When reading through Claire Jean Kim’s piece “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” a quote that stood out to me was “It is precisely because it has been revamped in nonracial language that the field of racial positions functions so effectively to reinforce White privilege today.”
I think this statement speaks volumes due to the selectivity of when nonracial language is used to benefit white privilege. What this reading showing is how pin minority groups between one another, specifically Asian Americans, watering down their worth as humans and instead, treating them as pawns ready to be discarded at any moment. They are meant to act as the ideal minority group in order to find success, whilst ignoring the discrimination they face in “white” America and are brainwashed to believe that their struggles are due to the inherent laziness of black people which take away opportunities from them. The reality is that the white power structures are what keep all minority groups at a disadvantage, not one another.
You stated the scenario very well, which I agree that blacks and asian americans are, in a way, used by whites for their own benefit, and are brainwashed to believe that all the failures of colored races are due to their own problems, not whites, which builds the core of white supremacy. It may also shed a light that the “American Dream” is just a bait for foreigners to fall into the hole, in which they locked up and taken as “slaves” to the whites.
I love the fact that you spoke about the impact of nonracial language, I feel as if it plays a huge role in supporting the system of white supremacy. This quote, “watering down their worth as humans and instead of treating them as pawns ready to be discarded at any moment”really stood out to me because of its validity. It seems as Asian Americans have no purpose but to be a comparative tool to other minorities, as a few gain a lot of success but majorly have a “medium” level of success and can’t go further because of the system in place.