Annika Altura
Section A01
Soya Jung's article "Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans", struck a chord with me. Often times, when I try to pin point an accurate example of American activism, I think back to the Ferguson incident, where people believe that a single incident can symbolize so much more than the simplicity of the action. In this event where peoples all over the country united against this idea that one group of people should have superiority over the other. Given American history, it's easy to fight for African Americans rights, and it's not difficult to see the discrimination. However, with Asian Americans, we are a minority that has arrived more discreetly, even the model minority can be masked as being complimentary. In events like Ferguson, one would think that it would be easy to stand with solidarity, however the US has placed us in an awkward middle. We haven't been as clearly ostracized as the African American community, and yet we have not been placed on the same pedestal that White people supposedly place themselves on. Jung is right in saying that our take is either silence or compliance, even resistance but never outward attack. This event matters, because it reminds us to remember what is important to us at the core, and to remind others of our place in this country, however, it is especially important because we should be strong enough not to stay silent. We shouldn't have to accept this awkward middle.
My question is, why is it that with events like Ferguson, we are so easy to trust the liberal media, rather than offering to see it from all sides before making a conclusion? How do we use the "awkward middle" to change this and stop the hatred between both sides?
References:
Jung, S. (2014, August 20). Why Ferguson Matters to Asian Americans. Race Files.
On “Selfish Solidarity”. (2015, April 28). Retrieved May 28, 2017, from https://tospeakasong.com/2015/04/28/on-selfish-solidarity
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