The "Model Minority" Struggle

In the United States today, the conversation surrounding the topic of racism is often geared toward Blacks or African Americans. It is not as common for other minority groups such as Asians or Latin Americans to be discussed; as a result, the problems these minority groups face due to their race are often overlooked. However, recently, Michael Luo, the New York Times’ Metro editor, published an open letter to a woman who told him and his family to “go back to China,” breaking the silence on the topic of racism toward Asian Americans. Posting the letter with the hashtag #thisis2016, Luo rallied Asian Americans and encouraged them to share their similar experiences on Twitter. Since then, the hashtag has received a multitude of responses, and Luo has produced a video named #thisis2016: Asian-Americans Respond that highlights some of the responders’ stories. In the video, Asian Americans read aloud tweets about the microaggressions they face, the ignorant racism of the otherwise friendly people around them, and Caucasians’ flawed generalizations of people of Asian descent. Luo’s video accurately depicts both the direct and indirect racism Asian Americans face every day--it reveals that Asian Americans are not seen as “true” Americans and are often faced with inaccurate assumptions about their heritages and cultures.

Many Caucasians do not see Asian Americans as “true” Americans because they are of Asian descent and do not physically resemble Caucasians. In response to Luo’s #thisis2016 movement, Twitter user @earlgregtea writes, “[Asian] always foreign, never American. American=white/black. Token minorities [are] black/Hispanic.” His idea that Asians are “always foreign” is seen almost everywhere--many participants in the video expressed their frustration with their American identity not being validated. Many Caucasians consider having Asian facial features a justification for labeling Asians as “not American.”  Another Twitter user, @clystartsaj, writes, “My parents living in SoCal...still have neighbors who bemoan ‘all the Asians who have taken over the neighborhood.’” These neighbors are not alone in their beliefs; all over the country, Asians are often regarded as “outsiders” simply due to their physical appearance. Many Caucasians in California--the state with the largest Asian American population--are unhappy with the growing number of Asian Americans in their neighborhoods and in their children’s schools. Caucasians argue that these “foreigners” are taking away their opportunities; by doing so, they are failing to realize that many Asian Americans have grown up in the United States and are just as “American” as they are.

In addition to being questioned about their American identities, many Asian Americans living in America are bombarded with unsupported assumptions about Asian culture and attitudes. Twitter user @realannavu responds to #thisis2016, saying, “After rejecting a guy downtown, ‘I hope your visa expires and you go back to cooking dog in China.’” Her response highlights two offensive assumptions about Asian Americans--the prevailing beliefs that Asians are not American citizens, and that people in China eat dogs. In reality, a majority of Asians living in the Unites States are, in fact, American citizens, and dogs are only rarely eaten in the poorest countryside areas of China. @lilytheflower12, another twitter user, notes her white acquaintances’ comments: “‘you're not like a *normal* Asian.’ ‘You're adopted so it makes sense…’” Her tweet showcases the reality that many Caucasians categorize all Asians into one stereotypical group. The Caucasian concept of a “normal” Asian is often along the lines of a nerdy workaholic who are unathletic and do not know how to make friends. Caucasians often apply these stereotypes to all Asians, assuming they are all the same. This unfair generalization does not embody the Asian American population.

By showcasing many shockingly insulting comments made to Asian Americans, Michael Luo’s video revealed Caucasians’ attitudes toward Asians’ American identities and incorrect assumptions about Asian cultures, sparking an important and necessary conversation about the racism Asian Americans face on an everyday basis. Commenting on the impact of his hashtag and video, Luo says, “It's resonating because Asian Americans have this feeling that racism against them is not taken as seriously as other groups” (CNN). Luo produced #thisis2016: Asian-Americans Respond in hopes of rallying Asian Americans and creating a platform for them to speak out against their experiences of discrimination; he has not only succeeded in uniting Asians Americans, but also in showing them that their frustrations are justified and deserving of attention.