Is this
diversity working? The 2
nd installment of this
series focuses on Asian Americans and the 'model minority' myth, a
label deemed offensive to many.
Recently,
the column “The Asian Advantage” by Nicholas Kristof of the New
York Times, stirred uproar among the Asian American community, and
the 'model minority' resurfaced once again in conversations,
according to The Washington Post.
While many Asian American commenters
said they appreciated Kristof’s attempt to clarify his points, the
post likely befuddled others. What could be objectionable, after all,
about a column representing as fact the achievements of Asian
immigrants in America? But to many Asian Americans, the column’s
opening gambit isn’t just awkward. It’s offensive — and
dangerous. -
Read more at:
The
report above quotes Kristof as saying, “My column last
weekend on Asian-Americans sparked lots of conversation and
criticism,” he wrote, addressing at length the various objections
to and interpretations of the column. “Thanks for joining the
conversation, whether you were patting me on the back or whacking me
over the head.”
In
his column, in which he discusses factors that contribute to the
“Asian Advantage,” Kristof wrote as an opening, and to which many
Asian Americans took
offense: THIS is an awkward question, but here goes: Why are
Asian-Americans so successful in America?
Later in his column, he continues:
“
So
the Asian advantage, Nisbett argues, isn’t intellectual firepower
as such, but how it is harnessed. Some disagree, but I’m
pretty sure that one factor is East Asia’s long Confucian emphasis
on education. […] There’s also evidence that Americans believe
that A’s go to smart kids, while Asians are more likely to think
that they go to hard workers....”
- Read more at:
Many
responded to Kristof's column, and among these is an article by Sahra
Vang Nguyen, who wrote: There is no "Asian Advantage" -- there
are only skewed stats to purport the model minority myth and a divide
within the racial justice movement.[...] First off, when people say
"Asian American," please remember that this describes a
massive conglomerate of 48 countries, with distinct cultural
differences and political histories in the United States (from
exploited railroad labor, to the brain drain, to war refugees). -
Read more at:
In
another article, Asian American students explain how the 'model
minority' tag does not accurately picture their particular
situations.
“I’m
Chinese American, studying economics at an Ivy League school, good at
piano, class valedictorian from high school. I guess you could say I
fit the model minority myth,” she says. “My aspirations are not
culturally programmed. I have struggled with anxiety, fought with my
parents about my future and faced microaggressions growing up in
rural America,” Zhang says.
Katie Zdunek, a journalism major at
Western Kentucky University, agrees. “These stereotypes negate
individual needs, talents, and experiences. It’s demeaning!”
Zdunek says. -
Read more:
Asian Americans have raised their
voices against being labeled as a 'model minority' time and time
again, yet the tag remains. Aside from the fact that Asian Americans
come from diverse ethnic and cultural groups, and therefore, the
phrase overlooks the struggles within each of these diverse
subgroups, the phrase also “justify oppressive racial structures,”
one article notes.
The “model minority” stereotype
distorts the causality of differential academic and career success
among various minority groups. A failure to succeed is attributed to
inherent flaws within the character of an individual or the minority
group as a whole. However, the historical facts indicate that the
structuring of U.S. policy (mostly by white males) – be it through
the Immigration Act, NAFTA or slavery – heavily determined the
success of any given minority group. Likewise, structural
discrimination against African Americans and Latinos in prison
sentencing, employment and police brutality today is ignored in favor
of blame-the-victim explanations promoted by the “model minority”
ideology. - Read more at:
Thus,
if the phrase carries negative implications and perpetuates unjust
structures, policies, and discrimination, is it not indeed time for
such myth to be dismantled? Is this diversity working? You may share
your thoughts with us.
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