Social Andrew Yang is being rejected by Asian-Americans

[Zazen]

Of course they're going to be behind the US on anti-discriminatory laws- it's only been since the 21st century when non-Han residents were a common sight in their cities. And they're still a tiny minority, with very little legal protections specific to their status.

The US has been multicultural since its inception and still wouldn't grant black people civil rights until a century after abolishing slavery. Augusta National only allowed its first black member in 1990 for cryin out loud. And we're a nation with ~12% black population. What is the white population of China? .000001%? These ex-pats vlogging from China while complaining about it are the absolute epitome of privileged whining.

I agree with you, it is mostly ignorance than racism. Most are pretty cool about it when you sit down with them and talk about it.

Probably just got a little emotional, I was a big Yang supporter until he dropped out. Nice response.

 

[Seano]

Why does he and you assume his audience doesn't already see themselves as American? Asian Americans are by their very definition American. These are the descendants of the people who built the railroads.

Because of the comments they made in response to his quote. Read them and tell me those aren't people who see themselves as separate, making generalized statements about other Americans.

 

[panamaican]

I've never thought of Asian Americans as not being American enough. You can make a case for the older Asians who never even bothered to learn the English language, but they aren't on Twitter listening to Yang's message written in English.

And black Americans and Hispanic Americans have never thought of themselves as not being American enough either and yet they are frequent recipients of that same messaging.

That said, Yang's message is the exact same message constantly directed at minority groups. That they need to be more "American" to earn equal social treatment. It's an invalid argument. It's invalid when directed at the black community, the Hispanic community or the Asian community. And Asian-Americans, just like black Americans and Hispanic Americans, have no reason to have their American-ness questioned just because they don't perfectly align with some stereotypical expectation of America.

 

[nac386]

His piece was worded like shit. I just read it, and honestly it sounded pretty goofy. Yang is a one-trick pony if I've ever seen one, and his one trick is not very good, it's essentially just offering everybody cash.

He starts off by talking about getting accusatory looks at the grocery store because of his race during this pandemic. He ends by saying Asians should be even more American, by doing even more American things, like helping neighbors, etc.

The problem is, his message was all over the place. He acknoweldges the complete ignorance of racism against Asians during this pandemic. He correctly states that almost 20% of our Doctors who are fighting this illness in this country are Asians. About 10% of our nurses are Asian.

Asians are way overrepresented in the fields that save lives.

But he ends by recommending that Asians do even more, which is pretty damn weak to be honest. Asians do not have to do more, they already do more than enough and more than most, on average. Asians do not have to prove their Americanness. They only need to continue doing what they already do, no more or less.

If there are racist Americans going after Asians, then it is all Americans who need to do more to put an end to that moronic shit. If Yang wants to recommend that somebody does more for the community, then he should be directing that at the people causing the problem in the first place, which in this case is the moron giving him dirty looks at the supermarket.

 

[blaseblah]

Because of the comments they made in response to his quote. Read them and tell me those aren't people who see themselves as separate, making generalized statements about other Americans.

I see Americans complaining about being asked to be more American because of their ethnicity.

 

[ShinkanPo]

Well shit...where do I begin?

first off, "Uncle Chan"....that's fucking hilarious

Not Uncle Wong?

 

[Madmick]

His general sentiment-- that a heightened effort towards assimilation will benefit most acutely the assimilating group-- is correct, and a helpful message to American immigrants, generally, but it won't do anything to deter the unhinged attacks by bigots against Chinese-looking people right now. That latter tidbit is something that should be remembered in this moment. It isn't just Chinese who have been the victims of these attacks.

At the same time, consistent with that latter truth, I don't think Trump's rhetorical insistence on pointing the finger at China has anything to do with inflaming these morons, either. He never explicitly advocated for violence against China, or real Chinese, after all. There isn't even the implication in his comments that violence against Chinese, much less Chinese Americans, is justified, or would address the problem. These whackjobs aren't looking for permission. They know they're committing crimes. They're not even concerned with verifying the identity of their targets. They also know these crimes don't do anything to cure the disease.

There's no rational discourse or behavior that will deter irrational actors.

 

[nac386]

Those are all liberal Asians tweeting

That would be just under 80% of them.

 

[MMAGA]

Could you imagine the backlash if we had places say NO CHINESE WELCOME.

How'bout pron companies?

 

[nac386]

Because of the comments they made in response to his quote. Read them and tell me those aren't people who see themselves as separate, making generalized statements about other Americans.

Read them again. Not a single one of them says they are separate, in fact it's exactly the opposite. They are pointing out, correctly, that they already are American and ignorant people too often request for minorities to prove their Americanness but somehow they never finally become American enough.

The Japanese Americans rushed to join WW2 to prove their loyalty to the country. Did they suddenly become American enough? Or are Japanese Americans getting strange looks at supermarkets this week, just like Yang?

Exactly. They are tired of a few morons requesting they engage in a never-ending cycle of proving their Americanness. If you don't think Asian Americans are American enough, then you're a moron and that's your personal problem. Nobody needs to constantly remind the country that they are, in fact, an American. It's an obnoxiously ignorant request.

I'd like for people to explain what it means to be an American. Then, compare that with the traits of the Asian American community. I have a feeling they are going to come out looking pretty damn good, unless your description of what it takes to be an American is fat, poor, and uneducated.

 

[TheGreatA]

Massive racism? Where?

 

[Madmick]

That would be just under 80% of them.

Only 19% voted for him in 2016, eh? Trump must be doing a lot better with Asian-Americans than I realized because by 2018...

 

[MMAGA]

Basically the Yang is telling Asians-Americans to be more American to combat racism. The comments by Asians in each thread are interesting to read. They're really upset with him and feel that it's victim blaming. Many of these people feel shunned by this country.

I can guarantee you that the overwhelming majority of those flooding his account with negative replies, are all already white-washed as hell! But, these scum can't go a day without screaming at something/someone!

 

[nac386]

Only 19% voted for him in 2016, eh? Trump must be doing a lot better with Asian-Americans than I realized because by 2018...

They are so thrilled with him that 77% of them voted Democrat in midterms.

 

[Madmick]

They are so thrilled with him that 77% of them voted Democrat in midterms.

Voted Democrat for whom? That isn't a Presidential race. There are a lot of seats, and I was just looking at the Presidential numbers (since that's what you posted about).

 

[nac386]

Voted Democrat for whom? That isn't a Presidential race. There are a lot of seats, and I was just looking at the Presidential numbers.

He hasn't been as disastrous as some people thought he'd be, it's not surprising to see his approval ratings outpace the votes he received. But even in the chart you posted, he's seen dis-favorably by 6/7 Asian subgroups. Chinese being the largest group, in which 70% disapprove. His biggest chance is probably in the Filipino community, which is more moderate and also very large in population. But any way you look at it, he's certainly not a popular guy in the Asian American community. More importantly, the GOP is very unpopular in that community.

 

[Seano]

Read them again. Not a single one of them says they are separate, in fact it's exactly the opposite. They are pointing out, correctly, that they already are American and ignorant people too often request for minorities to prove their Americanness but somehow they never finally become American enough.

The Japanese Americans rushed to join WW2 to prove their loyalty to the country. Did they suddenly become American enough? Or are Japanese Americans getting strange looks at supermarkets this week, just like Yang?

Exactly. They are tired of a few morons requesting they engage in a never-ending cycle of proving their Americanness. If you don't think Asian Americans are American enough, then you're a moron and that's your personal problem. Nobody needs to constantly remind the country that they are, in fact, an American. It's an obnoxiously ignorant request.

I'd like for people to explain what it means to be an American. Then, compare that with the traits of the Asian American community. I have a feeling they are going to come out looking pretty damn good, unless your description of what it takes to be an American is fat, poor, and uneducated.

Like this one?

Told yall @AndrewYang a kowtowing Uncle Chan. Fuck out of here with this America drag. You actually think a country with a President that uses the term “China Virus” will ever see u as one of them because u wore red white blue you bumbling pineapple bun

 

[Madmick]

He hasn't been as disastrous as some people thought he'd be, it's not surprising to see his approval ratings outpace the votes he received. But even in the chart you posted, he's seen dis-favorably by 6/7 Asian subgroups. Chinese being the largest group, in which 70% disapprove. His biggest chance is probably in the Filipino community, which is more moderate and also very large in population. But any way you look at it, he's certainly not a popular guy in the Asian American community. More importantly, the GOP is very unpopular in that community.

Sure. That wasn't what took me by surprise. I didn't recall that he performed that poorly in 2016 with Asians, and wondered what their approval ratings were after some time with him as President. His approval nearly doubled the number who voted for him.

It also showed that actual Asian-American immigrants favored him more than native-born citizens. That struck me as the most interesting facet of what is otherwise a usually pretty meaningless question (that of "approval").

 

[nac386]

Like this one?

Read it again.

He's not saying, "I don't see myself as American." He is saying that wearing Red, White, and Blue is not going to convince people that you are suddenly American enough, if they don't already see you that way. His Tweet was the goofiest of the group, probably intentionally so, for comedic effect. But it's still not a guy saying he's not American, it's a guy saying that he's tired of having to prove it.

Edit: Just checked his Twitter. It's all comedy stuff, which explains his tone.

 

[MicroBrew]

We all know what it means, well-intentioned or not. It's the same argument brought up all of the time in relation to minority groups and acceptance. Just because this speaker is Asian and/or a Democrat doesn't make it a new message.

Yeah I think his wording was clumsy , which ended up sound bad.

He is no Michelle Malkin or Dinesh D'Souza, so I believe he was well intentioned.