Annoyances of Asian American Life | Asian American Poll

ANNOYANCES OF
ASIAN AMERICAN LIFE
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:25:49 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which of the following is the most annoying occurrence to which Asian Americans are routinely subjected?
Being told you speak English well | 21%
Being asked where you're from, originally | 28%
Having (non-Asian) strangers address you with phrases in Asian languages | 23%
Being subjected to offensive media portrayals of Asians | 28%

Which of the following is the most common way in which racial hostility has been expressed toward you?
Hostile words spoken to your face | 9%
Hostile remarks to others within earshot | 41%
Slurs or taunts shouted from a distance | 17%
Spreading of malicious gossip about you | 6%
Pointedly excluding you from a conversation or event | 27%

In your experience what types of persons are most likely to show hostility toward Asians?
People with low educational levels | 24%
People from social backwaters | 17%
People insecure about their own places in society | 28%
People envious of Asian success | 11%
People with little contact with other ethnicities | 19%

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WHAT YOU SAY

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to ASIA DOMINATRIX;I understand where you're coming from when you mention that these white folks like to stare all the time with obvious hatred in their devil eyes. How about when you walk past them in the mall or wherever and they like to stand their ground without walking around you to get by. This I noticed is a peculiar white trait as no other folks do this. It's as if they're playing a game of 'chicken'as a pedestrian. I don't understand this type of behavior. Now as far as detractors of a certain complexion, they know not what they speak. They seek to blame the victim. It always cracks me up that they would presume to know of what you and I experience but they don't because they can't. Just as we don't know what it's like being them and we don't presume such.
TOY SUNNER Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 09:11:30 (PDT)

I've been reading posts by "Ellery" and "Asian Dominatrix", and I realized that Ellery could have just squeezed all of her verbose, arcane, and circuitous "analyses" into something short and sweet---that she just doesn't want to see the reality.

I've personally known some Asians who are like that and worse, so I'm no longer surprised at seeing Ellery on this board. These Asians, mostly Chinese and females in my experience, tend to be so book-wormish, so eager to conform with the majority and be totally assimilated, that they would sell their souls for a cent with change to give back. They walk around in a bubble, immersed in infinitely dense and useless academic arguments.

And the thing about arguments and analyses is that anyone who doesn't wish to see something can churn out arguments and analyses to that effect until the end of eternity. A person who doesn't wish to acknowledge reality and would argue just for the sake of argument cannot be convinced in any way, EVER. There are just too many words floating around in this world to last them a lifetime.

positron Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 08:29:27 (PDT)

Rare Stuff:

Geez, it seems everyone wants to blame God and Jesus for the Crusades, pedophilic priests and other negatives that have come from the religious institutions thatlike to label themselves "Christian".

Thanks to a little something called Free Will, someone could walk up to a random individual and say "In the name of Rare Stuff I Kill you!" and then shoot them in the head. I ask you: IS THAT YOUR FAULT?

In truth, Christianity actually has made a lot of positive contributions to the development of Western Society and Sciences.

For example, belief in right and wrong as set up under Judaism and Christianity did help enact laws which we live by today. The Six of the Ten Commandments which dictate how we treat other people (You shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor; you shall repsect your father and mother; You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, ass, wife's ass, etc.) are the basis of Common law and moral law in society today.

Belief in absolute truth and abosolute laws governing the universe led to the development of Western Science as we know it. Isaac Newton was a devout Christian who used the inspiration of his faith in God to develop our understanding of basic physics today. Albert Einstein, a Messianic Jew, used his faith in God as a guide towards developing the theory of relativity.

It was devout Christians who formed the basis of the Abolitionist movement in the US, which eventually led to the end of slavery. It was devotion to God and to the principals taught in the Bible who led Frederick Douglass to take the same stance as Moses did to Pharoah "Let my people go!" It wasn't Northern agitators, but rather Southern WHITE AND BLACK Pastors and churches who helped turn the tide against segregation, Jim Crow Laws and made the Civil Rights movement a success. It was churches who sponsored tons of refugees from Vietnam to come to the US and made their own American Dream.

Yeah, there are a lot of so-called "Christians" who've done some dirty acts in the name of God. May God deal with them severely. However, the true tenets of the Christian Faith have done a lot more good than harm in society. These cannot be discounted.
Bill Lee Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 06:33:46 (PDT)

Ellery,

I think the diachotomy of income of asian household comes from the two prevailing types of asian. There are those who are self-employeed in various ventures and have the flexibility of creative accounting depending who is asking. Then there are the salary workers in USA which face the glass ceiling. I'm sure the demographics of asians is far more complex in the USA to why two prevailing interpretation of income exist.

Not to make light of your experience in Japan. But Japan has very harsh immigration laws. Gaijins are only welcome for a short period as a labor force and not welcome to settle down in Japan. You really must had the blinders on for 8 years in Japan, if you did not even notice the blatant racism in that country. But then, most countries outside of USA and Canada are extremely racist due to lack of diversity in the populace.
AC Dropout Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 06:07:45 (PDT)

"as an ardent liberal, that putting forward Asian American solidarity will work to extinguish the prejudices against Asian Americans; whereas I fear that same solidarity is a catalyst for insularity, and does little to remedy the misunderstandings of either the minority or the majority." - Ellery

This is a bunch of BS. In simple words, you don't want Asian Americans to develop a sense of identity with their own....Ok, so the solidarity of African Americans and Jewish Americans on Civil Rights and Holocaust/Anti-Semitism issues are justified and accepted; while any Asian American solidarity will foster animosities between them and the majority White population.

Remember, the exclusiveness of the White majority in this country is the main reason why there is insularity among the minorities. Are you so stupid not to have any insight on this?

Again, I could never discount the discrimination Asian Americans have faced in the U.S. from Hollywood, Abercrombie & Fitch and jerks on the street; but I do take umbrage when someone automatically pulls the 'race' card when every bad thing that happens to them in their daily routine is correlated back to their minority status.

This is the another problem that White people in this country like to perpetrate. They were the ones who introduced the race card issue in the 1st place so it becomes a 2 way street. Again, if African Americans can complain about their minority status and if Jewish Americans can complain about the Holocaust, why can't we damn Asian Americans complain about something as well?
You seem to strike me as a New Yorker and a trickster! You're definately not a White person. If ranting on Goldsea is part of your Law School curriculum or if it serves a medium to boost your ego, you really need to get your head examined!

Smug Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 18:45:28 (PDT)

I can recall 3 instances in my life-time when 3 non-asian strangers said "Ni-hao" to me even though I don't speak Chinese.
And not in a derogatory way. One of them said it to me when they were asking for directions.
Kpac Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 17:44:10 (PDT)

Number 1 annoyance:
Being asked where you come from and if you can speak English even if you were born here.
Kpac Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 17:42:10 (PDT)

rare stuff,

I would like to hear more about your family. How exactly are they anti-everything? Does your white stepfather look down on your whitewashed mother? How do they talk about you when they're pretending you're not there?

P.S. You remind me a bit of Albi on some of the forums here...
Asian Dominatrix Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 14:37:37 (PDT)

Ellery,

LOL, you're exposing yourself to be the covert bigot I suspected you were--the kind that says "I've got Asian acquaintances/spouse so I'm very open-minded." How can I tell?

First of all, denying someone's experiences. Look: I know very well who's staring at me and who's not. So there. I don't need a white to tell me to "open up your little slanted eyes a little more." (Ok, you didn't actually say that.) And I don't need to be accused of playing the "Race card," which is what whites like to whine when they feel they are losing the plot. Yes, I have seen lots of whites--or rather, those claiming to be white--on Goldsea and other Asian websites accusing minorities of not seeing things the white--oops, I mean the RIGHT way.

"Submitting books of Asian American authors suggests their statistics are impenetrable cornerstones of fact."

No, it's not: it's called "providing the evidence." I have a Ph.D from Oxford University so I don't need anyone telling me how to read facts, tables, and evidence. If I felt in any way that Wu's and Woo's data were suspect, I wouldn't even have bothered reading as much of their books as I have. (Yes, there are unfortunately studies which rely on faulty data and/or insufficient analysis.) I mentioned those books because they bring up legitimate facts and statistics which have been ignored by previous writers discussing race. Both books were written AFTER Dinesh D'Souza's "End of Racism", 1995, BTW.

"This is not to say their statistics are not without merit, but consider the possibility that maybe these authors all have their own agendas, and would be hesitant to accept factors from outside the sandbox that could contest their published crusades."

Duhhh....EVERYONE has an "agenda" of sorts. If we didn't, we wouldn't be writing theses and books, or even posting on the internet! Let me guess, the next thing you're going to claim is "statistics, statistics, and damned lies," right? That's what a lot of whites do when they're presented with the evidence they DON'T want to see.

"You mentioned Mr Wu cites white women as the primary beneficiaries (perhaps another example of twisting an agenda), and I would bitch about that or any other recipients of affirmative action. We all got it hard..."

Well, what other major beneficiaries of affirmative action are there? There can only be one major beneficiary. BTW, "We all got it hard" is the BIGGEST crock of shit I've ever heard. It's obvious you didn't bother reading any of the articles I mentioned or the Mari Matsuda very carefully, isn't it?

"but I'm not gonna sit here and insult anyone's intelligence by citing the numerous examples of successful Asian Americans who have earned their way on merit, and then insinuate their successes should have been augmented with affirmative action, as Mr Wu would like me to believe."

You obviously haven't read the Wu so why are you bothering to debate me on this point? First of all, the successful Asians who've made have had to work much, much harder than their white counterparts: for instance, in academia, they must publish more articles or obtain more grants. This is why I mentioned the examples from Woo, but obviously it didn't jive with your own prejudices so you dismissed it. Secondly, in no way did Wu insinuate that their successes should have been augmented with affirmative action. Read the book before you make any comments on it!

"I also know what it is like to be stereotyped, thought of as incapable of speaking the language, asking for directions in the clearest Japanese and then being assaulted in broken English, the subtle replacement of chopsticks with forks in restaurants presuming I lacked the dexterity, the rural stares, the double-takes, the prejudices; know 'em all."

There's a significant difference between what you've experienced and what we Asians experience in America. First of all, in Japan, you ARE a foreigner, whether you like it or not. Quite a few of us Asian-Americans are NOT foreigners in the US and we RESENT being treated as such. A better analogy would be when AA's go to Europe. Now, when I go there, it's a different story because I AM a foreigner there. If a Brit or German assumes that I don't speak English, asks "where are you really from," or, yes, even stares at me, I'm not going to be as offended as with an American WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER.

"You feel...that putting forward Asian American solidarity will work to extinguish the prejudices against Asian Americans"

It's helped African-Americans tremendously. After all, who dares call them "nigger"? They are not promoted as much as they should but they've made big strides in the last several decades with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Jesse Jackson. While there are many blacks below the poverty line, there are a good number who have become middle class and affluent. Maybe blacks have varying feelings towards more "extreme" activists like Malcolm X and Jackson, but all have helped blacks not only to move up the socio-economic ladder, but also forge a much stronger racial identity.

"whereas I fear that same solidarity is a catalyst for insularity, and does little to remedy the misunderstandings of either the minority or the majority."
Try telling that to the KKK and other white militia fronts first. Indeed, try telling that to mainstream Americans opposed to their sons and daughters marrying non-whites and opposed to minorities moving into their neighborhoods. Has it ever occurred to you that Asian-American consciousness has taken off PRECISELY because of their overall rejection by mainstream white society?

"And lastly, on Asian households having multiple earners as reasoning behind their making more money than white households; I'll definitely give that consideration, but it contrasts with Deborah Woo's assertion that 'Asians earn less than whites even when they have very comparable education and work experience.'"

I think you have lumped together two very different things. Back to the family income bit. Say you have 2 families, one Asian and one white, both chief earners having the same occupation. If you've got wife, husband, and 2 HS kids working little jobs in the first family and only one earner in the second family, the first family is going to have a bigger household income. Obviously. This does not contrast with Woo's assertion in any way and actually may even bolster her argument. In fact, because the Asian male with the college degree makes less than his white male counterpart, the Asian male's family may need to take on extra jobs.

Anyway, I think our debate should end here. We should wait till you actually read the Wu and the Woo and I've read the D'Souza and Bennett which I just recalled from the library. Otherwise, our discussion would be a real waste of time.

Asian Dominatrix Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 14:32:51 (PDT)

Rare Stuff,
You explained yourself very well nad I now understand what you meant by your posting. I am sorry you encounter that from your family, but you seem to have a very good way of expressing yourself. Thank you for explaining what you meant.
Hannybunbun Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 14:16:46 (PDT)

"I know two versions of what people call racism: negative racism is mostly destructive to people of other races; positive racism is a form self-defense that does not include extreme offenses against other races."

I think that racism is racism, whether you try to call it "positive" or "negative" racism, it's still pre-judging someone because of their race before you know them. Hate is still hate, whether it's positive or negative. (How can hate be positive?) So do you call your dislike for whites "positive racism" and use it in self defense? Hate them before they can hate you?
my opinion Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 11:10:12 (PDT)

Ellery:

Hmmmm, doing your daily rounds, giving advise to us asians, right after a quicky with the indian messageboards? And I do mean native american, btw. Maybe we should get your permission before we discuss what we experience on a regular basis. Maybe the things we hear and see.... we didn't really hear and see, unless you say so. Oh, but looks like many people are a little too smart for that, only an idiot would be "openly bigoted" and there's enough of those who do their thing without consequences.

Bill Clinton??? Race Card?? What the hell are you talking about?? Me thinks, you've been watching a little too much TV. Liberal Stormtroopers?!? I don't even know where to begin on this one. Makes me wonder if you've even met any asians in Japan... LOL. This is way too funny.

I can tell you'd like to blow off and dismiss any issues stateside asians have to deal with, in this day and age as... shall we say, archaic. Yeah right, stuff like that doesn't "happen" anymore. You're right, stuff like that doesn't happen to YOU anymore. It couldn't possibly happen. Why? Because you're a minority too and you don't experience it. Or maybe you actually have a means of doing something about it via lawsuits or whatever?

I'm not for affirmative action as it is practiced, but to say things are a level playing field for asians in america is a sick joke. Nor should fuss be wasted on stupid T-shirts. But the bigotry is still here and going strong, Whether you believe or want to believe it or not. Whether subtle or outlandish, I've experienced both, and everything in between. What if I told you I got passed over for a good job by some crank-head with a criminal record, and low grades? HA HA HA, or maybe that I was the only one with a letter of recommendation from the instructor, HA HA HA, or maybe some guy with brain damage made more to start than I did after three years of working, HA HA HA, or maybe a college education means getting paid the same as some high school grad. HA HA HA HA. or maybe that some of these other white guys were people who graduated from the same college I graduated from, at the same time (sans highschooler, obviously). HA HA HA. Should I bother with the subtle examples? I guess I should have come up with regular, garden-variety ones so you can digest them properly. And no, I'm not going to waste either of our times with more. Believe me, I don't expect you to understand, EVER, so go back to you're "Brady Bunch" world, while I'll go back to my "1984." No, you don't need a master plan to do these things, they just happen, like when someone gets mugged in the middle of the night and no-one sees a thing. Random, suuuuuuuure. wink wink. Oh wait, I should have waited for you to explain it all to me, teach me, because I don't know any better, I can't think for myself, and what I see and hear, was all in my head. And stuff I can't proove, oh well, 5 dolla, me love you long time. bwaaahk.

I wouldn't know what you've been through living in japan or whatever, but from what I gather about whites living abroad, you've probably been well compensated for it. I feel your pain, I really do. Oh yeah, can I feel your pain one more time. Ahhhhhh, that's better. I'm sooo cool now.

Oh and by the way, how are the Koreans doing in Japan these days?? You must really have had it bad over there, as a white girl. LOL, ROFLAO. Stuff like that doesn't happen anymore. Uh huh. And those Koreans, uh, what are they, people from outer-space or something?

I'm only half-asian, so please, spare me your games and/or selective ignorance on this one.

kimchi (aka disgusted) Tuesday, June 11, 2002 at 11:06:02 (PDT)

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