Where does Asian American fall in the race relations problem?

The GF had never seen The Pacific, so we got it for her to watch while I'm traveling. I caught a few minutes of one of the last couple of episodes the other day, and it dawned on me. We spend so much time on Muslim-Christian and Black-White, or Latino-White relations that I never hear about Asian relations with anyone.

The Japanese and various Asian communists did horrible, horrible things during the time periods between 1941 and 1975, and we did horrible, horrible things back to them. The bombings, war crimes, torture, prison and concentration camps. Why aren't relations anywhere near as bad or talked about nearly as much with these things being so recent?

I did some reading, and apparently the Japanese are extremely biased. I'm not willing to call it racism, but apparently, they're often not nice to foreigners in their country. Like, to the point that some legal citizens are denied access to government services, even though they pay their taxes and abide by laws, simply because of where they're from. I'm quite certain this happens in China and maybe other countries as well. I find it odd that there's almost no discussion around race relations with these things in mind.

 

The Japanese are very honorable and they respect that we had to stop them. There are survivors in Hiroshima that sit at the memorial daily and tell their stories. Japanese people love America.

But to your bigger question, honestly Asian cultures tend to have a lot of self respect and are not lazy whiny pussies. I've worked with a lot of S.E. Asians from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc and many Hmong. Normally they are all hard working (sometimes 2 full time jobs), and extremely generous people. They don't beg for handouts because they don't believe in it so you won't hear them trying to exploit the system by crying about racial issues.

But as I've said in other threads, the racial tension issue is being kept alive by race hustlers. It's really not an issue in our daily lives. Look around you daily, the (overwhelming) majority of people are not racist. Due to efficiency of mass communication, the issue seems much worse than it really is. If we are completely honest, our issues are about class...not color! The takers of all colors are a class of people that are the problem. There is a political party that depends on them to stay in power so they fan the flames and thereby keep (and grow) and entire class of enslaved people. That class is made up of all colors!

 

Is stupid a color now?

 

depends...what color are you again

 

Because they are to busy tending to their own business (and succeeding because of it) to bother other folks. Also most that know consider themselves either Americans or an American from ____. No hyphen in their thinking just this either their new home or home. Maybe just the folks I know though.

 

Can't own and run two dry cleaners, a jiffylube and a car wash while being a professional victim.

 

There's not an Asian Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton creating racial issues and stoking them wherever possible. That's why.

 

That's probably oversimplifying just a bit.

 

But isn't it interesting that for the most part the group that was mistreated then left on their own to figure shit out succeeded while the group that was mistreated and then "helped" by the government has fallen in to an abyss of victimhood and self pity.

And there are still people that look to the government to provide solutions...

 

You forgot the nail salon.

 

One, cause we don't act stupid (for the most part). We assimilate into the culture as best we can and move forth try to be better. Also, cause we're considered quiet and non-threatening, so no one really cares.

Although by numbers the Asian demographic is large, there are so many different languages and cultures that usually we don't blend into one. You can lump the majority of Hispanics/Blacks/whatever ethnic minority group into one group and they can speak to each other and have similar traditions/religions. Asians on the other hand have major language differences and due to past indiscretions there's still a lot of animosity between people from different countries. Like, Japanese aren't liked by Koreans, Chinese and Filipinos cause of WWII.

I am Japanese by birth and an American by choice. From my experience, the Japanese are probably the most self-centered and try to keep their traditions and society "pure" by thinking that they are better than the other Asians. Almost any kind of blend of culture is looked down upon as inferior, they'll enjoy the hell out of it, but it will always be foreign and somewhat beneath the pure Japanese way. Koreans are similar but not so snooty about it, in my opinion. A Gaijin will always be a Gaijin in Japan, regardless of citizenship. It's like the old caste system of Apartheid, Japanese>other Asians>Whitey>etc.

 

They are racist.It's getting a little better, but not a lot.

 

To a limited (lesser) degree, I feel like that's how it should be (not racist, but the expectations of conformity, and having a hierarchy of cultural respect). There's little/no nationalism here anymore, and from what I've read, its more about keeping Japanese culture than it is about oppression or keeping someone else down. Unless, I've misread/misunderstood.

 

Thanks for the outlook but I do need to ask, do you feel compelled by your own family that you should marry Japanese?

I ask because this is so prevalent in many 'immigrant' culture, be it as old as Italian, Jewish, Pakistani, etc...

Abstract from that the notion that you may be attracted more to Asians in general (some other members of the BBS reportedly are) but I'm curious if there's an understanding that if you marry...

 

Two words: fart can.

 

Poke. Mon.

 

Argyle

 

Pants or socks? Socks are OK. Pants not so much.

 

Or even an asian president.

 

Burqa.