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Hatred toward other races today stems from the media's attempt to show the most gruesome or shocking of incidents regarding racial tensions, especially between African Americans and police officers, to obtain the most viewership possible. The hatred has stayed consistent as people will always have preconceived expectations of others based on racialization, religion, and wealth not based on facts. In this week's reading of "Asian American Dreams," I was glad Zia included stories of other Asian ethnicities and their struggles trying to assimilate or survive in America. One story that impacted me the most were the successes of three, not just one, pro bono legal teams that overturned wartime convictions for of three Japanese Americans (p. 50).
Although Americans vary widely in ethnicity and race and minorities are far from sparse, racism has never been in short supply. This has led to many large scale issues from Irish immigrants not begin seen as Americans during the Irish famine, to Mexican-American citizens having their citizenship no longer recognized during the Mexican Cession, all the way to Japanese internment camps during World War II. Both Dwight Okita and Sandra Cisneros Both give accounts of the issue from the perspective of the victims of such prejudice. Rather than return the injustice, both Okita and Cisneros use it to strengthen their identity as an American, withstanding the opinion of others.
Ronald Takaki, an Asian American academic, historian, and author, recounts the history of America through the voices of people of color in the United States in his book on the truth behind America’s racial history, entitled, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Takaki deconstructs common myths about America’s origins in his book hailed by critics and academics as a powerful and accurate retelling of the history of America. In his book, Takaki redirects the predominant focus on whites of European ancestry in history to the contributions made by the many ethnic groups of America in order to give a more accurate perspective on American history. Takaki’s point of view is well-informed and he gives a fair depiction of the participation,
Zia, Helen. "Surrogate Slaves to American Dreamers." Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000. N. pag. Print.
23 .Roger Daniel, Prisoners Without Trial: Japanese Americans in the World War II 1993, Hill and Yang.
Harth, Erica. Last Witnesses: Reflections on the Wartime Internment of Japanese Americans. New York: Palgrave for St. Martin's, 2001. Print.
I also researched instances of counter actions taken by Asian Americans to protest against these negative images. My research also has examples of Asians that have succeeded in breaking through the racial barriers in the media. The results show that even though racial stereotyping still exists in various forms of mass media, there are signs that show noticeable improvement in allowing a more balanced image of Asian Americans. Statement of the Problem There are close to 12 million Asian Americans living in the United States (U.S. Asian, 2000). Asian Americans are considered one of the fastest growing minorities (Pimentel, 2001).
It all started with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. During the 1940s, United States placed an embargo on Japan’s access to war materials in an attempt to stop Japan from further invasion in Asia. However, the plan did not work out well. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US’s Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and caused more than 2,400 deaths of Americans (Roark 671). This surprise attack not only pushed the United States into World War II, but also triggered the start of racial discrimination against Asians in America, specifically Japanese Americans, Chinese, and of course, the Japanese. In this essay, an excerpt taken from the Life Magazine will be analyzed and supported with The American Promise written by James Roark et al.
Dating back to the beginning of times people have always been looked at different depending on the color of their skin or what your religion, race, or beliefs may be. It is in our human nature to not like people for certain things that they are. Many will argue that in this day in age we are no longer at a race war but how can you be so sure when you actually open your eyes and see reality. Rapper Kanye West once said “racism is still alive, they just be concealing it” and these words are everything but false. You must ask yourself the real question about racism and it is how could you ever cure such a thing in people’s minds? People are free to think and believe what ever they would like and old habits such as racism will never change in people.
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
The air would always be humid and stuffy while riding the bus to school, and the slightest bump in the road would result in tossing up the kids like salad. The backseat would provide carriage for all the popular and tough kids shouting out at pedestrians on the street or flipping off a middle finger to the bus driver that would shout for them to calm down. I despised those kids in the back. They were the same people that made my life a living hell, while growing up and attending an American school.
Takaki, Ronald. Strangers From a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
After ten years of legal action and no progress on their fight for reparations, the Japanese American community held public forums to get the entire community involved in the fight for reparations. They worked to educate the Japanese community about the injustices and inhu...
In chapter 15 of Asian Pacific American Experiences: Past, Present, and Future, Timothy P. Fong, Valerie
“I hate white people. I hate you” (Eva Benitez). This student was angry and frustrated with racial conflicts because she lost her friend and had her father taken away from her by white police officers. She said this quote to her teacher, Erin Gruwell after a heated argument about the holocaust. From this quote, one can understand why Eva and many black/brown people don’t like white people. Family can be a big part of hatred towards a certain race. Children see their parents as role models and often have similar beliefs as their parents. If a child is brought into an environment hating a certain race, they will most-likely keep that opinion throughout their whole life.
It only takes one pejorative term to initiate this process. Once a negative thought about an individual or a group of people coalesces then the “other” is created. By separating humans into different constructs and groups, the apathy and prejudice of disenfranchised group grows over time. Once the label and construct is firmly established; the humanity of the stigmatized group is expunged. This paves the way for discrimination, and hate to suffuse ...