From: ikeda@vxcrna.cern.ch (IKEDA,M./EP)
Subject: Re: Asian <> Asian-American
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 11:44:00 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.154731.15836@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com>, maridai@ecs.comm.mot.com (Marida Ignacio) writes...
>|From Article 9292 in scaa ajh@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Alan Hu) writes:
>|
>|In every sense of the
>|word, we are red-blooded, full-bodied, real, live, honest-to-God
>|AMERICANS, with ALL the rights and responsibilities thereunto appertaining.
>|Yet, from the moment of our birth, we are told, thanks to our genes,
>|that we are second-rate foreigners who don't belong here, that we're
>|worthless, that we're not REAL Americans.  We bust our buns trying to
>|carve out a piece of existence in the only country we know, trying to
>|fit in, trying to establish our lives here, only to be constantly reminded 
>|that with a quick change in political wind, we can get our jobs taken away,
>|our homes burned, and ourselves beaten to death, just because of our genes.
>|And then we turn around and a bunch of Asians kick us in the face for
>|being banana-Twinkie-hollow-bamboo-worthless-sellout-scum-traitors-who-
>|can't-even-speak-Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Vietnamese/Tagalog/etc.
>|
>|It hurts.

..(To Alan: Good way of putting it!)

>Doesn't every Asian at some point experience this or ANY *human being*,
>for that matter, experience this?  You know there are nerdy, geeky,
>white Americans too, right?  They too get their share of *kicking*.
>Don't some older brothers to younger brothers do this?  Don't some older
>sisters to younger sisters do this?  Doesn't brutality exist in some
>homes, whether or not it were Western or Asians?

Careful!  AAs are not getting kicked especially for nerdiness nor for
some family problems at home.  AAs are being discriminated against
because some members of American society refuse to accept AAs as true
Americans, but in fact still associate them as foreigners.  This kind
of "kicking" is special because it is one that most other Americans do
not have to deal with.

>What do you want from me?  To *fight* for all of these?
>Isn't it that there is this primitive instinct in human nature to be
>violent at times?  Some keep it hidden and perhaps, reserved while
>others keep waving it around to everybody.  
..

I agree with you here.  There are too many examples in the world on
violent fights based on race or culture.  But note that one can use
the word "fight", but without the implication of violence.  This is
what Martin Luther King and Gandhi did.  They "fought the power" but
without violence and brought results.  And in the end they earned the
respect from the whole whole world for actions in a strictly localized
cause.

>If you think demanding to be treated as Real Americans(tm) is positive to
>you, I respect that.  It's just that it may take you *longer* to accomplish 
>this (and with it there will be a lot of hurt and rejection), than if I go my 
>way and live my life to the fullest and happiest being positively as I am
>(not an American) without too much demanding.  This is what I would emphasize 
>to my descendants.
..

Perhaps you are not too demanding and perhaps you will remain happy because
of that.  But you may find that your children will not be so comforted.  One
day your child may go to school and some group will tell them, "Go back home!
Go back to the Phillipines!  We don't want you here."  And he/she would not
be able to accept this.  This is what should be changed in American society.
Longer to accomplish?  Sure, one will not see incredible changes in our
lifetime.  But slowly, with enough "fighting", things will change and it is
for your descendants!  Are you so shallow that you want to have a happy,
non-demanding life now and ignore the problems that may affect your
descendants for generation after generation if they choose to remain in
the US?

-- Makoto