Subject: Are JAs AAs? (Was: Death of the JA Community?)
> This gets back to the question of whether there is anything
> unique anymore about being Nikkei. We have largely
> assimilated, and most anything left has been co-opted by
> the mainstream -- food, arts, sports. Even the Internment is
> now not just something for JAs to remember, but a lesson for
> society at large (as it should be). Racism issues we share
> with other Asian Americans and people of color.
> So, what defines "Nikkei" today, other than bloodline?
not all nikkei feel affinity with other Asian Americans.
a couple weeks ago there a panel discussion in L.A. called "Columnists in the Community".
the panelists were three Rafu Shimpo columnists:
nisei George Yoshinaga ("The Horse's Mouth"), sister Ayako Hagihara ("Through The Fire"),
and Brian Niiya ("Spoiled Sansei").
the Horse talked about how he doesn't identify with the "Asian" community.
he said he doesn't see why the Rafu should include articles about the struggles
of Koreatown restaurant workers, for instance.
i think he's someone who has given up his sense of history and struggle,
and thus chooses to only identify with and hold respect for the "JA"
community ... and within that, only the conservative aspects therein.
(he will continuously dog on the Heart Mountain draft resisters, among
other seemingly "non-patriotic" efforts)
it was of course frustrating to listen to such conservatism
coming from the Horse's mouth...
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> the Horse talked about how he doesn't identify with
> the "Asian" community. he doesn't see why the Rafu
> should include articles about the struggles of
> Koreatown restaurant workers, for instance ...
I certainly agree that the Horse doesn't seem to be thinking too deeply on the issue.
Aren't JA's part of the Asian American community? As minority Americans,
I don't think we can easily separate community, culture and race issues.
We're living in America and not in Japan...
For me, growing up in the Midwest, my "community" was Asian
American before it became Japanese American. My friends who
were of Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Pilipino, Indian ancestry
supported me when I mentioned the issue of JA Redress for the
WWII Internment. They supported me when anti-Asian violence was
an issue -- due to the scapegoating of the Japanese (corporations,
government, and imports) for America's economic problems.
And don't forget Vincent Chin -- he wasn't even Japanese.
They supported me when there were degrading anti-Japanese/Asian
stereotypes depicted in newspapers, television, film, and commercials.
I identify with the Asian American community, because they
were the ones who stood with me against the racism and
prejudice directed at "all" Asian Americans. When White or
Black Americans where indifferent or less understanding, it was
the Asian American community who moved to take action, and to
speak out. So I think we (as JA's) owe something in turn to
be concerned about issues that concern other "ethnic"
(non-Japanese) Asian Americans ... including all others who
stand for fairness and justice related to civil rights.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> I identify with the Asian American community, because they
> were the ones who stood with me against the racism and
> prejudice directed to "all" Asian Americans. When White or
> Black Americans where indifferent or less understanding, it was
> the Asian American community who moved to take action, and to
> speak out. So I think we (as JA's) owe something in turn to
> be concerned about issues that concern other "ethnic"
> (non-Japanese) Asian Americans ... including all others who
> stand for fairness and justice related to civil rights.
just a thought, but does anyone think that aside from everything else,
perhaps some of the elders of the ja community feel as though
other asian americans didn't stand up for them during the war
(e.g. buttons/signs worn/displayed by other asian ams that said, "i'm not japanese"),
and therefore they don't owe other asian ams anything?
or maybe it is because many older ja's only associated with
their "own" when growing up, rather than the more dispersed
experience of later generations. every generation has its
own issues to address, and there will be differences of
opinion among every generation down the line.
these are not necessarily personal beliefs, just thoughts of perspective
wandering from my head down through my fingers.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> maybe [older JAs do not identify with Asian Americans] because
> many older ja's only associated with their "own" when growing up,
> rather than the more dispersed experience of later generations.
I was in the Midwest where there was not
much of any Asian ethnic presence, so maybe there was a more
pan-Asian bond just due to scarcity -- it was just great to see
another Asian face. (LA is a different story, where most
every Asian ethnicity is able to form its own separate and distinct
community -- something not possible in other places.)
Also, many of the Asian Americans involved were 1.5 generation
and younger, which probably makes a difference in perspective as
being more "Asian American" vs. a specific Asian ethnicity.
And you're right, the 1990's are a much different time with
different issues compared to the beginning of this century
and the WWII era ...
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> maybe [older JAs do not identify with Asian Americans] because
> many older ja's only associated with their "own" when growing up,
> rather than the more dispersed experience of later generations.
I don't mean to generalize (although this is going to sound like it no matter what),
but I think the older generation of Japanese and JAs was more prone to be
ethnocentric, that is to say, racist, than the post-'60s (or baby boom)
generation. The world was literally smaller and simpler then, and you could
live your life by black and white rules. I speak for myself when I say that
my parents were biased in all sorts of ways. It's something I dealt with internally
when I was growing up, I guess, and hope to grow old with a much more open mind.
I know plenty of older Asians who aren't prejudiced, so I'm already
disproving my theory. But really, I come from an environment of some bad
thinking. And, I wonder how much of that is a trait that at its absolute
worst manifests itself in atrocities like the kinds unleashed in Nanking,
or against Koreans?
Am I being too confused here? Probably...
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
I noticed you were discussing why some JAs don't want
to associate with "Asian Americans". Needed to give my two cents:
- The pre-War Issei came from a Japan that was just recently isolationist,
with set relations to people from other Asian countries. They viewed
themselves as Japanese and others as Koreans, Chinese, etc.
Most Asian American alliances form in political or business arenas,
so there was really no need to view themselves as "Asian" Americans.
- "Asian America", "Yellow Power" and "Yellow Brotherhood" became popular
in the 1960's in association with other minority-American awareness.
There was more power in numbers. Prior to this, I don't think
there was a lot of association. I'm sure that most Asian people over the age of
45 or 50 think of themselves as a specific ethnicity but not as "Asian Americans".
- Embarassment -- I would think that JAs who are trying to fit in
("be white") are embarassed by FOBs ("fresh off the boat" immigrants).
I know my dad didn't really want to be associated with the loud Vietnamese vendors.
Being a "hyphenated" American (whether or not you write the hyphen in) is a
double-edged sword. On the one hand we ask to be accepted as Americans and on
the other we celebrate our uniqueness. On the one hand we want to be united as
Asians, on the other we hate being mistaken for the wrong culture.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
just have to add my two cents more:
> I noticed you were discussing why some JAs don't want to
> associate with "Asian Americans". Needed to give my two cents:
- The pre-War Issei came from a Japan that was just recently isolationist,
with set relations to people from other Asian countries. They viewed
themselves as Japanese and others as Koreans, Chinese, etc.
Most Asian American alliances form in political or business arenas,
so there was really no need to view themselves as "Asian" Americans.
Issei DID form alliances with other groups ... the plantations
are a good example of that. The reasons (dis-enfranchisement,
lack of power, deeply-rooted racism and classism, etc)
why folks came together more often mid-century were for
(fundamentally) the same reasons as in the 1960s and today --
folks NEEDED to find strength in their solidarity when they
first arrived as immigrants.
- "Asian America", "Yellow Power" and "Yellow Brotherhood" became popular
ideas in the 1960's when in association with other minority-American
awareness. There was more power in numbers. Prior to this, I don't
think there was a lot of association. I'm sure that most Asian people
over the age of 45 or 50 think of themselves as a specific ethnicity
but not as "Asian Americans".
sure, i know plenty of elder folks who don't consider themselves
"Asian American" BUT i am constantly meeting elders who DO.
i don't necessarily blame my relatives for not identifying
with the larger Asian community, but i don't excuse it either.
it's more a matter of realizing history and the current
bad situation we face and make worse by not stepping up.
- Embarassment -- I would think that JAs who are trying to
fit in ("be white") are embarassed by FOBs ("fresh off the boat"
immigrants). I know my dad didn't really want to be associated
with the loud Vietnamese vendors.
> Being a "hyphenated" American (whether or not you write the hyphen in)
> is a double-edged sword. On the one hand we ask to be accepted
> as Americans and on the other we celebrate our uniqueness.
> On the one hand we want to be united as Asians, on the other
> we hate being mistaken for the wrong culture.
personally, i never ask to be accepted as an american.
i expect to be respected. i don't think it is a double-edged sword.
there is a lot of strength, beauty, and healing in being a united asian front,
and i NEVER hate being mistaken as something other than Japanese.
why should i be offended? what i _don't_ like is when anyone _assumes_
i am anything. when some foolish man starts speaking to me in an Asian
language ... he is making an assumption -- whether it is that i am
going to automatically know how to reply in that language
or that i'm gonna get turned on or something.
just had to reply ... thanks.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> I'm sure that most people over the age of 45
> or 50, don't think of themselves as Asian Americans.
I am way over the age of 50 and I consider myself an Asian American.
Then when someone asks me what specific ethnic group I respond
"Japanese American" (without the hyphen).
I know many 50 and 50+ JAs who identify themselfes as Asian American.
Maybe it is because when you work in the public schools you get used to the
category since the only category that we can check is Asian
American/Pacific Islander. There is no recognition for bi-racials either,
which is a shame because it forces them to check "other" or to make a
decision "one or the other".
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Maybe it's because when you work in the public schools
> you get used to the category since the only category
> that we can check is Asian American/Pacific Islander.
> There is no recognition for bi-racials either, which is
> a shame because it forces them to check "other" or to
> make a decision "one or the other".
is this a good thing though? should we consider the standards
of self-identity to come from people who push it on us? if that
were the case, as you mention, many multiracial people would
just go around identifying themselves as "other" to that age
old question, "what are you?"
i personally think the classification or identification of being
asian american has its good and bad points. a good point is that
it brings people together into a larger mass for a more effective
political representation. just one of many good points. a bad point
is that this has been forced upon us by a machine that doesn't want
to recognize our differences. it's easier to say "they all look the
same," or that all asians are the same culturally. many don't want
to take the time to differentiate.
for me it goes the other way too, how it irks me just a bit when i
here a hapa person say that they're "half japanese, half white."
half white? i think even this term "white" comes from wasp oppression
back in the early times. where irish, italians, germans, poles, etc.
shortened or changed their names and lost their culture, in an effort
to blend into the controlling population. so now many "white" people
don't even know the extent of their roots. this goes for "black" people
too, who have been so far forcefully removed that there's no way they
can trace back their roots.
so do i consider myself to be asian american? sure, but in a sense
analagous to an artist. ask a painter what they are and they'll say,
"a painter." a writer, "a writer." an actor, "an actor." a dancer,
"a dancer." very few will just say, "i'm an artist." so i'm an asian
american, but only through the medium of my expressions and experiences
of being a japanese american.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> .. the only category
> that we can check is Asian American/Pacific Islander.
> There is no recognition for bi-racials either, which is
> a shame because it forces them to check "other" or to
> make a decision "one or the other".
When I was in college helped out at the Asian American Student Services office.
We defined "Asian American" as someone who had one or both parents of Asian ancestry.
I'm not sure if this definition is common in other places,
but it was inclusive of biracials. (In fact, the office coordinator was biracial herself.)
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> .. the only category
> that we can check is Asian American/Pacific Islander.
> There is no recognition for bi-racials either, which is
> a shame because it forces them to check "other" or to
> make a decision "one or the other".
Growing up first in the Midwest, then the central USA and finally in the South,
there was no Asian box, so my mother taught me to mark "Other" after which
I wrote Eurasian since I was of European and Asian descent.
In college there was an Asian/AP/API box, but I didn't even
use it. I was still "Other".
"Asian American" should be defined as those of APA/API descent who are of that
ancestry and should have no basis as to whether we are 1/2, 1/4, /1/8,
or even 1/16 if we identify with that culture. I certainly was never put in
an all-white category. I was always asked "What are you?".
I am only 1/4, but have the advantage, as some APs have told me, of looking more white.
On the other hand, not looking more Asian brings about its own deragortory
remarks from the AP and specifically the JA community.
Nothing is more insulting to my mother than being told "You don't look it".
I am sure that Nobu McCarthy (actress) with her freckles, which are not considered
an Asian trait, is never told "you don't look it because you have freckles!".
My family came in 1883 from Yamaguchi-ken, and we now have 6 generations
here. My youngest relative is almost 12 years old.
Part of the family is proud to be of Japanese descent.
Others are not and deny it.
I guess it is how you are brought up and taught to fill out forms that helps
form your own destiny.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Part of the family is proud to be of Japanese descent.
> Others are not and deny it.
Do your relatives who "deny" their Japanese ancestry, "look"
Asian? It might be easier if one can "pass" -- as whatever,
but it is difficult to change one's physical appearance, so eventually
one might have to come to terms with it...
We choose which communities we associate and identify
with -- and it might vary as we gather experiences,
grow and change, and move thru life ...
I visualize it as a set overlapping circles that change
in size and shape over time ...
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Do your relatives who "deny" their Japanese ancestry, "look" Asian?
Yes they look Asian. They are my half aunts -- different grandmothers,
same JA grandfather. They say they are Hawai'ian since he was from HI.
For years this has been a continuing argument in the family.
My godson and cousin is a university student doing
research on the JA internment experience in California.
He is blonde with brown eyes and is 1/8.
He now is beginning to understand why my mother and
I are adamant about our family history and understanding where we came from.
Frankly I was shocked that he even decided to acknowledge and accept and learn.
For years my grandfather denied his being JA and only said that he was from Hawai'i.
It wasn't until the late 1970s and early 1980s when my mother and I encouraged him to
tell us what he remembered of Hawai'i and the great grandparents did he even
start using his JA name.
Again it goes to how one is brought up. My mother grew up in a foster home
and later was told not to admit her heritage. She knew she was JA,
even though she was told to deny it and wasn't brought up by a JA.
For several years in the mid/late 1950s she lived in Los Angeles to find out "who she was".
But she was ostracized for not being "full". She wasn't considered good enough
to marry and take home by the JA men. So she married "OUT".
Funny, but in Chinatown, they know I am Asian and they never say I don't "look".
It has only ever been in the JA community that I have been told I don't "look".
My eyes are almond shaped and my skin is golden.
Perhaps people will stop being preoccupied with 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 or whatever
and "how they look", and just accept the fact that there is identity.
Frankly, I get irritated with the "1/4 -- you're watered down" mentality.
That is why Tiger Woods was accepted by the Black community before the AP
community. They didn't worry about what else is was even though he is more
AP than African American. When I told my friend who runs one of the famous
PGA golf tournaments that I thought he looked AP I was laughed at.
It was only months later that the fact he was AP came out.
Then I said, "I told you so!"
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Perhaps people will stop being preoccupied with
> 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 or whatever and "how they look",
> and just accept the fact that there is identity.
> Frankly, I get irritated with the "1/4 -- you're
> watered down" mentality.
Thanks for your thoughts. They touched my heart.
I hope when conservative Nikkei feel safe enough, they will feel the same way.
Keep on telling us. I think some of that foolish pride that 100%s
carry is a front for an underlying anxiety that they are not or will not
be accepted. Like me: I'm sansei, but am I "real" if I don't speak Japanese?
I decided that I can choose to do my homework in the history, culture,
spirituality, esthetics and lo and behold when I choose to be 100% Japanese,
many (progressive) Japanese people from Japan accept me.
Japan is changing, too, and many Japanese and Nikkei are ready to
dump the arrogance of exclusivity.
We have the power to claim all of our parts and claim them 100%.
We can choose to dump the parts that no longer serve us. And we can choose
whether to be empowered or disempowered by past hurts. So when I'm confronted
by a 100% a**hole Amurrikun, I can pull out the part of me that claims to be
100% red-blooded American and face the sucker down and still end it on a
positive note. (I've done my homework on what makes white males tick.)
I am so glad that Tiger Woods claims all of himself. He has done a lot to make
people aware. There is a Bay Area jazz musician/ethnomusicologist named
Anthony Brown who has a similar background. I recently saw him lead
the Asian American Orchestra in a new scoring of Ellington's "Far East Suite",
expressing his African and Asian connections. He brought the packed house to its feet.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> We choose which communities we associate and identify with --
> and it might vary as we gather experiences, grow and change,
> and move thru life ... I visualize it as a set overlapping circles
> that change in size and shape over time ...
It is a full circle, not denying the pain and weakness,
but coming through it to beauty and strength.
Our legacy is not either-or, but both.
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Being a "hyphenated" American (whether or not you write the hyphen in)
> is a double-edged sword. On the one hand we want to be united as Asians,
> on the other we hate being mistaken for the wrong culture.
Part of
Asian Heritage Month on my campus was a screening last week of
"Letters to Thien", a recent film by Fusion Pictures, a Portland company.
Thien Minh Ly was a Vietnamese American student who was brutally murdered in
Tustin CA on 29 January 1996 by someone who refered to him as a "Jap"
in a letter to a friend. It is not clear to me whether the murderer
had it "in" for Japanese people in particular, or if that was just his
generic term for Asians.
A previous post to this list reminded us about the 1982 beating death
in Detroit MI of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American who was assumed
to be Japanese by his attackers. Has much changed since then?
Acts of violence and discrimination against Asians these days occur
without regard for country of origin and serve as a common bond for
activism among APAs.
Fusion Pictures: "Letters to Thien"
www.fusionpictures.org/ltt_frame.html
Subject: Re: Are JAs AAs?
> Being a "hyphenated" American (whether or not you write the hyphen in)
> is a double-edged sword. On the one hand we want to be united as Asians,
> on the other we hate being mistaken for the wrong culture.
I wonder if Asian Americans are privy to more of the similarities and
differences between the different countries given the "melting pot/stew"
we live in, compared to Asians living in Asia?
While I've had to explain miso shiru to non-JA Asians, I've also had to
explain Korean foods to Nihonjin friends. But then, my Chinese American
friends are amazed that I didn't know about oyster sauce.
Being married to a Chinese American, we go through a 20 lb. bag of rice
in just a few months. I am also realizing how some Japanese/Japanese Americans
must be
fanatical about buying and preparing rice.
Before my mother acknowledged rice cookers,
it was a 2-3 hour ritual in our home (wash 9 times, drain for another hour,
then cook at 3 different temperatures, etc, etc, etc). It is still a ritual
which my husband thinks I am too obsessive about.
I was to never put anything on top of rice (except furikake). In fact,
I realize that it is so ingrained in me that I cannot put food on top
of my rice as is customary with some Chinese dishes, nor will I mix
the rice with the toppings when I eat Korean bibim bap (Sometimes
this drives Korean waitstaff crazy.).
Last updated 12 April 1999