that by using that term, we too often tell a story about Pacific Islanders that contributes to their invisibility.

There’s a certain amount of invisiblizing, if you will forgive my grammar, that goes on when we use the term “Asian American.” After all, Asian Americans are a mash-up of 40 or so ethnic groups from nations often at odds with one another within a region of origin that only thinks of … Read more “The P.I. in the A.P.I.”