Violence against Asians is on the rise, hate crimes are up 1900%. And I also don't care how so-called 'pc' reporting Asian hate crimes is. It's very obviously anti-black. Every time Asian-Americans are on the news it's always oriented towards how good they conform to white society. You don't hear about the pain and suffering Asian people have to go through and this leaves ingredients for reactionary behavior. A news reporter referred to Black people as 'the Blacks' the other day. If you look at twitter, reddit, and tiktok comments, there are tons of trolls, the ignorant, and reactionaries stirring up trouble.
A lot of comments from both communities are, "where were asians/blacks when tragedy xyz happened?" A better question is, how come there's a lack of coverage of when both communities come together since the 60s? The media is pitting both communities against each other to cover up the fact that America has failed Black people in all facets of life, and to cover up for its lack of covid-19 prevention.
While I sympathize with your personal experiences I think this kind of post is inherently not very constructive.
Black folks often say that Black people are not a monolith and should not be judged as such. Rightly so! Asians living in the West are also similarly not a monolith, and should not be treated as such. Moreover, many Asian diaspora groups don't even really share any common ground besides looking vaguely similar to one another and coming from the same continent.
Now I'll be the first to say that there are some within the Asian community with absolutely fucked up and racist views of black people. I've seen it for myself when people feel comfortable conversing in another language they don't think outsiders can understand. On the other hand, theres also many Asians who are sympathetic to other minority groups because they too have tasted oppression under white supremacy. Many Asian groups showed solidarity with BLM, even before the massive uptick in Anti-Asian hate crimes.
Saying that many exploitative and discriminatory businesses are Asian-owned, and turning that around to infer that there's a problem with Asian ethnic groups is problematic for many reasons. For one, some Asian groups (for example the Hmong) are incredibly economically disadvantaged and are unlikely to be in a position to exploit anyone's labor. This can even vary between people who came in different waves of immigration from the same place. Secondly, its similarly vile logic to what white supremacists and other racists have long deployed against the black community - "lots of criminals are black, while not all blacks are criminals, there is a worrying trend that..."
The solution to this is, predictably, an intersectional implementation of dialectical analysis. Exploitative petit bourgeois Asians are exploiting black communities, but they also don't hesitate to exploit Asian communities either! Places like Chinatown in NYC are rapidly becoming gentrified by bourgeois profiteering (a lot by Asian petit bourgeois) that the original poor inhabitants are being forced out with high rents. This is a complex issue of race, class, and history which cannot be distilled down to "Asians are anti-black".
As for Asian Lives Matter, its derivative for sure. However, given that theres been a 1900% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes, I don't think it can be dismissed as a reactionary anti-black slogan like "White Lives Matter" or "All Lives Matter". It's intentionally designed to ride on the coat tails of the larger BLM movement, so I can certainly understand criticizing it as redirecting attention away. However, I think it's fundamentally unhelpful to get dragged into the Oppression Olympics with who is the more oppressed group.
In conclusion, fuck exploitative and exploitative petite bourgeoisie, no matter who they hate and who they exploit. The only way forward is solidarity between the working class, no matter what color our skin is and where we come from.
The Asian community is the poorest in NYC, and Asian owners definitely exploit other Asians first before turning to other communities.
I was trying to really just speak as to what I know (the black experience) but I am sorry for using my unique experience to make broad statements about a very diverse community of people. That wasn’t okay.
I definitely think that the Asian business owner stereotype is a white supremacist one and I am sorry for contributing to it. I don’t know how else to just talk about the fact that there is a phenom of Asian owners exploiting black communities and it seems like nobody else really cares about it / like it can never be said without a whole shit ton of caveats and sometimes distracting language that ignores the fact that we’re dying over here.
Re: Asian lives matter, I don’t think oppression Olympics is at play when black people balk at it at all. This is because we’re not even competing in the same game. BLM is about being murdered by the state. Asians are not. It’s just simple. There’s no comparative work that needs to be done there. While BLM is a stretched issue that covers all anti black oppression which definitely compares to Asians getting more hate crimed, I am very sensitive to keeping BLM within the realm of police violence which Asians do not experience. BLM means many things to many people but for me, it’s non negotiable.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I wish our communities can talk to each other more. I will say that that news broadcast blaming blacks for the crimes really hurt me. It really feels like black people are just existing while everyone else hates us for no reason. I feel like a kid but I’m constantly just wondering “what did I do to make people so mad to the point that they want to constantly kill me”
To be honest I’ve always been extremely jealous of Asian Americans. I wish I could have that access to community, a place to go, knowing where you’re from, having a language even if you don’t speak it. Even your stereotypes seem great (I want people to think I’m smart, as a black woman I want people to fetishize me as attractive, I want people to think I’m wealthy etc). Obviously these are incredibly shit harmful stereotypes that aren’t true and cover up a lot of suffering and racism and pain. but from my side it always seemed nice and even peaceful. (I realize how fucked up that sounds and am sorry)
I think that’s part of the reason why it’s hard for me to even come to terms that black people are racist towards Asians because society and personal experiences have told me so many times that y’all are better so it’s hard to imagine any type of legit punching down relationship but I know that’s wrong and every day I’m trying to work that racism out
Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. I'm really happy that we could share our thoughts and experiences with each other in the spirit of solidarity.
I also absolutely hate how the media and some members of the Asian community have claimed certain recent incidents as ammunition for their racist anti-black crusade. I do my best to push back whenever I can, but sometimes that's just not enough. My hope is that more and more Asians will start to realize over time that this anti-Asian sentiment, even in its recent more extreme form, is only a small taste of the hardships black folks have had to endure for centuries.
Regarding BLM, I now understand why coat tail riding is in bad taste and how it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. To be honest, I'd love for my community to come up with its own slogans and movements. After all, theres no need to play into the stereotype that we Asians lack creativity.
Speaking of stereotypes, I can definitely understand how the stereotypes white society attaches to us can seem attractive. But like you've also already pointed out, those sterotypes are all illusory prisons that come with massive dark sides. Sure, people might think we're smart, but they also think we're calculators who can't lead or create. Sure, they might think Asian women are attractive (but not men, or any darker skinned women), but that comes with yellow fever and China-doll fetishization (and the horrific domestic abuse that often leads to). Sure, people might think we're rich, but often that just paints a target on our backs and makes people unsympathetic to true suffering.
On the other hand, theres also many things I admire about the black community. You have leaders and movements that we have steadily failed to cultivate for decades. You were the driving force behind civil rights and standing up to white supremacy. You managed to defy the odds and win acceptance as part of the American cultural mileau and refused to languish in obscurity. As for sterotypes, I'm an Asian guy, so I've also imagined what it would be like for people to assume I'm cool, good at sports, and have a big dick. The point I'm trying to (crassly) make is that at this point we can probably both tell that this is a case of the grass being greener on the other side.
I suppose in the end, both of our groups have our struggles under white supremacist capitalism. I have no doubt that the black struggle is more arduous than mine, but I still want the wider world to acknowledge the struggles of vulnerable sections of the Asian community (especially the elderly who are being targeted in recent attacks). Still, I remain firm in my belief that there is no other way forward except solidarity between all working peoples, so I'm glad we could have this conversation.
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Yes we know
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