I am beginning to detest political correctness! Perhaps I just
want to know how people really feel. It’s not
that negative opinions don’t hurt – of course they do. But I would take a
cross-burning-hate-spouting-hood-wearing Ku Klux Klan member over a
person who thought the same things, but never dared to express those
thoughts until sometime in the future when it could hurt me more (i.e.
job hiring). At least with the KKK member, I know what I am getting.
As a black female born and raised in the South, I have dealt with racism
and discrimination all of my life. But I expected (or hoped for) a
little more from our university.
Yet what is the first thing that happens when I come to campus? The
“ghetto party!” What followed were anger, discussions and learning. But
was anything really learned? Every year, there is another incident of
some kind: the “luau party,” Jewish hate mail, vandalism on the door of
Asian students, and most recently, the incident at the fraternity, just to name a few.
So I have a new idea. If the university wants to strengthen community, it
does not need to just have discussions where people learn what not to
say or do. People need to feel the effects of their words and actions.
So I propose we build a machine that transforms the “offender” into the
“offended.” Instead of hearing how their words and actions hurt someone
else, let them walk in that person’s shoes.
Think you know someone who is racist? Put her in the machine and let her
know how it feels to be a person of color for a lifetime. As part of the
experience, she will be followed in stores as if she’s about to steal
something. As a child, instead of having teachers help her in school,
they will write her off as a lost cause, label her a delinquent, or
prematurely put her in a special education class. Or when she does not
understand, people will act surprised and say, “Aren’t all of you good
in math?” When people insult her race, her objections will be judged as
over-sensitivity (considered a common attribute of people like her). Her
success will be seen as a threat to others. When she tries to show pride
in or help others have pride in their race, she will be labeled
Racial Profiling of Asians in America
Racial Profiling of Asians in America
“Have you heard the one where someone broke into this guy’s house and all his electronics were
stolen but they knew that the burglar was Asian because the math homework that was left on the
kitchen table was completed? What about the one how Asians get their names? By dropping a fork
down the stairs.” In the first issue of the Asian American magazine, Amerisian, the magazine introduces
an Asian American perspective of how a community is viewed in today’s society.. For many years,
Asian Americans strive to distance themselves to the subjective racial stereotypes and profiling society
places on them. Asian Americans have been trying to find their place in the American society. The
efforts of gaining the admiration in society may appear as a seemingly possible task to attain, yet the
communities continues to thrive. Unfortunately, many Asian Americans are still being treated unjustly.
Wen Ho Lee, a former nuclear scientist at Los Alamos Laboratories, has been an American citizen for
the past 27 years, however was sentenced to prison with no bail because he was transferring documents
in his office from a classified computer to an unclassified computer. “He remains in his cell 23 hours a day,
sometimes in shackles. He has limited contact with his family, and until recently, was not allowed to
speak in his native language” (Murthy). His case is still not final. People are constantly trying to prove
that what had happened to him was a cause of mistreatment and racial profiling. A man named
John Deutch, now a professor at MIT, had transferred documents as Mr. Wen did, however, was not
treated the same…
… middle of paper …
… 6 Apr. 2001.
Ayuyang, Rachelle. “Asian Americans Take Center Court.” Monolid Aug. 2000: 26-28. Parenthetical note: (Ayuyang 28)
Boyle, Jenny. “Asian and Asian American Stereotype.” 13 Oct. 2000. Online posting. Suite101.com. 6 Apr. 2001.
Hu, Arthur. “Education: Race DOES Matter, but Mastering the !@#$% Material matters the Most.” Arthur Hu’s K12 Education Page. 6 Apr. 2001.
Murthy, Sharmila. “Teach-In Probes Racial Profiling in the Wen Ho Lee Case.” 6 Apr. 2001.
Perng, Olivia. Personal interview. 7 Apr. 2001. “Racist Love.” 6 Apr. 2001.