Asian American Studies

Asian American Studies

The influence of Asian Americans is reshaping how race is understood and portrayed in affirmative action debates. However, including Asian Americans in the complicated politics of affirmative action is becoming increasingly essential. The hegemonic ”black/white” paradigm of race politics has massively reshaped how individuals and professionals engage, think, and politically mobilize along racial standpoints (Filler, 2016). A more nuanced understanding of the affirmative action debate is crucial in understanding the course to be taken in the representation of Asian Americans in media and mainstream electoral politics. This study will, therefore, focus on Asian American stereotypes existing in the media and the role they play in mainstream electoral politics, their successes, failures, opportunities, and limitations.

In her article, Christian Collet talks about the aspect of deracialization. It is a widely discussed phenomenon in American politics. Collet argues that this aspect shows the complexity of many Asian American politics, especially in multicultural urban milieus where the Asian American candidates are elected in these non-Asian constituencies. I think that Collets description of the deracialization aspect fully fits the Asian American politics considering their minority status. ‘’Though the two have rarely appeared together in the literature, deracialization would appear, at first glance, to fit well within Asian American politics’’ (Collet, 2008, pp710). Collet suggests that that success comes mostly in multicultural, predominantly white constituencies.

I agree with Collet’s discernments that the success of Asian Americans in politics in multicultural settings in the country is largely due to the speculation that the politicians possess ‘’cross over ability’’. That notion challenges the traditional norms of ethnic and racial cleavages that were common in the late twentieth century. Due to their small size and dispersion, scholars argue that it would be political suicide if Asian Americans only focus on Asian votes (Collet, 2009). Looking in-depth at the success of Vietnamese Americans in Sothern and Northern California, Collet suggested that a change in the American political mosaic, namely, permitting more migrants from fast-developing countries and availability of alternative media, will advance the cause for Asian American political elites. Additionally, Collet’s highlight on honoring Don Nakanishi is a chance to reflect on our understanding of Asian American politics considering the impact of globalization (Collet, 2018).

In contrast, Lai, who offers a contradicting argument on the Asian American political journey, opposes Collet’s Asian Americans’ political success story. Lai, in his article ‘’The suburb vs. the Metropolis, argues that Asian American candidates often struggle to get a political footprint in US mainstream politics. An example is Los Angeles, where Asian Americans have struggled to get a representative in the city council. ‘’The lack of a concentrated Asian American city council district in Los Angeles … has been a major reason why Asian Americans have not elected more than one Asian American.’’ (Lai, 2011, pp57). I feel that Lai’s assumptions might be questionable, considering the wide success of Asian Americans, as described by Collet’s aspect of deracialization.

One other reason described by Lai as contributing to that struggle is the fierce competition for seats and a lack of political connections that are unavailable for political newcomers like the Asian American candidates. During the 1993 Los Angeles mayoral elections, the main candidate was Michael Woo. He won the District 13 seat in the year 1985 and remained the only Asian American to ever serve in the LA city council. However, Lai suggests that many Asian Americans failed to give maximum support for Woo (Kim, 2007). One valid argument suggested by Lai, which I think holds true for that, is the challenge of maintaining diverse ideologies and interests of the Asian American community.

Asian Americans voted massively for Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. They thus joined the Latinos and the Black Americans in forming a strong support base for Obama’s election (Wong, 2017). Was the Asian American overwhelming support for Obama related to solidarity with other minority groups? Ramakrishnan, in his journal, unraveled this mystery. Ramakrishnan pointed out that support social spending and other progressive policies aimed at helping other minority groups in the country. Additionally, a survey carried out in the year 2012 showed that 75% of Asian Americans supported affirmative action programs designed to help women, blacks, and other minority groups to get better education and jobs (Ramakrishnan, 2014, pp523).

Few studies have emphasized the role Asian Americans contribute to how race is understood and debates on affirmative action (Poon, 2018, pp249). Therefore, accommodating Asian Americans in affirmative action debates has become essential. Poon says that the relationship between Asian Americans and affirmative action is more complex than how the anti-affirmative action groups paint. Research done showed that opponents of the Asian American affirmative action portrayed themselves as a minority disfavored by affirmative action. The establishment of the Asian Americans as a racialized group has made anti-affirmative action groups portray them as the ”new Jews”. Additionally, from my perspective, I think that Poon’s analysis is true. For instance, applicants to elite colleges from the Asian American community faced some informal quotas and barriers, thus reinforcing the author’s argument on the role of Asian Americans on matters race.

The bipolar model of race in the United States obscures the multifaceted patterns over a long time. Tomas Almaguer illustrated how Mexicans, Chinese, the Native Americans are racialized and ranked in relation to the other by the Anglo elite. His discussions highlight how the history of Asian American experiences is important in understanding the full dynamics of the race. In his article, Omi argued that both the right and the left are in constant battle vying to be the custodians of Asian Americans’ political interests. For the Right-wing, the model minority of the Asian Americans is seen as a replacement for earlier assault for affirmative action. Leftists hope that Asian Americans broaden their scope of affirmative action and diversity, and unity to defeat the right (Omi 1996, pp160). What I think will happen in this Omi’s assumption is that this strategy pits Asian Americans against the whites and other racial minorities, leading to squabbles. I also feel that it invalidates the positively built assumption that the Asian American community supports affirmative action.

Diaspora politics, gender rights movements, and coalition building have brought out the issue of comfort women. Local politics in the US have become the perfect platforms for competing notions over the comfort women and debates over erecting monuments on public land. (McCarthy, 2018) in his article argues that gender adds significant dynamics to this analysis. The gender and human rights framework and experiences of girls and women in war zones is a topic of interest among various groups.

Washington Coalition for Comfort Women Issues (WCCW) was founded to force the Japanese government to apologize and avail of all government records concerning its involvement (Espiritu, 1994, pp250). Memorials have been erected in various parts of the US. The author highlights that the aim of these memorials erected on public land by the Asian Americans is to get recognition from both local government and the local community. Also, from that perspective, I agree with the author’s assumptions that these erections on public land serve as visible recognition for the Asian American community in their locals, a good cultural strategy.

The structure of duel domination, as highlighted by (Wang, 2006,pp147) shows two existing intriguing paradigms between the two cultures. The dominant idea in the US over Chinese is the concept of assimilation that has shaped the public opinion and dictated much of the government policy towards China. The focus of that assimilation paradigm is to analyze how society, through laws and guidelines, is treating the Chinese immigrants.

Wang highlights, on the other hand, to put more focus on how Chinese in the US are faithful to their motherland and the ruling elite. Wang argues that unlike western societies, loyalty manifests itself in theory and ideology with two versions existing; formal and informal. The structure of dual dominations is what prevents the Chinese from acquiring equality and full citizenship in the US. Wang summarizes this complex relationship between the Chinese and the US that,  it requires thorough knowledge of dual domination and the challenges faced by Asian Americans in their quest for liberation addressed (Wang, 147).

In conclusion, Asian American politics are influencing the United States’ political landscape. Race, gender, and human rights are some of the diverse issues brought forward whenever Asian American politics are debated. Gender concerns highlighted focused more on the treatment of Korean girls and women in the famous comfort women scenario of the 1940s. The authors also focused on the Vietnam War and the effect it had on the perceptions of Asian Americans in the United States. Lastly, at the turn of the digital age, more emphasis was put on the debate on affirmative action and the hegemonic rivalry between the United States and China that took off at the onset of the century. All these factors point out to a complex Asian American paradigm that many scholars are trying to decipher, and, establish how their values reshape American politics and perceptions that people have towards the Asian Americans’ culture.

References

McCarthy, M. M., & Hasunuma, L. C. (2018). Coalition building and mobilization: case studies of the comfort women memorials in the United States. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 6(3), 411-434.

Lai, J. S. (2011). Asian American political action: Suburban transformations. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Collet, C. (2018). Are ballot box issues enough? Nakanishi’s indication and the case for Asian Pacific American transnational politics in an age of domestic disruption. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 6(3), 476-493.

Wong, C. (2017). Voting together: Intergenerational politics and civic engagement among Hmong Americans. Stanford University Press.

Kim, T. P. (2007). The racial logic of politics: Asian Americans and party competition. Temple University Press.

Collet, C., & Lien, P. T. (Eds.). (2009). The transnational politics of Asian Americans. Temple University Press.

Collet, C. (2008). Minority candidates, alternative media, and multiethnic America: deracialization or toggling?. Perspectives on Politics, 6(4), 707-728.

Wang, L. L. C. (2006). THE STRUCTURE OF DUAL DOMINATION. The Chinese Overseas, 1, 279.

Ramakrishnan, S. K. (2014). Asian Americans and the rainbow: the prospects and limits of coalitional politics. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 2(3), 522-529.

Omi, M., & Takagi, D. Y. (1996). Situating Asian Americans in the political discourse on affirmative action. Representations, (55), 155-162.

Poon, O. A., & Segoshi, M. S. (2018). The racial mascot speaks: A critical race discourse analysis of Asian Americans and Fisher vs. University of Texas. The Review of Higher Education, 42(1), 235-267.

Espiritu, Y. L. (1994). The intersection of race, ethnicity, and class: The multiple identities of second‐generation Filipinos. Identities Global Studies in Culture and Power, 1(2-3), 249-273.

Filler, N. (2016). Asian Pacific Americans in US Politics: Gender and Pathways to Elected Office. In Distinct Identities (pp. 234-249). Routledge.