Author: Anaise Baez

My Archive Project

It’s important to note that Asians can face racism as other cultures even if it is not as bad or as bad as other cultures. As proven in “Unprotected by Assimilation: Lessons from the Case of Duy Ngo” by Phi he explains how an Asian cop got shot by a white police officer. The cop was “mistaken” for a gang member and was shot by a fellow comrade which left him paralyzed. Shortly after this the Asian cop decided to take his own life and the punishment that the white cop who shot him was given was 3 days off paid leave. Phi points this out that Asian should be fighting with the minorities, not against them, rather than trying to fit into white standards. The article “Opposing Chinese American Conservatism” by Zen also showcases how the recent pandemic has caused a spike in Asian related hate crimes. This article talks about the way many Asians have been supporting police during the “Black Lives Matter ” protests due to them experiencing racism from that group. They felt that they were victims but their experiences were never publicized or never given any attention, so they felt like police were the ones who were protecting them. This is a slight contrast with Phi because he talks about how Asians and Blacks should come together to fight off racism while this one explains how Blacks were mistreating a lot of Asians because of COVID. In the letter “Mom, Dad, Uncle, Auntie, Grandmother, Family:” It explains how both communities should come together. The writer expresses their deep concern for the mistreatment of Blacks and how they have to struggle against all odds in society. They always fear what could happen just simply because of how society sees them and treats them. The writer also conveys that even though Asians have had their own struggles for the lives they live right now that doesn’t mean that they should ignore another’s community cry for help. All communities that face injustice should stand together to fight it for an equal opportunity with all communities and that is perfectly shown through this heartfelt letter.

In the framework department I chose the excerpt “Language Justice Platform” by Shahana Hanif. She describes the fact that about 50% of immigrants are not English speakers and because they can’t speak English are given the same accessibilities. Agencies should provide language accessibility to everyone, not just English speakers because it makes it harder for immigrants to get the same basic needs these agencies provide like housing or healthcare. Her approach to this to hire more diverse translators for all demographics but not just in services like housing but schools as well. She also suggests using a citywide strategy in case of an emergency. The excerpt I chose for the story department was “Tired Of Being Asian” by Alice Tsui. She explains that as an Asian American educator she has to continuously deal with racist comments from her students even if they do not realize it and also from their peers and fellow educators. She also has to deal with racist slurs and gestures from people in society such as degrading her for being Asian, moving away from her, etc. This was mainly increased due to the pandemic that is currently going on. She explains that she tries to drown it out but she is exhausted mentally and that Asian Americans shouldn’t have to deal with this when they are people too. The final excerpt I chose from the Resources department is called “Half-Assed Disabled Prepper Tips” by Leah Piepzna-Samarasinha. In this she explains that she has to use the skills she acquired to survive. She has a weak immune system and she already learned from a young age how to make due with what she had to survive. How to make her own medicine because the community she grew up couldn’t afford, stealing food necessary for her body to function. Also having to worry about her community because the government had left them to be on their own. They learned how to plan ahead because they know whatever was available to them is extremely limited as well as look out for themselves and their community because no one else would. She mainly talks about the minorities within this excerpt.

The treatment of southeast asians in the United States as shown by Kimberly Yam in her article “The Forgotten Asian Refugees Fed Into the U.S. Prison System” showcases the cruel reality they had to face. In an attempt to flee their hometown in Cambodia due to a communist tyranny, people like Phal Sok and his family looked towards the United States for a place to thrive. As a country that once accepted them with open arms even under the name of a refugee was the same country that turned on them. Forcing them back to their homeland even though they had never been there. Under the Trump administration South East Asians had to live in fear of deportation through I.C.E and overall difficulty in their community. After getting away from the fear of war many southeast asians had to face a new fear which was to avoid detaintment from I.C.E. Due to uncertainty and the difficulties they had to face, since they were barely supported by anything, many ended up turning to more dangerous routes of life. This involved gang activity, drug and/or alcohol abuse and sadly some even turn to suicidal thoughts. The I.C.E detainment didn’t have the best conditions either, they were forced into leaving the country that accepted them and if they left due to war fare they were being put right back into the situation they tried to escape. Many families were separated and there were also increased spikes of mental conditions such as PTSD, depression and more. This isn’t the way the United States should be treating the refugees who entrusted their lives and safety to this country. They are treated unfairly and have to endure so much pain and trauma that isn’t worth it. The United States doesn’t need to do this and it honestly gives refugees false hope of being accepted. It’s messed up to trick people into thinking they can be safe, live and thrive in an environment that is going to kick them out. This was a very unnecessary and hypocritical action, no one deserves to be treated like that. After all everyone is just trying to live their lives to the best of their abilities and it shouldn’t be a crime.

In the readings and video it is shown that the term “model minority” was created in the 1960s and refers to the Asian American. This was the stereotype that stated Asian Americans were more “smarter and more successful” than other minorities. By other minorities I am referring to African American and Hispanics. This was because the United States allowed immigrants who excelled in the STEM fields or had amazing academic status to become technical workers. This was due to the United States wanting to improve their own status. However because of this stereotype it grouped Asian Americans into a stereotype of needing to be smart and successful. With other stereotypes such as the African American community and the Hispanic community were considered the exact opposite and often granted the stereotype of “thugs” and “criminals”. This also undermined the achievements of people from these communities because it basically caused society to question how they reached their achievements. This happened because the American society used the “model minority” stereotype of Asian Americans and unfairly pinned members of the Hispanics and African American communities against these stereotypes. “If one race can excel in something why can’t another race” was the basic argument that justified the reasoning for pinning stereotypes of these two communities together. This was an unfair way to justify American society’s treatment to different minorities. This does not take into consideration the treatment of different minorities within society and the limitations or expectations placed on different groups in society. There are even modern day examples of this stereotype in places such as Ivy League schools who have a more prominent White and Asian American population than other minorities. This shows how stereotypes can play a huge role in how many people are treated in society. It is a toxic mentality that affects one life simply because you were born into a certain race which is something you cannot control. This allows society to further justify unfair treatment and use stereotypes as a way to attack other minorities.

Through the readings and the films we have been looking over in class the reoccurring theme seems to be that “whites” are the only true American citizens. The rest who can not be classified as “white” are mainly seen as their own race or less than a citizen (I believe that one of the readings referred to it as a “second class citizen”) which in all honesty is just ridiculous. The main criteria needed is to be Caucasian/European since it was decided that skin color alone couldn’t prove anything. I feel as though not much has changed in regards to the social definition of citizenship because things such as discrimination, racism and more are still very apparent in modern day. Many people are under the false impression that because their a certain race they are more American than someone who might be considered different. Rather than seeing everyone in America who lived here or became part of the society as an American, society continues to separate us based on actions and cultures. It shouldn’t matter what culture you follow for someone to be considered an American citizen yet it still happens where we are all divided. It shouldn’t be like that because we all live amongst each other and being hateful towards each other based on something stupid like race is just a waste of time. People are not defined by their race or culture specifically because there is much more to people then that. However the current government in the U.S does not help to search for a solution but rather it drives many more apart giving the feeling of superiority to some and allowing the mistreatments of others with only the idea of superiority supporting their actions. This is not how citizens should be treated, every citizen contributes to American society in some way or form and everyone should be treated equally. America isn’t perfect but with the path America is on now I wouldn’t be surprised at how many people will turn on it.

In American society, the Chinese faced racism through stereotypes as well as over sexualizing the women of Chinese descent. Through these “reasons” the Chinese were excluded from participation in American life and were seen as second class citizens which were inferior to the white Americans. The women were forced into sexual acts which created a stereotype of being lustful, dirty, unclean etc. They were also forced into detainment camps or used for manual labor in horrible conditions without much pay. However, the exclusion from American society and way of life were not only limited to the women but many Chinese children were also not given many opportunities to attend school. For those who were able to attend they faced a lot of discrimination within an educational space that’s supposed to help students not hurt them. Naturally the Chinese were outraged by the disrespect to their culture and wanted change. They tried peaceful protest by sadly it didn’t change the laws discriminating against them. Now many Asians face harassment and are blamed for the current pandemic going on just because it originated from China. The American president publicly made bad jokes and snarky remarks on this pandemic encouraging people to join in on the blame against the Chinese. It’s another way of discrimination and a way for Americans to exclude them from the society through hate crimes, either verbally or physically. It’s interesting to learn about because not many school teach about Asian American history or the experiences that Asians went through in America. It opens up many thoughts and discussions because it shows the true nature of American history and how many groups were discriminated against and had to fight hard for the positions and rights in today society. It’s also important to learn this because history has a way of repeating itself if we’re not careful. Through this class I was able to see connections between the modern world and how we treat each other in society and compare or contrast between how they were treated in the past. But it’s not only Asians but multiple cultures had to go through similar things as well and in today’s society Americans find new things to further separate cultures.

I hope everyone in the class are doing well in all aspects of life. I really enjoy this class because of how easy everything is to understand. I don’t feel on the spot during zoom meeting but still feel engaged thanks to the teaching style and respective environment. I am extremely shy and haven’t really talked to any of my peers aside from the comments (so sorry about that peers). I also like the set up of using open lab and that the amount of work we have to do isn’t overbearing and actually enjoyable since it invokes more thought and perceptions rather than copying down facts. I also like that we are notified whenever anyone posts anything new because it helps me keep track of the assignments I did and their due dates. The one thing I would like to add is to put the grades up for the standing in class. I really enjoy the class and teaching style which makes the class easier to follow along with and be engaged.

At this current moment I do not really have a song that I would like to add since it’s hard for me to choose just one. Anything is fine with me such as instrumentals, songs in Asian languages and things like that.

When I first watched the video I was truly amazed that no school teaches about the “Notes on the State of Virginia” written by Thomas Jefferson in 1781. The reason I found this so shocking was because even though this was the time when America was getting slaves through the slave trade, rather than European indentured servants, this could be a documented way of when racism began. Jefferson wrote “I advance it as a suspicion only that the blacks whether originally a distinct race or made distinct by times and circumstances are inferior to the whites in the endownments both of body and mind.” (Race – The Power of Illusion). He was the person who said that “All men are created equal” yet he seemed to promote slavery, while also promoting freedom and inalienable rights that only applied to certain people. This starts to dehumanize blacks while promoting the fact that whites are superior to them which later on starts to incorporate the idea that the Indians are another race inferior to the white. This allows for more rights for white people while everyone else suffered. Watching the opinions of these people who suffered it shows just how much racism actually does goes on. Many people are just expected to keep their head down stay in their lane and accept all these negative things that are happening to them. They also mentioned that Americans only meant white Americans and that any other race was identified and categorized. Lastly the article explains how many people are then based off of characteristics that stem from their ancestors as well as their homeland and are used for classifications. These classifications appear both in everyday life as well as in the government. When these are classified it brings up unfair treatment due to simple characteristics we are born with. People make judgements, assumptions and actions towards specific groups of people simply based on outward appearances before inward qualities.

Hearing their stories and listening to the videos actually hurt. It made me realize just how much of everyday struggles both past and present are swept under the rug and we’re not expected to do much about it. It also kind of upset me how much mistreatment different groups of people have to experience everyday due to a simple illusion. In the end we are all humans, we were all born into this earth, all have skeletal and muscles systems and yes created equal. Misconceptions and judgements about certain groups of people shouldn’t define the whole group. Everyone deserves equal treatment.

A common theme that appeared in the article was migrating in hopes of having more or better opportunities that would improve the quality of life. I don’t really talk to people much or watch too many movies so this topic is pretty new to me. However I do remember hearing of things like wanting to move to the United States because they believed their life would be easier. I never understood the phrase “life would be easier” which is probably why it stuck with me the most. Reading articles such as this made me realize that number of factors could contribute to migration however it is not exactly easy here. There are many struggles that come with migrating and migrating to the United States isn’t an exception. It could also be because of the environment or economic status or possibly even better education. Yet the fact still remains that in many portrayals of migrations to the U.S the main driving force, (or at least one of the many factors) is to better their life quality and opportunities. 

This actually falls in line with many points that Yang was writing about. However, I have never met or had personal experience about the push and pull theory that have to do with the second hand labor. Through the studies of history it is apparent that the driving force is improvements. Whether it be economical bonus, political, education, or freedom many individuals and families uprooted their life for a chance at something better. Even using the migration as an escape for their current problems.

Another possibility could be marriage regarding same sex couples because it is frowned upon or not legal in many countries yet. It is harder for the LGBTQ community for being punished or looked down upon just for their choices. After all were all human and deserve to experience the same right as everyone else. Other than the ability to marry, Yang had many bases covered and did an amazing job at describing the different theories and reasons for migrating.