From: jpark@rwja.umdnj.edu (John Park)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: japan bashing, was RISING SUN
Keywords: asian, american, media, japan, racism
Date: 4 Jan 93 04:18:33 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway NJ


 
  
   
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: The Rising Sun by Michael Crichton
<C044zw.2IH@acsu.buffalo.edu> 
<1993Jan1.164330.11666@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
 
webihara@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Wataru Ebihara) writes:
 
 
>dtwei@acsu.buffalo.edu (Danielle T Wei) replying to
>pkwu@is0.is.morgan.com (Peter W u):
 
.
.
[alot of perceptive stuff deleted for briefness]
.
.
 
>I feel this ability to hold stereotypes comes out of mostly
: >ignorance and one's personal experience, and also the need to
>make quick judgements about peoople by just the few examples we
>know (and I think we tend to remember negative things much
>quickly).  My primary concern is that the focus on the
negativity
>of Asian societies without proper balance, eventually turns into
>Asian "American" hating.
 
>I have an older friend (white male) who says that he developed a
>lot of hate and prejudice against the Japanese (and then
>generalized to other Asians) by the exposure of the WWII
>propaganda and his lack of exposure/friendship with "real"
>Asian people. I used to have some stereotypic ethnic images of
>Japanese too, but after meeting quite a few people of (whatever)
>nationality, you finally figure out that people are just
>individual human beings -- people aren't all good or all bad,
but
>"reality" is somewhere in between.  No one person or society is
>perfect -- you get the good and the bad together in one
>package.
 
>Wataru
 
>P.S.
: 
>I'm not really sure, though, why we're discussing "Japan" in
this
>
>Asian "American" newsgroup.  As a side note, there seems to be
>some parallels between how people view the rise of Asian
>countries, like Japan, from a defeated country in WWII to an
>economic superpower, similar to the (perceived) success of Asian
>Americans from an oppressed minority to model minority.  Anyway,
>people seem to take a greater interest when that happens, and we
>begin to think Asian people are somehow greatly "different" from
>the rest of "us".  Hmm.......   :-)
 
I think discussing Japan is very relevant, since the spin doctors
in the news media have proclaimed(!), a few months ago that this
country is in an economic "war" with Japan.
 
Almost any media exposure of asian males to the public at large
is first of all, pretty scarce (why this pattern of female asian
newscasters, and oddly no male asian newscasters,-from what I've
seen on the east coast).
  
Second, what is depicted of asian males FICTIONALLY is mostly
negative.
        ie. hero to evil villain typecast asian roles: 1 to 100
          (The fact that such a situation is considered racist
          if any other minority group, except asians, was
          portrayed this way in the media, shows how vulnerable 
          asian-americans are.  It also shows how ingrained
          the racism against asians actually is.) 
 
Thirdly, what is depicted of asian males FACTUALLY through the
news, is mostly in the context of Japan, usually Japan-bashing.
The problem is that it is hard to separate Japan-bashing from
asian-bashing.  
If the media shows or implies a japanese male face, and says that
he is to blame for all the misery of the recession, then this
carries over to all to have asian features.   It is hard to
disociate the american hate of the japanese adult male, with
hating & resenting the image of any asian adult male.
 
I'm not saying criticizing Japan's economic & trade policies is
wrong. In fact, if it's for the good of the country, then I'm all
for it.
 
But, slandering the character of the Japanese is ...(well you
make the call, is it right or wrong?)
Caricaturing the japanese as overworking robots, conspiring to
take over the world smells of some musty, old Fu Manchu movie, or
war propaganda.
 
 
Look at the histories of previous US-asia conflicts. 
Japanese-AMERICAN internment during WWII, Gook-hating during the
Vietnam Conflict (but also linked to the birth of the Model
Minority (refugees flourishing, free from commies) myth), open
hunting season on asians during the auto-recession of the 80's
;-) especially near Detroit (this is a reference to Vincent
Chin), and now this new wave of resenting asian-male for this
recession (600% increase in crime committed with asians as the
victims,-in New York City).
 
It seems that with this focus on asians and their economies as
"competition," there will also come resentment and seeing asians
as the "other" and not part of "We the people" - as americans. 
And that during a recession, having an asian male face is
politically incorrect.
 
 
 
--John Park
 
disclaimer: a few grains of salt can make angry harsh words much more 
     palatable ;-)