Author: Rathna Begum

Here is the link to my Artifact Archive assignment 

 

From the article, “The Forgotten Asian Refugees Fed Into The U.S. Prison System”, by Kimberly Yam, explains how ICE under the Trump administration created difficulty and fear among immigrant communities in this case the Southeast Asians. In the text, Phal Sok and his family escaped Cambodia from a communist regime and lost his father while growing up through a tough life in prison and the streets. More than 100 Cambodian refugees were detained by ICE causing uncertainty and terror within the communities who just escaped from countries that were suffering from war. The age of ICE under Trump caused a new problem for people who thought they left the worries behind only to face it once again. Activists and advocates call for more community support and to raise awareness on the issues of ICE crackdowns on both legal and illegal immigrations. The criminalization of refugees and immigrants is unfair and creates division because they target the vulnerable communities and they forget that their ancestors were once immigrants searching for a better life too.

Based on the reading, “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans”, the author Kim explains how the myth of the model minority is a stereotype that separated and pit Asian Americans against other people of color. Asian Americans were considered to be more intelligent, successful, and rich compared to other minority groups like African Americans and Hispanics. Another minority group such as Hispanics may be brushed off as unsuccessful along with other stereotypes and if they become wealthier, it is more likely to be seen as suspicious and not that they worked hard for the life they earned. The model minority myth comes from a generational long line of hardships that immigrants of color faced when dealing with a society that was mostly white and therefore they had to assimilate to the customs. It is easy to judge one based on their physical appearances, but for Asians it is difficult for them since they are considered to be smart, so anything that they accomplish can be dismissed. Minority groups have many stereotypes about them that they are not seen as an individual person with needs and thoughts of their own. The myth is one of the factors that further divide people because they feel the need to fit into a certain category and belong somewhere.

I love how the professor and everyone is supportive of each other in the class especially in these difficult times with the pandemic and everything that is going on today. I do not think any change is needed unless if anyone else thinks so but overall it is a good class. A song I would like to add to the class playlist is “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd because it is an upbeat and positive song that would fit the atmosphere.

From the film, short video, and reading it is evident that race is a social construct used to justify the actions of the people in power in this case, white people, against people of color so they can maintain their positions in a system that supports racism. Thomas Jefferson had stated before that, “all men are created equal” yet that has never really been the case for many Americans who are not white. In the text by Dhingra and Rodriguez, it says, “Race is a politically created concept. Racial categories are externally imposed, and groups must navigate within and between them. Groups with greater power over social discourse, media, and the economy assign the racial categories of a society, and minorities attempt to jockey for position within those options.” Racial structures are ingrained into society such as in government where people label their selves based on what they are told and identify with that. In the film, “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode Two”, one narrator tells the audience how race is what others perceive the individual to be based on physical appearance and not how the individual thinks of themselves. The film speaks more on how race has evolved historically in order to further goals economically and politically such as how America put down the Filipino Independence Movement resulting in the country of Philippines to become a U.S. territory. In the early stages of America people of color were seen as inferior to white people and this concept was used to practice slavery using black people as well as removing indigenous Americans from their lands. In the short video, “A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race”, it explores and dives deeper into the experiences of Asian Americans on how they confronted and dealt with racial issues. For instance, Hasan Minhaj, one of the interviewees who is an Indian-American comedian and actor, explains how he experienced colorism as a form of racism when he was just a child and did not understand why. Overall, many people of color especially the ones living in America have experienced some form of racism and it can change a person to view the world differently because of the unfortunate obstacles they had to encounter.

In the reading, “A Theory of Asian Immigration to the United States” by Yang shows that there is not one general reason why Asian immigrants move to America and other countries, but a multitude of situations that cause it. Based on Yang’s essay, Asian immigrants migrate to the United States because of the Push pull theory. The theory states that push factors can be different causes such as low wages, poor economy, and political turmoil’s. The pull factors tend to be freedom, better education and healthcare, better economic opportunities, higher education for children, higher quality of life and more. Yang argues that push pull theory, equilibrium theory, world system theory, social network theory, and other existing theories are not accurate and have flaws. In the essay, he states that they lack explaining both historical and modern flows that would not make sense given different individuals situations.

Some of the common explanations for why people move to the United States is because they want a better life and it is the land of opportunity while others call it “The American Dream” which may be true for people who view it in different perspectives. Other people may move because of negative causes such as economic opportunities, escaping war, and wanting a better life just like Yang stated about the Push pull theory. My parents are Asian American and have told me they wanted to move here because they just wanted a better life for their selves and the family.

From the excerpt of Lee, in the reading, “The Making of Asian America” it was interesting to read about the Europeans perspective on Asia and Asians in general. Europeans viewed Asia as the opposite of Europe filled with exotic and new wonders that they thought was very different from their own homes. Spain was motivated by the explorer Marco Polo and his travels throughout Asia and the Middle East. For example, in the article it says, “By the dawn of of the European age of exploration and conquest, in the fifteenth century, wealthy Europeans have developed a growing taste for Asian imports such as spices, silks, and sugar, and the demanded more.” The trip from Asia to America were accompanied by Asian servants who were treated to poor conditions like less pay, half the rations promised by the Spanish crew members, and they even died in the cold weather. It is surprising to find out that Asians traveled and came to Latin America before migrating to North America. According to the text, Los Chinos meant the first Asians to arrive in Acapulco during the 1580’s. They formed a community and migrated from the west coast to the east coast of Mexico City. Some people took jobs as merchants, laborers, shoemakers, barbers, and craftsmen in order to support themselves and their families. In the film, it showed how the British managed to colonize and invade most of Asian countries while different groups like Chinese were negatively affected by it. The presence of Chinese people gave a rise to violence against them including riots which caused them to flee for their own safety. Compared to modern times, Americans are not that different from back then especially when the immigrants are from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.