“Where are you from?”
I’ve been answering this question since kindergarten. Though both my parents are Taiwanese immigrants, I was born in Cincinnati. I have a perfectly American accent and am a U.S. citizen. So why is my place of origin always questioned? Simply, I’m Asian.
But the thing is, I’m not Asian. I’m Asian American. There is a difference, and it is a vastly important one.
In June 1982, 27-year-old Vincent Chin was interrupted at a bar by two autoworkers (Wu). Although Mr. Chin, of Chinese descent, had been a U.S. citizen for 17 years, this wasn’t obvious to his murderers, who equated the color of his skin with Japanese car manufacturers (Hing). “It’s because of you we’re out of work,” they allegedly shouted, before their baseball bat opened Mr. Chin’s head (Wu).
For centuries, mainstream America has perceived Asian Americans as outsiders, and this “perpetual foreigner” stereotype hasn’t faded away. In October 2011, 19-year-old Private Danny Chen apparently shot himself after U.S. army soldiers continually harassed him with anti-Asian insults (Gandhi), allegedly telling him to “go back to China” (Hing).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau web page on race, “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent” is “Asian.” But race is inherently physical (Fouberg et al.), and “Asian” denotes geographic origin instead of genes. The Bureau itself says that “the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups.” And yet, the Asian American sociocultural group is a unique one, the intersection between heritage and assimilation. It remains entirely distinct from the sociocultural groups of Asian countries.
Though the Bureau says that its racial terms “reflect a social definition of race...and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically,” they reflect a “social definition” that is incorrect and alienating. If my society must impose geographic origin on my race, can’t my government at least recognize through its diction that I am an American national?
Census diction regarding Asian Americans furthers the “perpetual foreigner” stereotype. Though many Asian Americans do self-identify as Asian, this doesn’t lessen the term’s racist implications. When completing the census today, Asian Americans are given as much credit for their nationality as was Mr. Chin when he was beaten to death.
Of course, the problem lies with today's social atmosphere, not census terminology. Nevertheless, the atmosphere cannot change without the terminology changing, too. The Office of Management and Budget and the Census Bureau must make “Asian American” an option alongside "Asian," finally giving members of the United States’ “fastest-growing racial group” the chance to feel like they truly belong (Semple).
Works Cited
Fouberg, Erin H., Alexander B. Murphy, and H.J. de Blij. Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture. 9th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009. Print.
Gandhi, Lakshmi. “Three Years Later, a Moment of Silence for Private Danny Chen.” News/Asian America. NBC News, 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Mar 2015. <http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/three-years-later-moment-silence-private-danny-chen-n217856>
Hing, Bill Ong. “‘Ching Chong, Chinaman’: The De-Americanization of Asian Americans.”
Huffpost Arts & Culture. The Huffington Post, 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 8 Mar 2015.
“Race.” United States Census Bureau. United States Census Bureau, 8 July. 2013. Web. 8 Mar 2015. <https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html>
Semple, Kirk. “In a Shift, Biggest Wave of Migrants is Now Asian.” National News. The New York Times, 18 June. 2012. Web. 8 Mar 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/us/asians-surpass-hispanics-as-biggest-immigrant-wave.html>
Wu, Frank H. “Why Vincent Chin Matters.” Sunday Review: The Opinion Pages. The New York Times, 22 June. 2012. Web. 8 Mar 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/23/opinion/why-vincent-chin-matters.html?ref=topics>
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