Melanie Choe, Period 8, 4/12/2021, Day C

Melanie Choe
4/12/2021
Period 8
Modern Mythology 2021

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequality, oppression, and/or power?

The recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is a result of racist beliefs regarding the pandemic that were amplified by the previous administration. These current events serve as a reminder of the history of oppression and racism the Asian and Pacific Islander communities have endured and continue to endure. A history of normalized racism, cultural appropriation, the model minority myth, and fetishization of Asians cannot be dissociated from what is happening now and cannot be dissociated from my own identity as an Asian American. Normalized racism is seen in how society perpetuates Asian stereotypes and the microaggressions our communities face. Asian culture has been used as an aesthetic for entertainment and media, and Asian beauty features have been culturally appropriated through acts such as the fox eye trend. The model minority myth has been used to pit minority groups against each other, and the fetishization of Asians was recently behind the alleged reasoning of the gunman who killed six Asian women in Atlanta to “get rid of his sexual addictions.” 

Unfortunately, another effect of this normalized racism is the degradation and erasure of the struggles Asians and Pacific Islanders have faced. However, I hope this movement of advocating against APIA hate continues to grow and instead of having minority groups pitted against each other, our communities will further conversations about the issues of inequality and oppression they have experienced. The false narratives created to encourage hate amongst BIPOC are incredibly divisive, and we should always work towards supporting one another. 

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Although I have not faced racism in the form of hate, I have been the target of “jokes” and stereotypes and I continue to be part of the model minority myth. It is difficult to not feel immediate anger and frustration when discussing issues of inequality and oppression that directly affect my community. It is also difficult to remember that there are many reasons as to why people have different perspectives on social issues which is why I do cling on to that hope that everyone will get a chance to educate themselves. I, too, still educate myself on issues I am not familiar with and listen to other people’s experiences in hopes of understanding what they have gone through.