On Being Asian American

For the last week, our news feed has been filled with #stopasianhate. I find it difficult to describe racism as an Asian in the United States as it is complex and has a long-ignored history.

As a foreign-born Asian-American, half Japanese, half Filipino, living in Tucson as a non-profit leader, this particular topic is personal. Yet, because it is about racism, injustice, and equity, it is also part of our organization’s mission. Now that this has come up, are we willing to have an honest conversation about the underlying anti-Asian sentiment in our country?

So let’s be clear, racism against Asians in the United States is not getting worse. Asian racism is complex, has always been a clear danger, and is part of a long-standing history of bigotry. This most recent event contains violence towards the Asian community the public has not seen in a while. But it wasn’t that long ago that a Koreatown in LA was left to burn.

To unravel the complexities of anti-Asian sentiment in the US, we must first look at the systems and cultural tapestry that highlight the need for this conversation.

When you think of nationwide school bullying data, Asian populations are often missing from the report. Historically, most people are not even aware of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Up until 1945, Chinese people were banned from immigrating to the US due to the belief that most of the US problems were caused by the Chinese. Dr. Seuss, before becoming a famous children’s author, was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper. He was known for extremely anti-Japanese sentiments and very few talk about it. Or how about the fact that anti-miscegenation laws (criminalization of inter-race sexual relations or marriage) were partly created due to anti-Filipino sentiment that was pervasive in the US. Before the Mexicans, it was Filipinos accused of taking the American’s jobs for decades. Let’s talk about cultural appropriations or under-representations. Look at the roles that Asians often have to play in popular movies. Asian stereotypes are reinforced by popular movies, shows, and media about sex, driving, food, intellect, hygiene, etc. I can go on and on.

But let me share with you what my personal experience has been like. I have been quiet about this, and I’ve often wondered why. For the longest time, I have simply dismissed these events as nothing more than just the norm and that it was acceptable. But having sons, who both have experienced racism in different spectrums, I am beginning to realize my own complicity to the injustice around me. To truly live up to our calling, we must be willing to be vulnerable and have these conversations. I believe that actions rooted in love are the only true resolution that will result in the restoration of relationships and building a stronger, diverse community. However, I also understand the deep seethed frustration as a result of these incidents.

I remember attending a fundraiser for another non-profit, and I was the “call to action” speaker. After my very passionate ask, a prominent person in the philanthropic community told me, “As passionate as you are and as young as you are, you’d be well funded already if you were white! We’d all listen to you.” Nope, not a joke, and yes, it was stated like that. It's not the only time either, only the most shocking one because it was said in front of other people. But what did I do with that?

At another fundraising event, my son Kenji was asked by one of the hosts, “Kenji? You must be smart in math! You better have straight As.”

In church, from the pulpit, a pastor friend made fun of what Asians eat and pointed at me in the middle of his sermon, proceeding to make discriminatory remarks about all Asians and our cuisine. It’s one thing to make jokes around friends; it’s another to do it from the pulpit in front of strangers while pointing to said person. Mind you, the other members of the congregation were not friends, and some of them I have never met. To be clear, this is not the only time or the first time I experienced something related to Asian stereotypes at a church.

Or how about the many times I have to explain that Japanese and Filipino are not Chinese, Korean, etc. And these same folks insist that we are all the same and proceed to make eye gestures. Or the many times that random people, friends, acquaintances, family, coworkers, and strangers would make fun of my eyes, accent, and make race-specific jokes.

Or the time I took our drumline to march for the Veteran’s day parade, and I had several upset people come up to me stating that we need to change our flag. Their reason? The person holding the sword in our flag looked like a Japanese person. Several people noted that it was offensive to draw a person on a flag on Veteran’s day that looked like a Japanese person being carried by a drumline who worked hard to perform at the veteran’s march. Read that again.

How about when the US lost to Japan in soccer, and some people made it a point to tell me that at least the US won the war.

These are just a few of the many incidents. It wasn’t till this week that these memories were brought to my recollection. I am not sharing them because I want people to feel sorry for me. I share them to point out that racism against Asians has been culturally accepted, yes, accepted. We’ve watched it happen over and over again. Several comedians even joke about it - if they offend someone with a race-related joke, the quickest way to get everyone back on board is to joke about Asians.

But up until last week, none of these things warranted national attention. Until last week, the anti-Asian sentiment was not perceived as dangerous. But it always was, and any injustice will always remain dangerous until we have the difficult conversations to create better foundations in our culture. Let’s explore this in our next few blogs.