How does one begin to imagine solutions to the racism that is evident towards the Asian people who reside in America? Does one follow the example set by the many black activist groups that have fought for their rights throughout the past century, or is there some other method that may be employed to solve this problem? Though following their example may seem the logical course of action, the circumstances for the “Asians” in the United States are far different than those other minorities in this nation.
The racial problems that Asians face are less known and are complex; on the surface level, there does not appear to be any problems, but further investigation reveals an excess of unforeseen troubles that intimidate many of those who would wish to find a solution. The depth of the problem is overwhelming. To begin looking for a solution to the oppression of Asians in the United States, one must first define “Asian”. It is necessary to understand whom one is looking to fix a problem for, before setting out to find a solution to that problem. To do so in itself is a great challenge, but is only the first hurdle toward finding a solution.
The context in which racism is discussed is typically at the individual level however, one must also question the basis of this racism: the structure upon which this racism is built. This structure, what Omi and Winant have called “racial formation” is a “racial order… equilibrated by the state – encoded in law, organized through policy-making, and enforced by a repressive apparatus”. This racial order has been imposed on the Asian people by the government through immigration and naturalization laws targeting Asian people in the past and different characterizations of Asian people.
Racial formation of Asians in America has been rather underhanded in this country however. The Asian people of this country have been continuously categorized as “diverse, racialized, ethnic groups, rather than a single racialized category,” (20 Lowe). This ingenious method helps the label Asians as the other in the United States, without bringing the idea of race to the table. This racialization serves only one purpose for the United States: to feed the U.S. economic machine. The repressive apparatus used to enforce the racial formation in this case becomes capitalism. In the U.S.’s quest to increase its economic influence on the world, the Asian people become the ideal source of capital to exploit. The capital present in the Asian people is easily exploitable because of the cultural values deeply held by the Asian people. Culturally ingrained in the Asian people are the Confucian values, that one should work hard and persevere, and that all will be well.
However, more significant than the Asians willingness to comply with the wishes of American capitalism, is the racism between different Asian peoples. With the cultural diversity of the Asian population comes an ingrained sense of superiority with respect to the other Asian cultures within the Asian community. With this inter-racial-racism, a united front against the racialization of the Asian people becomes impossible. Without this united front, no progress can be made with the racialization of the Asian people.
When searching for a solution for the racialization of Asian people, one must take into account the inherent racialization among the different peoples of the Asian culture. People do not realize the inherent racism among the numerous Asian countries. The United States has ingeniously used this to its advantage by isolating the different Asian cultures and pitting them against each other in the capitalistic society that is America. That the different Asian cultures are willing to sell out the others of their own race (the Asian race), adds to the exploitability of the Asian people.
With all this said, how is it possible then, to stop the racialization of the Asian people? It seems as if traditional Asian cultures work against the Asian people; to conform to be Asian makes racialization an easy answer to the capitalistic needs of America. To begin to fix the racialization of Asians one must first instruct these people of the wrongs that come with the inter-racial tension. Because capitalism is something that will not go away anytime soon (the source of the racialization of Asian people), to fix the problem with racializatoin of Asians, the Asian people must discard the racism amongst themselves and unite and fight the oppression. As it stands, the Asian community only allow for prolonged exploitation of themselves.
*note: the ideas presented in this post are a bit incomplete. I encourage any debate of this, and will answer any question regarding my viewpoint.
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