NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The effects of the War on Terror on Asian-American communities is the focus of a program called “Asian American Voices in an Age of Terror,” which will debut at the Rutgers Student center on Oct 1.
The program, which features former U.S. Army Muslim Chaplain James J. Yee, will bring together the voices from the Asian-American community to discuss the effects of racial profiling and stereotyping, said Allan Punzalan Isaac, associate professor in the Department of American Studies.
Yee was falsely accused of espionage and imprisoned for 76 days in 2003 before all charges were dropped, Isaac said.
Isaac said racist policies and practices, like the ones that led to Yee’s imprisonment, are detrimental to freedom of expression and citizenship.
While Asian-Americans are rarely mentioned in relation to the War on Terror, there is a history of racism in the United States toward different groups within the Asian-American category, said Sylvia Chan-Malik, assistant professor in the Department of American Studies in an interview with Rutgers Today.
“I hope the audience leaves with an understanding of how contemporary anti-Islamic racism in the U.S. is not simply the consequence of 9/11, but has emerged in relation to longstanding and overlapping legacies of racism and xenophobia,” Chan-Malik told Rutgers Today.
Immigrants and non-Christian religious groups are popular targets for racist practices because they are perceived as foreign, Isaac said, citing the Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting that occurred earlier this year.
“Sikhs and many other religious groups have thrived in the United States for over a century and yet, they are seen by some as threats to the American way of life, particularly at times of economic and political crises,” Isaac said.
Stereotyping dilutes cultural identity and leaves some Asian-Americans without a full appreciation of their ethnic heritage, said Zion Kim, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
“[It] assumes we all come from the same walks of life,” Kim said.
Chan-Malik told Rutgers Today that racism, classism, sexism and homophobia are rampant, even if they are sometimes seems invisible.
“On the one hand, racism is everywhere — in the coded language of politicians, law enforcement practices, the violent inequality that determines the uneven distribution of state and social resources,” Chan-Malik told Rutgers Today. “On the other hand, racism no longer speaks its name.”
Kim said this generation has gone through its share of stereotyping and, while he brushes off Asian-American stereotypes, he understands why it is hard to ignore some of the comments.
More recently, Kim said people gave him comments of surprise when he admitted that he was not familiar with directions on Busch campus.
“People will still profile you because you’re Asian,” Kim said.
The term Asian-American is an umbrella term for people that may belong to many different religious groups and ethnic affiliations, Isaac said.
The group, he said, is affected by legacies of racism and exclusion dating back to the 19th century.
Asian-Americans have historically been portrayed as the “model minority” when compared to other racial groups, which ignores the complicated racial history of the United States, Isaac said.
When an individual does something great or terrible, Kim said news sources often refer to stereotypes before looking closely at the person.
A lot of Asian-Americans were ostracized following the Virginia Tech shooting, said Kim, who recalls being taunted in school while someone threw an egg at his brother’s car.
“The myth still persists today, creating not only unrealistic expectations among widely diverse Asian-American communities who might fail to achieve class and social mobility, but is also detrimental to coalitions among communities of color necessary to fight against structural and everyday racism,” Isaac said.
Kim said the stereotype could also paint the individual in a positive light, such as Jeremy Lin, the Houston Rockets basketball player, because it treats Asian-Americans who do not fit the stereotype as a novelty.
“[People think that] they were great and, specifically, they were Asian, so that’s a surprise,” Kim said. “That sounds unfair, but you get over it.”
Kim said it is wrong to lump Koreans, Japanese or Chinese ethnicities together because each group has a distinct history and cultural identity. But he admits the practice may also provide a positive unity, as well.
