From: webihara@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Wataru Ebihara)
Subject: Japanese American Generalizations
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 05:43:29 GMT


ronaldd@cbnewse.cb.att.com (ronald.h.davis) writes
responding to <4168@randvax.rand.org> edhall@rand.org (Ed Hall):

> >>my attitude is that after as much racist stuff [against black people]
> >>.that you
> >>see from japanese/nisei individuals and/or from japan (including government
> >>officials) i am *totally* unsympathetic when i hear cries of racism against
> >>japanese people by white people.  my tendency is to think:  "yeah, they're
> >>ones to talk..."
> >
> >some are pretty much free of prejudice.  Most Nisei are in their 60's and
> >70's, so this is pretty much the status quo for that generation (not that
> >I'm happy about it).  Their kids, the Sansei, seem considerably less
> >racist on average--I'm tempted to say less than whites of the same age
> >group, but I don't think I can generalize quite that much solely from
> >personal experience.  And I certainly think you've over-generalized from
> >yours...
> >
> i think you should have read my post a bit more closely, unless you're just
> making this statement for its effect.  i believe i have tried to avoid making
> general statements under the pretext that they held true for *all* asian-
> americans and i would think you would figure that out from reading them.
> 
> i might add, however, that i don't agree with *your* generalization of later
> generation japanese-americans...


Being third-generation Japanese American, and also involved in
organizations to reduce racism, I think I can probably speak for
at least a portion of the Japanese American community.  Also,
I've had some contact with Japanese, so I can give my personal
thoughts.  First, I just want to clarify what seems to be a
misunderstanding, "Japanese Americans" are "AMERICANS" who
live/work in the United States of Japanese ancestry, and
"Japanese" are citizens of "Japan".  Even though, I feel some
Japanese cultural ties, I'm not a representative of the Japanese
government nor do I have any direct influence on the policies of
the Japanese government -- since, of course, I'm American.  Also,
being of Japanese ancestry doesn't imply any genetic tendency to
be racist than any other human being.  I just needed to make that
clear since "Asian=foreigner" stereotype is very hard to
overcome.

From my experience, newly-arrived-first-generation Japanese
immigrants (not all) are somewhat prejudiced for the same reason
many (not all) mainstream-majority-white people are prejudiced.
They've grown up as the "majority" in their society, so they have
very little idea of what being a minority means, and what it's
like living as one.  I think one needs to both experience and
think hard about minority issues before you can say that
you truely "understand".  (Actually, I don't like using the term
"minority", since it has the connotation of "inferior", but I'll
use it anyway.)

Regarding sensitivity to minorities in the U.S. -- the sources
many Japanese nationals get are the images from the U.S. mainstream 
news media and Hollywood (which isn't the best place for accurate
information after our discussions with stereotypes, etc.).  I
don't think I can really blame the Japanese or any residents of
foreign countries for their ignorant viewpoints when the
information sources are often biased or lacking in issues dealing
with minorities, stereotypes, etc...

As for Japanese American U.S. citizens (first, second, third,
fourth generation), sure there are some who are racist, but I
find most of them have more "awareness" of minority/racial issues
than the average majority white guy on the street.  Why? Because,
if you grow up as a minority and experience forms of racism and
prejudice, you can relate to it, and you spend sleepless nights
thinking about it.  I've heard stories from my parents,
relatives, and other Japanese American friends about some of the
racial prejudice they've experienced, and there are also plenty
(but not enough) of American history books to read about Japanese
Americans (from the JA internment camps to instances of blatant
legal discrimination and racial harrassment).  Being a minority,
these things bother me, and I've spent a lot of time (maybe too
much) dealing with it.

And for me, even though some conditions have improved, racism is
still happening every time someone calls me "jap", "chink", or
mocks me with "Chinese noises", or rudely ignores me and pretends
that I'm invisible, or even those people who feel "uncomfortable"
being around me. I'm not going to say anything about whether
Asian or Black or Hispanic or Native Americans have suffered more, but
the ugly face of racism is the same.

Racism hurts because I don't feel accepted and it demoralizes a
person, but identifying myself as a member of the "Japanese
American" group, it also hurts me personally to be labeled a
racist (as a group generalization).  It hit a
sensitve nerve on me.

Of course, I can't speak for "all" Japanese Americans, but most
friends and those I know, are strongly supportive of minority
issues and civil rights.  I don't know how many Japanese
Americans are reading this newsgroup (if there are any), but I
thought I'd at least say something here. The JACL (Japanese
American Citizen's League) is very anti-racism and pro-justice
for minority groups; you can look thru their publications and
at the leadership -- there's always something dealing with race
issues.  Anyway, concering racial/minority issues, my general
feeling is that you'll probably get more sensitivity from an
average Japanese American person, than a mainstream majority
(WASP) person (or at least from my experience in Ohio).

I really do think there needs to be more inter-group
communication.  I don't know how many Asian Americans reading
this newsgroup have ever bother to learn about African, Hispanic,
Native American history and issues, but I do think we have a lot
of common themes.  For me, my first deep thoughts on racial
issues came after taking a couple courses in African American
history during my undergrad days at CSU -- made me realize that
Asian Americans were really talking about the same thing --
racism is racism.

Maybe we need to talk more...

Wataru
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