angry Asians

Article featured in New Demographic e-newletters:

Why are Asian-Americans so damn angry all the time?

I was thrilled to be a part of a panel discussion about Asian-American media activism at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA) in New York City on July 23rd titled "WHY SO ANGRY ???"

We discussed some of the major media incidents of the last ten years, including Miss Saigon, Hot 97's Tsunami Song, Rosie O'Donnell, and Kenneth Eng.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jeff Yang moderated the discussion. The panelists included Andrew Hsiao (WBAI, New Press), Albert Lim (Fallout Central), Beau Sia (Def Jam Poet), Minya Oh aka Miss Info (HOT 97 FM), and Phil Yu (AngryAsianMan.com).

One of the main points I made during the discussion was that we need to ask ourselves where the impulse to protest is coming from.

Are you opposed to the Long Duk Dong caricature because as an anti-racist you believe all racist stereotypes are demeaning and dehumanizing? Or are you opposed to it because it is personally inconvenient to you? e.g., makes it harder for you to get laid.

Are you opposed to the "me love you long time" stereotype because it is racist and sexist? Or are you opposed to it because it personally inconveniences you? e.g., makes every man think you will give it up for "one dollah one dollah!"

If you're Asian-American and you are moved to protest an offensive Asian-American stereotype because of your anti-racist beliefs, then you should be just as likely to protest an equally offensive African-American, or Latino, or Arab-American stereotype.

But I just don't see a whole lot of that coming out of the Asian-American community (or any other communities, for that matter). Which makes me think that for many people, activism is not truly about anti-racism or anti-sexism, but more about consolidating their own power base in society.

I hope that more people will take up no. 3 of New Demographic's core beliefs:

We go beyond the concerns of the specific community to which we belong and recognize that when one group is discriminated against, it is an affront to us all.

For more about the panel, check out Kai Chang's write-up on Zuky.net.

comic

thoughts? comments? emotions?