In the article “Asian Americans are still caught in the trap of the ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype. And it Creates inequality for All”, Viet Thanh Ngyugen describes the model minority as “the engineers and doctors who mostly came from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and India–the model minority in the American imagination”. She also describes the model minority as “the desirable classmate, the favored neighbor, the nonthreatening kind of person of color”. Asian Americans become part of the model minority by working hard in a capitalist country in order to fulfill their part of the American dream while serving businesses and allowing Americans to further their American dream as well. Many Chinese immigrants were imported into the U.S. to be exploited for their labor while building the transcontinental railroad. Many Hmong refugees arrived in America due to the loss of their homeland after allying with the CIA in “The Secret War”. All of these Asian Americans fell victim to capitalism, desperate to work hard so that they can be accepted into the white American society. By allying themselves with the white supremacist side of America and secretly working their way to success, Asian Americans have become the model minority in Americans’ eyes.

The label “model minority” is dangerous because it is such a general label describing all Asian Americans while not taking into account their different experiences. It’s also a label that takes away the power of Asian Americans to stand up against racism as a group that seems to be accepted by society. A minister of Hmong descent talks about how certain groups such as the Hmong have to “share in the collective shame of model minority,” but their experiences of pain and suffering are never accounted for. In American society, the model minority are also seen as superior to Black, Brown, and Native people while choosing to ally with the white side. Despite trying hard to assimilate into the white side of society, Asian Americans are constantly targeted by the government and racists, serving as a scapegoat for greedy businesses who value cheap labor and cheap commodities provided by Asian countries. Despite being subject to so many racist attacks, Asian Americans in the model minority don’t have a say and remain invisible. It is only when they become successful that they become hypervisible.

Nguyen states that “the end of Asian Americans only happens with the end of racism and capitalism” because the title “Asian Americans” was based off of people subject to racism who were also victims of capitalism. By trying to become a model of apology and Americanness, Asian Americans remain trapped in this cycle or racism and capitalism. Therefore, Asian Americans have to learn to stand up for social equality in order to overcome this title.

This essay challenges my thinking of minority groups in the U.S. because I’ve always seen Asian Americans as the minorities who always have the upper hand. However, I learned that they are in a tenuous position in which they give up other rights in order to uphold this status as the “model minority”. I believe that in order for there to truly be social equality, all minorities must work for the same equality.