Author: Nina Wentt

Phi begins to explain the growing motivations of many Asian Americans supported a petition for the NYPD but failed to show the same support when a fellow Asian American was murdered at the hands of the very law enforcement they are in support of. Phi explores the rationale behind this support. Many stated they were tired of being pushed around especially when politicians who are suppose to represent them did nothing to the effect of protecting them as people. Phi explains no matter how hard we (in this case as in. Asian-Americans) attempt to assimilate into American culture, we simply cannot fully be accepted because of transgressions against them. The comparison made was between the minority and whiteness in America. “Taking sides with the oppressor (in this case NYPD) does not guarantee our protection. The goal of his piece is to encourage Asian Americans to stand on the side fighting against systemic injustice and oppression.

Chinese conservatism is very multi layered as I have learned while reading. For example, as we all have seen, violence and xenophobia against Asian populations have been on the rise since the COVID19 pandemic here in America. Many of these crimes being covered have portrayed the perpetrators (many black) as a threat to Chinese businesses in particular. Because of this, the surge of Anti-Asian hate crimes have sparked protest in favor of NYPD. However, what I was not aware of was that many of those in support of NYPD are in support because of misinformation being spread on WeChat. This includes videos circulated portraying Black people as lazy, criminals and dangerous to Chinese lives (an example of this was a video circulating of a woman being dosed with acid in her face while she took out the trash. Although the perpetrator cannot be seen clearly it was immediately assumed the person at fault is black). The rise in Chinese conservatism is also as a result of many Chinese-American immigrants are in support of the CCP and related NYPD to law and order in society. This support was more in favor of the American justice system than it was for racially motivated events.  This in particular relates to Phi’s writing because it demonstrates  how easy it is to choose sides with the oppressor even though it shows that doesn’t guarantee protection whatsoever. Many Asians know police aren’t fair to them especially those who aren’t well versed in American laws or the english language.

The goal of the letter is to reach the authors family who many not be receptive to the Black Lives Matter movement or may harbor sentiments towards black people because of differences in life style. The author goes on to name all the black people who have perished at the hands of law enforcement and how fearing for your life when you walk out the door is different than theirs. They also explain how many of their loved ones are black and how hurt they would be to see more care for replaceable objects than irreplaceable lives? I think this person reached their goal with this letter because because it not only addressed them directly but addressed a common narrative we have been hearing with the lack of incentive to protect black lives and how people favor material objects over lives lost.

I chose resources for gender-based violence for framework, coronavirus and the disability community for stories, and media coverage recommendations for resources. So for the framework I chose, there was discussion on gender-based violence during this pandemic, how it affects victims, and things a victim or a neighbor family remember can indirectly help while maintaining social distance guideline. The problem at hand with this topic focused on how the pandemic affects this demographic. For example, according to the resources provided, “Given layoffs and lack of access to paid sick leave, the economic effects of the virus worsen the conditions of individuals who may be living with perpetrators. These are in reference to the inequalities and disparities affecting this demographic. Something important to note is that of their clients (Sakhi), 95% are recent immigrants, 10% are undocumented, 80% are mothers, and 75% reside below the federal poverty level.  Because of these factors, many are ineligible to medicaid and as a result refrain from seeking medical attention. This is fear of exposing their undocumented status.

The second issue I chose was coronavirus and the disability for stories. This aimed at bringing forward experiences, ideas, and resources by marginalized people with an emphasis on marginalized POC. The goal is also to bring awareness how stories about marginalized disables people are also often expressed through the gaze of non-disabled people. Some of the stories apart of this project express the tribulations of being disabled during a pandemic and how when the situation returns to normality, those who are chronically ill will still have to exist with their illness. Others expressed how the disabled community are fearful because disabled people are “at the bottom of the list for being revived.” because of their quality of life is viewed as lower in comparison to an abled-body person.

For resources, I chose media coverage recommendations. The problem at hand here is directed specifically towards journalist covering the pandemic and those affected. The focus is portrayal of Asians and Asian Americans. According to these resources, often the portrayal is in the negative which fuels xenophobia and racism against them. They also list how naive and general coverage of people and areas with high Asian populations fuel misconceptions of them and add to inaccurate assessment and inevitable racism, The resources go on to name things reporters should refrain from doing. Such as recording generic views of Chinatown and avoid using phrases like “Wuhan Virus”, “Chinese Coronavirus”, and “China Coronavirus.”

I chose these excerpts because the all seem to be relevant topics that will continue to transition even after (hopefully) there ceases to be a pandemic. Xenophobia, discrimination, gender-based violence, and ableism will continue to be relevant topics that affect everyone but especially marginalized groups (Specifically Asian demographics in this case). What especially stoop out is how this pandemic emphasizes these wrongs as if these topics were occurring before the pandemic. Covid has exacerbated peoples awareness of issues outside of the able-body, American citizen, non POC experience. I chose these specifically for that reason. As a citizen, an able-bodied, non asian POC, I think it’s important especially now to practice attentive listening to hold space for Asian-Americans, Asians, and multiple marginalized/ disabled people.

Resettlement especially here in the United States at the time of these stories was extremely corrupt on a national level. The idea of resettlement was to allow refugees (at the time war refugees from the Pol Pot regime) resettled to the United States as a form of asylum. Rather training these refugees for a future in the united states and subsequent citizenship, instead they were subjected to the harsh conditions in poor housing. Neighborhoods that were run with crime and poverty stricken, and the intense scrutiny of law enforcement such as discriminatory stop and frisking and detainment. These justice system lead to many minors convicted as adults spending majority of their later adolescence/early adult years as felons. Youth lacked structure and with no basic understanding of the United States justice system often turned to crime and street violence as a response. These refugees are also not advocated for. The only voice they have are themselves. This was especially shown in Ra’s case when she described how resettling in the Bronx, although there was an extremely large Cambodian community, there was so representation of their existence including any advocation for them. The criminalization and impact of immigration of SE  were also severe and unjust. Crimes committed years ago and time served are ignored. Deportation was made a law mandate meaning many SE refugees who committed crimes and even served time were subjected to mandatory deportation to country of origin. This also includes those who came to the United States an infant. Immigration itself is political but seeing the corruption at the local level and the lack of advocacy at the national level is disheartening but not surprising.  Being made aware that as a country, we have gone to the extent of denying refugees entrance who come from communist countries (since America was on a mission of anti-communism rhetoric) just shows in itself how ethnocentric we are as a society-again at the National level. My main question is while things can be done with state legislation and learning about advocacy groups, what can be done on the local level to prevent corruption in the system? For example, the discrimination many Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants experienced from law enforcement?  My other question is more rhetorical. As a country, the structures, laws, and way we operate is in part because of immigrants. Immigrations helps this country’s economy and social acceptance of societies outside ours. At the national level, why (at the time) why wasn’t there a legal system established to both advocate for refugees that resettled here and helping them integrate into American society?

The inception of the “model minority” started in the mid 1960s (specifically 1966) . It is in reference to a social construct that pits Asian Americans as model minority for their values on education, being apolitical, family solidarity/filial piety, and their self sufficiency. This construct is simultaneously a criticism  on black Americans highlighting their “failures”. There creates the argument, “if Asians can make it, why not Blacks?”

During the 1980s, the model minority myth was exacerbated by now lumping all Asian groups together as a weapon to further support white prerogatives and anti Black rhetoric. Utilizing the model of Blacks being identified as evil and Asians seen as saints since their cultural morals almost aligned with the religious white population. By both encouraging that Asian Americans can remain in a position above Black Americans by withholding from American political affairs, civil rights rhetoric,  and to continue being that model while also introducing oppressive narratives such as most asians are apolitical therefor have no motivation to involve themselves in political affairs. Or their morals on respect and education because they are so self sufficient means they are now socially pressured to maintain those identities. This myth is further challenged with conservatives creating racially motivated divergences between asian Americans and the black population siding with asians for encourage opposition to what they might consider “black nationalism”. This helps propel their agenda and also simultaneously  maintaining these xenophobic, racist social constructs aimed at minority groups whether they are the model minority or not.

Some sidenotes: I think the whole “if one minority group makes it why can’t blacks” is total and utter bs because they are comparing the achievements of groups of people who entered the United States in the mid 19th century vs the racist structures set in place against black Americans/African slaves for over 400 years. There were also multiple advantages including asians coming to the States because of economic opportunities vs blacks being the product of slavery as an institution of power. On the contrary, it is also unfair to asians because while they weren’t forced to come here, many did so making huge compromises which could result in their deportation, continued xenophobia against them, racist/sexist rhetoric against them, and lumping them together as a whole rather then individualizing the various groups that entered from different countries in Asia. Being forced to survive by maintaining the model minority myth in order to continue gaining favor (by this I mean in comparison to the attitudes towards blacks) is also not fair to Asians and I can only imagine the amount of pressure that existing to maintain those identities pushed on them for the true motivation which was pro white nationalist gain.

After reading and watching the video, I did one giant sigh and eye roll because although the information was shocking I am embarrassed to say I was NOT surprised at all. It’s literally no secret that the United States acts like some high end exclusive club where only the elite are able to enter. And by elite I am literally referring to your traditional white (or white passing) cis men and women. Since its inception as a country (post 13 colonies) it the USA literally acts for lack of a better term “brand new”. Ozawa story also gave me the same feeling of “wow, how am I not surprised” Especially when he when there was mention of the Supreme court identifying “Asian Indians” as Caucasian ( information I was not aware of prior to reading this.) This bit really bothered me because it immediately  made me think of the article we read earlier about the model minority and even something similar happening in the Darien school system with integration of more minority students but chosing “Asian” students because the closely resemble white students. Completely associating phenotype with racial categories really have existed as a pillar of power for so long yet it still shocks me that we are still doing this. In hindsight, the united states also seems extremely insecure and paranoid now that I am reflecting on Ozawa’s story. The extensive questionnaire  really reminded me of what interrogation was like on Angel Island.

The whole issue of country of origin and naturalization in terms of European immigrants also was interesting to read. Mentioned before in class even with European immigrants there was the social class heirarchy. I’m referring to the Irish immigrants (along with Scotland as well) because of their colonization at the hands of Great Britain  (who btw is responsible for 62 independence days ya’ll so let that sink in.) So even if they were eligible for naturalization, social turmoil between different European groups very much still existed. For example between Irish immigrants in comparison to other European immigrants or between polish immigrants and german immigrants because of the occupation of nazi Germany.

I find it funny that people south of the Texas border have so much trouble becoming immigrants but someone from a different continent can become naturalized (Melania, her parents etc). If you are employed and contributing to the US economy, i’m not quite sure why you shouldn’t be eligible for citizenship regardless of skin color, country of origin, religion, etc. If you are paying taxes and your children are enrolled in school and you are making positive contributions, it shouldn’t be difficult. This is what’s so puzzling to me. Majority of the citizens here aren’t indigenous to this land ancestral wise. Many “aliens” “undocumented’ people contribute massively to labor, the work force etc. If by this logic because they are born south of the border or from a different continent than everyones citizenship and their parents should be brought into question hypothetically.

In the beginning of the 1850s, Chinese female prostitutes arrived because they accompanied Anglo-Americans and Europeans. Their reasoning for arriving to San Francisco was to take advantage of the demand for their services which was to their advantage. This was due to the shortage of women (Chinese women)  and conjugal life. The attempted distinction between “real-wives” and prostitutes was flawed severely rly. Officials attempted to separate the two through distinguishing between social relations vs behavioral and/or moral traits. This was problematic because of the stigmatization of streetwalkers and an imbalance in women who get penalized as prostitutes vs how socioeconomic and racial class had alot to do with it. For example, although “streetwalkers” accounted for 10-15% of all prostitutes and 80-90% all arrests, it was woman of color who accounted for 40% of those streetwalkers and 55% of those arrests. 85 percent of which received jail sentences. Because of this, the label “prostitute” was then attached to certain groups of women (and to note not others such as white prostitutes at the time) through social relations that were indeed racist, gendered, and classists rather then determining based on behavior and moral traits.

The Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigrants from entering the country (which was also the first group to be banned). This resulted in them becoming the first immigrants who had to sneak into the U.S. The did this through Mexico. This was due to a few factors. For example, in the beginning of 20th century, only a few guards worked on the Mexican border and named themselves “Chinese catchers.” The response was international smuggling rings. Border inspectors were paid off by said smugglers. If you were Mexican at the time it was easier to cross the border. Because of this, many Chinese immigrants dressed up like Mexicans and even learned some lines in Spanish to fool border patrol.

Chinese (often labeled Mongolian) people along with Negroes, and Indians were see as an inferior race to “pure Caucasian blood. In the 1870s, the use of cheap Chinese labor undercutting white worker wages cause hostility towards Chinese immigrants. During this time, the state law changed and stated that in separate schools from white children, only Indians and blacks need to be educated. It also didn’t help that the superintendent of schools James Denman (he who closed Chinese schools a decade earlier citing low attendance) now had the legal right to close them for good. These course of events led to anger in the community with Chinese communities arguing that they found it unjust they were paying taxes and were simultaneously denied the right to send their children to public schools and receive an education. This lead to 1,300 people of Chinese decent in 1878 petitioning a Legislature in which they argued 3,000 Chinese children in the state had a right to public education. Even with the support of a clergyman (Rev. William Gibson) this was still met with much resistance including the San Francisco Board of Supervision.

When Chinese immigrants first arrived, they experienced closed confinement that was almost prison like. Both men and women (husband and wives and even mothers are children) were separated for an unspecified amount of time. There was a massive difference in Eastern medicine and Western Medicine. Women and men  were forced to strip nude for full physical examinations. In the East, a examination never required them to be naked so there was a sense of humiliation and shame. Many of the challenges  resided in those who bought their way in with a new identity and having to go through rigorous interrogation with officials . If they were to assume the identity of another the question asked had to aligned identical to the answers received. Considering there was both a language barrier and a culture difference, many detainees often were held for months and/or deported.  Questions were often repeated and were asked in reference to their home, layout of rooms and furniture, how many windows and the distance from their space and their neighbors. Officials would also ask them about their “idols”. If a family planning to immigrate answers to those questions aren’t the same, they were further detained and even deported back to China. These questions show that Chinese immigrants were seen as barbaric, uncivilized, untrustworthy and must be heavily vetted to ensure safety to current American citizens (more like protect pure Caucasian blood). Detainees responded by paying for smugglers to give them guide books and many with unsatisfied with the conditions of these prison like camps. The title of the film is in reference to Chinese detainees carving nameless poems into the wall describing their experience being on Angel Island including  the conditions, the intense interrogation, humility lasting physical examinations and being separated from their family. The poems also express that trauma and the hope of wanting to leave.

Watching this created lots of anger and hurt for me. I knew of The US doing this but never heard the testimony from people who made it to Angel Island. It also made me extremely uncomfortable when the woman was being examined because she didn’t even have a right to body autonomy. Like her humiliation felt like my humiliation and when she started to cry I felt like I wanted to start to cry. It was very disturbing to watch and to also hear how they sacrificed everything only to be propelled into basically a prison. They were treated like prisoners.

Honestly, this along with another one of my classes are my favorites. Not that I don’t look forward to my other classes but I especially enjoy this class for the whole duration. It’s really difficult (for me atleast) to find learning environment thats as inclusive as this one. By this I don’t just mean a professor respecting pronouns but taking the time to gather information about her students so she can reach each and everyone of them. A common trend with me is feeling anxious to fully express myself in class if I feel the environment is hostile so its really comforting being in this class and feeling like there is pupil support as well (so I thank my classmates for that as well). The discussions we have and ideas we exchange are going especially well in this class and I would like to owe that to Prof. Soniya, like wow finally a class where the professor is equally engaging.  I don’t think there is anything that needs to be changed actually now that I think about it. With distance learning, there is only so much that can actually be changed (obviously I do miss in person class because it’s a separate experience but I would rather be safe then sorry). I found the question about choosing one song a bit difficult because there were two songs in particular I had in mind. For class, I would suggest one of my favorite songs from 2014 titled “July The Fourth” by Nothing. Considering this is an Asian-American class, I found this sound to be especially fitting since the song is a criticism of American morals and how we (as in America) attempts to clean our messes (say involvement in wars with other countries,) and uses it as a excuse to show our resilience. I immediately thought about migration/immigration of peoples from different asian countries who come here for a variety of reasons with a common intention to build a more stable life for their independence. I also thought about the Vietnam war, Japanese interment camps, and the trafficking of asian immigrants (from all asian countries).  A great coincidence is the title is named after the United States (13 colonies) gaining their independence from Great Britain (it’s a great song ya’ll and a great band) yet went ahead and denied independence for other countries, groups of people they “conquered” “stole”. For those curious about the other song I had in mind, it’s from my favorite band Deftones and the song is “Genesis”. That song in particular discusses rebirth, choices you must make especially coming from difficult (even traumatic) experiences and how they affect your life in the long run and if it’s a life worth pursuing. Fitting also for the themes we have discussed so far (not sure how some of the classmates will like this since this song is heavier and this was the only other song I could think about with legible lyrics in contrast to the music I listen to (whoops, metal head things lol).

Starting with the film on Kanopy, John Cambell utilized the theory that “black people were a separate species in comparison to white men therefore backing his claims for the justification of slavery. This also overlapped with Aggasiz study on human skull size in relation to intelligence and racial progression (I believe he used indigenous American skulls as a reference?). He believed the social constructs of race was found to be scientifically supported based on skull capacity. In the short video, various participants from different Asian backgrounds expressed the adversities they experienced personally or witnessed through their parents. One participant expressed his first experience with racism was age 6 at a sandbox with a girl telling him his skin looked like poop (a common experience many black and brown people could possibly relate to) and then another girl expressed how she feared “10 year old white boys”. Race as a social construct was often discussed as a lesson rather than a possible occurrence. Race is also front for Americans (specifically Asian-Americans) because they are identified by phenotype before citizenship. This is a way to establish clear racial hierarchies I feel.  In Dhingra and Rodriguez, there was a line that said “Race is such a significant way of organizing and categorizing people in American society that we are often confounded when we encounter a person whose race we cannot immediately make sense of.” Although there are clear differences in skin color hair texture and height, a “race” does not have a common genetic gene. Ideas of race can be traced back to colonial times as a easier way to distinguish people from those who were colonized. With the information I have watched and read, race is a social construction because it is an institution set in place to intentionally segregate and categorize human beings based on a colonial phenotype system. Its goal was to establish social and political dominance over those groups (usually considered minority groups) deemed inferior.

Reading these reminds me always that although other institutions infringing on human rights like how slavery predates racism, it is racial constructs ultimately responsible for systems enforced in place that uses a divide to ensure systematic power. Anytime I read or watch something related to these constructs it just makes me feel very insecure as a minority (and as a woman since gender constructs were also discussed in the reading). Then I sort of reflect on all of the events that have been unfolding. Like these concepts seem so archaic and should have been abolished but they aren’t. This always confuses me that we can assume the race of someone by looking at them. Or even assume that one race is better or smarter or genetically superior. Like most people don’t. believe in flying saucers or loch ness but believe black people are a different species than white people and the size of ones skull is justification for the enslavement of various groups of people/colonialization!? So much sabotage of human progress because of some doctor studying skulls and others going on a missionary trip discovering land that was never theirs to pillage in the first place. These things always put me in disbelief.

People migrate for various reasons. Asian Americans in particular migrate for a variety of reasons depending on which region of the asian continent the originate from. For example, many of my South Korean and Chinese friends migrated her for educational purposes. A large portion of them actually came here by themselves on a. student visa or is staying with a relative who currently lives in the United states. Them staying also depends on the reason for why they decided to study here. Many have expressed graduating and then moving back home while others have decided to graduate and attempt to make a living here. Other reasons I have heard for migration to the united states are more ominous such as refugees escaping to achieve political asylum, or escaping a famine, or an ongoing war. Like my high school classmate whose father was a diplomat from Pakistan and moved to New York for political reasons. Outside of the Asian American experience, others may migrate for other reason but the base reason I often hear is to achieve a better standard of living that they might not have obtained in their home country.

Movies often portray migrants as aloof, naive, or escaping poverty and war torn countries. While some of these stereotypes might have evolved from general purposes, I suppose the reasons are more multi-faceted than that (take the popular tv show “Fresh Off The Boat”). So Yang explained a theory called the “push/pull” factor which is basically the impetus for why people migrate. He explains how man immigrants from countries not “poor”tend to migrate more in comparison those countries poorer (the example he used was “Nonetheless, many African countries, the poorest in
the world, have very low levels of immigration to the United States” in comparison to countries like Korea, Mexico, India, China, etc which send many for emigration which aren’t poor at all. So here we also have economic models for emigration as well.

While reading this, there was no mention of gender motivated migration. I bring this up because many migrants (I will be using my grandmother as an example) who live in countries where gender dynamics are patriarchal led could influence migration. Take countries where women are expected to fulfill domestic task instead of going to school (even forbid from attending school such as the amazing Malala Yousafzai who was literally almost killed for attempting to obtain an education in her homeland of Pakistan (she eventually migrated to the United Kingdom for an education and made it her permanent residence. I think this should be an important factor to add to Yang’s theory because it’s a driving force for many women migrants who make the decision to leave their home in search of a environment with politics that reflect them as women and to escape gender based violence against them in their home countries. This is especially important (in my opinion) in countries where this exist to the maximum.

 

In Lee’s story, I learned about how the transpacific journey came to fruition as a result of Europes fascination and basically obsession with The East in comparison to them. I was already aware that many Asians migrated from the East in search of a better life but I was not made aware of the extent of their perilous journey. What I was not aware of was the awful conditions they were subjected to. This surprised me more than anything because of how  the European imagination of Asia was so fantasized. You would think they would treat the inhabitants of that land well (wishful thinking I suppose). I already knew of some of the Asians that were brought back as slaves but was not made aware that this journey seemed to parallel similar missions to west Africa, current day Mexico and the rest of Latin America post 1492. Lee mentions how Crusaders “rediscovered” Asia in 1095 on a mission. This obsession with converting all of the world to Christianity was also an ongoing thing during their 200 year long crusade journey’s. Reasons for some Asians (specifically those who were to make the roundtrip journey to the New World and back to the Philippines) motivated them to travel to the Americas as they were convinced fortune laid in the New World. Similar to the readings before on the Indian migration from Calcutta to British Guiana, conditions on the ship were so horrendous. Many were also not paid their full wages until they made it back on the return journey. Information I was utterly shocked at. It is believed actually that one of the first wave of Asian settlers were Filipinos who arrived in Alto California around  1769. In addition, Filipinos and Chinese were among the first crew to arrive in larger masses.

Most narratives we hear today have similar themes with different intentions. America continues to be seen as a land of opportunity for many coming here to immigrate. These might range from attending a university here to receive a better quality of education, a job opportunity, wanting to raise a family in a more stable political climate, or seeking the land of freedom and opportunity narrative. I wish I didn’t have to say this but reading this made me see some overlap between immigration conditions (and migration) today and immigration during the transpacific voyages. For example, we have better standards of hygiene aboard ships and an advance in technology for various modes of transportation. Although these conditions have greatly approved and the international condemning of human trafficking, we still see a large portion of migrants seeking refuge here in the Americas (and other places if they make it) the journey is still very much dangerous/perilous. And often times their means of migration seeking refuge is also illegal. Human trafficking is also still in existence with many women and children being taken from their native land as laborers and sex slaves (yes this still exist and if anyone is interested there is a great documentary of it on youtube about the Vietnamese mail order brides to foreign men).  I think one of the reasons these changes in migration have changed a bit is because of globalization. With so many different countries participating in efforts at changing the standard for immigration and migration, many \companies. especially those in aiding with migration have vert strict rules now. I also believe this is especially true for women. Lee mentions the first Chinese woman was thought to have arrived in a new York City Harbor around November 1834. Thinking back how women most likely prior to this would have NEVER thought to immigrate/migrate to unknown land is still pretty prevalent today with migration as well. Many women immigrate from Asia to seek better opportunities, while also many migrate to escape abuse, persecution, seek asylum, to escape political calamity etc. I found this entire reading very shocking but also simultaneously not surprising considering prior conquest at the hands of the Portuguese and Spanish.