Being a child of immigrants is pretty darn hard. Your parents may have gotten you across the border, but now it’s your turn to put in that elbow grease and finish off the American Dream thing they started. In this video, Salutationsandgoodvibrations and, I will explore some of the challenges first-generation kids will have to face as they try to find the American identity for themselves and their family.
We will also talk about some of the biases in the news when it comes to reporting crimes, the chaos of having a multicultural family, and cultural appropriation with the Asian community. I’ll tell you what, trying to find your identity as your growing up between two different cultures isn’t gonna be an easy one. But I think we owe it to our parents to give it the ol’ immigrant try, eh.
If you have a story about being a child of immigrants or some kinda wonky cultural appropriation story, share with us down below…..and if you like it (sigh, I hate saying this) like, subscribe, comment, the whole jazz. . .please.
Before I even start, I want to say !!!TRIGGER WARNING!!! We will be talking about racism, hate crimes, recent attacks, sexual assault stuff, and other sensitive but real matters at hand.
Well, anywho, I got a new episode for you. . .but this time, it’s not gonna be a comedy thing. My friends Xtina, Jerome, and Erin will be joining me to talk about the recent hate crimes against Asian Americans Pacific Islanders.
In this episode, we talk about the “What about me?” mentality, racism within the AAPI community, try to figure out why there’s so much tension between other people of color and Asians, BLM vs AAPI, dealing with friends and family members who might not be so . . . nice, and everything else I mentioned or didn’t mention in the beginning.
I was super nervous about this recording because the subject just hits so close to home. I was so worried that I forgot to check my mic and lighting settings. I know it doesn’t excuse the shitty audio quality, but I’m sorry. I tried to fix it and spent almost 10 hours listening to the same 10 seconds repeatedly. Despite the recording being three hours long, I trimmed some stuff (which I will release as small clips).
So I hope y’all will, I guess, enjoy the show. Some stuff I want to mention: AWA was started in the Bay Area, I was wrong. And the importance of empathy and realizing the enemy is not one race but a system within America we have to change. We have to be careful not to weaponize our cause against anyone else; everyone’s experience is valid and their own. Below I linked a bunch of resources for more information. There are also sites where you can report hate crimes and get legal help.
If you have a story you would like to share, leave a comment down below….and you know, do the like and subscribe thing.
Timestamps 00:00 – Intros 01:23 – Xtina and Jerome’s Thoughts on the Rise in AAPI Hate Crimes 05:30 – Who are the Asian Americans? Asian Identity Crisis in America 12:12 – Hate Crimes vs Crimes of Opportunity, Daniel Wu and W. Kamau Bell Interview 17:10 – Anti-Asian Redoric (Kung-Flu), Model Minority Myth Division, and Colorism within AAPI 30:00 – What About Me? BLM vs AAPI: Trying to Understand the Divide 39:00 – AAPI Identity: What does it mean to be Asian Asian American? 46:38 – Growing Up Asian American in Visalia/Central Valley and My Experience with Racism 53:45 – You Can’t Just Blame White People or Black, Brown, Whatever People for Problems 1:00:30 – Maybe AAPI Deserves This Hate, We Brought This Upon Ourselves? 1:04:47 – Education and Exposure to Different Races and Cultures are Important! 1:12:37 – Modifying Our Language for Racists and Sympathizers, The Spectrum of Racisms 1:22:09 – Combating AAPI Conservatism: Without Empathy, People Won’t Change 1:31:00 – Standing with the AAPI Community: Who is the Enemy of the AAPI Movement? 1:38:45 – What if You’re a Bystander Witnessing a Hate Crime? Asian With Attitude 1:44:16 – Erin Telling Us About His Experience at the Stop Asian Hate Rally in Oakland 1:51:42 – Touching on the Discrimination/Racism within the Asian American Community 1:54:26 – Fetishization of Asian Women (Incel Culture) and Emasculation of Asian Males
1:58:21 – The Fetishization of Asian Males (Twink Stereotype) in the LGBQ+ Community 2:06:29 – Asians With Attitude and Stop AAPI Hate Organizing and Rallying People 2:08:00 – Closing Thoughts and Saying Goodbye
#SorryAsianParents 