A Clean Education

Sweeping up the mess that colonization left. Exploring issues in the educational system, Asian American issues, Pilipin@/Pilipin@ American issues, and politics concerning the needs of people of color. http://acleaneducation.blogspot.com/

[acleaneducation]

5 Reasons Asian College Kids Hang out with Other Asian College Kids

Kimmy Jin and her parents from Pitch PerfectIf you've seen the movie, Pitch Perfect, you know of Kimmy Jin, Becca's unfriendly Korean American roommate who only hangs out with other Asians.  While her portrayal, and that of all the other PoC characters in the movie, were problematic and played off of stereotypes for laughs, one of the things that stood out to me was the villainization of Kimmy Jin and her only being friends with other Asian Americans.  And since this is around the time students are moving back into their dorms and freshmen are experiencing their first taste of vodka, here are 5 reasons Asian college kids hang out with other Asian college kids.

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[acleaneducation]

My Experience Dating Outside my Race

Entering the dating world is scary for anybody, but for people of color, the experience of dating puts you even more on edge.  Thoughts run through your mind like, "Does this guy have a fetish?"  "I hope he doesn't say anything racist."  "Was I rejected because I was Asian?"  "Why does this guy keep talking about lumpia?"  "I hope no one calls me China doll."

Here is my experience with dating outside my race.

Up until this point in time I had only dated Pilipinos.  I never really thought much of it growing up in a majority Pilipino neighborhood and being involved in Pilipino clubs when I was in college.  It made sense that I had only dated Pinoys because that was who I was surrounded by.

Then this guy came along.  Let's call him Jeff.  He was nice and charming.  He was extremely good looking with muscles bulging and everything.  I was smitten.  Jeff identified himself as mulatto, half white and half black.

We dated for about three months and during this time I always had tiny jabs at me about my race called microaggressions, very subtle comments that imply negative stereotypes about a race or ethnicity.  One of the first microaggressions was on our first date. He made the assumption that I was extremely sheltered and never left the city of Berkeley where I lived at the time.  Little did he know I grew up in a low-income neighborhood with gang violence and drugs.  The house across the street turned into a crack den when I was in high school and there was always that part of the neighborhood you didn't wear red at ever.  At the time I also worked in East Oakland, helping academically disengaged students, which to my knowledge is outside of Berkeley.  I had not told him any of this yet but he had to draw this conclusion from somewhere: my appearance.

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We're back... with Respectability Politics and Travyon Martin

After a long hiatus, we are back!  Sometimes life happens and things don’t go the way we want but after these couple of busy months and the current climate around race relations I’ve been inspired to start writing again. Though this is a couple weeks late, I wanted to point out how people have been blaming Travyon Martin and the black community for all the injustices that they face.  A perfect example Don Lemon’s 5 points to fixing the black community:

While I can go point by point and talk about how Don Lemon is wrong on each count, I’m going to talk about the larger issue of internalized racism and respectability politics.  There is a lot of stigma around anything associated with the black community. From language to fashion, the black community has created its own culture which has been created from an environment of oppression and is seen by many as inferior.  And this results in many folks, such as Don Lemon, blaming black people for their own shortcomings while not looking at the larger picture of oppression and racism. The critics of black culture see white culture as superior and see assimilation into it as the only escape for black people.  This means dressing “respectably”, speaking “proper” English, getting an education, and all around not acting “ghetto”, effectively demonizing black culture. Having said that, I wonder what these people did wrong: Dr. Marc Lamont Hill

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Both men are well educated, well dressed, and speak “proper” English, yet are still deemed suspicious. This is the problem with respectability politics.  It refuses to acknowledge the root cause of the issue and skirts around blaming the victims of racism for causing other people to react to them in such a way.  Travyon Martin’s trial was not a trial about whether or not Zimmerman had killed the kid.  No one could argue that he didn’t do it.  It became a trial about the character of Martin and whether or not he deserved to die.

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[acleaneducation]

Racist Superbowl Tweets

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know the Superbowl is today!  And in traditional fashion came all the racist Tweets from angry white men! Most popped up when the queen herself, Beyonce, and her much anticipated performance came on for the half-time show. Read more after the jump.

Many of these tweets are a result of white men feeling threatened by more representation of black artists and women.  This may be the first time they have not seen themselves represented anywhere, a common experience of people of color that's completely foreign to white males.  They deem this a threat to their power and privilege within American society, evidenced by the "#outnumbered".  To people of color though, it is merely more equality and representation.

Funny how Beyonce can scare the living shit out of some white guys.

Plain and simple, they fear the success of people of color.

[acleaneducation]

The Return of Yellow Peril

With the remake of Red Dawn with North Korean terrorists, came a huge response from viewers exclaiming anti-Asian sentiments.  A selection of tweets below:

Source

But recently, a new trailer has been released for Olympus has Fallen featuring evil North Korean terrorists taking over the White House.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

So what is going on with all the Asian haters?  A lot of it is extremely political and inducing anti-Asian propaganda, which is obviously working based on people's tweets. North Koreans make the perfect Asian bad guys because of their reputation for nuclear weapons and not so friendly relationship with the United States. A lot of this Yellow Peril can be contributed to China's rise as a superpower and the United States being threatened by them.  A great example of this is the US military presence in the Philippines and their eventual clash with China over the Spratly Islands because of precious oil found there.  The Spratly Islands really do deserve their own post. There is also a large issue of xenophobia attached to this.  With immigration of Asians rising rapidly and the new statistics stating Asian immigrants now being a larger population than Latin@ immigrants in California, there is a new threat to white American society.  It was seen as recently as Gangnam Style by Psy being performed at the American Music Awards with what was seen as a victory for Asia America, was met with a lot of backlash from those who deemed the Korean performer not American enough for the show.  This was also met with the digging of Psy's anti-American song, which strongly agitated people ignorant to the crap the United States has done to lead to the colonization of Korea by Japan.

[acleaneducation]

Trayvon Martin's School Records in Zimmerman Defense's Hands

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The Trayvon Martin case has taken another racist turn.  In an attempt to soil Trayvon Martin's reputation, Zimmerman's defense has posted that they have received his school records, attempting to argue that "a person's reputation for violence may be admissible in a case, even if the person accused of the crime was unaware of the reputation". If this argument is seen as "valid" it gives people a license to kill anyone who in their eyes can be seen as dangerous, if the person has a history of violence.  This opens up the door for racial profiling and is an attempt to separate the "good" black people from "bad" black people, justifying the killing of those that are deemed "dangerous".  And his defense still has the audacity to say they're not racist: "Further, even though the memory of Trayvon Martin has been misapplied to represent such racially-motivated mistreatment, we welcome the opportunity it has provided to have a candid conversation about race relations in America -- as long as that conversation does not interfere with the proper application of justice for George." I think I'm more confused that a murderer sees himself as a victim than the implication that the case is not racist, yet can be used to spark a conversation on race relations.  I don't understand racist people feeling justified in their action and seeing themselves as the victim.  They're basically blaming Trayvon being black and causing Zimmerman to shoot him. Full post from the George Zimmerman Legal Case:

The Zimmerman defense received the school records of Trayvon Martin, as ordered by Judge Nelson. When we asked the Court to issue Subpoenas Duces Tecum for the school records, the State objected, and Mr. Crump, on behalf of the Martin family, registered a public objection. They argued, in part, that George Zimmerman did not know Trayvon Martin before the night of February 26, 2012, and so the nature of Trayvon’s character as revealed in the school records is irrelevant to the case at hand.

The Judge ruled that the defense should have the records. This ruling was based, in large part, on a case called State v. Munoz, 45 So 3d 954 (3 DCA 2010). That case holds that, under the right circumstances, a person's reputation for violence may be admissible in a case, even if the person accused of the crime was unaware of the reputation. The case focuses on the issue of the whether the person with the reputation may have acted aggressively in this case.

We are entitled to receive the school records because some information in Trayvon Martin’s file could be relevant in the defense of George Zimmerman. Moreover, information provided in the file could lead to other discoverable information that may be relevant in the defense. It is our right and our obligation to explore these issues in the zealous advocacy of our client. While some people have argued that this is improper, they can only do so if they are ignorant of the law. As attorneys and advocates, we are charged with the responsibility to investigate and discover any information which may assist our client's interests of presenting all relevant evidence regarding this event. No one would want, or accept, less if they were the client -- nor should they expect less.

Trayvon Martin’s school records are protected, and they should not become part of the public record. We will not post them on our website. If any detail of the school records should be considered relevant in the course of a Self-Defense Immunity Hearing, only the parts deemed relevant to the case will be entered into evidence.

A number of parties have expressed concern that we will use information found in the school records to “demonize” Trayvon Martin. The Zimmerman defense has no intention to demonize Trayvon Martin. While we believe that George Zimmerman has been unjustly demonized as a racist and a murderer by those who saw benefit in doing so, nothing would justify a reciprocal attack on the character and memory of Trayvon Martin.

We also recognize that the memory of Trayvon Martin has become important to the conversation about the state of race relations in America. While the accusations of racially-motivated violence in the Zimmerman case are absolutely false, we know that racially-motivated mistreatment in the criminal justice system is still a serious problem. Further, even though the memory of Trayvon Martin has been misapplied to represent such racially-motivated mistreatment, we welcome the opportunity it has provided to have a candid conversation about race relations in America -- as long as that conversation does not interfere with the proper application of justice for George.

As we approach a Self-Defense Immunity Hearing and/or a jury trial, there will be necessary scrutiny of Trayvon Martin. As it is true for any person who undergoes such scrutiny, facts may come out that could be seen to show him in a less than favorable light. We do, for instance, have an interest in presenting Trayvon Martin accurately as he appeared on the night of February 26, 2012, and that will include challenging the several-years-old photo of Trayvon Martin as a boy wearing a red shirt -- the photo that has become the popular representation of him in the minds of the public at large. If the memory of Trayvon Martin is going to be a catalyst for a conversation about race relations in America, then we should have an honest conversation.

[acleaneducation]

Congresswoman Hanabusa Confronts O'Reilly

Last week, you may or may not have heard Bill O'Reilly being a racist prick.  In a conversation about Hawaii's rampant liberalism, this is what he had to say: O'REILLY: And, you know, I think the one person who said, Look, this is a place where people come to to escape. This is, you know, generally speaking. But you know what's shocking? 35 percent of the Hawaiian population is Asian, and Asian people are not liberal, you know, by nature. They're usually more industrious and hard-working. His racism has perpetuated the model minority myth, homogenized a large group of diverse people, and blatantly and ignorantly generalized Asian Americans.  And in doing so, he is "othering" Asian Americans as different from the general American populace, further alienating us. Here's Hawaii congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa confronting O'Reilly, demanding an apology on behalf of the Asian American community.

Of course O'Reilly yells at the Congresswoman and patronizes her by telling her she's a "good person".  She could barely get a word in edgewise with him constantly blowing up on her.  From what I was able to piece together from the congresswoman, she was commenting on the community oriented culture of Hawaii and how government assistance is a reflection of this, something O'Reilly's capitalistic, white, male mind can never fully comprehend.  It's not like white colonialism wasn't the cause of all of Hawaii's problems. Also interesting that he's telling an Asian American what should and shouldn't be offensive to them cause you know... that totally makes sense.

[acleaneducation]

Affirmative Action: A Personal Story

"Things Black Students Say": A video that highlights the struggles African American students face in higher education.

Freshman year, I walked to my first college English class with high hopes of discussing scintillating literature with my fellow English majors. As I walked into the small, stuffy classroom and took a glance at my peers, the excited bubble that I had been carrying inside me popped and I was left feeling inferior, intimidated, and anxious. Growing up in Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles, I was used to seeing brown faces like mine staring back at me, but almost every single face in the classroom I had entered was white. I automatically felt awkward and displaced; there wasn't a single Pilipina in the room besides me. That moment was the first time I became aware about the marginalized status of Pilipinos in the university.

Don't get me wrong--I have no problem being around white people, but when you're the only Pilipina in your classroom and everyone around you is talking about how they read James Joyce in high school and the summer cruise they went on with their parents, you start becoming aware of how disadvantaged you are compared to the rest of the student body. The only Shakespeare play I read in high school was Hamlet, and there was no way my parents could afford a cruise even if they sold their organs on the black market. While most of my classmates came from white, middle-class, suburban neighborhoods, I came from a low-income household and attended an under resourced high school with a 25% graduation rate.

I came to UC Berkeley thinking that it was a pretty diverse school, especially since the undergraduate student body is almost 40% Asian/Asian American. I thought I would encounter a lot of Pilipinos in my classes but boy was I wrong. I was fortunate to have attended a Pilipino Academic Student Services (PASS) general meeting and learned that even though the university is 40% Asian/Asian American, there are only 2.5% Pilipinos on campus. Pilipinos are the second largest Asian group in the United States, but we are heavily underrepresented in systems of higher education. No wonder I was the only Pilipina English major I knew--there weren't enough of me on campus.

PASS's mission statement is to recruit and retain Pilipinos into higher education. Not only do they strive to increase the number of Pilipinos in the university, but they also provide resources for current Pilipino students. I decided to involve myself heavily with PASS--I became the Advocacy Coordinator for the 2011-2012 school year and worked intensely to advocate for the passage of SB 185, a bill that would have allowed the University of California system and other public institutions to consider race, gender, ethnicity, and other relevant factors in hiring and admissions. The Berkeley College Republicans--a group that likes to pretend they are for racial equality--staged a mock bake sale with specific cupcake prices based on a person's race while the bill was currently in the process of getting approved or vetoed. For instance, a white person would have had to pay $2.00 for a cupcake while an Asian/Asian American would pay a reduced price of $1.50. Not only did they exhibit that Asians/Asian Americans were almost equivalent to whites, but they also offended the student of color community and the struggles we've had to go through to make it into higher education. The student of color community responded by organizing a demonstration known as The Affirmation, where we all dressed in black clothes, held hands, and laid down on Upper Sproul to make our presence known to the larger UC Berkeley community. I'll never forget being a part of that demonstration--it was an extremely empowering moment that motivated me even more to fight for the recruitment and retention of students of color into higher education.

I am currently in the middle of finishing my senior year. I've met six other Pilipino English majors (Yay!) and I still remain active in the Pilipino community at Berkeley. I hope to attend graduate school in the future, and I feel slightly intimidated knowing that there are even less Pilipinos in graduate education. However, I know that being the only Pilipina in my field isn't something to be frightened about. Rather, it's something that I can be proud of--I empower myself knowing that I belong in this educational system regardless of the color of my skin and socioeconomic background. I empower myself by showing younger students of color that yes, we may be underrepresented in higher education but we are are here and deserve to be here. If you still have any doubts or questions, check out this article that discusses 10 Myths About Affirmative Action or leave a comment below.

[acleaneducation]

Confused About the "Fiscal Cliff"?

For those of you who have been hearing the words "fiscal cliff" and have no idea what it means or have only been met with confusing explanations, Imara Jones of Colorlines gives a very straight forward explanation of the fiscal cliff deal or the "American Taxpayer Relief Act" as it is officially known. Here are a few choice quotes from the article: "By exempting all incomes up to $400,000 from key tax hikes, the American Taxpayer Relief Act treats many of the rich as if they were working poor. Under it, a person earning $20,000 and another earning up to 20 times this amount will see their tax bills remain the same." "In point of fact those now earning $350,000 and above actually constitute the top 1 percent all income earners. Therefore, through the $400,000 exemption, this bill in effect reclassifies part of the 1 percent and moves them to the 99 percent. This strange move further skews the tax code towards inequality. 97 percent of the 1 percent are white." While the Act is a step toward raising the taxes on the rich, it is not changing much and leaves ample room for loopholes around taxes.  It is not doing much in the way of racial economic equality and is not by any means the end all solution. Read the full article here.

[acleaneducation]

Stereotypes: The Good POC vs. the Bad POC

ster·e·o·type [ster-ee-uh-tahyp, steer-] noun,verb, ster·e·o·typed, ster·e·o·typ·ing. Sociology . a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group (taken from dictionary.com). Stereotypes often put people of color into an awkward position of needing to overcome these stereotypes and a feeling of self-consciousness that white people have the privilege of not having to worry about.  A black person may feel self conscious just by having to make a choice between chicken and beef, and may simply choose the beef just because he may think he is perpetuating the stereotype mentioned in the horrible meme above. In reality, stereotypes do appear in people of color and many are ashamed of it but really stereotypes are just a tool used by whiteness to split POC groups.  It pits the non-stereotypical POC against those who exhibit the stereotype of unwanted qualities.  It's all leading to the idea of assimilation and the need for POC to become more white in behavior and culture. An example of the "Good POC vs. the BAD POC" is if you've ever heard the microaggression, "You're not like a typical ___ person" or "It's like you're not even ____" or some variation of it.  It means that you exhibited qualities that they deem fit to be in their presence when they would not enjoy spending time with anyone who looks like you because they exhibit unwanted characteristics.  Essentially, they're a racist. It's a fight for assimilation and to assimilate means to be elevated and accepted by our oppressors but in reality we shouldn't be fighting against certain stereotypes but for people to embrace them as to not create this rift between groups of people.  And then stand up against the oppressors together.

[acleaneducation]

Why you can't be racist toward White People

Source

Whenever this topic comes up, white people and people of color alike get all up in arms about equality and being respectful, but racism is exactly as the infographic above states.  Most people see racism as someone simply calling someone names but racism lies within the power structure that backs up those words. For example, if I call a white guy a "cracker".  Other than maybe getting his feelings hurt, there's nothing else that harms him.  I called him a name but what other effects does it have?  None. But, if someone calls an undocumented immigrant an "illegal", there is a lot of power behind that word.  It upholds a system where this person is a criminal, doesn't belong and is all around a bad person.  And the use of this word can and has influenced people to hate them, discriminating against undocumented immigrants and creating laws and legislation to get rid of them and doing anything they can to prevent these people from succeeding. The word holds so much power and influence, there is no way one can compare it to cracker.  I have no power to take away from this white person, but this white person has all the power in the world to make my life as difficult as it can be.  This is what racism is.  It's power combined with prejudice. This is why reverse racism is a myth.  My words and actions cannot touch the power system that you have in place.  This is why affirmative action is so frowned upon.  It disrupts the system that allows whites to succeed over groups of color, threatening the power structure that they hold.

[acleaneducation]

Campaigns of the Week

Vote here: Undocumented Immigrants as the TIME Person of the Year

"An invisible population stepped forward on June 15, 2012, to stake its claim to the American Dream. On that day, President Obama declared that certain undocumented immigrants — a group simply labeled "illegal" by many — would not be subjected to deportation, under broad-ranging conditions. Suddenly the logjam of immigration reform shifted, as more than 1 million undocumented young people who had been in the country for the past five years found themselves with new opportunities. What is more, the sympathies of other groups of people who have undocumented relatives — and thus are mindful of their plight — may have clearly shifted to a President on a campaign for re-election, as evidenced by the preponderance of Hispanic and Asian-American voters casting their ballots for Obama. Chastened by the results of the vote, the GOP has warmed to a legislative fix, increasing chances of comprehensive reform." - Howard Chua-Eoan What this means is that the struggles of the undocumented immigrant will not only be recognized by a prestigious and reputable publication but that these struggles are given the same recognition that people such as Martin Luther King Jr. were awarded, further highlighting the importance and historical significance of their overcoming these struggles. Read our post on The US's Obligation to its Undocumented Residents

Sign Petition here: Justice for victims of the Tampakan Massacre! Cut U.S. military aid to the Philippines!

"Hold the 27th Infantry Battalion(IB) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and X-strata accountable for the October 18th slaying of Juvy Capion and her two sons in Tampakan, South Cotabato, Mindanao.  This is part of a continuing pattern of intimidation and impunity used by the Philippine military, which is supported by U.S. military aid to the Philippines, to violently suppress the growing opposition to aggressive mining development in the ancestral lands of the indigenous peoples of Mindanao." - Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines

To learn more:

 Read our blog on the Tampakan Massacre

REF:

Committee for Human Rights, full statement: http://nychrp.info/2012/11/13/stop-the-mining-stop-the-killings-justice-for-the-capion-family-of-the-tampakan-massacre/

KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights, Palparans prowl and kill in Mindanao - http://www.karapatan.org/Palparans+prowl+and+kill+in+Mindanao

KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights, 27th IB’s replacement in Tampakan has EJK record,http://www.karapatan.org/27th+IB%E2%80%99s+replacement+in+Tampakan+has+EJK+record

BAYAN EUROPE, Australian-Swiss mining company Xstrata-SMI must be held accountable for the Blaan massacre - http://www.bayaneurope.org/swiss-mining-company-xstrata-must-be-held-accountable-for-the-blaan-massacre/

[acleaneducation]

Perspective from the Side of a Discouraging Teacher

Facing a class of at-risk students of color is a daunting task.  Most of them can be found in low-income neighborhoods.  A lot of the students are disengaged from school and don't want to participate in class.  They get up from their seats, talk over you and don't respect any of the classroom guidelines given to them. I've been on the other side of the classroom for about two months now as an authority figure within the classroom.  An untrained teacher can spell doom for all the students in it. "You are going to amount to nothing!" The frustration was evident in her voice.  A brief silence swept across the class.  The pause was so brief you could have easily have gone on without noticing it.  The chatter began again. Seeing the scenario unfold before me was difficult.  On one side, I felt the frustration of the teacher.  The sounds of thumping, yelling and laughter always filled the room to the brim.  Insults were always constantly thrown across the room, alongside the occasional pencil or notebook.  Racial remarks were made on all sides.  The tapping of pencils echoed throughout the room as every insulting statement was followed up by "YOLO!" I felt for the teacher.  These students needed a kick in the ass.  But I really felt more compassion for the students.  This teacher was not prepared to handle a class with the needs that this class did.  And for this, all the students had to suffer and be insulted and belittled back.  While the teacher is frustrated and has the options of finding a new career or teaching different students, the rest of these students' lives are steered by the classes they are taking right now, resulting in their success or failure. Neither the teacher or students are at fault.  The teacher is suited for different students and the students need a different teacher that knows how to handle their needs.  It's like putting a teacher trained in math and expecting them to excel as an English teacher.  They have no idea what they're doing and in turn, the students have no idea how to learn or function in that environment, resulting in a disastrous relationship. The educational system is what is at fault here and more often than not, teachers really have no idea how to handle a class like that.  And often these partnerships are a result of a white savior mentality where a white teacher of a higher socio-economic background has seen Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers one too many times.  They see themselves as the solution for these students of color's problems but don't really know where to start once they're in the classroom. Teach for America is hugely responsible for promoting these thoughts to the white savior.  Teachers for TFA are more often than not, not from the same backgrounds as the students they teach, are not passionate about education, are unskilled and untrained, and have no idea what they are getting themselves into. These students often want to see what they can become and more often than not, their teacher is not a person they can see themselves in.

[acleaneducation]

Overt Racism

In my Ethnic Studies Social Science Methodologies class, one of my fellow classmates gave a presentation about how the Asian American pan-ethnic identity has transformed through the years. She acknowledged that "Asian American" was an identity that developed during the Asian American Movement of the late 1960s-early '70s, where Asian Americans united together through pan-ethnic lines in the fight for civil rights. Her research question centered around whether the "Asian American" identity could still be relevant today, and homegirl came to the conclusion that it was no longer needed because Asian Americans do not face "overt racism." Wait, what?! By "overt racism," she meant "institutional racism." You know, the type of racism that prohibits Asian Americans from sitting in the same section of a movie theater with whites, the racism that forced hundreds of Japanese Americans to leave their homes and become incarcerated in concentration camps. Just because there are no longer any laws that segregate and legalize the discrimination of Asian Americans, my classmate believes that Asian Americans no longer face "overt racism." First of all, racism is racism. Whether openly shown or not, there's no denying that Asian Americans and other people of color are subject to violent and discriminatory actions everyday merely because of the color of our skin. Do y'all remember Alexandra Wallace? Some people argued that her video complaining about Asians in the library was not racist at all, that Asians are truly loud and there are too many of them in the university. Not only does this view reinforce and support Asian stereotypes, but it also promotes hate and condescending attitudes towards Asian/Asian American students and anti-Asian sentiments. Secondly, institutional racism still exists today. For instance, if you were to disaggregate the Asian/Asian American category in university admissions, you would see that a number of minority Asian groups are marginalized and under represented. For instance, Pilipin@s only make up around 3% of UC Berkeley's undergraduate population, even though we are the second largest population of Asians in the United States. Even though there are no laws that explicitly say that Pilipin@s should not attend university, this country's refusal to establish affirmative action programs prevents Pilipin@s and other disadvantaged groups from pursuing higher education. This is institutional racism--the fact that institutions like the educational system do not support the recruitment of students of color into higher education. Even though many Asian Americans have become successful in the United States, there's no denying the fact that racism is still a big issue in our community. Whether it's hidden under the guise of the model minority myth or openly visible like the racial slurs written on Jeremy Lin's Facebook page, racism is racism, and the more we deny our oppression, the more our tolerance for it grows.

[acleaneducation]

No Matter Who Wins the Elections, the People Must Continue Organizing for Genuine Change—BAYAN-USA

Press Statement

November 5, 2012

Reference: Bernadette Ellorin, Chairperson, BAYAN USA, email: [email protected]

No Matter Who Wins the Elections, the People Must Continue Organizing for Genuine Change—BAYAN-USA 

As the corporate media zeroes in on the 2012 US Presidential election, which will determine who will assume the role of the main spokesperson and commander-in-chief for the largest imperialist superpower since the turn of the 20th century, people's resistance against the US government's foreign and domestic policies continues both around the world and within the United States itself. BAYAN-USA, an alliance of 18 Filipino-American organizations across the US working for social and economic equity, asserts that, no matter who wins this year's US presidential election, people in the US must organize and fight for real and lasting social change and not rely on traditional Washington politics.

On US Foreign Policy

In the midst of the worsening global economic crisis spawned by imperialism's neoliberal economic agenda, the two US presidential candidates and their political parties may represent different factions of the US ruling elite, but they both loyally serve the interests of the powerful 1%. Both have committed to intensifying the US neoliberal economic offensive abroad, through such tools as the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), which would aggressively expand a US-dominated free trade zone in the Pacific Rim a la NAFTA.

At the same time, both candidates intend to maintain or even accelerate US military aggression under the camouflage of national defense. Both support US drone attacks against innocent civilians and intend to maintain brutal US military occupations in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, while consolidating military control over the Asia-Pacific region. The two candidates antagonistically referred to China a combined 32 times during the last presidential debate’s 90-minute span, pointing to the increased importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the imperialist objectives of both parties.

For over 100 years, presidents from both the Democrat and Republican parties have used the Philippines as a reliable overseas military hub for the projection of US military might, a dumping ground for cheap surplus US goods, and a source of cheap labor and natural resources. From the Filipino people's perspective, both candidates will perpetuate the US State Department's goal of maintaining the Philippines as a loyal neo-colony in the Asia-Pacific. Under the guise of “military training and mutual support,” whoever wins on November 6 will still also adhere to Washington's pursuit of counterinsurgency operations in the Philippines aimed to suppress people's movements for democracy and genuine national sovereignty. 

On US Domestic Policy

Both candidates plan to maintain a war-dependent US economy and to continue funneling billions of public funds into defense spending rather than into domestic industrial job creation, education, healthcare, housing, and other social services. In the name of national defense, both candidates remain uncritical of a growing wave of repressive and unconstitutional legislation in the US, such as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and state immigration laws such as Arizona's SB 1070.

By pledging to continue neoliberal policies that will drive more people to migrate to the US due to economic desperation, both candidates have abandoned any pretense about overhauling the US immigration system. The system as it stands seeks to divide the working class by creating a surplus of foreign and largely undocumented labor in the US to be exploited by big business for maximum profitability.

Filipinos comprise one of the largest and fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US. Most are new immigrant wage workers and one out of four are undocumented. Many cases of labor trafficking have surfaced in the Filipino community, including stories of migrant workers who arrived in the US with H1-B temporary visas but then were forced into undocumented status by their employers. Despite the optimism surrounding President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) initiative, it still leaves out significant portions of the undocumented immigrant population, offers limited reprieve, is a long and expensive bureaucratic process, and criminalizes immigrants.

Like the vast majority of those affected by the economic crisis in the US, Filipinos are part of the 99% fighting for greater socio-economic equity. In order to create change, this fight must continue past US elections and remain primarily based on the streets. 

People Power

History proves that fundamental social change is never borne out of the ballot box. Women's suffrage, civil rights for African-Americans, and even the defeat of the 2005 Sensenbrenner Bill all came from people's struggle in the trenches built by years of community organizing. If we want to realize our vision of all people--in the US and worldwide--having a decent standard of living, full employment, adequate and humane working and social conditions, and dignified standards for health, education and housing, we must continue the struggle against US imperialism.  Let us be inspired by examples such as the Arab Spring, the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, Latin American social movements, the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa, worker and anti-austerity strikes in Europe, and continuing people's revolutions of US neocolonies throughout Africa and Asia. Let us also build strong solidarity ties among struggles abroad, within the US and with the Filipino people’s fight for national democracy. Let us develop a people's platform for change that can unite our communities in the US. Let us embody the true essence of people power and keep up the fight in the parliament of the streets. Source

[acleaneducation]

"What kind of Asian are you?"

"What kind of Asian are you?" One of my students asked me this as she bowed her head down in shame covering her eyes. She was ashamed.  She knew it wasn't right.  Her hands covered her eyes, attempting to hide her discomfort at the dreaded question.  Her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had to ask. The white people at the table held a collective groan. Her teacher tried to alleviate the situation. "No, ask where your family is from." "America."  I responded that we are from America. The perpetual foreigner stereotype lives on as strong as ever today.  What is it about me that says I'm not from the United States?  Is it my slanted eyes?  Is it the brownness of my skin?  Why is it assumed that I'm not from here? Yes, I was born in the Philippines, a country many people know absolutely nothing about despite having had American influence injected in it since the early 1900's and despite us being the second largest Asian immigrant group in the United States.  I've lived in this country for 19 of my 21 years and I'm still not accepted as being part of the United States population. The perception of Asian Americans is that we are all still outsiders to this country.  We are all viewed as not belonging here.  There's something about being an Asian that makes people assume that you are not from the United States despite our presence in the United States since the 1500's. "Are you permanent?" My co-worker is on a student visa in the United States from South Korea.  In response I was asked if I was permanent.  Am I permanent?  I obtained my US citizenship when I was in 6th grade.  I have lived here for 19 years.  I'm here to stay.  I am an American.

[acleaneducation]

National Women's Day of Protest

(Source: GABRIELA-USA)

Today is the Philippine Women's Day of Protest. On October 28, 1983, hundreds of Pilipino women took their struggle to the streets after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines. Pilipino women contributed heavily in dismantling Marcos's dictatorship. They showed the world just how militant and revolutionary Pilipino women can be. Lorena Barros, a Pilipina activist who established the all-women's organization, Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), put it this way:

The new woman, the new Filipina, is first and foremost a militant. The new Filipina is one who can stay whole nights with striking workers, learning from them the social realities which her bourgeois education has kept from her. She is a woman who has discovered the exalting realm of responsibility, a woman fully engaged in the making of history. No longer is she a woman-for-marriage, but more and more a woman-for-action.

A year later, GABRIELA, named after Gabriela Silang, the Pilipino woman who led a revolt against Spanish colonizers, was established. GABRIELA, along with Anakbayan, the League of Filipino Students, and other organizations that fight for the advancement of the National Democratic Movement of the Philippines, continue to arouse, organize, and mobilize the masses to stop the extrajudicial killings and forced kidnappings, overturn the recent Cyber Crime Prevention Act, get justice for overseas Pilipino workers who experience harsh working conditions, and all-in-all liberate the Philippines from the corrupt and unjust government. Take this day to remember all the activists who fought to eradicate martial law. Take this day to remember all the women who were killed, kidnapped, raped, and tortured while they were fighting for their people. Take this day to educate yourselves about what's really going on in the Philippines and help extend the Pilipino women's mass movement. (Note: This post was also written for Maria's Pinay Power Daily blog.)