Week 8- Max Ma (A03)

Max Ma
11/12/2017

Putterman's "What Asian Americans Are Bringing to Campus Movements for Racial Justice" is definitely one of the most relevant reads I've seen in a while. In the journal, we can see the lack of empathy given towards the struggle and discrimination Asian Americans face. More ironically, other minority groups that have suffered from racial discrimination further pass down the act of discrimination towards Asian community, claiming that our complains and voices don't matter since we are the privileged ones. While African American groups attempted to oppress Asian Americans in many occasions, we still shouldn't back down because of the the pressure and fear of conflicts. African Americans and other minority groups have to understand that every minority has the right to raise their voice and attention to fight for what they deserve. On the other hand, the lack of Asian American studies have made it hard for general public to understand the origination of racism and other stereotypes labeled against Asians. The lack of deep understanding and examination of Asian studies also allows other minority groups to believe that we're the privileged ones. However, a tremendous amount of the first-gen Asians traveled to America on a boat, nothing better than the refugees we see nowadays try to get to Europe.

Having the opportunity to attend a boarding school in the New England area, I've definitely experienced what it's like to be a "true minority." While I was at Kent School in Connecticut, the school had more than 85% non-Asian students, and more than 70% of them were Caucasian. On the men's basketball team, I was the only Asian male. Even though hardcore racism wasn't found at Kent School, it was obvious that our voice and influence were unnoticeable. While I was a senior, we had the first Asian member in our Senior Council. However, her position was a sub-sector of the student council, meaning that she was nominated by girl dormitory's RA. Moreover, most Caucasians I met from the Northeast still held stereotypes against Asians, many of them also couldn't distinguish between Thailand and Taiwan.




Question:
Why do minority groups like Black people always try to oppress Asian's voice? Do they really think the real justice and equality will be brought to them if they discriminate other groups as well? Is white supremacy the only discrimination we should fight again?

Reference:
Putterman, M. T. (2016). What Asian Americans Are Bringing to Campus Movements for Racial Justice. Race Files. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

[Digital Image]. (n.d). Retrieved November 12, 2017, from https://asianamericanpopculture.wordpress.com/2015/01/29/week-4-margaret-zhu/