learntoquestion ltq discussions

The long history of Anti-Asian hate and rhetoric was initiated from a new wave of xenophobia during the gold rush, and has continued with Asian people largely being the scapegoat and seen as the source of many of the U.S.’s problems. This hate has been so rooted in U.S. history because there was always a way to portray Asian immigrants in a negative light, and this changed to fit the situation. Asians were dually seen as physically inferior and cunning and “impure”. Through statements like that of Brazil’s education minister claiming the pandemic was a part of China’s plan for world domination, it is clear that East Asian countries like China have been the default to blame (Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide). Most non-Asians are unaware of this history because it has been treated as a “special case” of sorts in the discussion about racism. As the article “Why don’t we treat Asian American history the way we treat Black history” explains, this topic has been discussed largely with a black-white binary, and Asians are seen as the “model minority”, a group to compare other POC groups with. Perhaps because they are seen as successful and occasionally grouped with white people, anti-Asian hate is seen as less prevalent or relevant to discussions about race. Hate crimes, according to the article “Anti-Asian hate crimes rose 73% last year, updated FBI data says”, are hard to prove in the legal system and FBI hate crime data underestimates that actual scale of anti-Asian violence. Cases are often unreported as well, which leads many to dismiss what is actually going on.

A main way Asians have confronted this “othering” is through sharing their perspective and examples of this “othering”, combating the general ignorance and denial of anti-Asian hate. Whether through posts on social media or music, Asians have combated ignorance through informing.

A way for Asians and non-Asians to be allies after the information in these articles is to first speak of racism against Asians in the same level of thoroughness as racism against black people. It is important to directly confront the ignorance many have around anti-Asian rhetoric and violence. As Justin Tsiu in the article “I Will Not Stand Silent” says, “I am skeptical that people can be suddenly woke after reading a few books off the recommended book lists”. We must acknowledge that racism against Asians is systemic and layered just as racism against black people is. We must take into account direct perspectives from Asians who have been victims of hate crimes.

To answer the question “Why is it so much easier for people to make jokes about Asians and then claim they’re not racist afterwards”, This is a part of the tendency of today’s social climate to not discuss anti-Asian hate in-depth, and therefore avoid consequences of participating in anti-Asian hate.

My question for the next person is, What is the effect of Asians being portrayed as the “model minority” on Asian hate or dismissal of it?

Why the hate is such a nuanced question that unfortunately no one has the answer too. Similar to what many of my peers said, hate will unfortunately exist regardless of what we do or what happens. It’s something that is unfortunately unavoidable but it was undeniably hurtful to both the victim and the perpetrator. No hate that is targeted towards a specific race is new, it is nothing we haven't seen before. In recent years though (2020-2022), this targeted hate was specifically against Asian Americans in light of the Coronavirus outbreak which shut down the nation. An NBC news article states that “the FBI reported 279 hate crimes against Asians in 2020, compared to 161 in 2019”, this sudden increase is by no surprise, because of people’s internal hatred and fear as a result of COVID-19. This was even seen in prisons against Asian inmates as it is affecting them and their families too. Aside from physical hate crimes, inmates worried if their release dates would be affected by this sudden outburst of hate against Asians.

This hate though, is based on a long history of Anti-Asian discrimination though because, contrary to popular belief, Anti-Asian xenophobia has roots in generations of racially biased and prejudiced American public health and immigration policies have targeted, and continue to target, immigrants from Asia because of the perceived threats they portray to America's dominance. In class, we saw SO many photographs of Asian people being portrayed as monsters. They were portrayed to be feared by (mainly) white people and they viewed them as a threat to society. This history of hate is mainly about maintaining white American dominance rather than free market competition or trade. Despite this not being new but coming to light now, many Asians are minimally aware of this situation because they might just simply not care (in a good way). I view many Asian (Americans) as carefree and self-sufficient. I doubt that once Asian American hate came back that people began researching its history because they probably assumed there was no history since they were never taught it or they’ve never seen it make headlines on the news. However, there is a history of Anti-Asian hate crimes which increased more than 73 percent in 2020, according to FBI data. Before COVID Asian American hate did not typically make headlines which falsely made people believe that it rarely happened.

Asians have been confronting against this indirect discrimination by making an effort to share their stories and their history. There is no category to put Asians under white or poc. Asians (especially Asian Americans) definitely do not fit under white despite what many people believe. Their stories are important to share because it helps people realize why they should NOT be classified as “white” just for convenience. White people in America have consistently had the upper hand and have always held the superiority in this country. While they may as well had SOME type of prejudice, for the most part white people have not struggled which is why it is inappropriate to categorize Asians as white since Asians HAVE struggled as they are victims of decades of xenophobia. Times Magazine’s article “I Will Not Stand Silent” which depicts the stories of 10 Asian Americans who reflect on racism during the pandemic and the need for equality shows the different types of racism, experiences, and outcomes of Anti-Asian hate crimes. Justin Tsui was practically pushed into the tracks of a train after confirming he was Asian by asking “You’re Chinese, right?”. He was forced off the platform of the train just because he was Asian while on his way home. Reading this story and many others was devastating as I always have this fear as someone who commutes home from school everyday using the train. This of many examples shows the targeted Asian American hate in light of COVID.

To be allies in response to what these articles chronicle, many people should simply just educate themselves and Asians should continue to share their stories. It’s very cliche but it’s entirely true and entirely effective. For example during the Black Lives Matter movement, many people were like “no!! all lives matter!!!” until they became educated on what the movement actually stands for and what the slogan meant. The same reaction of educating yourself can be applied to Anti-Asian hate crimes, people can learn about the history and stand up against this type of discrimination and prejudice.

In response to JnjerAle’s question, people make these jokes towards Asians because they’re so normalized. No one calls people out for doing it which is why people think it’s not racist and which is why people who do make these jokes, claim they’re not racist. Since it’s covered up as a “joke” people think they have a free pass to do whatever they please because they consider it “funny”. When it’s masked by laughter and a typically hahahaha response, people don't think they’re doing anything wrong and won't think it’s racist.

My Question: Do you think people take Asian hate crimes seriously?

Why the hate? Short answer: people are cruel and ignorant. Long answer? There have been century-long gaps in the education of people on Asian countries and peoples and has resulted in racism on every level, ignoring culture, just grouping people together based off geography and much more. A large issue is that government officials are using anti-Chinese language making it seems like an ok thing to do as mentioned in the first article. "Chinese" and "Wuhan" being virus being used to talk about COVID-19 provides a sentiment that it is all their fault and it is ok to be racist against them. People are so minimally aware of the history against asians because its been placed on the back burner, brought back into the public view during the pandemic, people are going back to their old ways stating "go back to china", "you f*****g immigrant" and such. Many cases have been reported of people realizing just how bad it was getting when things were being thrown at them, being called slurs by students in their class, violently pulled off trains and more. When the pandemic was just begining people didn't know how to react. They were scared. The sad thing is when a lot of people think of racism they only think of doing so agaisnt black people so they don't even consider what they are doing as wrong. I've had friends of mine even jokinly say how their siblings or parents have done blatanly racist things while driving or walking through town and it's just so jarring to hear about when they say it so absentmindedly. It's atrocious, parents having to talk to their kids about what to do and not do based off of how their race might affect it. A man stated "wondering to [himself] if this was how generations of Black parents have felt when they had to have another version of "the talk" with their sons." once the pandemic began. There have been cartoons drawn by people showing interactions they have experienced on the train, posts all over every platform and all sorts of forms of art going against this modern anti Asian opinion showing the resilience of thought oppressed.People need to be more educated on the harsh history of anti Asian attitudes dating back centuries ago and hidden within our history textbooks. Instead of just agreeing silently that there needs to be change, people need to take an active roll in doing so. Walking through the building and hearing kids joke about race is one thing on it's own that shouldn't be done but when you look at the even bigger, sadder picture you see just how messed up people are and have taught each other to be. If hate crimes rise 73% then fight back with those being hate crimed, don't just watch, go to 75% more protests, talk back to people that think it's funny to joke about and be a good person. It doesn't take much logic to see all that is wrong with this whole scenario.

From what I’ve gathered from my readings, especially the first article: “Covid 19 fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide”, is that rhetoric, mainly that from politicians and revered people, is the leading cause of an increase in violence perpetuated against Asian Amercians. Hate needs to be incited, I don’t believe that people are born with hatred”, I think they are looking up to people who inteintally (or unintentionally) have been inciting others to violence. As the article points out, take former POTUS Donald Trump. He continually titled Covid-19 the “China Virus”, and “Kung Flu”. Despite his “apology” on twitter, the damage was irreversible, those who take him literally and view him as a man with legitimate authority had no problem accepting that Chinese people, and other Asian Americans must be inherently responsible for the global pandemic.

The seventh article I read touched on the continuity that is Asian American hate. The article, “The scapegoating of Asian Americans” recalls the Chinese Exclusion act of the 19th century as a way to explain that although there isn’t enough coverage on the history of bigotry against Asian Americans, this exclusionary and discriminatory racism has existed since the foundation of the country and it’s initial relations with Asian Americans.

I think not enough people are aware of Asian American history because it simply isn’t taught enough, nor is it given a secular spotlight. After reading article eight, “Why don’t we treat Asian American history the way we treat Black history”, despite not initially wanting to, I gained a bit of a different perspective. I will agree that Asian American history has been overshadowed by black history, this is in part because American history specifically exists on a binary of whiteness and blackness. However, this binary historically makes sense. Race is a social construct, It was created to justify the inferiority of enslaved black people for the purpose of profiting of their labor and creating class solidarity among white people. The binary exists because blackness was considered the farthest thing from Whiteness. Even in our society today, though it is nonsensical, proximity to blackness and whiteness gives one privilege of lack thereof. It’s not black Americans' fault that our history is being spotlighted, because the reality is that we fought for it to be acknowledged. It’s not that Asian Americans haven’t been, I want to be clear that the myth that Asian Americans are passive and have not demonstrated their resistance to racism is just that— a myth. I mean look at the solidarity between Asian Americans and Black Panther Party. I think there's a greater history as it pertains to Black Americans. I also don’t think the article title is very appropriate: Why don’t we treat Asian American history the way we treat Black history. To me it feels like it's condemning Black Americans for their “refusal” to address Asian American history in the same manner, because the reality is Black Americans are teaching and ensuring that Black history is taught and acknowledged, not white america. Nevertheless, I recognize the frustration of Asian Americans and the country's dismissive tendencies towards their history. In all my years of education, I’ve never been in a history class where we talked about the South Asian Diaspora in the Caribbean and indentured servitude that occurred. Also, besides the binary I think the Model minority myth is not only creating divisions among minority groups but it fosters an environment where Asian Americans can be dismissed in their attempts to speak up about their history, experiences, and struggles. White people have placed them in proximity to whiteness in order to demonize others and further marginalize Asian Americans in their own oppression. As article 10, “Asian hate crimes rose 73% last year, updated FBI data says” ‘“The only way to bridge the data gap is for law enforcement agencies to adopt mandatory hate crime reporting.”’

Asians across the world are experiencing hate for many reasons but primarily racism and xenophobia. These are driven by fear, as they are the fearing of something different, someone not like oneself. This may be due to Covid, the taking of jobs, or other racist stereotypes, but all of these are unfounded. This hate is not new, however, it has just sprung up uglier than before because of a new excuse to be violent - the pandemic(there are numerous examples of this in the first HRW article.). The history begins in the mid 1800s when Asian immigration to the American west began. Violence against Asisan communities even back then was common, so we can still see the continued effects of white supremacy on our society. This history is often not taught because it is of a minority group, with less powerful-but still significant-influences on America. It is not taught in schools unless it has been tokenized into a month dedicated to Asian American history, similar to black history month. Both groups of people have contributed to the society we have today in unfathomable ways and yet they get only a month while white history seemingly gets 12.

One racist way Asians are suppressed is through how their identities are limited. Through asian american history, limiting labels have been put on them, whether it is the model minority myth or now covid. The “I am not a virus” article demonstrates this: coming from the same continent as a disease does not mean you have it or you caused it. Covid is not part of asian identity and to say that is very racist. The Washington Post article says that asian americans are scapegoats for problems in america similar to how african americans are also. I would agree, covid is not the fault of asian-americans but ironically more because of those wouldn’t wear masks, who also would fuel the violence against asians by using terms like “kung flu”.

Asians and non-Asians today should use online platforms to reach youth to stop asian hate. The #stopasianhate hashtag is already popular but we need to teach the youth to be more than bystanders. The website “stop the hatred” showed how important it is to stand up for vulnerable communities using my white privilege as a non-asian. Many hate crimes would go unnoticed or ignored while bystanders did nothing. According to the FBI source, hate crimes have risen 73% since last year, making the push for anti-racism even more important.

My question for the next post would be how can we tell the stories of asian-americans better?

The hate is rooted in anti-immigrant and discrimination bias. These different groups make the idea of white supremacy feel threatened which causes hate and blame to be perpetuated onto a specific minority to further their own agenda. This can be seen time and time again across a variety of different groups, the most recent example being COVID-19 being blamed on the Asian minority. This is undeniable and clear with Anti-Asian hate crimes increasing more than 73% percent in 2020, which is a substantial growth and incredibly disturbing. However this discrimination against Asians aren’t new and is because of a long history of Asian discrimination in this country. This scapegoating is not new, for example, Asians had been misrepresented as carriers of other diseases. This had occurred in an attempt to (falsely) justify anti-immigrant policy, specifically the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. This discrimination occurs partially due to the lack of knowledge in Asian history. Not only is there not enough discussion and not enough of it in school curriculum, it is furthered by continuous perpetuation of harmful stereotypes and misinformation. The best recent example of that is Trump constantly referring to COVID-19 as derogatory names to pin the blame on Chinese and Asian people. This had caused many civilians to believe that misinformation and helped cause a spike in Anti-Asian hate crimes. However despite the hate and scapegoating, white supremacists love to also use Asians and claim them to be the model minority. To answer the person’s question prior to me, this is harmful all around, as it is used to cause divisions and pit minorities against one another. It is also used to try and cover up and/or downplay their racism. This stereotype can also isolate Asian people by making them feel like they have to reach a certain expectation and/or can also cause their hard work to be undermined. This also contributes to the generalization of Asian people which is extremely harmful as it provides no acknowledgement of their different countries, backgrounds, cultures, and history. In order to be allies, asian voices and history must be amplified and more discussed. Harmful stereotypes and misinformation need to stop spreading and instead corrected immediately.

My question for the next person: How can more Asian history be implemented in school curriculum and day to day conversations to amplify and bring awareness to the stories and history of Asians.

Why the hate? And why is this hate not new but is based in a long history of anti-Asian discrimination? And why are most non-Asians—and some Asians--minimally aware of this history?

Anti-asian discrimination goes back to the 19th century. History is repeating itself, China is more of threat to the US like Japan in WW2 and th racism is returning. Similar to now, government officials were misrepresenting Asians telling the public they are carriers of diseases to support the anti- immigration policies. This discrimination is still ongoing, in 2018 a law was passed limiting Chinese student and scholar immigration to America just to preserve white American dominance. Most people are minimally aware of this history because it isn't taught. This discrimination is based in fear of losing power, when asian immigrants started arriving in the US they faced similar racism and xenophobia people are experiencing today. We saw proof of this with the images we looked at in class, portraying the enemy as evil and strong so we need to be scared of them but also weak because they could never over power the US. We see a lot of these contradictions throughout history the need to display Asians are counted/seen/heard when its convenient for the people they are talking too. In the articles I read a lot of people felt that Asians and their struggle are often underrepresented but once covid hit they were thrown into a world of hate from people that previously ignored them. The Model Minority Myth article demonstrates these contradictions, it mentions how Asians are supposed to be more successful than the average while treating them like they're worse than average and spreading false feark invoking information about them to the public.

What should Asians as well as non-Asians do today to be allies in response to what these articles and the video clips chronicle?

Everyone should have some knowledge of the history of discrimination Asians faced in America. We all need to be empathetic and understanding towards people who have experienced these acts directly. People voices need to be amplified and supported and others with harmful views need to be educated. We also need to look at what systematically is effecting Asians. In our daily lives make sure we are saying something if we hear or see racist things and stand up for others.