Angie Zhang
Section A01
Week 9
The article “Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans” by Soya Jung conveys the idea that Ferguson most definitely matters to Asian Americans. In the beginning of the article, Jung discusses the issue of violence and racial discrimination against the black community through the murders of Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin. I remember when I first heard about the murder of Mike Brown, I felt completely heartbroken and enraged. What angered me the most was the fact that police officers are the ones who are supposed to protect citizens, not get away with the murder of them. As the article progresses, Jung stresses on how black rage directly affects her identity. She uses the word han, which in Korean culture loosely means the anger and sorrow that results from the experiences of oppression, to describe herself as she came from war and oppression. She believes that rage should be expressed and that people should not have to fear for the consequences of doing so. Also, being in a world revolving mainly around two groups, the black and white community, Asian American racial discrimination is typically overlooked as it is not publicized by the media. For example, the article mentions about the murder of Sandeep Singh, a Sikh man, by a white man who told him to “go back to his own country” and accused him of being affiliated with Bin Laden. Although this story was in the news, it did not go viral. This is only one example of Asian American discrimination being “invisible” in the public eye, as it is deemed insignificant to today’s racial issues. Thus, as an Asian American myself, I completely agree with Jung as I also believe that Ferguson does indeed matter to the Asian American community.
Question:
How can we influence the media to publicize Asian American racial injustice so that it doesn’t stay “invisible” to the public? How can the police be prevented from murdering any more innocent lives, regardless of their race?
References:
Jung, S. (2014). Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
[Digital Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2017 from http://www.rafu.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/traci-ishigo2.jpg
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