In 1982 Vincent Chin, a twenty-seven-year-old Chinese-American, was killed in a race-motivated crime in Detroit by two white autoworkers. His killers, Robert Ebens and Michael Nitz, mistook him as being Japanese, believing that it was Japanese peoples fault for the state of the auto-industry and that they were laid off work. After the unexpected conviction of fining Ebens and Nitz, three thousand dollars and serving three years probation, a pan-ethnic Asian American movement began to combat the social injustice, institutional racism, and oppression felt by Asian-American communities in America (Chin & Lam, 2009). To understand and make sense of what occurred during this period, I will analyze Chin’s case through using the intersectional model, …show more content…
the five faces of oppression and by also exploring the overarching systemic issue of whiteness that allowed for such ethnocentrism. Viewing Vincent Chin’s death through the lens of intersectionality helps a great deal in separating and comprehending his murder not just as a solely race motivated occurrence but also as an act that involved multiple intersecting facets that lead to the attack. Intersectionality is defined as the “social relations [that] are not only multifaceted and multilayered but also interwoven and mutually constitutive to one another” (Lee, Sammon & Dumbrill, 2014, pp. 21). The intersectional model therefore understands people’s identities as being made up of multiple intersecting categories that meet and influence the way in which oppression affects and interacts with an individual (Mullaly, 2010, pp. 194). In Chin’s case, his race came into contact with his class, and his status as a Chinese immigrant, therefore creating a matrix of domination in which this case could be better understood once examined. These oppressive categories together played a part in making Chin, and other pan-ethnic Asian Americans who share similar identities with him, a threat to Ebens and Nitz and the American people who hold similar perspectives. Utilizing race as an entry point initially serves as a good starting point but lacks to take into account Chin’s social location within America and his position as an industrial draftsman at an automotive supplier, which once put together better frames why he was killed and why his murder was not taken seriously by the justice system. Additionally, institutional discrimination emerges when Chin’s status as an American citizen is the first thing that the federal government looks into before even pursuing his case (Lam & Chin, 2009). The American justice systems priority to first evaluate the immigration status of Vincent Chin over pursuing a proper investigation and court trial into his death reveals the worth that is placed on America’s Asian population and shows the lack of importance placed on the life of a non-American. Understanding Vincent Chin’s murder through a lens of intersectionality brings much more to the surface than just interpreting this crime as being race motivated. The five faces of oppression also serve as a viable way to understand the case of Vincent Chin in the fact that it breaks down the five modes that contribute to, and make up oppression.
Chin’s case however only involves three of the five forms of oppression, which include marginalization, powerlessness and violence. Marginalization is the exclusion of whole groups of people from useful and meaningful participation in society (Mullaly, 2010, pp. 57). This can be seen in the marginalization of Asian-American communities for the majority of America’s history. Exclusion leads to a lack of cultural competence and understanding and therefore Chin’s killers, and subsequently the judicial system afterwards, valued his life less than an individual belonging to the dominant group. It is due to this marginalization that after Chin’s death, and following the unfair verdict of his killers, Asian-American communities came together to push back against systemic discrimination. Quite similar to marginalization, powerlessness consists of processes that, because of racialized groups status, inhibit the development of people’s capacities, reduces their decision-making power, and exposes them to disrespectful treatment (Mullaly, 2010, pp. 57). The disrespectful treatment of Chin in how Ebens and Nitz blamed him for their time of strife, the lenient conviction produced afterwards and also the inability of the pan-ethnic Asian-American activists and rallies to change the judges verdict, all …show more content…
reveal elements of powerlessness within the greater themes of this case. Lastly, violence is not limited to just physical acts of harm or abuse but also involves harassment, ridicule and intimidation. Furthermore, violence becomes structural when; “it is tolerated, accepted, or found unsurprising by the dominant group, when perpetrators receive little or no punishment, or when structural inequalities lead to morbidity and mortality” (Mullaly, 2010, pp. 60). With this explanation the oppressive acts of violence which resulted in Chins death resulted not only in the toleration of Chins murder but also in the softening of Ebens and Nitz’ actions in court, leading to Ebens and Nitz serving zero jail time at all. Understanding marginalization, powerlessness and violence as modes of oppression, serves to help explain and shape the behaviors of the individuals involved and explore why these events occurred in the first place. When it comes to understanding whiteness it is first important to understand that race as a biological or social category does not exist, meaning that the ethnocentric views held by the dominant group also should not exist (Yee & Dumbrill, 2003, pp.
99). The issue, however begins when race is constructed and believed to operate as a social category or biological grouping, therefore leading to whiteness. Whiteness pertains to the power of the privileged that do not recognize their privilege over those who must live in a society constructed by and for the privileged (Dumbrill et al., 2014, pp. 43). Whiteness therefore, plays a large factor in the way dominant groups interact, view, and deal with subordinate groups within society. To further unpack whiteness it is first beneficial to understand how oppression works in relation to it. Oppression does not only involve the conscious and intentional acts of one group against another. Like privilege oppression works by creating systemic constraints that hinder subordinate groups, operating either covertly or unintentionally (Mullaly, 2010, pp. 53). Therefore whiteness has the ability to function unknowingly, unintentionally, and as a result of privilege, will remain unacknowledged as it assumes power, situates itself as the norm and constructs subordinate groups as the ethno-racial “other” (Yee & Dumbrill, 2003, pp 101). Whiteness and its inability to acknowledge itself in the greater themes of this case, allowed for the judge to
view Chin’s killers not as the perpetrators but as the victims. Stating that, "these weren't the kind of men you send to jail...you don't make the punishment fit the crime; you make the punishment fit the criminal." (Lam & Chin, 2009). It is understood that if a person commits an illegal act regardless of their ethnicity or social status that they are subject to the laws in which governs that society. However, judge Kaufman interpreted Ebens and Nitz character based on the stereotyped characteristics of their colour, believing them to be the kind of people you do not send to jail. Whiteness in its ability to operate invisibly allows for the dominant group to not criticize or judge itself. This type of apathy and alienation leads to othering and the homogenization of Asian-Americans. The death of Vincent Chin and Kaufman’s verdict created not only a controversy but also started a sort of collective trauma that lead to the conscious awakening of Asian-American communities to their status and self-worth within America. Unfortunately, the power of whiteness and its ability to reconstitute itself has made it, so almost no one has heard of Vincent Chin before. Grasping the concept of whiteness reveals the oppressive processes underpinning it and helps in comprehending the events of Vincent Chin’s murder. In conclusion I made sense of and understood Vincent Chin’s murder and the events that followed, by interpreting the intersectional model, the five faces of oppression and whiteness in relation to exploring how Chin’s murder was more than just about race, how the five faces of oppression explains why the events occurred as they did and how oppression exists as a result of unacknowledged whiteness.
Vincent Chin, a Chinese American, was brutally beaten by two white men with baseball bats in Detroit during the summer of 1982. They had just lost their jobs in the auto-industry because Japanese cars were gaining popularity in America, and they had assumed Chin was Japanese. Chin died a few days later in the hospital due to injuries sustained during the attack. When the case was brought to court, the courts ruled that the two white men has simply been attempting to teach Chin a lesson, and the two men got off with a fine of a few thousand dollars and a couple years ' probation. This ruling was what sparked the modern Asian American civil rights movement in the United States. The information presented here is what I already know from multiple workshops I 've attended and led on Vincent Chin and his story. What I want to know is how much of this information should Wayne State’s faculty and students know? Telling and hearing this story multiple times, I personally feel that residents of Detroit should know about the spark of a revolution in their hometown, but should they really? My personal attachments the Vincent Chin story have led to pursue the attempt of answering this question.
Tim Wise’s book White Like Me provides a picture of what it is like to be white in America. A main topic covered in White Like Me is white privilege. On pages 24 and 25 Wise illustrates what white privilege is and shares his opinion regarding how to address white privilege in society today. Wise’s plan for addressing white privilege is one not of guilt, but of responsibility, a difference Wise highlights. The concept of feeling guilty for white privilege lacks reason because white privilege is something built up through generations and its existence is not of any one person’s fault.
Dr. Peggy McIntosh looks at white privilege, by “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” She describes white privilege as almost a special check or coin that she gets to cash in on. Dr. McIntosh tells that white privilege has been a taboo and repressed subject – and that many white people are taught not to see or recognize it. However, she is granted privileges (McIntosh 30). Dr. McIntosh goes on to describe twenty-six ways in which her skin-color grants her certain privileges. In example twenty, she describes how she can buy “…posters, postcards, picture books…” and other items that “…feature people of my race” (32). Additionally, in her first example, she talks about being able to be in the “company of people of my race most of the time” (McIntosh 31). Instances in which a privilege person would not even recognize unless they were looking, show evidence for white privilege. People take these advantages for granted because they simply expect them. Due to the lack of melatonin in her skin, she was granted privileges and her skin served as an asset to her. Dr. McIntosh conveys how her privilege is not only a “favored state,” but also a power over other
In her 16 January 2016 The Washington Post editorial, “What is White Privilege?”, Christine Emba asserts white privilege is a societal advantage inherent in people who are white, irrespective of their “wealth, gender, or other factors.” According to Emba, white privilege makes life smoother and is an entity that is hidden or unknown until the privilege is taken away. Although racism is still a rampant issue in society today, white privilege is a concept created by the progressive left in order to brand whites as a scapegoat for issues and adversities that non-whites face. This concept of privilege ultimately causes further dissension between whites and non-whites.
What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don’t. Rather than directly rely on race, we use the criminal justi...
...silenced in this country, in order to have voice and be visible in society, one must strive to be a white American. They feel the need to embody and assimilate to whiteness because the white race has a voice and is seen, rather than silenced and unseen, in society. They are privileged with the freedom of not having to cope with the notion of being marked, silent, and unseen in society. This creates pressures for Asian Americans and immigrants to suppress their own cultural identities and assimilate to whiteness in an attempt to potentially be able to prosper and make a life for them in America. Asian Americans feel as though being who they truly are and express their unique cultural identities will alienate themselves even more than they already are.
This power keeps the behavior of the oppressed well within the set guidelines of the oppressor (Freire, 2000, pg. 47). Critical Race Theory outlines this system of oppression as it relates to white and non-white races. By using the critical race theory coupled with the system of oppression described by Freire (2000), I propose that within the system of oppression, the oppressor must keep its own members in line with the prescribed guidelines by reinforcing the social norms from birth. Freire (2000) suggest that the interest of the oppressors lie in “changing the consciousness of the oppressed not the system” (pg.34). Identifying as white, therefore, starts at birth when members of the white class work to reinforce social norms that began with our founding fathers at Plymouth Rock. This long history of white privilege was taught to me and I continue to teach it to my children. As an educator of white affluent high school students, I believe we provide college and career counseling based on this white privilege system of oppression as well. Here, I journey even closer to unraveling the myth of white privilege as I encounter the intersection of an affluent white student choosing a career after high
Described by journalist Amy Uyematsu as “victims--with less visible scars--of the white institutionalized racism”, Asian Americans faced similar, if not more brutal xenophobia and racism than African Americans especially given the circumstances and historical context. The post-WWII era unified blacks and whites against a common enemy and created an assimilated group that triggered the path towards racial equality--or in other words: the makings of a more equal and integrated society for blacks and whites. However, with post WWII Japanese resentment, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, impressions of Asian Americans in the United States declined as those for African Americans rose. Moreover, the voice of Asian Americans often went unheard as they assimilated into a “White democracy”. As a result, the emergence of the “Yellow Power” movement began as a direct influence from...
Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (71). All these objects listed by McIntosh are things I have access to and certainly take for granted. Due to a history of non-white racial oppression, which transformed into decades of racial discrimination that still lingers today, the white race has dominated our society in terms of resources and prosperity. The ideas of wealth, higher-level education and ambition to succeed are all traits commonly linked to people of the white race that collectively define privilege. The aspect of privilege can also produce disadvantages for people of the white race as well. In the book Promoting Diversity and Justice, the author D. Goodman notes that people of advantage groups develop a sense of superiority, which will sometimes lead them to wonder if, “their achievements were based on privilege or merit” (107). Along with a diminished sense of accomplishment, the cost ...
With all of these facts, the author tries to prove that racial differences and privileges appear exaggerated and unrealistic. The privileged and less privileged exist at all levels of society. Duke wants white people to understand that they are in the same position as all other races. The awareness of “white privilege” is only a fallacy that causes feel of guilt without foundation.
“White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks” (McIntosh, 172). White privilege is all around us, but society has been carefully taught
In this emotional essay, “Being a Chink” Christine Leong discusses the meaning and definition of the word chink. She begins by noting the extreme power of language, that it provides us with communication and can be used to define individuals. Leong then recounts the first time she saw the word chink. While completing her weekly chores at her father’s business, she discovered an envelope with the word chink written on it. It did not take long before she concluded that it had been her father who wrote it in the likely scenario that a customer had called him a chink and that he wrote it down to later look up because he was unfamiliar with the definition. Leong felt a wave of anger that someone had tried to degrade her father. Next, she examines how in Naylor’s essay “The Meaning of a Word,” that the meaning of derogatory remarks can vary with context. She explains how within her circle that chink can be used as a term of endearment and that among her Asian friends it loses all power as a disgraceful remark. The essay is concluded with her belief that despite the intention of the term, chink, to degrade, that it had perhaps done the opposite and had brought the Asian community together.
The documentary “Riot on the Streets” presented a multifaceted and complex demonstration of anger and frustration from different ethnic and racial groups and its relation to the power institutions. The 1992 Rodney King Riots, also referred to as the L.A Race Riots, unearthed the frustrations that existed in Los Angeles with the justice system. Regarding the Asian population and specifically the Korean, the docudrama exposed the vulnerability of the community as immigrants and developed a narrative that had been ignored at the time of the event. Additionally, the docudrama emphasized a change in mentality and perspective reactionary to the riots and the losses Koreans had. Modeled and paralleled with the bendability of 24 karat gold, Koreans
On a city bus a drunk man is given complete authority to harass an Asian passenger. Esther, the passenger's seat neighbor, is at first not bothered by the racial remarks. She tries to justify her passiveness by telling herself that “she was Japanese, not Chinese, and therefore in the present case immune,” but it is not enough and eventually she does feel guilt. DeSoto use of the scene highlights the reluctance we have to speak up and the justification we use to defend our cowardness.
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.