From: dowdy@tochtli.biochem.nwu.edu (Dowdy Jackson)
Subject: Re: Perceptions, Realities, Perceptions
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Distribution: soc
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 01:17:49 GMT

In article <78524@ut-emx.uucp> joe@astro.as.utexas.edu (Joe Wang) writes:
>In article <SHAW.92Aug26002432@whopper.lcs.mit.edu> shaw@whopper.lcs.mit.edu (Andy Shaw) writes:
>>That does not
>>diminish my experience _now_, nor that of the group of people who have
>>common experiences and common interests.  There is nothing "icky" about the
>>fact of life that YOU and I have a hell of a lot in common
>
>But it's not a fact of life that we have very much in common.  It's
>starting to become quite clear that your life and my life have been
>quite different, and as far as life experiences go, I probably have
>more in common with this "jj" fellow than I do with you.
>
>Because we've led different lives, we naturally have different
>perspectives on how to combat racism and discrimination, and we
>naturally have different perspectives on the nature of American
>society.  
>
>I suppose that what I'm asking is for you to realize how different you
>and I really are, and the fact that there is very little that you and
>I share that would form the basis for any sort of identity.  I'm also
>asking that you not think less of me because we'll likely find
>ourselves 180 degrees apart on most issues.  In particular, don't
>accuse me of "selling out." 
>
>>But those are the facts, and you and I (and Arthur Hu and Dwight Joe and
>>Judy Tseng, etc.) are bound together by forces that we do not necessarily
>>like or want.
>
>I don't think that we (you and I) are bound nearly as tightly as you
>think we are.
>
>This is what I am afraid Asian-American activism will lead to.  Right
>now, AA's make up about 30% of people at MIT, about 10% of people at
>Harvard, etc. etc.  In about forty years, it's quite likely that about
>30% of Fortune 500 CEO's, doctors, lawyers, researchers, etc will be
>AA, even though the population is <10% AA's.
>
>I leave as an exercise to the reader, what an unscrupulous politician
>could do if the economy suffers a downturn and if as a result of AA
>activism, the country sees AA's as "one of them" instead of "one of
>us."
>
>>You seem to believe that we as a tiny minority are all inevitably weak and
>>worthless, and that we need someone to take care of us. 
>
>I believe that if the game is ever "us vs. them," "we" will lose.
>It's better to be one of "them" than to be one of "us."  You seem to
>think that this is impossible without losing "self-respect."  Fine, we
>disagree.
>
>>If you take shit from anyone, they will lose respect for you.  If you bash
>>them back, they will not necessarily like you, but they will respect you
>>more.  
>
>If you bash them back and in the process hit thirty potential allies
>who had nothing at all to messing with you in the first place, I call
>that a bad deal.....
>
>>If I am off target, maybe you can explain why you've never publically
>>chastised or criticized anything from anyone white.  
>
>It seems that Lui Sieh and I have reasonably similar backgrounds and
>in this case we seem to mostly to be in agreement.  If you are trying
>to accuse Lui Sieh of being a "white sycophant" with no
>"self-respect," then you are going to have to make the same accusation
>toward me, and there is NO WAY IN HELL, you will be able to make it
>stick.
>
>This is getting way too personal.  I simply ask that you accept that
>different people have different backgrounds even if their DNA type is
>identical.
>
>>In the near term, I am extremely cynical and pessimistic: I have a decent
>>idea what life is going to be like in the near future from my experiences
>>from the near past.  In the long term, I am extremely optimistic, because I
>>know how much better my life is than my parents' were at my age. 
>
>Interesting.........
>
>Actually I'm the opposite.  In the near term, I'm optimistic.  In the
>far term, I'm very, very worried.  There are just too many
>disconcerting trends to make me think that my children will
>necessarily have a better time in the United States than I had.
>
>
>

After reading this I was sad that this is the way you feel. As an African American, many of my people were optimistic about race relations with whites. But
after centuries of whites hating us, that optimism has changed alot. To assimilate is WRONG. To assimilate means that you will TRY to become one of them but
this is something you will NEVER achieve. This country was not founded on
the same principles that it now holds dear. :) The whites in this country NEVER assimilated to the culture of the native americans nor did they assimilate
to the various african cultures when they landed there. Even though you may
say that this is the past, it still happens today. To want to become "white"
isn't the way to go.
     Why can't you be proud to be what you are. Whites are proud to be white.
Why can't you be proud of who you are instead of trying to become the "them"
that you speak of.   
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american