In the article “Asian Americans are still caught in the trap of the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype. And it Creates inequality for All”, Nguyen discusses the model minority myth and the issues that come with it. Nguyen defines the model minority as “the desirable classmate, favored neighbor, the nonthreatening kind of person of color”. It perpetuates the stereotype that Asian Americans are the smarter/better of the minorities. However, Nguyen explained how this way of thinking could be dangerous. In most cases, the model minority myth only applies to a certain extent. It means that Asians can be successful, work hard, and be smart, but not too hard, or it becomes a sort of “Asian invasion” of the American society. One example being Asian Americans excelling in the STEM field, but not holding many leadership positions. Their place in society is extremely tenuous because, statistically, though they receive more benefits than Black and Brown people, and a smaller scale of police abuse, they become the scapegoat when things go wrong in the United States, such as in the case of coronavirus. The label is essentially dangerous because it erases racism against Asian Americans, despite the fact that Asians have faced it dating back to the 19th century, with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited the immigration of all Chinese laborers, mass lynching, and more.  

Nguyen writes that ““the end of Asian Americans only happens with the end of racism and capitalism.” He says this because of who and how the stereotype benefits. The model minority stereotype serves to the white European American community, who are on top of the food chain in almost every aspect. Seeing as they have successfully pushed all Asian Americans into a box, it has led Nguyen to believe that it is done with expectation of treating Asian Americans like a pawn. It is a matter of, as the article states, “solidarity or complicity”. Either, you can choose to rise against the abuse and discrimination that the BIPOC community receives or turn your back on it. If Asian Americans decide to choose the latter, they are deemed the model minority, and get to reap its benefits, but also deserve its perils.  

This article really challenged my way of thinking towards minority groups in America. It wasn’t until recently, especially when COVID first hit, that I learned the extent of hardships Asians went through coming to America and living here as well. Like Nguyen mentioned in the beginning, I too, was a victim of the model minority myth as a little kid. I was always told that Asian Americans faced little to no discrimination, (maybe a comment about their eye size, or seeing nerdy stereotypes in TV shows or movies) and that they were the minority that “made it” by working hard. Nonetheless, the article made it clear to me that what I was told is simply not true. The model minority myth is used to downplay racism and the discrimination of people of color and pits the BIPOC community against each other. By maintaining a social hierarchy among people of color, with Asian people usually being at the top, it only distracts us from coming together to fight the real issue: racism. Hopefully, in the near future, more and more people become aware of this myth, educate themselves, and unite to fight racial injustice.