Afterthoughts

1. There is a world of difference between "American born and raised" Chinese and "overseas" Chinese who have immigrated here. Non-Asian people in general tend to bunch us together whether we were born here or not. This is probably from ignorance but it is insulting nonetheless. Since we were born here, we are US citizens, we all speak perfect English, understand all the native idioms, and have every right to live here as you do. As a group, we do have a sense of patriotism towards the USA. We are not secret spies for another country. And we do consider the USA our home.

2. There is a difference between the various Asian nationalities. Chinese, Japanese, Corean, Filipino, Vietnamese, etc. all have their own languages and culture. Again, non-Asian people generally lump all Asians into one, congealed, yellow mass. That's like saying all the Spanish, French, German, British, Russians, etc. are all the same people with the same language, customs and traditions. Obviously this is not the case.

I cannot emphasize the importance of the above two points. They should be chiseled in stone. They should be read again and again until you believe it to be true. It is true! The majority of Americans do not truly believe the above. In fact, they believe the opposite, at least subconsciously.

This is why Chinese Americans are still having trouble socially fitting in. People still think we are "foreign" even though we are born and raised here. The US media also "confirms this" by consistently portraying us as "foreign" as well.

I think it's really time Chinese Americans as a group open their eyes and really see what sort of brainwashing is going around them.

Movies and TV affect us in very strong and subtle ways. Not only on how other people see us, but, more importantly, in how we see ourselves!

Movie Thoughts

1. It seems that Chinese American males (and Asian American males in general) are getting the short end of acting parts with very few exceptions. I do not mean to take away anything from the likes of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Jet Li, but I find it very strange the US media has to go overseas to find talent. As if there are no Chinese American MALE actors in the USA to be found! Clearly, this is not the case as there are dozens if not hundreds of thousands of Chinese Americans who are competent actors! And they all speak perfect English.

   It really bugs me!

   What seems to be happening is the US media is still perpetuating the old, tired, stereotypes of Chinese Kung Fu mystic fighters who can fly 20 feet in the air (Done to death, the style is now known as the more descriptive Wire Fu), have little/no sexual attraction and speak broken English. Or are drug/weapon gangsters from impoverished backgrounds. We can't seem to win.

   This is bullshit!

   Another problem with using an overseas actor like Jackie Chan in American movies is that his broken English gives the impression to the rest of Middle-America that all Asian Americans speak like that and are experts at Kung Fu. This isn't so. And so the Chinese stereotype is enforced again. (By the way, I have the greatest respect for Mr. Chan as an actor and in his abilities. It's the Chinese stereotype that needs improving.)

   Perhaps we need independent Chinese American production companies (US native, not overseas) to make their own movies and turn things around.

2. There are so few Chinese American films out there that, when one becomes available, it generates great interest in the Chinese American community. Of course, because there are so few Chinese American films, the ones that exist have greater influence especially towards non-Asians in the US.

   Even Chinese Americans tend to lower their standards and accept these films as there is nothing else out there. The thought being it's better to have something that represents us in the US media than nothing, no matter how distorted and stereotypical.

   In my opinion, this is wrongheaded thinking as these distortions will affect us as a group for a long time. Chinese stereotypes have been perpetuated in the US for at least the last 60 years! Why should we accept something that only confirms them? It's better to have nothing.

Television Thoughts

1. During the OJ Simpson trials, Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran, both of them OJ's attorneys made a public racist remark about Dennis Fung, the LAPD criminologist. Now Shapiro and Cochran, an Italian man and a Black man respectively, are both highly educated men. Both are also very intelligent men as evident by their incomes and place in society. Both men come from minority backgrounds and I am sure they had to work that much harder to get where they are now. Yet these two men, highly educated and intelligent, made an unthinking racist remark publicly towards a Chinese American man! Mr. Fung was just doing his job.

   If men like Shapiro and Cochran can make these types of racist remarks against another minority group (i.e. Chinese), there is something very wrong here. It's one thing to be critical but quite another to make a racist attack. These two men should know the difference. They did end up making a public apology.

2. People who do not really have an opinion on a subject (say Chinese Americans) may be swayed to think a certain way because of what they see on TV. Also, there's the repetition factor. If you see something repeatedly long enough, even if it isn't true, subconsciously you will tend to believe it. We all know TV tends to repeat all sorts of nasty things hundreds of times.

3. There is certainly an identity crisis. With few/no role models for Chinese American boys to relate to, most end up using white guy role models. This is not bad in itself. However, when the white guy actor always ends up with the Asian girl and the Asian guy actors are bit players and/or die before the end of the show, this causes a conflict in identity and may lead to a "denial" of being Asian too.

   If you see something often enough, you will tend to believe it even if it isn't true.

School Thoughts

1. "As for JLC in lots of English and Women's Studies classes, I think it is now fair to call Amy Tan an affirmative action queen. There is big pressure for teachers to put books by women and minorities on their curriculum in the name of multiculturalism. They chuck great classics like "The Divine Comedy" for this tripe. The teachers capitulate, I believe, for two reasons. One, many of the profs are man-hating feminazis who like the idea that men are responsible for all of women's problems. Two, students today have been so poorly educated in public schools that teachers would have to slave to get them to understand complex works. It's much easier to give them fifth rate books in the name of multiculturalism than instruct them on a higher level."
   --Lillie Wade

2. I am disgusted the JLC is being presented in high school and college as fine literature thereby giving the JLC even more credibility! The JLC is just a fictitious story based on several Chinese stereotypes that have been perpetuated for decades. What's really insidious is that Middle-America believes it.

Email Thoughts

1. Many students have not learned to write or cannot write coherently.
2. Many students have not learned to write in complete sentences.

It's funny. With the popularity of email, which makes writing back easier, I have found the quality of writing has gone way down. Part of it could be blamed because people cannot type. But another part has to be that some people never learned to write.

If you write to me and would like me to reply, then:

1. It helps if you introduce yourself first. It would be rude not to identify yourself on the phone. Why people think this is OK via email is beyond me. Many students assume I know who they are, the classes they are attending, and what their background is. I do not. I cannot peer through my monitor and see you. I am good but I am not psychic.

2. If you are writing to me about my JLC rant, say so. Don't start in the middle and try a rebuttal. I wrote that JLC rant over three years ago. You may have read it today. Think about what you are trying to say because, if it is not coherent, I will not bother with it.

3. I pull no punches. I say it like it is.

4. If you take pot shots, you leave yourself open as fair game.

5. If you strongly disagree with my opinions, don't write in the first place. I hate people who just want to get into a pissing contest. It's just a waste of time.

6. No one is forcing you to read my JLC rant! If you do not like it, click somewhere else!
   I emphasize this last because some people get a sudden onset of Attention Deficiency Syndrome when they read something they do not like or agree with. They do not bother to read the whole article and end up misquoting me and/or taking things out of context.