Thanks for the enlightening discussion, guys. I should check out some of those books you mention and not rely so much on my relatively limited anecdotal experience in this area. A few other questions. 1) Given the relative lack of democracy and repression against disdent movements in China and Asia throughout history, do you think that is why we see such an emphasis on not rocking the boat type of activism by Asians in the US? 2) Is my perception correct that Asians tend to vote Republican? Does this vary according to the number of generations living in the US? or ethnicity?
1. no, the two really arent connected, just like African politics are not connected to African American activism. Asian American movement spawned around the same time as many other movements in the 60's. part of the reason why it has not been loud is from two things. 1. the size of the asian american population is very small and spread out. 2. it is also very diverse, compromising people of different backgrounds, classes, education, religions, beliefs and a disproportionate amount of immigrants and 2nd+ generation people. Because of its small size and relative self incompatability, there is not as much unity or size to really "rock the boat", only today on certain issues are there enough asian americans to really have any political voice. 2. from what ive read and looked at from census reports, older asian americans tend to be more conservative (just like older americans) and the younger tend to be more liberal (just like younger americans). But again, different beliefs, backgrounds, location has a larger affect than just their "race" in influence towards a party. the problem with the asian american label is that these days, it just covers too much ground and does not have many agreeable terms. hope that answers some questions.
1. Yes. One does not want to bring shame upon one's family, which is used as a corrective device (my mother told me to make good grades and not to get into mischief because it dishonored her and my father. Trust me, it worked when I was a kid!). I think that the Tiannemen protests were an abberation, but I think the groundswell had been rising for many years over there and the kids likely had the support of their families. I think that because of the family dishonor issue, rocking the societal boat is a big no-no. 2. Maybe. My mother's family, who began relocating here in the sixties, despises welfare and other entitlements. They are some of the hardest working people on planet Earth and for them to vote for a Democrat would go against their core principles like if you don't work a job (even though you can find one), you are worthless and a disgrace. The whole safety net concept to them, as my grandfather says, "Is nothing more than a hammock." Just from my mother's family, they do lean Republican. Now as for other Asians, I can't speak for them.
I've heard the critiques of Kingston's book but IMO its a better and more interesting depiction of reconciling being an American with being Chinese. It uses Chinese ghost stories but doesn't get bogged down in sentimentality and sappiness like Tan. I haven't read "No No Boy" is that one of Frank Chin's books? I also forgot to mention David Hwang's plays are also pretty good.
There is a fair amount of Asian American activism even though its not that visible. Most of the Asian Americans that I know are very liberal but that might've have more to do with my age group and where I live. I think that it is probably fairly mixed but so far most elected Asian American politicians have been Democrats and various trade and immigration policies by the current Admin. have been a sore point among many Asians Americans. It also seems that most Asian Americans aren't very involved with what is going on in Asia except for Chinese Americans when it comes to the PRC Taiwan issue. I'm involved with the Chinese American Association of MN which is perceived to be too soft on PRC, so Taiwanese here have formed their own separate group with their own language school and other organizations. This is out of a state with probably less than 10K Chinese. As for not wanting to rock the boat, that probably has more to do with Confucian values than the political situation in recent history. It also has more to do with the type of immigrants who have come here and the immigrant mindset that they are more interested in becoming successful than in getting involved in politics.
kingston has a good thing going, the problem is that for those who are new to asian american lit, there are a lot of things that can get misconstrued and misinterpreted. for ex. many readers thought that Kingston was an authority on China and therefore, all her stories were true and of the norm (stories of killing women and children). She is definetly not representative of Asian americans (or Chinese americans moreso) but represents more of the angst that some Asian Americans feel. No No boy is by John Okada and about the angst a 1st generation Japanese American feels after refusing to fight in world war II. It is one of the pillars of Asian American lit. Im about to start M Butterfly, although what im supposed to be looking for in it is how Asian Americans percieve Asia, which is different from Asians perceptions of Asia. back to asian american activism, i see a lot of korean americans taking an interest in the korean peninsula issue now. I have issues though, with connecting confucianism to asian americans because 1) confucius is not prevalent in all asian ethnicities and 2) after a generation or a few, that influence is quickly lost. I have seen so many Asian Americans that break stereotypes and assumptions about asian americans that I am beginning to think that Asian Americans dont have anything in common anymore except that their ancestors have come from Asia. The way things are going, i think in the future people will be offended with being connected to a continent that they no longer have connections to, "Asian American" will have as much use as the term 'European American'.
Confucian values are very widespread among the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese cultures while many of Confuciuos' basic ideas, respect for family and society, are held in many other societies. As for Asian Americans dropping the Asian label that is possible but it is just as likely that will not be. African Americans were for most of history Blacks or Negros but have adopted the African American lable even though the vast majority of them are much further removed from Africa than nearly all Asian Americans.
well, one of my points is, since respect for family and society are such basic ideas in many societies, why is it when an Asian American has these beliefs it is automatically characterized as confucian, even though it may not be? another direction for the asian american label is that it will simply not be used by certain groups. Many Filipinos Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Thai Americans, Korean Americans and some other groups have shown disapproval with the Asian American label in that it is more fitting for Chinese and Japanese Americans and leaves out room for other groups with different backgrounds. One of the themes of asian american identity in the 1980's was the fact that each group was exploited in some way by America. However, as new immigrants came in from other countries and the same countries in the 1990's, they found that they could not relate with the 1960's and 1980's activists as they could not relate to being exploited. In other words, many of my friends will check the Asian American box if they have to, but will say Filipino American or Vietnamese American if they have the chance.
Out Of the Melting Pot By Tom Hayden, AlterNet January 23, 2004 MUMBAI – Indian-Americans are a prime target of opportunity for conservatives seeking political headway among people of color. The author Dinesh D'Souza, funded by conservative foundations, attacks campus liberals and affirmative action, becoming an Indian-American version of Ward Connerly, the conservative African-American who wishes to legislate color-blindness. In Louisiana this year, a 29-year-old, born-again Christian Republican, Bobby Jindal, was almost elected the first Indian-American governor of any state. But at the World Social Forum this week, young, progressive Indian-Americans have surfaced everywhere, all with stories to tell. The forum experience may be seen as a turning point in building their confidence to challenge the conservative leadership of their communities, according to one of them, Rinku Sen, 37. Sen, a Brown University graduate, directed the Oakland-based Center for Third World Organizing before becoming the publisher of ColorLines magazine. She came to the U.S. with her parents in 1972, part of the wave of Indian professionals encouraged by 1965 immigration reforms. "We grew up in white suburbia," she recalls, "with no desis [Indian nationals] to relate to." She was encouraged by her professors to study literary criticism, but chose to do something about social justice instead. She became involved in student movements, then was trained by longtime organizers at the Midwest Academy. Last year she published her first book, Stir It Up (Jossey-Bass). Sen's consciousness initially was radicalized by African-Americans and feminists more than other south Asians. As the Indian immigrant community became larger and more diverse, an identifiable constituency began to search for definition, including where they fit on the color spectrum. While there were only 387,000 Indians in the U.S. in 1980, estimates today are as high as two million – still only six-tenths of one percent of the American population, but 16 percent of Asian Americans. D'Souza's arguments extolling upward mobility would be favorably received by this first generation of Indian professionals, with nearly twice the median incomes and college degrees of other Americans. But the growing Indian community still experienced the color line, political isolation and, especially after September 11, hate crimes and hostility towards immigrants. They began to address their political invisibility, having only three elected official at state legislative levels when their population ratio should result in 45. For Sen, the World Social Forum has been a marker on her journey. "It's a perfect mix of my identities. It's about my political work. About spending time with my family and not feeling the divisions of identity. I pass as all Indian, it's important to have that in one's life. Otherwise we are constantly negotiating the fragments inside us." Sen believes that the more her community has this experience of integration, "it builds the community confidence so that progressive south Asians might take on the conservatives" now trying to dominate and speak for the whole community. And Rinku Sen is not alone. There are other Indian Americans, most in their mid-20s, attending the forum: Sarita Gupta, who spent last week sleeping on the ground and listening to the stories of Adivasis (indigenous) and Dalits (untouchables) brutally displaced for the construction of the Narmada Dam. Gupta is a former president of the United States Student Association (USSA), and an organizer with the Jobs with Justice campaign; Anuradha Mittal is a researcher and director of Oakland-based Food First, which provides policy support to small farmer movements across the globe; New York-based Monami Maulik is with the Desis Rising Up Movement (DRUM), which works on INS immigrant detention issues; Saket Soni, who grew up in India, is an immigrant rights organizer in Chicago; Mallika Dutt, formerly with the Ford Foundation, is trying to promote a human rights culture through the group Breakthrough in New York; Anannya Bhattacharjee is involved with South Asian working class and feminist communities in New York, and worked all year on preparations for the WSF; Swaroopa Iyengar, from Bangladore, came to the San Francisco Bay Area four years ago and works on living wage campaigns. She recently traveled on the immigrant workers' coast-to-coast Freedom Ride. These days there are fewer "ABCDs" (American-born Confused Desis") than ever before. The new generation marched among 100,000 in their Indian homeland at the World Social Forum, before returning to their lives and struggles in America. They may come to apply the radical traditions of their Indian heritage in a unique form of progressive assimilation into American political culture. Tom Hayden is a progressive activist, author and former California elected official. He is covering the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India for link
