Category: Blog 9/30

Reflecting back on the reading, “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” by Claire Jean Kim, one particular quote stood out to me. This quote is: “Before the civil rights era, racial triangulation occurred open, in cultural-racial terms; during the post-civil rights era, racial triangulation has occurred in a coded fashion, in cultural terms decoupled from overtly racial claims.” Looking at this quote, before the Civil Rights Era, Americas openly participated in racial triangulation. There was no need to hide it and deny that it was happening. This is because of all the other acceptable racial ideas that occurred at the time. Ultimately, it was acceptable for people to be racist and discriminate against other racial or ethnic groups. As time moved forward, these behaviors and thought processes were no longer acceptable. This is due to the new normal that came to be in our nation. No longer was it acceptable to deny Blacks the use of a water fountain or subject them to sitting on the back of the bus. Therefore, it prevented racial triangulation from occurring openly. Just because racial triangulation did not occur openly, it does not mean that it went away completely. Instead, during the post- Civil Rights Era the racial triangulation occurred in a “coded fashion”. You had to really look closely to see if racial triangulation was taking place because people tried to hide it since it was no longer aligning with the norms of the time. Similarly, people were no longer overtly racist due to the changes that occurred over time. 

One of the quotes which stood out to me was “racial categories and meanings may be social constructs, but they take the life of their own over time.” I agree with this statement because as social constructs becomes a widely held belief it implants itself deep into society which then passes on to future generations. These social constructs have been learned and adapted from the past generation and will be passed onto the future generation (similar to gender roles). The racial category soon becomes an learned perspective which individuals adapt to. We learn certain behaviors and ideologies unconsciously which relates to Kim saying that the racial categories that are social constructs will take the life of their own.

While reading Claire Kim’s piece “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” she used very valuable terms to describe the issues associated with different races, and these three stood out to me. One quote would be “relative valorization”. I saw this as when a dominant race gives validity to another race, in comparison with another race, to ultimately dominate both races. Its very important to shed light on how the majority who do this are white males in power. And this dominant race completely blocks or excludes another race from prospering and fitting into society. Which Kim described as “civic ostracism”. I connected these two with what Kim stated in the beginning, about how we can not only associate the problem with race to be only between white and black people. She says, “beyond Black and White” which stresses the fact that people need to see further past just the Black and White community because there are other races that need attention and change, such as Asian Americans.

“Since the mid-1960’s, Asian Americans have been widely valorized relative to Blacks via the model minority myth. Journalists, politicians, and scholars alike have constructed Asian Americans as a model minority whose cultural values of diligence, family solidarity, respect for education, and self-sufficiency have propelled it to notable success”. (Page 118).

This quote stood out to me because although I am not Asian American myself, I had the opportunity to do some research about Chinese Culture for my Communications class and there are aspects in there that relate to this quote. Chinese culture does hold true to the fact that one should do well in school in order to get a high paying job that will see someone be financially stable or wealthy in the future. However, the prejudice and belittlement that spews out of this notion that has been held since the mid-1960’s is unfair and quite frankly ignorant. Although yes I have seen instances of Asian American students doing particularly well and usually being the highest scoring students in a class, this cannot undermine the efforts and value of other minorities that put in just as much effort, particularly “Blacks” as mentioned in the quote, just because of their race. There are a variety of other viable factors that determine ones success. I like that this model minority structure is titled a “myth” because this model sets the stage for minority races to bicker with each other and essentially be put against each other. The amount of work one puts in determines their success, not their race.

” My first claim is that public discourse about racial groups and their relative status generates a field of racial positions in a given time and place” pg. 106

I think this quote is important to look at because it dives deep into how ideas about race can be transmitted. We, as humans, can listen or talk to others and have the ability to change their views on topics or learn more about something and become a firm believer of it. Ideas about race are usually passed on from your parents or learning about those subjects from your friends and the internet. Lets say there are two scenarios. First, a mother is telling her child about how people should be judged by their actions and not by the color of their skin. Second, a mother is telling her child about the way certain races are and how they cannot be trusted. More than likely, the child is going to listen to her mother and have the same perception about whatever she remembers hearing until she is old enough to think independently and make her own choices. This is a clear representation of how public conversation regarding race influences other peoples’ ideas about race.

“As a result of this turn, it became possible to talk about a group’s culture while disavowing any claims about its intrinsic racial nature, although over racial claims still persisted…”

In this quote, I believe that a very interesting point was brought up. here the writer describes the way that by separating the idea of culture as its own independent factor, it was easier for politicians and also people, in general, to talk in a racist manner by deeming it “culture talk”. I think this is very true, and it still is very evident today. many people talk openly about another person’s culture and may speak down on it in a racist manner yet, it is overseen as a tall about culture rather than the obvious racist message behind it. I think this is a practice that is done too often and is wrong because though culture may be separate from race, there is a fine line that is still crossed sometimes making the comments someone may say “undercover racism”.

“Yet the model minority myth does not claim that Asian Americans are culturally assimilated into white society: instead, it posits their material success and attributes this to their ongoing distinctiveness. It also suggests that Asian Americans are too busy getting ahead and making money to worry about politics, thus echoing the old trope of Asian American apolitcialness”

Out of everything that was brought forth by Claire Jean Kim in “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans”, these two sentences, oddly, stood out to me the most. The uniqueness of this country and what attracts so many people to this country is that it provides people opportunities to prosper. What separates the Asian community from others is that they do not embroil themselves into politics to a great extent. They move to this country to take advantage of the opportunities that the country has to offer and that’s what enables them to become so successful. Another reason why this statement stood out to me is because I am apolitical. I choose not to get involved in politics because I see it as distraction and something that only results in more hatred and division.

Claire Jean Kim’s piece “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” resonated deeply with me. This was especially true when Kim wrote, “By using Asian Americans as proxy Whites or spokesmen for White views, the author can indirectly convey a denigrating image of Blacks… while avoiding charges of racism.”

Growing up as a first generation immigrant, my parents and relatives held a deep tie and patriotism to not the American flag, but their homeland. As such, I’ve always kept an open mind about not believing everything my parents said. This wasn’t because my parents didn’t have any nifty advice, but because there is a deeply ingrained xenophobia in many Asian countries. To many Asians Americans like my parents, we (Chinese) are the best at everything. No one else can compare to our achievements and success, especially the Blacks. To them, the Blacks are deemed as lazy and dangerous; just as how the Japanese American in the article described them to be. Yet, at the same time, they also understand the existence of racism and often complain about it. They understand that they will be discriminated against because of the color of their skin, they understand they will have to work twice as hard to achieve what a White man can do with half the effort, they understand they will be taken lightly of because they’re seen as submissive. But they still inflict the same intolerance and prejudice against other groups of minorities.

This is the problem Kim is getting at in her paper. By “valorizing Asian Americans relative to Blacks via the model minority myth” they’re (Whites) pitting Asian Americans against the African American community. They (Whites) suggest that Asian Americans are on a higher standing than African Americans, because Asian Americans value diligence, respect for authority, and being apolitical. On the other hand, they attribute the “small” progress the African Americans have made due to the fact that they’re fighting for equal rights. It then becomes a never ending cycle of prejudice that has hinder advancement on the civil rights front.