Creating our Master List of Goals for the APA Community

[kasia]

do you guys ever feel that much of what the apia and other progressive communities are doing is just reacting - often when it's too late or damage is already done?

we react to the hot 97 tsunami song, to the proposal of the elimination of the apia commission, to the election of bush -- but how much of what we are doing is actually affirmative (is that the right word)?

what is it that we seek to accomplish? certainly, we don't want to exist simply to react to things that we view are unfair, racist, or discriminatory, right? wouldn't it be more productive to educate the public before a problem occurs?

if there were 10 things that you think the apia can do - without waiting for a group to wrong us to give us something to do - what would it be?

[lethal]

how much of what we are doing is actually affirmative (is that the right word)?

proactive (as opposed to reactive) is the word you're looking for.

And I agree...many campaigns are reactive to incidents. There are proactive things that apia orgs do, but it is hard to anticipate where future hurdles will be sometimes. Oftentimes it is just easier to react to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. In some sense, that is proactive as long as there is the attempt to prevent future occurrences.

[kitty]

i think educational campaigns are very proactive.

[nola]

Yes--and prevention should be the key and different kinds of incidents can be prevented by generalized educational campaigns.

[kasia]

well, what issues would you focus on? which would you say are the 10 ten most important problems that we require public education?

for one, i'd say the history of apias - especially legal history. the discrimination we faced & the hurdles that we had to utilize the legal system to overcome to get to where we are today. too often, non-asians think that we are a population that have just arrived to this country and are reaping the benefits that other minority communities have attained for us.

[hooligan]

I agree, it feels like the APIA community is only good at reacting. With the student group I'm still kind of participating in we're working on the ELC campaign.

In the aftermath of Affirmative Action, we need to take more action in terms of diversifying the student body at UCLA. And we wanted to try to increase the "Eligibility in a Local Context" as a way of being proactive and serving our community.

well, what issues would you focus on? which would you say are the 10 ten most important problems that we require public education?

for one, i'd say the history of apias - especially legal history. the discrimination we faced & the hurdles that we had to utilize the legal system to overcome to get to where we are today. too often, non-asians think that we are a population that have just arrived to this country and are reaping the benefits that other minority communities have attained for us.

1. Gaining more media, accurate portrayals and better role models

2. Working inter-ethnically to build an APIA space and identity

3. Working with other disenfranchised groups of different colors, creeds, beliefs and everything

4. Highlighting our diversity, especially smaller APIA groups by bringing them into the dialogue, building inter-ethnic community partnerships and forums.

Here's another one, moving power away from professionals and into people of the community. Creating space within APIA activist circles for non-white collar activists. I think too many people who discuss activism come from a position of privilege.

Building a grassroots struggle and framework for creating social change. This sounds like a bunch of hullaballo, but honestly getting organized around issues that affect everyone and seeing issues that are widely and deeply felt.

i think educational campaigns are very proactive.

From my experience educational campaigns usually come after the fact, like Vincent Chin and the movement that followed after his death. But, I think it's proactive to a degree.

[nola]

Gaining more media, accurate portrayals and better role models

Working inter-ethnically to build an APIA space and identity

Moving power away from professionals and into people of the community.I thought the affirmative action debacle in California helped APIs.

Yes, more media such as the television stations I'm hearing about, realistic, accurate portrayals of APIs.

One of the problems with inter-ethnic cooperation has been the different languages we speak which Hispanics and blacks don't have a problem with.

Yes, fighting classism in the movement.

I would add along the lines of teaching API history and stuggles, continuing the fight for Asian American studies departments in universities.

[hooligan]

I thought the affirmative action debacle in California helped APIs.

Yes, more media such as the television stations I'm hearing about, realistic, accurate portrayals of APIs.

One of the problems with inter-ethnic cooperation has been the different languages we speak which Hispanics and blacks don't have a problem with.

Yes, fighting classism in the movement.

I would add along the lines of teaching API history and stuggles, continuing the fight for Asian American studies departments in universities.

Well, the affirmative action debacle is convoluted with rhetoric from both sides.

The thing with being eligible for a UC guarantees you a spot in the UC system, but people know that some UCs are better than others and they want to get into one of the better ones.

Affirmative Action opens opportunities and makes people eligible for the UC system. On the other hand, it does NOT take away eligibility from the APIAs. People get really confused between the two, there aren't "SPOTS" in the UC system, there are eligible people and ineligible people (and people who want to fight over eligibility in say, UCLA, UCB, or even UCSD).

What it showed was that there were quotas working AGAINST APIAs and these quotas had NOTHING to do with Affirmative Action. It was traditional anti-Asian racism and institutionalized racism that spurred these ideas and comments.

People simply making generalizations why Affirmative Action works against APIAs and whites without knowing the history of Affirmative Action, those statements are just made superficially without real analysis.

----

I don't agree that language is that big of an issue. If Japanese farmworkers and Mexican farmworkers and organize and unionize, so can other APIAs. We just don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, I believe that's more of a problem than anything.

[nola]

Looks like APIs are split between liberalism and conservatism.

So it's good that the issues of more and better media, more Asian American studies departments and fighting classism in the movement are things both liberal and conservative APIs can agree on.

[kpih]

In many ways that is the reason why I teach, especially as a sociologist. I can actively and aggressively scrutinize racism and other forms of oppression in the classroom. That is why I am still an academic instead of getting a real job. (Real reason is I am lazy as hell and I like waking up late...)

For me, raising consciousness in the classroom is part of the calling. Also, to contest the established knowledge on Asians/Asia/Asian Americans is significant. Until very recently Asians and Asian Americans do not have a voice in creating knowledge in the White World. We were pretty much outside of any discourse. We are studied and very few of us study ourselves. Scholars who came before me gained a foothold in social sciences, but we are still marginalized as a "soft science" or "non-science" (sometimes even by ourselves sadly). Therefore to me it is important to fight for knowledge that is OURS. We (at least those of us who take this seriously) must be ACTIVE in initiating and sustaining a discourse.

[Chu Chi]

I would use the word "pre emptive". If its good enough for Jorge Boosch, its good enough for me.


Instead of picking a top 10 issues... I would suggest people focus on Justice, what it is and what it isn't, and then give them the tools (words) so they can pick the issues that matter to them and try to produce it.

If it was up to me, "Justice" would be a course you could take in high school, just like Band, P.E, foriegn languages, art, drama...

CC

[BigLew]

Reacting is the most we can do in most cases, I think. I mean we can't predict what fucked up racist thing is going to happen before it happens in most cases. I just think our reaction needs to be much harder.

[Chu Chi]

Reacting is the most we can do in most cases, I think. I mean we can't predict what fucked up racist thing is going to happen before it happens in most cases. I just think our reaction needs to be much harder.

True.

But,

What is the BEST reaction to a given action?

It is incorrect to just send U.S citizens to Iraq with no training and no tools.

Following the logic, it is incorrect to bring a non white child into this world of racism with no COUNTER racist training and no COUNTER racist tools (words).


Its time for some "live fire", "full contact" training in pre- empting racist aggression. Specifically, what the best response is to any given situation.

Role playing

Experimentation

Definitions workshops

Thought experiments

These are a few tools that can be used so that when you come under attack, your opponent becomes your assistant in his own ass whupping.

CC

[kasia]

Instead of picking a top 10 issues... I would suggest people focus on Justice, what it is and what it isn't, and then give them the tools (words) so they can pick the issues that matter to them and try to produce it.

i think, at this point, we're not dealing with the broad concept of justice, but just racial equality. given that, what are issues that you would propose our community focus on to achieve this?

[kasia]

framed in another manner:

what would you like to accomplish during your time here at YW? or would you just rather wait for matters to arise and just respond to them (which isn't a bad thing necessarily?)

or are you just here b/c you're bored and need friends?

[Chu Chi]

i think, at this point, we're not dealing with the broad concept of justice, but just racial equality. given that, what are issues that you would propose our community focus on to achieve this?

I suggest focusing on solving problems; starting with the biggest one first; what ever YOU think it is.

CC

[hooligan]

I suggest focusing on solving problems; starting with the biggest one first; what ever YOU think it is.

CC

No, let's do this again. What are problems that you see, Chu Chi?

[golden_buns]

The only way I see us become proactive is by focusing on the long run.
By that I mean, creating more sense of identity and unity as Asian-Americans and make ourselves aware of the current problems faced by the APIA and how American society view us and treat us. I can't help to notice that many asian-americans choose to ignore the problems and pretend that everything is OK, aren't aware of these problems, or simply don't care.

We also need to focus on becoming more involved in politics by having more asians in goverment positions as well as strong lobbyist groups and also become part of the corporate elite.

These things are probably going to take a long long time to get accomplished, but that's the only way I see us becoming proactive rather than reactive.

[nola]

We also need to focus on becoming more involved in politics by having more asians in goverment positions as well as strong lobbyist groups and also become part of the corporate elite.

These things are probably going to take a long long time to get accomplished, but that's the only way I see us becoming proactive rather than reactive.The only charity I donate to is EMILY'S list mainly because I don't have money to give to more charities. They are a fund to help women political candidates run for office. Maybe there should someday be a fund to raise money for Asian American political candidates when it's feasible of course.

[moser]

The only way I see us become proactive is by focusing on the long run.
By that I mean, creating more sense of identity and unity as Asian-Americans and make ourselves aware of the current problems faced by the APIA and how American society view us and treat us. I can't help to notice that many asian-americans choose to ignore the problems and pretend that everything is OK, aren't aware of these problems, or simply don't care.

We also need to focus on becoming more involved in politics by having more asians in goverment positions as well as strong lobbyist groups and also become part of the corporate elite.

These things are probably going to take a long long time to get accomplished, but that's the only way I see us becoming proactive rather than reactive.

And to add to that, less focus on culturally-oriented themes such as lion dances, pandas, and traditional foods and more on pragmatic issues such as education on APIA histories, representation in the media, economic opportunities, etc.

[Chu Chi]

No, let's do this again. What are problems that you see, Chu Chi?

Lack of Justice.

Not "freeedum",

Justice.

People are being mistreated and the people who need the most help, are not getting it.

You can solve every OTHER problem on the planet, but if you leave that one hanging,

you are back at square one.

CC

[Faithless]

...
if there were 10 things that you think the apia can do - without waiting for a group to wrong us to give us something to do - what would it be?
10 things, huh. That's a bit tough.

I can only think of one off the top of my head -- better self promotion.

I think the APIA group is already proactive in a lot of things. I think we just need to give ourselves better exposure.

We've got our own theatre companies. We've got our own TV shows and channels. We need to say, a little bit more, "We're here, people, check us out!"

Maybe another thing that would give us some prominence -- a media mouth piece (unlike Malkin). Maybe this would come from a forum like the International Channel. Maybe Satellite radio.

[nola]

I've been in Seattle for a week and there's a liberal Chinese-American guy on there who hosts the Seattle happenings show who'd make a decent mouthpiece. He's pretty cool and young, Eric Liu.

[kasia]

is it that hard to come up with 10?

here's a random list:

1) eliminating the glass ceiling in the workplace
2) eliminating the model minority myth
3) positive asian representation in the media
4) forming coalitions with other minority political groups
5) bridging gaps between the different generations of apas
6) building an understanding/coalition between the different asian ethnic groups
7) eliminating hate speech / coming up with a solution to respond or deal with it
8) encouraging more apas to join the legal field
9) encouraging more apas to become professors
10) documenting our history in america - oral documentaries, history books, w/different perspectives, etc.
11) eliminating or countering negative stereotypes
12) equal access to social services for apas - language access, etc.
13) equal access to legal services for apas
14) immigrants' rights
15) for women: educating on the similarities between sexism and racism
16) for women: equal rights within our own ethnic communities
17) workshops in ethnic communities to teach them skills for a better life in america - why don't they take atm cards in chinatown????
18) more resources to medical research for apas

hopefully you joined this site b/c you are an idealist, closet or not. so, please, tell us what changes you would like to see.

[Hiroshi2]

for one, i'd say the history of apias - especially legal history. the discrimination we faced & the hurdles that we had to utilize the legal system to overcome to get to where we are today. too often, non-asians think that we are a population that have just arrived to this country and are reaping the benefits that other minority communities have attained for us.



Yeah, cause when I got here, everybody here was talking about Vincent Chin and all this other type of stuff, and I'm like who the hell is he, I've never heard of him or any one of these other cases. That's not in any of my history books.

[Faithless]

is it that hard to come up with 10?

here's a random list:

1) eliminating the glass ceiling in the workplace
2) eliminating the model minority myth

...

hopefully you joined this site b/c you are an idealist, closet or not. so, please, tell us what changes you would like to see.
Very good list.

But what you are talking about, here, is a continual promotion / support of existing efforts.

To that end, it would be good to also consider joining / supporting activist-oriented APIA groups or those with a positive media interest (like NAATA (http://www.naatanet.org/)).

I thought you were looking for new ideas. Or a new way of looking at these ideas.

[kasia]

Very good list.

But what you are talking about, here, is a continual promotion / support of existing efforts.

I thought you were looking for new ideas. Or a new way of looking at these ideas.

new or old. i just want to know what each member, personally, believes the goals of the apa community should be.

[Faithless]

new or old. i just want to know what each member, personally, believes the goals of the apa community should be.
All of the above, obviously, my friend. :wink:

Let's also remember encouraging APA's to get involved in politics at all levels --

City boards and commissions
City councils
County boards and supervisor offices
State legislative offices
Federal legislative offices

Helping to make public policy is very proactive. Being able to put an APA face before an issue is a strong statement.

[SunWuKong]

damn it. i typed up a list of concerns which i thought were the most important for Asian Americans, but there was a server error when i tried to post it up. i'll just type them again with much less details.

1) Low voter registration rates.
2) Underrepresented in politics.
3) Underrepresented in the media.
4) The glass ceiling.
5) Low awareness of hepatitis b.
6) High susceptibility to mental illness, depression, and suicide.
7) The model minority myth.

17) workshops in ethnic communities to teach them skills for a better life in america - why don't they take atm cards in chinatown????

you mean debit cards?

some low-budget Chinese businesses would much rather deal in cash because, at least i know restaurants do this, many of them under-report on their earnings so they can pay less taxes.

[kasia]

you mean debit cards?

some low-budget Chinese businesses would much rather deal in cash because, at least i know restaurants do this, many of them under-report on their earnings so they can pay less taxes.

seriously, i would like the local business schools - we have usc and ucla - to round up their asian students who are interested in helping out the ethnic communities by creating and holding trainings, etc.

do you know how much more money these stores would make off tourists and people like me if they just accepted credit and debit cards?

[SunWuKong]

seriously, i would like the local business schools - we have usc and ucla - to round up their asian students who are interested in helping out the ethnic communities by creating and holding trainings, etc.

do you know how much more money these stores would make off tourists and people like me if they just accepted credit and debit cards?

i think i posted about this once. are these businesses really making enough money out of not paying credit card fees and possibly under-reporting on taxes so it balances out the business they lose because sometimes people just don't have enough cash on hand to buy their stuff? i think this may depend on what portion of their customer-base is actually regular customers who know to bring enough cash. like the VCD stores in the Manhattan Chinatown, i think most of their customers know they need enough cash before they shop there.

as for business schools... i tend to think people with real business experience can teach business school people a thing or two about how the real world functions.

[nola]

Great lists, Kasia and SWK.

[kasia]

i think i posted about this once. are these businesses really making enough money out of not paying credit card fees and possibly under-reporting on taxes so it balances out the business they lose because sometimes people just don't have enough cash on hand to buy their stuff? i think this may depend on what portion of their customer-base is actually regular customers who know to bring enough cash. like the VCD stores in the Manhattan Chinatown, i think most of their customers know they need enough cash before they shop there.

as for business schools... i tend to think people with real business experience can teach business school people a thing or two about how the real world functions.

that's probably true, just as it is true that lawyers with actual experience can probably offer better representation than law students participating in a clinic. the problem is that many working people don't want to devote the time into pro bono work, while graduate students are still motivate and may need credits or need to fulfill community service requirements.

[hkRT]

It's a great idea to set out goals for the APA community! I think that it will help by first identifying the problems (which may change with time) and then setting out proactive plans to tackle the problems. As I don't live in the States, I am not very in touch with American current affairs. But some of the problems I see from the places I have lived in are:

-Persistent stereotypes in the media. Lack of education regarding asian languages and cultures in the public school system.

-lack of unity and support among asians. e.g.1 Many Chinese that I have met are not concerned with what's happening to other Chinese... although there are also some that do care. e.g.2. Some Chinese do not want to associate themselves with chinese. An "only looking-out-for-oneself" mentality that pertains to a large number of people. Or the "endure, don't stir any waters" attitude that mainly pertains to older generations like my parents and grandparents who I respect a lot. (I admire their endurance and perseverance but it is upsetting to see the amount of social injustice, racism and discrimination they have to endure.)

-communication and social barriers between newly arrived chinese immigrants and canadian-born chinese.

-communication and social barriers between newly arrived chinese immigrants and the general Canadian population. Persistent prejudice and racism in schools, in the hiring process and in the workplace leading to further segregration and misunderstandings.

These are what I can think of so far....

Proactive plan to each problem-- This is hard... need more time, resources, coordination and manpower to plan and implement...

[asvenus]

For me, raising consciousness in the classroom is part of the calling. Also, to contest the established knowledge on Asians/Asia/Asian Americans is significant. Until very recently Asians and Asian Americans do not have a voice in creating knowledge in the White World. We were pretty much outside of any discourse. We are studied and very few of us study ourselves. Scholars who came before me gained a foothold in social sciences, but we are still marginalized as a "soft science" or "non-science" (sometimes even by ourselves sadly). Therefore to me it is important to fight for knowledge that is OURS. We (at least those of us who take this seriously) must be ACTIVE in initiating and sustaining a discourse.

i agree with this statement wholeheartedly, asians need to regain alot of the political consciousness that was prevalent in the 70's/80's and be proactive in how their experiences and existence is articulated in wider society.

we need to get rid of terms such as 'model minority' and agressively name, conceptualise and categorise ourselves...not acquiesce in the face of racist agendas or because some of us may not perceive there to be any problems due to higher financial or social standing than other minorities...looking for similarities amongst our communities is also important, not to say we must pretend there is some homogenous 'asian' community, but using common ground to work together and further our cause because essentially we are fighting the same thing

also if i may add...'asian' does not equal 'chinese'... :rolleyes:

[nola]

i agree with this statement wholeheartedly, asians need to regain alot of the political consciousness that was prevalent in the 70's/80's and be proactive in how their experiences and existence is articulated in wider society.

we need to get rid of terms such as 'model minority' and agressively name, conceptualise and categorise ourselves...not acquiesce in the face of racist agendas or because some of us may not perceive there to be any problems due to higher financial or social standing than other minorities...looking for similarities amongst our communities is also important, not to say we must pretend there is some homogenous 'asian' community, but using common ground to work together and further our cause because essentially we are fighting the same thing

also if i may add...'asian' does not equal 'chinese'... :rolleyes:ya mean we need to GET UP IN IT or whatever hip terminology I sorely lack.

[kpih]

we need to get rid of terms such as 'model minority' and agressively name, conceptualise and categorise ourselves...

A distinct political, cultural and intellectual identity goes hand in hand with developing a unique and representative knowledge I think...(or vice versa)

Continue to fight for new and expand current Asian American/Asian Studies Academic Programs is the right direction.

Also I absolutely agree alliance building with other minority group is essential.