Toby Lee ASA 2 Section A03 Week 1

Toby Lee Section A03 Week 1

When I first glanced at the title of the article that I was going to be reading I was reluctant in continuing with the reading. First I saw that there was 53 pages and also the article is written by our professor. I was wondering is it going to be one of those articles where the professor talks about her research and boast about how great she is. After reading the first page I was hooked. I never really liked reading and was never filled with as much emotion, rage, and anger as I continued reading. As an Asian American male, I too can connect with certain aspects Professor Valverde has mentioned. Being born and raised in San Francisco, where there are many different racial groups, one would believe racism is non existent. Although people in San Francisco are more compassionate and more welcoming, I was also a target of bullies and racism. I went to a private K-8 school, where there are only a few asians. We asians were constantly being picked on by being told that our language sounds funny and that we should only speak English since this was America. We were always singled out to do other people’s homework because we were supposedly all good in math and bad in sports. I also can recall a time when fellow Asian Americans wanting to fit in, would bully me because I was a “nerd”. As tough as it was in school, home was never any easier. My parents always made fun of me by telling me that I had a strange accent in my native language. I was always compared with other people by my parents by telling me that I will never be as successful because I wasn’t smart enough. I admire Professor Valverde courage for fighting this type of mistreatment. If I were put in her shoes, I cannot assure you that I would do the same.

Question: How can Asian American’s stand up for themselves and show everyone else that we shouldn’t be discriminated and everyone is equal.

Valverde, K., (2013). “Fight the Tower”: A Call to Action for Women in Academia, 12(2), 367-419. Retrieved October 6,2017.

Quan , N. (2015, September 29). "The No Man's Land of Asian American Identity" by Natalie Quan. Retrieved October 06, 2017, from http://thesaltcollective.org/encountering-christ-no-mans-land-asian-american-identity/