Tony Pham
Week 10

The conflicts between the daughter and her mother resembled the relationship that I had growing up. My mother was an "asian tiger mom" and my brother and I were the typical lazy sons. My mother would scold us relentlessly and tell us that we were "good for nothing" or "not smart enough". In hindsight, I understand that my mom was motivating us to prove her wrong. We got tired of her putting us down and yelling at us so we started being productive in both school and in the community. My mom had an ulterior motive to being angry and intense all the the time and it really did pay off.   

Additionally, I can definitely relate to the child labor comic. After complaining about doing chores in the sixth grade, I was forced to work at the restaurant for the next 6 years.

Do all angry asian moms have ulterior motives to being angry?

Breaking Boundaries: A Reactionary Response to "Emergence of Queer Vietnamese America"

Jonathan Reifman
ASA 2 Sec. 2
Week 10

     In Gina Masequesmay's article chronicling the uprising of queer Vietnamese in the social spheres  of America, Masequesmay attempts to clarify the experiences of queer Vietnamese and explain her work in aiding their own self-fulfillment. She aims to normalize the experiences of queer Vietnamese in order to do away with stigmatization and strengthen the unity of the immigrant community. By sharing the stories of the members of the organization she is a part of, Ô-Môi, she attempts to shed light on the truth of the queer community's experiences.
     I agree with Gina Masequesmay's goals. Her commitment to the goals of promoting equality are highly admirable. The stories she shares provide deep insight into the experiences of the queer Vietnamese community. Overall, her article furthers her goal of promoting equality and raising awareness for the queer Vietnamese community.

Question: What can we do as students to promote acceptance of the queer community?

Image: A woman showing pride for the queer community.

Let Me Do Me

Eduard Alfonso

ASA 2 - 002

Week 10 Response

Angry Little Asian Girl

I've never understood why parents try to make their children be something they're not. From recent class discussions it seems that parents just want to push their kids to get the most out of them, as a type of encouragement. Responding to the Angry Little Asian Girl, I believe it represents how disconnected the wants of the immigrant parents and the first generation children are.

The parents want perfection and the children can't fulfill their perfect future. They want their child to be #1 all the time and to follow in their perfect image. I’m lucky enough to say my parents have done this very minimally. They want me to do the very best, but they don’t force an ideal or personality on me. I can feel for the typical “Asian daughter” who just wants to be themselves, because the feeling of doing what you want to do is very freeing.

My question is what ideals will be put on the second generation? I don’t believe the ideals will be as strict, and may be more “Americanized”, such that “You did good, child” will be a more frequent response than “A is average.”

My image is a meme I always saw during my time in highschool. I could relate to it because my parents wanted me to do my very best in school. Also, I believe it does the greatest job is poking fun at the “typical Asian

parent”

Angry Little Asian Girl

Yi Zhou

Week 10

ASA 002

Discussion 001

The comic "Angry Little Asian Girl" states some little stories between an Asian mother and a daughter. These stories actually are familiar to me because these issues always happened between me and my mother. Every time when I come back, my mother will yell at me if I am lazy or I have done something make her unhappy. I actually want to change the relationship between me and my mother, for example, sitting down and talk like friends, but I failed every time. 

I know that my mother cares me a lot but she is very easily to be angry if I do not follow her words. When she are yelling at me, if I fight back, she will be angrier. However, if I stand all my mother’s complain, I will feel very hurt and upset. I wish I and my parents can get along like the family in America: parents are friends of their children. However, the tradition of China makes this become very unlikely.

Question: Why American parents can treat their children as their friends instead of little kids?

Response to "Angry Little Asian Girl"

Samuel Sugimoto

Section A01

In Response to "Angry Little Asian Girl"

            I can strongly relate to the one in which Mother is lecturing Lela.  I used to and still often have to go through the same dilemma, deciding whether I should try to argue my point or just let my Mother have at it until she gets tired and decides to leave.  Often times, when I do try to argue my position, the one sided lectures turn into a two sided, simultaneous shouting match often resulting in tears and tension within the household.  It’s a battle I have to fight on my own, choosing between keeping the precarious peace and causing complete upheaval within the household.

Question: What is more important: peace in the family or expressing one's own opinion?

One-sided Lectures

Response to Angry Little Asian Girl

Nathan Suh

In the comic, the girl and her mother clearly are at odds.  The girl has quite a lot of angst - a lot of which seem to be coming from the mother's antagonizing style of parenting.  I read from wikipedia that the author, Lela Lee, was raised in a traditional Korean family.  I feel like some of my friends who were raised in traditional Asian families can relate to the comic a lot.  The mother in the comic is terribly overbearing and is dismissive of her child's opinions.  I really like how the girl breaks the stereotypes of being docile and respectful.  My question is, which of my friends can relate heavily to this experience?  I would love to hear their stories.