{"id":1363,"date":"2020-03-05T11:22:17","date_gmt":"2020-03-05T11:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/?p=1363"},"modified":"2020-03-05T11:22:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T11:22:17","slug":"asian-american-life-by-isabelle-rideout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/asian-american-life-by-isabelle-rideout\/","title":{"rendered":"Asian American Life by Isabelle Rideout"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>

A Cry for Acknowledgement of All Us Asian Americans (For My Mother)<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Introduction<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    My mother has taught me many things<\/span><\/p>\n

    about race and racism<\/span><\/p>\n

    She has many opinions<\/span><\/p>\n

    many stories<\/span><\/p>\n

    many facts<\/span><\/p>\n

    that she shares with me<\/span><\/p>\n

    I know not how to turn them to prose<\/span><\/p>\n

    So I write these lines instead<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Asian-American<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      My mother is ABC:<\/span><\/p>\n

      American Born Chinese<\/span><\/p>\n

      Her parent immigrated here\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      a very long time ago<\/span><\/p>\n

      She was raised in this country,<\/span><\/p>\n

      Born in this country<\/span><\/p>\n

      She speaks English<\/span><\/p>\n

      Her Mandarian twice as good as mine<\/span><\/p>\n

      But not nearly as good as her parents\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      She is American<\/span><\/p>\n

      She is Chinese<\/span><\/p>\n

      She is Chinese-American<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The hyphen connects her identities<\/span><\/p>\n

      My identities<\/span><\/p>\n

      It connects the country her parents come from<\/span><\/p>\n

      My grandparents<\/span><\/p>\n

      and the country she comes from<\/span><\/p>\n

      The country I come from<\/span><\/p>\n

      It represents her<\/span><\/p>\n

      and me<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      But the hyphen also<\/span><\/p>\n

      makes it seem like<\/span><\/p>\n

      one must qualify\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      what kind of American they are<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cI\u2019m American and also Asian\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

      With a space, it becomes\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      \u201cI am Asian <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> a American\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

      fully both<\/span><\/p>\n

      All at once<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      I will use\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      a hyphen for us<\/span><\/p>\n

      because I\u2019ve already made it poetic<\/span><\/p>\n

      and a space for everyone else<\/span><\/p>\n

      because it\u2019s trendy<\/span><\/p>\n

      and what I said above<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      III. Omitted Narratives, Forgotten Stories<\/span><\/p>\n

      But sometimes people don\u2019t see that<\/span><\/p>\n

      my mother is American<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Sometimes people don\u2019t tell<\/span><\/p>\n

      the stories of her people<\/span><\/p>\n

      the stories of Asian Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

      Stories of America<\/span><\/p>\n

      The same America\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      of the Gold Rush<\/span><\/p>\n

      of the Civil War<\/span><\/p>\n

      of the railroads<\/span><\/p>\n

      of basketball<\/span><\/p>\n

      of jazz<\/span><\/p>\n

      of NASA<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      That America chooses to leave us out<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Some of these stories I only hear now,<\/span><\/p>\n

      In my idle searching<\/span><\/p>\n

      Our landmarks are so erased from the books<\/span><\/p>\n

      I never learn of<\/span><\/p>\n

      so many<\/span><\/p>\n

      Asian American firsts<\/span><\/p>\n

      So I will tell you now<\/span><\/p>\n

      how these stories go<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      People know many Chinese miners<\/span><\/p>\n

      came for the California Gold Rush<\/span><\/p>\n

      But do they know the Chinese miners\u2019 distinctive clothes<\/span><\/p>\n

      made them the targets\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      of white miners\u2019 violent frustration<\/span><\/p>\n

      at all foreigners?<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      We have all learned about the Civil War<\/span><\/p>\n

      Asian Americans\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      so often forgotten,<\/span><\/p>\n

      ignored in their small numbers,<\/span><\/p>\n

      were there too<\/span><\/p>\n

      Along with Pacific Islanders,<\/span><\/p>\n

      They fought\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Mostly for the Union<\/span><\/p>\n

      Sometimes for the Confederacy<\/span><\/p>\n

      Often without citizenship<\/span><\/p>\n

      Always for a country<\/span><\/p>\n

      that told them they were<\/span><\/p>\n

      Not American<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The railroads represent<\/span><\/p>\n

      the peak of steam power<\/span><\/p>\n

      A shining accomplishment\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      and a demonstration of America\u2019s superiority,<\/span><\/p>\n

      they have fallen into<\/span><\/p>\n

      Disrepair<\/span><\/p>\n

      Rusting<\/span><\/p>\n

      Lying unused<\/span><\/p>\n

      When they were the future,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      Chinese workers built them<\/span><\/p>\n

      Many were killed or injured\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      But they were not allowed\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      to be in the picture<\/span><\/p>\n

      that was taken when<\/span><\/p>\n

      the two lines finally met<\/span><\/p>\n

      Connecting a country<\/span><\/p>\n

      that would soon stop all people like them,<\/span><\/p>\n

      Chinese laborers,<\/span><\/p>\n

      from entering it<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The same year<\/span><\/p>\n

      Jackie Robinson<\/span><\/p>\n

      became the first African American<\/span><\/p>\n

      to play for Major League Baseball<\/span><\/p>\n

      Wataru Misaka,<\/span><\/p>\n

      a Japanese American,<\/span><\/p>\n

      broke the color barrier<\/span><\/p>\n

      for professional basketball<\/span><\/p>\n

      Why have I heard one\u2019s name but never the other\u2019s?<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Jazz was created by African Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

      its history is filled with\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      their stories<\/span><\/p>\n

      their pain<\/span><\/p>\n

      their sounds<\/span><\/p>\n

      I never knew Asian Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

      had a whole Asian American Jazz movement<\/span><\/p>\n

      in the \u201870s and \u201880s<\/span><\/p>\n

      infusing jazz\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      with the sounds of our classical instruments\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      When the space shuttle <\/span>Challenger <\/span><\/i>broke apart<\/span><\/p>\n

      killing seven people,<\/span><\/p>\n

      including Christa McAuliffe,<\/span><\/p>\n

      Ellison Onizuka was onboard<\/span><\/p>\n

      He had been the first Asian American\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      and the first person of Japanese descent<\/span><\/p>\n

      to reach space<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      These are omitted narratives,<\/span><\/p>\n

      Pages never put in<\/span><\/p>\n

      Words no one thought to write<\/span><\/p>\n

      But still only a few<\/span><\/p>\n

      of the stories tossed aside<\/span><\/p>\n

      For not being dramatic enough<\/span><\/p>\n

      For not being revolutionary enough<\/span><\/p>\n

      For not making America better enough<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Whose heros could have been found within these tales?<\/span><\/p>\n

      Who could have found the first person\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      to do the things they wanted to do<\/span><\/p>\n

      if they only had heard this?<\/span><\/p>\n

      Who would have been inspired,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

      knowing there was a place for people like them<\/span><\/p>\n

      all along?<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. No, I\u2019m Telling You it\u2019s Racist<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        When my mom was at school,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        Classmates would mock everything<\/span><\/p>\n

        from Asian eyes<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cChinese, Japanese\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

        while referencing Asain stereotypes of laborers and beggars<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cDirty knees, skinned knees\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

        to her parent\u2019s language<\/span><\/p>\n

        her language<\/span><\/p>\n

        my language<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cHahaha, what does \u2018ching chong\u2019 mean anyways?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        They reduced\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        an entire language<\/span><\/p>\n

        filled with delicate sounds<\/span><\/p>\n

        and intricate idioms<\/span><\/p>\n

        A language that so much had been\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        said in<\/span><\/p>\n

        written in<\/span><\/p>\n

        invented in<\/span><\/p>\n

        To a few silly sounds<\/span><\/p>\n

        \u201cIt\u2019s just a joke\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I don\u2019t really know<\/span><\/p>\n

        how often this happened<\/span><\/p>\n

        what the kids\u2019 intentions were<\/span><\/p>\n

        or how much it hurt my mother<\/span><\/p>\n

        (One thing many children of Asain American immigrants\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        have in common<\/span><\/p>\n

        is keeping their feelings hidden)<\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        But I do know<\/span><\/p>\n

        she understands<\/span><\/p>\n

        Kids don\u2019t say stuff like this to directly tease anymore<\/span><\/p>\n

        but it still shouldn\u2019t be said at all<\/span><\/p>\n

        even by Chinese kids themselves<\/span><\/p>\n

        (my mom told me, clearly quoting something, that it\u2019s called \u201cself-hating racism\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

        It is<\/span><\/p>\n

        at its core<\/span><\/p>\n

        in its origin<\/span><\/p>\n

        to the point of inextricability\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

        racist<\/span><\/p>\n

        And I shouldn\u2019t have to be the one to tell people this<\/span><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Hey, is Anyone Even Listening?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          I have heard<\/span><\/p>\n

          Asian American kids<\/span><\/p>\n

          don\u2019t bother to speak up<\/span><\/p>\n

          about the racism they face<\/span><\/p>\n

          Because they know no one will listen<\/span><\/p>\n

          (I have my sources)<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          I know of people<\/span><\/p>\n

          who are speaking up<\/span><\/p>\n

          But no one is listening<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          My mother listened,<\/span><\/p>\n

          last year,<\/span><\/p>\n

          to a panel on Asian American health<\/span><\/p>\n

          It focused on the children of immigrants<\/span><\/p>\n

          but could apply,<\/span><\/p>\n

          to an extent,<\/span><\/p>\n

          to all Americans of Asian descent<\/span><\/p>\n

          When she tried to share what she learned<\/span><\/p>\n

          it seemed like\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          No one was listening<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Did you know that\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          Asian Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

          have the second highest rate of depression?<\/span><\/p>\n

          Native Americans,<\/span><\/p>\n

          another \u201cinvisible minority,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

          are first<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          But the symptoms of depression<\/span><\/p>\n

          are different<\/span><\/p>\n

          in Asian Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

          They keep showing up<\/span><\/p>\n

          They keep \u201cdoing well\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

          They keep getting good grades<\/span><\/p>\n

          There are stories<\/span><\/p>\n

          where kids show up<\/span><\/p>\n

          Until the day<\/span><\/p>\n

          they can\u2019t take it<\/span><\/p>\n

          and disappear<\/span><\/p>\n

          because of a breakdown<\/span><\/p>\n

          or hospitalization<\/span><\/p>\n

          No warning signs<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Asian Americans see themselves so little<\/span><\/p>\n

          in the media<\/span><\/p>\n

          in their curriculum<\/span><\/p>\n

          in their teachers<\/span><\/p>\n

          in their idols<\/span><\/p>\n

          that they often end up thinking of themselves<\/span><\/p>\n

          as white<\/span><\/p>\n

          There is nothing for them<\/span><\/p>\n

          so they take what they can get<\/span><\/p>\n

          and twist,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          smear,<\/span><\/p>\n

          hide,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          distort<\/span><\/p>\n

          themselves<\/span><\/p>\n

          to fit in<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          There is no place<\/span><\/p>\n

          for Asian Americans<\/span><\/p>\n

          to talk to each other<\/span><\/p>\n

          and form their identities<\/span><\/p>\n

          So they drop the \u201cAsian\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

          They drop their parents and\/or grandparents stories<\/span><\/p>\n

          of sacrifice and hard work<\/span><\/p>\n

          They drop amazing cultural legacies\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          they were never told of<\/span><\/p>\n

          They drop who they really are<\/span><\/p>\n

          Even though they can never drop\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          the way they are seen<\/span><\/p>\n

          stereotypes and microaggressions<\/span><\/p>\n

          high expectations\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          (parents, people, themself)<\/span><\/p>\n

          and become just\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \u201cAmerican\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Some of the other things my mother learned\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          that apply to me\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          (to an extent):<\/span><\/p>\n

          Asian Americans internalize perfection and allow performance to define self-worth<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

          There is no emotional crash\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          like thinking I\u2019ve done something poorly\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          that I thought I was great at<\/span><\/p>\n

          Asian Americans don\u2019t ask for help<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

          I think of it as waiting\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          until there is solid proof I need it<\/span><\/p>\n

          And I\u2019m not lying<\/span><\/p>\n

          It\u2019s because we don\u2019t want to be a burden<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

          If you want me\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          to admit I need something to be explained again,<\/span><\/p>\n

          you need to ask twice<\/span><\/p>\n

          Because I hate bothering anyone<\/span><\/p>\n

          Ever<\/span><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          My mother tells me to speak up<\/span><\/p>\n

          So here are my words<\/span><\/p>\n

          Are you listening?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          A Cry for Acknowledgement of All Us Asian Americans (For My Mother) Introduction My mother has taught me many things about race and racism She has many opinions many stories many facts that she shares with me I know not how to turn them to prose So I write these lines instead   Asian-American My […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1364,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1363\/revisions\/1364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}