An Eroded Sense of Belonging

By Junyue Liao / Winter 2021

Dear Younger Me,

Before you studied in the United States of America, you always saw racism in shallow ways. You had read reports and studies showing that Asian Americans reported less racial bias than other racial minorities in the US. You even assumed that racism could not exist in contemporary society because everyone understands that all human beings deserve equal treatment and dignity regardless of their skin color. You could not comprehend why your parents pushed you so hard to excel in academics and even resented them for it. However, your experiences, coupled with the knowledge you have gained from reading about the history of immigrants and ethnic minorities, have made you understand the impact of the view of Asians as model immigrants.

You could not comprehend why your parents implored you to work more diligently than others, while research showed that your ethnic minority group was more satisfied with life than others. You wrongly believed that if you worked hard, then you would have access to the best quality of life available in the US. However, you have since learned that the US system is flawed as its social structures are constructed along inequitable lines of race, class, and gender hierarchies that concentrate power and resources in the hands of an elite level. For instance, Affirmative Action promotes equality in the US, especially for women and racial/ethnic minorities. However, in most cases, it has served to benefit white women who have been granted opportunities to join professions such as medicine and law in large numbers. You have attended several interviews where you were highly qualified, but a white woman was selected, leaving you to do menial tasks. Such incidences have made you aware that Affirmative Action does not provide the same opportunities for women from ethnic minority groups, thereby further widening the nation's class divide.

Your parents understood that it is only through education that you can make any progress within because of your race. You cannot equate yourself to an uneducated white man where the system is structured to work against you. Regardless of the claims about your race being the fastest growing, you do not have sufficient representation in leadership positions. How many Asian-Americans have you seen in Congress? While we are lauded for being hardworking, we are exploited to prove ourselves to the natives. Do you remember when no one would sit with you on the subway? They whispered loudly enough for you to hear, calling you a communist who belongs to China. Your parents extolled the value of diligence at work and school because they understand that they will never be entirely accepted by natives who view them as alien invaders seeking to dominate the US.

Notably, after reading the course content, you have become more aware of the historical anti-Asian sentiment that has existed in the US. For instance, The Naturalization Act of 1790 prevented Asians from becoming US citizens. While the blatant racism against people of Asian descent may have seemed normal in the eighteenth century, the Act was in effect until 1952, excluding many Asians who had been instrumental in the founding of the nation from citizenship. Besides, the Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Asians from coming to the US simply because of their race. Such harmful laws were driven by insecurity among the natives who felt threatened by the rising status of the Asian immigrants. Similarly, Asians were projected as individuals who would never fully assimilate into American society, sentiments that exist in contemporary society. You have heard your friends whose ancestors moved here over a century ago being told that they speak English remarkably well. In other cases, they are even asked where they are initially from. Such treatment might seem harmless, but it erodes their sense of belonging.

In the prevailing conditions resulting from COVID-19, you will struggle to access health services due to language barriers. When you went for your test to be allowed to travel, there was palpable hostility in the waiting room. A man sitting close to you even referred to COVID-19 as the Chinese Virus in your presence while the rest of the people snickered. You did not find anyone of Asian descent in the hospital and wrongly assumed that most of them have selected other careers by choice. Looking back, you realize that the reluctance by people from your ethnic background to join healthcare is attributed to the racism they experience in the sector. Going back several decades before the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, Asians were stereotyped as harboring tropical diseases. Healthcare professionals of Asian origin were in some cases subjected to physical and verbal abuse, further impeding their ability to deliver services.

Nonetheless, you now understand how harmful the false narrative that Asians living in America, whether they are citizens or immigrants, are a high-achieving group that has assimilated well into society is. Now that you have lived in the US and have read the histories of different ethnic minorities, I hope you forgive yourself for acting as if your parents were unfair in their treatment of you. You cannot change the past or the assumptions you held in the past. But you can change the future by joining other ethnic minorities to address racism in the West. The American system is structured to ensure that power and wealth remain concentrated in a few elite people's hands. Therefore, attempting to appeal to those in power will not be an effective strategy to eliminate racism.

Yours Sincerely,

Older Me