Discrimination Against Asian-Americans

Why is racism against African Americans and Jews considered hate crimes by the public while that same racism against Asians is not? Asian discrimination and racism has been around for hundreds of years and is as harmful and prevalent to that of these other races. In the Washington State University March issue of their newspaper, Alex Kuo delves into the issue of, “How much progress against racism has WSU really made” (Kuo 1). Racism as a whole has dramatically decreased in the last few decades but it is still around. At WSU 30 years ago, there were "three Asian American female students working at this counseling/support center encountered repeated racial epithets, animal calls and gestures simulating chinky eyes from two varsity basketball players passing by their workplace. The in-house student conduct staff concluded these accusations were not serious enough to warrant a full investigation, referring to the two athletes' actions as adolescent behavior that was misconstrued as racially oriented" (Kuo 9). This only shows that racism against asians is not taken on the same level in the eyes of non-asians. However, callingo an asian a "chink" and calling somone who is african american a "nigger" is of the same nature and yet when an outside party hears both, one is clearly seen as more offensive and more racist than the other. In the same sense, "chink" is deemed the result of adolescent behavior and not punished as racism. The article shows that after events such as WWII and the Virginia Tech Shooting, there is an increase in cautiousness and racism towards people of that race.

This problem is evident throughout the story of Kabuo Miyamoto in David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars. Mr. Miyamoto is on trial throughout the book for the murder of a fellow fisherman and war veteran. The back stories tell the reader that the Japanese immigrated in order to find jobs and work in the local mill and as share croppers picking strawberries. Asian americans are known as people, "who depended on our own efforts and not welfare checks" (Kuo 12) and yet people look down on that as if Asianas are willing to work for any type of pay, ruining their chances at making money. Even with their hatred for the immigrants there is a cycle of benefit which they would break if they were to kick out all the japanese. Kabuo even fought on the American side during WWII, not with the Japanese and yet the war has cased an anti-japanese climate and he knew from the start he would not be getting a free trial. After an event like 9/11 or the Virginia Tech shooting, there is always a sense of heightened fear against a whole race of people even when there was only a few people involved int eh tragic events. This is the same with Kabuo who was disciminated with an unfair trial simply because he was Japanese. It didnt matter where his loyalty was as long as the color of his skin was of yellow descent and he had smaller eyes than his neighbors. Racism has not gotten any better both in the book or at Washington State University, instead it has become more accepted as a form of joking and not the harsh cruel racism it really is.

Being an asian american and having lived in America for my entire life, I have become accustomed to the asian joking around but there is a thin line between joking among friends and blatant racist comments. As one of the WSU alumn's tried to write, "racism is no more..."; this is not true. "There are no Ku Klux Klan chapters on campus or in Pullman" (Kuo 13), nor was there ever a holocaust. Because there never was some big event or period of time when there was brutal racism known to everyone, people think asian americans have not been the victim of racism and discrimination. Discrimination can take many forms from physical hazing to discrimination in college admissions. With the newly instated affirmative action, top colleges make it harder for asians to get accepted, but the chances of whites being accepted has not changed. A yale student sued the school for discriminating only against asians in favor of hispanics and african americans and at the same time did not affect whites. The more common discrimination is less physical and abusive as it was in the past.

Kuo, Alex. "How much progress against racism has WSU really made?" Seattle PI 1
Mar. 2009. 15 Mar. 2009 401894_alexkuo_01.html>.

Will and Grace

Will and Grace was a hit tv series about a gay man and his best friend who happened to be a straight female. Will, a successful Manhattan lawyer, is likable, handsome, charming and gay. Grace is a beautiful, self-employed interior designer who just left her fiancé at the altar. Together, they decide to face life's ups and downs, knowing they will always have each other to lean on. The episode I chose had multiple gay characters; some behaving in a very stereotypical manor while others broke the stereotype and acted more like a “typical” heterosexual.

The man Will begins to date in this episode is a sports journalist and loves all kinds of sports; both to play and watch. Watching his actions the viewer would not be able to tell his sexual preference. Throughout the episode, he breaks the heterosexist perspective and sheds light on the fact that people who act heterosexual may be homosexual and just act like any heterosexual person; he goes to bars, drinks beer, plays sports, and the only difference is that he likes men and takes better care of his fashion. However there is another extreme in the secondary character of Jack, Will's friend. He is characterized with all the stereotypes of gay men and is very flamboyant and feminine in character. Finally there is the main character Will, who is in the middle not extreme on either side. He acts professional at work and walking around if one didn’t hear him talk they may not have known he was gay, but the way in which he talks and some of the things he talks about; especially clothes; gives way to his true nature. In class we talked about the heterosexual privileges which are very pertinent but are less so in the life of those characters from this show. I believe location has a big role in this.

This show takes place in NYC which has such a varied population of people of all races, sexual preference, and religions that there is a greater acceptance of gay people. In the suburbs there are likely to be more conservative people who look down or discriminate against gays. The gay men in this show range from police officers, sports writers, lawyers, to fashion designers showing that gay men are not limited in life. The years in which this show was broadcasted was when the gay people’s issue was starting to become accepted by some. This tv show educates society that gay men come in all shapes and forms and can act just as “normal” as any other heterosexual man and I believe it was successful on the air because of its incorporation of humor and variety among their gay characters.
In the last decade the acceptance of gay men has risen drastically. Some states have created laws allowing gay marriages and more and more gay couples are coming out and revealing their sexuality and true nature to those around them. It is still awkward at times seeing a gay couple but there is no more witch hunt to persecute those who are gay.