ASA 2
In Omi and Takagi's piece on affirmative action, they mention how the debates really come down to a conflict between the interests of white and black people. Asians, being neither, are generally lumped in with either side, depending on the debate. In effect, Asians are treated like the youngest sibling in a fight between two older ones: both try to gain the support of the youngest sibling, but neither actually looks out for the interests of that sibling. This is the issue which Asian Americans face in American society. It is further exacerbated by the general unwillingness of Asians to speak up for themselves due to a number of reasons.
For one, many Asians who do manage to succeed in society are afraid to put themselves in danger by going against the status quo, and would rather live in the comfort of their belief in a meritocracy. Another, as discussed in class, is the hierarchy which has been created among the different Asian races. As written in the article, there are Asians who complain about the success about other Asians relative to themselves. As long as these dividedness continues to exist within the Asian population, it will be hard for Asians as a whole to have a voice within the debate which is currently dominated by whites and blacks.
Q: How can different Asian groups work together to look beyond the differences in treatment between them in order to collaborate as a whole? This is significant because overall, the Asian population in the United States is still relatively a small minority.
With such a small percentage of the overall population, Asians must band together to make themselves heard.
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