Hi everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
You may have heard on the news or social media about the many heartbreaking stories regarding Anti-Asian hate crimes. I came across the video by The Try Guys on Anti-Asian Hate that I want to share with you. I really had mixed feelings after watching the video. It is a bit over an hour-long but it is a great video putting into perspective how this type of hate against Asian Americans came about today.
Racism & hate is a shared struggle among many ethnic groups. No single person or law can solve the issue. We all need to invest in the issue. Please take the time to watch the video and support the on-going fight against hate.
best regards,
Mr. Daniel
Here are some quick summaries included in the Video:
- Why have so many of us not talked about this [Anti-Asian hate] before?
- Despite having a long history living in the United States, Asian Americans are not ones who come to mind when we talk about being Americans
- Racism is infused into our cultural DNA constantly adapting and shifting to fit the moment.
- Asian Americans are pan-ethnic and include many of the world’s largest populations like Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. Why are we all viewed the same way?
Part 1: Yellow Peril – Asian Americans as dangers to the world. Chinese Americans came to the United States in 1800.
Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 – 1st law in the United States that barred immigration solely based on race. Propaganda spread about Chinese “uncleanliness” boiled into violence. 150+ violent riots broke out during 1870 and 1880, Chinese immigrants were massacred.
Disease and uncleanliness were used as weapons to rationalize hatred toward Asians. The same thing is happening today when Asian Americans are compared to viruses.
As recently as 1930 wild rioters murdered a young Filipino in pervasive racists attacks, no one was charged.
Part 2: America at War
WWII propaganda portrayed Asians as crafty and cunny. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japanese Americans were arrested within hours. About 120,000 were rounded up and sent to incarceration camps. These were Americans and many were 2nd and 3rd generation naturalized Americans.
Many were confined even though they fought for their country [The United States] in the Military. The 442nd regiment infantry. Asian American war veterans were discriminated against despite their patriotism and sacrifice to their country.
We now live in the United States thanks to the Immigration Act of 1965, which removed race-specific restrictions. A large majority of Asian Americans living in the United States rights now are the result of this immigration law.
These first waves of Asian Immigrants came from war-torn countries, they came to the United States just trying to survive.
Part 3: Model Minority
Asian Americans were perceived as a group to achieve a higher degree of socioeconomic success. This structural racism since 1965 has far more consequences than the term “Model Minority” may seem.
Asian Americans served as a model/reference for other minority groups. The stereotype that Asian Americans are highly educated, quiet, well-behaved citizens have created all sorts of issues for Asian Americans such as the Bamboo ceiling effect “bamboo ceiling” refers to the processes and barriers that serve to exclude Asians and Asian-Americans from executive positions on the basis of subjective factors such as “lack of leadership potential” and “lack of communication skills” that cannot actually be explained by job performance or qualifications.
The model minority was weaponized to contrast Asian immigrants to so-called “problem minorities” who do not conform to white culture and society.
The “model minority” Asian Americans were pitted against other minorities and were used as a racial wedge between Asian Americans and other races. This notion about Asian Americans is somehow more successful was used to undermine the activism and hard work of other minority groups like Black Americans, Hispanics by the media.
We attribute an individual’s success to their race. This undercuts their accomplishments and their individuality.
Part 4: Vincent Chin – Justice does discriminate.
He was a Chinese American and was murdered in public with a baseball bat. He was blamed for being Japanese and why jobs were lost in the states. The murderer got away with a $3000 fine with 3 years probation.
This triggered a movement in activism that still persists today.
Asian American’s Conditional Citizenship.
Part 5: Black and Asian Communities.
Although Black Americans and Asian Americans have unique experiences. However, the two groups are linked in ways we don’t hear about.
Civil rights movement:
- Importance of education
- Asian American Leaders drew inspiration from Black freedom fighters
- Black leaders fought for Emergency Detention Act for the Japanese encampment
- In 1968, it was black people who called for the US to accept Indo-Chinese refugees
- Black activist Jesse Jackson was part of the movement that called justice for Vincent Chin. These led to Federal Legislations around hate crimes.
- It was because of the black community civil rights movement that Asian Americans benefited from voting rights, immigration, interracial marriage…
- Asian American activists were also strong activists for black social and justice movements.
- Conflicts between 2 communities in the 1991 killing of a 15-years old latasha harlins who was shot and killed by a Korean American shop owner who assumed she was stealing. This is the beginning of a series of civil unrest and tension between the two communities. Highlight stories, truth even ones from people who are angry.
- Anti-Black, dark vs light perceptions are embedded in our culture. Colorism. Conversations about race relations often centered around Anti-black actions and beliefs. We are pointing fingers at each other but the real issue is white supremacy. People should come together and fight for something else other than putting blame on each other. Speaking up and speaking out.
Part 6: Policing
Anti-Asian, anti-black notion perpetuated in policing and our current justice system.
Opinion among Asian Americans on policing is divided. Asian hate-crime task force created Oct 2020 is meant to defend Asian Americans against hate crime but it also puts Asian Americans in a position that is Anti-black, further increasing the tension between the two minority groups. Bigotry shows up in different forms time after time, we need to address them in different ways.
Part 7: Hate Rhetoric
The current vilification of Asian Americans is reminiscent of the scapegoating of Arabs and Muslims after 9/11. White supremacists just see your skin color, they don’t care about your religion or ethnic origin. Anti-muslim crimes jumped in 2001 and never went back to before 9/11 levels. Rhetoric by our leaders can influence the entire nation. Language and rhetorics are not inconsequential. What we think, say and do are interlinked. online hate speech and real-world crime are connected. Racist ideas and policies matter.
Asian Americans are facing racist xenophobic attacks catalyzed by the rhetorics of the former president and other government leadership.
The report of Anti-Asian American rhetoric by politicians in the months preceding the 2020 presidential election analyzed the 1227 tweets about Asian Americans over an 8 month period. It found that 1/10 were racist. Why? China vs America geopolitical issues
Asian Americans are the scapegoat.
Recent Anti-Asian Crimes are the manifestation of what has been going on. Asian Americans are hit with two pandemics.
Part 8: Monolith and Media
Asian Americans are so vast and diverse. We differ in our ethnicity and perspectives and amongst many other things. Yet, we are perceived the same way by the media. We are portrayed the same way by corporations and media, a majority of Asian Americans are not represented. The Monolith, the stereotype puts Asian Americans into one group. Not all Asian Americans have the same opinion or the same story.
Part 9: Generation Gap
Older generations of Asian Americans are often silent and do not like to talk about racism. Younger generations must engage in these conversations. We must participate in the electoral process and be represented in politics. The issue is very complicated, we can amplify our voices by voting
Part 10: Voting and representation.
Asian Americans are used not to speak up facing challenges and difficulties. We just keep our heads down and fight through all ourselves. We need to speak up about the challenges of discrimination and hate against all groups and not blame a whole community because of the action of few individuals.
嗨，希望大家週末愉快！
您可能已經在新聞或社交媒體上聽到了有關反亞仇恨犯罪的許多令人心碎的故事。 我在《反亞洲仇恨》中看到了The Try Guys的視頻後，我想和大家分享。 在觀看這個視頻後，真的令我百感交集。
這是一支很棒的視頻，差不多有一個多小時，它很客觀的闡述了今天這種對亞裔美國人的仇恨是如何發生的。
種族主義與仇恨是許多民族共同奮鬥的目標。 沒有一個人或法律可以解決這個問題，需要的是我們大家都要全心投入在這個問題和議題上。 請花些時間觀看這支視頻並支持正在進行的反仇恨活動。
最好的祝福，
丹尼爾先生
以下是視頻中的一些摘要：
1.為什麼我們當中很多人以前沒有談論過這種[反亞洲仇恨]？
2.儘管亞裔在美國擁有悠久的歷史，但是當我們談論我們是美國人時，卻不會讓人想到我們是亞裔美國人。
3.種族主義被灌輸在我們文化DNA中，在這樣的情況下我們必須不斷的適應和改變。
4.亞裔美國人是廣 泛族群的，包括世界上許多人口眾多的國家，例如柬埔寨，中國，印度，日本，韓國，馬來西亞，巴基斯坦，菲律賓群島，泰國和越南。 為什麼我們都可以以相同的方式看待彼此？
第1部分：黃禍 – 1800年，華裔美國人來到美國，對世界是一種威脅。
1882年的《排華法案》- 這是第一部限制特定民族群移民並禁止其成員入籍的美國法律。 關於中國“不潔地”的負面宣傳沸沸揚揚的流傳，並在1870年和1880年爆發了150多次暴力騷亂，中國移民遭到屠殺。
疾病和不潔合理的被當成對亞洲人的仇恨武器。 今日，當亞裔美國人與病毒相比時，同樣的事情又再度發生。
正如1930年無處不在的種族主義社會裡，一些狂妄的暴徒襲擊並謀殺了一名年輕的菲律賓人，卻沒有人被指控。
第2部分：戰爭中的美國
第二次世界大戰美國大力宣傳將亞洲人描繪成狡猾並且詭詐的人。 1941年珍珠港爆炸事件發生後，日裔美國人在幾小時內被逮捕。 大約有120,000人被圍捕並送往監禁營。 這些是日裔美國人，許多是第二代和第三代歸化的美國人。
在美軍第442軍團的步兵中儘管許多人為自己的國家（美國）而戰，他們仍然受到監禁。然而對於亞裔美國戰後退伍軍人他們的愛國心和對自己國家的犧牲奉獻，也受到惡意的歧視。
我們現在能生活在美國要感謝1965年的《移民法》取消了針對種族的限制。 現在，大多數在美國生活的亞裔美國人都是這項移民法的結果。
這些第一批亞洲移民來自飽受戰爭摧殘的國家，他們當初只是為了求取生存而來到美國。
第3部分：模範少數族裔
亞裔美國人被視為實現更高的社會經濟成功率的一個群體。 自1965年以來，這種結構性種族主義的後果遠比“模範少數族裔”一詞看起來要嚴重。
亞裔美國人是其他少數群體的榜樣/參考。給人的刻板印象是具有良好教育，安靜，舉止端莊，奉公守法的公民，也導致產生各種各樣的問題，例如竹天花板效應
“竹子天花板”是指亞裔和亞裔美國人群在職場晉升，執行職務的表現或資格等方面所面臨的過程和社會障礙，這些主觀因素（例如是“缺乏領導能力”和“缺乏溝通技巧”）。
這些模範少數亞裔被強制區分為”問題少數族裔” 因為他們不符合白人文化和社會要求。
“模範少數族裔”的亞裔美國人迫使與其他少數族裔相互競爭並且往往被作為挑起與其他族裔之間不合的起因。 對關於亞裔美國人在某種層面上相較於更成功的這一個觀念，也經常被一些諸如非裔美國人，西班牙裔美國人等其他少數群體的行動激進主義者和辛勤工作者，利用媒體來進行分裂破壞。
當我們將個人的成功歸功於他們的族裔，這就削弱了他們的努力奮鬥的成就和獨立個體。
第4部分：Vincent Chin案件 -司法區別。
他是一名華裔美國人在公共場所被棒球棍謀殺。由於當時日本汽車工業發達造成當地汽車工業蕭條各州失去許多工作機會，工人將他們對亞裔的怨恨歸咎於日本的競爭，因此導致於將他誤認為是日本人。 兇手最後被判處有期徒刑3年，罰款3000美元。
這樣寬鬆的判決引發了抗議種族歧視, 仇恨犯罪激進主義運動，而這運動至今仍然持續。
第5部分：黑人和亞裔社區
美國黑人和亞裔美國人各有獨特受歧視的經歷，這也使得這兩個族裔之間產生我們無法了解相互的關聯性。
民權運動：
1.教育的重要性
2.亞裔美國領導者從黑人自由戰士那裡汲取了靈感
3.黑人領導人為日本營地的《緊急拘留法案》而戰
4.1968年，是黑人呼籲美國接受印度支那難民
5.黑人激進派主義者傑西·傑克遜（Jesse Jackson）正義活動的其中一部分就是為Vincent Chin事件而呼籲為制止這些導致了關於仇恨犯罪的聯邦立法。
6.正是由於黑人社區民權運動，才使得亞裔美國人可以從投票權，移民，異族婚姻中受益……
7.亞裔美國人民權人士同樣也是黑人社會和正義運動最大的助力。
8.衝突在兩個群體之間發生，1991年，其中一名15歲的黑人女孩latasha harlins被懷疑偷東西而被美國韓裔店鋪老闆槍殺 ，但過輕的量刑助推了一系列內亂， 造成緊張局勢的開始。
這些故事的重點，對那些憤怒的人而言也是事實。
9.反黑人，黑暗與光明的感知已嵌入我們的文化中。 膚色主義。 有關種族關係的對話通常都圍繞著反對黑人行動和理念展開並且互相指責，但真正的問題卻是白人至上。 人們應該一起為其他的事情而奮戰，而不是互相指責。 我們應該公開大聲疾呼。
第六部分：警察當局
反亞洲，反黑人概念在治安和我們當前的司法體系中長期存在。
亞裔美國人對警務的意見分歧。 2020年10月成立的亞洲仇恨犯罪工作隊主旨在捍衛亞裔美國人免於受仇恨犯罪的侵害，但同時也使亞裔美國人處於“反黑人”狀態，進一步加劇了兩個少數群體之間的緊張關係。 偏執會時常以不同的形式出現，我們需要以不同的方式來解決它們。
第7部分：仇恨言論
白人至上主義者只會看到你的膚色，他們不在乎你的宗教信仰或種族。然而目前亞裔美國人所遭遇的醜化毀謗在9/11之後，更使人聯想成是阿拉伯人和穆斯林的代罪者。 反穆斯林犯罪活動在2001年激增，從未回升到9/11之前的水平。 我們領導人的言論是可以影響整個國家的。 因此語言和言論不是無關緊要的， 我們的思想，言語和行為及網路上的仇恨言論和現實世界中的犯罪活動都是息息相關， 所以種族主義的思想和政策的走向是非常重要。
前總統和其他政府領導人的言論助長了種族主義仇外並對亞裔美國人的攻擊。
2020年總統大選前幾個月，政客發表的反亞裔美國人言論的報告分析了8個月內有關亞裔美國人的1227條推文，發現有10分之1 是種族主義者。 為什麼？ 中國與美國的地緣政治問題進而使得亞裔美國人成為替罪羊。
現在亞裔美國人正遭受兩次大規模的反亞洲的犯罪暴行。
第8部分：整體與媒體
亞裔美國人是非常廣泛且多樣的。 我們在種族和觀點以及其他許多方面都存在許多不同和差異。 雖然，媒體對我們的看法都一樣，是有很大部分的亞裔美國人沒能勇於展現自己以至於公司和媒體對我們的描繪方式相同，刻板印象將亞裔美國人統歸成一類，但是，這並非所有亞裔美國人都有相同的觀點或相同的經歷。
第9部分：代溝
早一輩的亞裔美國人通常保持沉默，不喜歡談論這些有關於種族主義的話題，但是年輕的一代必須積極參與這些對話。 我們必須參與選舉過程，並在政治中取得代表性。 這個問題非常複雜的，可是我們可以通過投票來為我們的訴求發聲。
第10部分：投票和代表權。
亞裔美國人當面對挑戰和困難時習慣於退縮，不敢大聲表達， 只是低著頭，全力以赴。 我們應該要勇敢面對，並且表達對於想要挑起歧視和仇視的所有群體大聲發出我們的抗議，但是千萬不要因為少數個人的犯罪行為而去責備整個社區。
