From: joe@astro.as.utexas.edu (Joe Wang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: Perceptions, Realities, Perceptions
Date: 30 Aug 92 18:14:24 GMT
Distribution: soc
Organization: McDonald Observatory, University of Texas @ Austin

In article <1992Aug28.131455.22802@nynexst.com> clare@nynexst.com (Clare Chu) writes:
>  Okay, then can we call you clueless?

Why?  Because my experiences and the conclusions that come from them
are different from yours?  

I thought tolerance for differences was what we were trying to
achieve.

>  So you're saying that if a Hitler were to come to power
>  you'd rather join the Gestapo than be the Jewish scapegoats.

No I'm saying that the attitude "we are not one of you" instead of "we
are one of you only a little different" will lead more likely to a
Suhkarno coming to power in the United States.  In most of Southeast
Asia, Chinese merchants are subject to extreme discrimination partly
because they are easy scapegoats for the "native" people there.  

There's a good chance of that happening in the United States in a few
decades, as Asian-Americans start controlling a disproportionately
large share of the economy and as the United States starts going on
the economic skids.  What I'm saying is that the way of keeping the
United States from turning into southeast Asia is to emphasize the
"melting pot/tolerance" aspect of American society.

>  The dominant powers will just pick and choose their victims. 

If one becomes a member of the dominant powers, then one is in a
better position not to find victims, and to open up the dominant
powers to excluded classes.

>  And you Joe Wang think you're safe by joining the
>  majority.  Ha.  Just wait until it's your turn.  

As part of the majority, you can say "hey wait a second, if you
see me as part of the majority, then what about a person who is
black, hispanic, etc. etc."  

If it all comes crashing down, then no one is safe.  The strategy is
to look for ways of keeping it all from crashing down.  Right now the
racial climate is such that Asians can be seen as part of the majority
in some areas.  What I'm saying is to take advantage of this and try
to push things forward.

>  Do you think the "them" really respect you?  Or are they grinning
>  behind your back?  Why do you think double-agents are trusted by
>  neither side, but used by both sides.  They are often eliminated
>  when they are no longer useful.  Think about it.

The whole point of this is building trust.

>  Did you really grow up here?  

In central Florida.  The best strategy I've found of combatting racism
is "passive resistance."  You don't get angry, but you don't step
back.  If you quietly point out that nothing they do will affect you,
then first they give up.  Then they start talking to you, and after a
while they stop noticing that you look and talk different.

>  They were basically harrassed until the perpetrator got tired of it 
>  (it was too easy).  

Yup.  And after that you point out to the perpetrator, that he or she
is tired of making fun of me, but I'm still proudly Chinese.  You can
beat me up, but you won't make me feel bad, and I'll still be proudly
Chinese.  You can even kill me, but even then I'll be laughing at you
from the grave, still proud to be Chinese.

I then pointed out to the perpetrator that it might be easier on him,
if he stopped harrassing me.  It's not going to bother me in the
slightest if he keeps doing it, and he's only hurting himself. 

That's the way I handled racism.  It worked quite well.

>  You're just clueless.

Again, I thought the whole purpose of this exercise was to develop
tolerance.  I have my views, which result from me life.  If you have a
different life, you have different views.  Name calling is
unnecessary.

>  You mean you're worried that Asian Americans will become a noticeable
>  minority, instead of an invisible minority like when you grew up?

Yes.  Exactly.

I'm trying to arrange a society that just doesn't notice these things.
After all, in Ireland, people kill each other over Catholicism versus
Protestantism.  Here, no one notices.  Catholics in the United States
are in essence, "an invisible minority."

My goal is to have the color of one's skin or the language one speaks
most of the time be something that people just don't notice, just like
most people don't notice the color of one's eyes or the religion one
practices.