Asian America

Asian Americans have been classified, at times, as the “model minority” because of certain statistics indicating that they have a greater tendency to achieve higher GPAs and a lower tendency for criminal incarceration. 

Whether these statistics are true or not, this label has led to differing reactions among various Asian Americans—some accept it, others joke about it, while others reject it or rage against it.  Those who are angered about it would often argue that it pigeon-holes Asian Americans into a stereotype.  And those who are not angered by it may say that it’s just how things work with being Asian.

But for me, though at times I do feel pressured by it, like many Asian Americans, I try my best to ignore it.  Why?  Because I try my best to see myself as a person first (and a Christian, in my case) and as an Asian American second.  You can be an African American, a Hispanic American, a French national, or an Australian national.  But we are all people.  We are all humans. 

And, yes, maybe there are some things in the Asian American upbringing that gives some advantages than other upbringings.  But whether I live up to that standard or not, I’m just as much a human being as the next guy is.  And that’s what I consider more important than race.

Yes, there are race-specific issues to address from race to race and there are unique traditions in different races that define a person’s upbringing.  But I think sometimes we focus too much on race and statistics than we do on trying not to allow the things to define our value as human beings. 

That’s my two cents.

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