#aas218midsem

[shrugloud]

BLOG #2: MIDSEM C.A.R.

THE FEELS (2017)

CONCEPTS

Andi & Lu as an interracial lesbian couple.

Josh, the cisgender heterosexual male, asserting himself as “Andi’s best friend” to the group and expressing his true feelings for Andi the weekend of her bachelorette weekend.

Asian Americans feeling inadequate because of a stigma created by the West around being a submissive group of people.

ANALYSIS

Orientalism as stereotyping the East, through the eyes of the West.

Hegemony as the dominance of one social group or class in a society.

Hegemony as ‘common sense.’

“Common sense” as viewing Asian Americans as desirable because of their “submissive nature,” being “easier to control.”

Because Lu has ideas about Andi being “submissive” rather than sexy and as a valid sexual partner, Lu has trouble reaching climax.

RESPONSE

It was irresponsible for Lu’s sister to bring molly to their bachelorette weekend. Drugs aren’t toys, but tools. Tolls to experience feelings of euphoria that may be difficult otherwise. Tolls to experience feelings of euphoria when one has a comfortable mindset.

Orgasms could be a sensitive topic for some, the group shouldn’t have continued discussing Lu’s issues. If Lu and Andi are having intimate issues, it’s a conversation between the two, as consented. Lu having difficulty expiring orgasm puts Andi in a space of pressure. Experiencing feelings of inadequacy if Andi can’t satisfy Lu intimately.

I empathize for Andi and Lu. People don’t talk about sex enough. They don’t talk about sex and orgasms, and how one should feel during sex. Because we don’t talk about sex and feelings of inadequacy, it becomes taboo. It becomes hegemonic, or common sense, to not discuss intimate times in public spaces.

It’s important to have these narratives because current narratives suggest having regular, satisfying sexual experiences as the cultural norm. Its cultural norm to assume queer folx as “sexually charged monsters,” knowing how to satisfy everyone because of how often they indulge in sex. There’s a lot of pressure in having sexually satisfying experiences and not being able to satisfy a partner during sex suggests being an inadequate individual, or not “dateable material.”

Normalize having trouble reaching orgasms because it may not always come naturally to everyone.

[spiffaas]

Jennylou // Mid Semester Blog

TThe Saving Face Wilhelmina Pang--the main character of the story--is full of quick wit and reserved sexuality. She’s a workaholic surgeon, having an exceedingly promising career with no time to spare. Though the dutiful daughter, she visits her family once a week when her widowed mother (only identified as Ma) arranges for her to meet eligible Chinese bachelors at informal social. Ma is a classic example of a typical Asian mom: commanding yet somehow behind the times enough to make one cautious to rebel, feeling a sense of respect we automatically associate to antiquity. Though circumstances shifted when Ma, who was 48, became pregnant. She refuses to identify the father which led her to move at Wil’s place to hide. Quite an unfortunate timing to Wil and her girlfriend Vivian Shing who had been cautious in their lesbian affair.

Spa Night Being an only child of immigrant parents, David Cho was pinned with dauntingly high expectations. They envision that he will finish college and marry a Korean woman to settle down. He floats the possibility of marrying a Caucasian woman in which his parents responded ill-mannerly. The thought of him telling his traditionalist, churchgoing folks about him being gay was out of the question. He helps run their failing restaurant in a community filled with hard-working immigrants (much like them), where people also settled their businesses of shops and karaoke bars. The most prominent one being the 24-hour spas: the neighborhood’s most go-to place. Their restaurant going out of business forced David to find a job somewhere else, in which he landed into a male-only spa where his sexual awakening was introduced. He discovers a closeted culture of furtive, illicit sexual activity surrounding him. It was excruciating and intense, pulling David into deeper despair in his closeted sexuality.

The Feels Andy and Lu--a seemingly happy soon-to-be-married couple--embarks on a bachelorette weekend of nearly all-female attendees (with an exception of Josh, who, I may add, is unfailingly laddish and blunt) as they shake loose some awkward revelations. Under the influence of alcohol, Lu accidentally reveals to never ever having an orgasm, a statement that rendered deceitful her supposedly intensifying sex life with Andi. They began to wonder to what extent they’ve been honest with each other to which they questioned if they’re ready to be in a committed, long-term relationship. 

Asian culture revolves around the idea of keeping honor and dignity in their family’s name. Those who are apart of LGBTQ with Asian parents often feel the need to hide their gender identity and attraction. They don't want to be judge and resented by their parents, who are usually not open to the idea of dating those of the same sex. 

While I am not entirely sure what my gender identity is, I am, for the most part, attracted to boys, though I also find girls to be rather attractive. I am open to the idea of dating a female counterpart, but I know my parents will not approve of it. My step-sister from my dad's side is lesbian. Although she and my dad have a stable relationship, he was not entirely that close to her in comparison to my other step-siblings. While my mom has been telling me how excited she is for me to grant her a grandchild, of course, someone of our blood. I can already imagine how my parents will act if I ever had to come out or have them meet a girlfriend of mine. 

Coming out or even remotely as questioning your gender identity to your parents is terrifying. The likelihood for Asian parents to reject their children is high, ejecting them from their homes and ceasing all financial support. Some even react with violence. Other parents may feel as if their children died — and they no longer recognize the person they raised from infancy. This is probably what Wil and David felt as they continue to hide their gender identity from their parents. 

We must broaden our knowledge and understand what it means to be queer, especially growing up in an Asian household. Showcasing more queer and Asian representation in media helps Asian families become more open-minded and accepting of the idea of being queer. Like Andy and Lu, we see how they grow and learn to understand each other as they face challenges that are similar to that of a straight couple. We must normalize being queer and being in a same-sex relationship for they are normal.

[spiffaas]

AAS mid-semester C.A.R. The Farewell, a great movie

A recurring theme I saw in the movie The Farewell was how Billi’s sentiment towards her grandmother and how they would deal with it in America.  Constantly Billi feels the sentiment that they should tell Nai Nai about her critical condition and how much time she has left unlike the rest of her family who really feel they shouldn’t tell her at all to not burden her.  There was a huge clash there between her family and her.  She kept thinking that the way it would’ve been handled in America would’ve been better for the family, but it just wasn’t something that was custom in China.  It highlights the culture clash of Asian Americans when they aren’t able to learn about their culture due to moving away.  It’s something I feel a lot of Asian Americans can relate due to how different the cultures are and how they can get used to one over the other.  Also whenever Bili mentioned she was from America to the locals and family, they’d always respond by asking questions of how different it is or how it’s like to live there.  There was always this sentiment around the movie that moving to America, or even just out of China, was the better thing to do for someone’s living situation.  Even if it is not an easy place to get rich and it’s full of its own very drastic and severe problems.  It highlights a very prominent way of thinking that moving to America just provides the best opportunities.  There’s even a time in the movie where Billi’s family is arguing about which country is better but they really show that each has it’s own flaws and ups.  Billi’s aunty wants to send her son to study there for college, even though she knows that he may never come back to China like she wants him to.  In this same scene you can also see how Billi’s parents disregard their own Chinese identity because they moved to America.  

A huge factor most likely causing these problems are colonialism that happened towards all asian countries.  The colonialism made by the west made a lot of asian countries and citizens feel that the best move to do is move away from their home countries.  At times forgetting a lot of their culture and language.  In the movie Billi isn’t really told of the way things are in Chinese customs and mainly knows American ones.  So much so sometimes her chinese slips, which honestly I can relate a lot to when my spanish slips.  It’s also seen in her cousin who’s living in Japan because her uncle moved out there.  It’s not her fault at all or her parents.  She didn’t know a lot of the reason as to why they were doing things the way they were, but it was just a part of her culture that was never explained to her.  Like when Billi was younger, they didn’t tell her about her grandpa and told her to stay in the U.S. instead of visiting because it was better for her, her parents thought.  They’re whole disregard for their Chinese identity and culture is due to assimilating and how it would’ve affected them if they didn’t do so.  Historically they would’ve had more problems keeping a lot of their culture with Billi due to all the racial problems in America.  Billi can’t see it but her parents did all they did to try and get her better opportunities but also ended up giving up huge parts of their identities to do so.  Going so far as calling themselves American on technicalities than chinese in their own country.  They’re all just so used to hearing how great America is that they also think less of their home country and Chinese identity.  Even if they are proud they still want to send their children to America.  It’s like a major pull factor for many of them.

I definitely enjoyed the movie and the performances in it.  It felt like it was an actual family on screen and their problems and the way they talked felt so real.  I empathized with all characters.  My favorite scene was when Billi’s uncle finally explained to her that it wasn’t about Nai Nai to experience a final goodbye but to take away that burden of having to feel the pain to do that.  It shouldn’t be the burden of the dying person but it is one of the family’s  to hold.  Even so when the uncle says this he also breaks down himself during his toast at his son’s wedding.  It showed that even though the burden has to be held, they crack sometimes too.  Even when he broke down while speaking about Nai Nai, he ended up pulling it together to keep the party going and also keeping the whole family together.  It was a time that they were able to express their feelings somehow.  Even when I come from a different culture I see why they chose to do things the way they did in the Chinese culture in the movie.  I feel that my family would have a similar approach to someone passing.  We would try to focus on the good and not saying goodbye.  Just trying to make final good memories with loved ones instead of focusing on the inevitable.  I just learned to value my cultures customs a lot more because of the deeper meanings behind them.  I may not know everything about why we do it but it’s better to do it and respect it than argue against it, even if it’s something completely different than what I used to.  The movie overall was great with many great messages and meanings.  I recommend you guys watch this beautiful movie with a great performance by the entire cast.  

[spiffaas]

Mid-term Blog-Post

Topic: Generational/Cultural Gap, Sources: The Debut, The Farewell

A challenge that young Asian Americans face is the generational/cultural gap. A gap where they feel little to no connection to the ethnicity that they are. A challenge I know all too well of since it’s something that I face in my own life so the movies I watched hit close to home for me. The movies, The Debut and The Farewell, approach the generational/cultural gap challenge through the use of family.

The Farewell:

The plot to this movie is about how Nai Nai is going to die from lung cancer soon and everyone in the family is hiding this from her so in order for everyone to see her one last time, they’re using a wedding as an excuse to see her. Now introduce Beili into the story and there’s the generational/cultural gap right there. Well… it’s not that simple. Introducing an Asian American doesn’t show the gap but rather how Beili grapples with the idea of not telling her grandma that she’s going to die from cancer soon. Beili being the only one that strongly opposes the idea of not telling reflects how in America, our natural reaction to news like this is to tell the person affects since they have a right to know despite of how they might feel after the news. However, the family’s decision shows how in China, a person’s wellbeing is more important than the right to know as Beili’s mom explains to Beili in the beginning of the movie how the fear of death is what kills and not the actual cancer. Neither of these views are inherently wrong but they clash and show some of the disconnect Beili has with Chinese culture since while she is able to speak Mandarin and probably knows some Chinese culture, the fact she is grappling with the idea of whether her grandma should know is reflective of the disconnection.

The Debut:

Character and personal growth in one night sums up this movie very nicely, though it’s not that simple. The pieces that add up to the growth is what shows the generational/cultural gap. Ben is a prime example of an Asain American that is at total disconnect from his culture. Can’t speak Talaga, doesn’t know cultural customs and tries to hide his home and family from his friends. In fact, the movie really lays it out there with Ben’s grandfather. Ben’s grandfather’s remarks on Ben not blessing him and not being able to understand and speak Talaga like his sister is emblematic of Ben’s disconnect. However, Ben’s disconnect is most apparent with his relationship with his dad as Ben wants nothing to do with his dad and wants to be separated from him, including his culture as Ben’s friends know nothing about his family.

Personal Thoughts:

As I mentioned in the beginning, these movies hit me close to home. I feel like I’m a mix of Beili and Ben. I would react the same way as Beili if I found out one of my grandparents had only a few months left to live and I’m not supposed to tell them. Yet, I understand her family’s view as my parents emphasized wellbeing when raising me. Which is also why I relate to Ben. I’m not as bad as Ben in my disconnect but a poor relationship with parents is part of the reason why we have a big disconnect from our culture. My parents and I clashed on certain viewpoints and while it never resulted in us yelling and fighting each other, it discouraged me from wanting to engage with them in anything. Seeing myself in Beili and Ben really makes me want to reconnect with my parents more as that’s how I can reconnect with my culture. Things have been steady with mending my relationship with them but I still don’t know much about them or their culture so I’m encouraged by these movies to seek them out and engage with them more to learn what I can from them.

[somewhatasaint-blog]

Mid-semester C.A.R

     The main themes and topics I found in my learning resources, mainly The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui, is the cultural and generational gap that is ever present in Asian American families. The growth of Asians in America has to do with the emmigration of Asian individuals and/or families to the United States for a plethora of reasons, push-pull factors, such as war, corruption in government, class divide, genocides, etc. As a result, there is typically a divide between Asian immigrants who came to America and their offspring who are born within the U.S.A. Whether this be a divide in communication or other factors varies from family to family, but for the most part all Asian Americans can come to some sort of agreement that there is a cultural and generational divide amongst their family in one shape or another.

     The root causes of these problems stem back to the push factors of the generations who came to the U.S. first. Essentially, whatever pushed first generation Asian immigrants to come to America is where these problems come from. Whether that be the aforementioned factors or other reasons. The cultural and generational gaps are ones that are a result of the sacrifices that first generation Asian Americans had to make in order to make it to the U.S. As a result, some families are open about this gap and divide, whereas others are very closed off and never speak about their past experiences. Although many younger/newer generations of Asian Americans would love to hear the stories of their ancestors who have come to America, to establish the life they live, many of these stories are too painful to relive.

     I personally connected with Thi Bui’s story and the relationship she had with her mother. Thi Bui could never really fathom all the sacrifices her mother had to make in order to create a new life in America. Yet when Thi Bui gives birth to her child, that all changes and Thi Bui begins to create a relationship with her mother that allows her to understand her mother’s life story. As a result, Thi Bui began to close the generational and cultural divide that is seen between Asian immigrant parents and American born Asian children. The reason why I connected with her story is because I have gone through the same process in learning about my own mother’s life and the sacrifices she had to make in order to start a new life within the U.S. It took many years to begin to understand and see things from her perspective, but now that I know the story, I am forever grateful for what she did to better her life as well as create a life for me. As a result, I now take pride in being half Filipino and I hope in the future I can establish a following of individuals who are proud to be multi ethical. As our stories are similar to older Asian American generations, in the sense that we too are facing new struggles that many do not understand. As a result, it is our duty to either be open about what our life was like or to keep the stories hidden under the rug, never to be spoken of again.

[s99park]

Blog #3: Seoul Searching

While I haven’t watched this movie because I don’t have Netflix, waited too long to do the assignment, and couldn’t find it online, I decided to read a synopsis of the movie and watch the trailer. Seoul Searching seems to be a movie about a new generation of Koreans that came after the Korean War. After the war, many Koreans left the country and spread out into other nations. The result of this migration was a new generation of Koreans born in these other countries who went to South Korea to learn about their heritage and what their parents had left behind. Some of these new generation Koreans were American, Mexican, and German from what the trailer showed. They had accents and clothing that fit their “identities” to show the individuality of each character because of how they were not raised in the same country, but they all shared one trait, they’re all Korean.

Like Minding the Gap, Seoul Searching seems to focus on the theme of discovering their identity but also focuses more on racism. The character Mike Song is an army cadet from Virginia who is labeled as Japanophobic and hurls racial slurs at many students in the movie. This character hints at the racist upcoming Mike had through his military training in the United States, a country that is quite openly racist and xenophobic. Mike has internalized the racism that present in the US military and government, while not realizing that he himself is part of a minority in the US who is facing that same racism. He is blind to the fact that he is not doing anything in his favor by being racist towards other marginalized groups. His character also represents racism among the Asian community as a whole.

As for the identity portion, it seems like the characters in this movie are trying to step away from the identities that they have because of the way they assimilated in their respective countries and are trying to embrace their roots and culture. While trying to assimilate to their own country’s respective cultures, they have lost their own roots and individuality in the process of trying to become American or German or Mexican. While in South Korea, they are trying to follow back their roots and not just be the ordinary American or German or Mexican, because they truly can’t because they are Korean. A Korean immigrant will never be a “true American”, and neither will their children. So instead of assimilating to American culture, the Korean American characters in the movie are trying to be exactly that, Korean American. Not just American, but Korean American.  

I can relate to this movie because I myself have tried to essentially remove my “Indianness” from my identity and become a true American. However, once I grew older and became more socially aware of the racism that minorities and immigrants faced under those who are considered patriots and “true Americans”, I realized that I was working against my best interest. While trying to become an American, I was at the same time putting down my race, my family, my background and my culture. I watched people like Stephen Crowder and later realized that he does not give a single shit about me or people like or immigrants or minorities. I changed my way, and find myself advocating for the rights of the working class, of minorities, of immigrants, of anyone who is marginalized by so called patriots and the administration they blindly follow.

[fruitsaladaf]

Blog#4 C.A.R- individual (Qiujun-Rachel)

#AAS218QiujunDong

#AAS218midsem

LGBT( SEXUALITY)

CONCEPTS

I learned about the current situation of Asian American LGBT organization in the United States. Because they are second or third generation immigrants, the conflict and superposition of culture and values make them have to face more problems. Especially in the search for sexual needs and sexual partners, or the establishment of a relationship requires careful thinking. After thinking, how to confess to his family and why not to confess to his family has kept them in an awkward situation. Because of immigration, the previous generation is still in the previous Asian culture, and they are not easy to accept LGBT culture. The group of Asian Americans with LGBT is very small and has encountered some difficulties.

ANALYSIS

The first. Cultural differences are a big obstacle. In the movie Saving Face, it showcases the older generation of Chinese people's way of thinking and holds old-fashioned concepts. For example, Grandpa is a typical way of thinking of the older generation of Chinese, who thinks that the decoration of the home should be red, which will make the family happy. For example, he believes that single mothers cannot be allowed to seek new partners, and that it is a very shameful act to get pregnant without getting married. When the single mother played by actor Chen Chong began to face up to her desires, her daughter also confessed to her the fact that she was a lesbian, hoping her mother could understand her.

Second, society has limited help for Asian Americans. The living conditions of some Asian Americans are limited, resulting in great pressure on life. In Spa Night, since the male protagonist ’s parents immigrated to the United States, working and living conditions have been limited, resulting in the male protagonist not having a good living condition. He did not have enough tuition and living expenses, which caused him to not even face his sexual needs. For families in the Spa Night movie, their money needs and housing needs are great, and they are far greater than sexual needs. After the Korean restaurant run by the boy ’s house was taken back, the living conditions at the house changed from generally poor. Through the help and guidance of well-meaning people, the mother got a job as a restaurant waiter but was unable to raise three people. My father was repeatedly bullied in search of work and deducted his due salary. The boy was advised to go to college, but the high cost of making up for the lessons put him under great pressure. He had to suppress his inner needs all the time, but he didn't stop looking. Working in a male sauna made him feel a little relaxed, and finally he took a step towards sexual desire. But this was all he was not qualified to do, so he lost the job. This drama tells the story of Korean-American gay men. This is also a tragedy. I can't go to college to get to know more peers and get a better education. I can't afford my family's income, and my housing and income are not guaranteed Social assistance has made the living conditions of the second and third generation immigrants always in a bad state.

Third, women's liberation. Historically speaking, women's control of the vagina is a very modern thing. I think everything can start from the invention of the birth control pill. In The Feels is a discussion meeting about a lesbian couple about orgasm. The couple is about to get married, but none of them have an orgasm, which makes them embarrassed. So the whole movie is discussing how to solve this matter, and the sharing of the first orgasm experience of lesbians. I think this is the least strongly related to Asian Americans in the three movies because it is simply because an actor is Asian Chinese. Instead, I am very concerned about the sexual liberation of women. In the traditional Chinese culture we know, women are allowed to marry only once, and male families have absolute control over female fertility. Prior to this, women were not allowed to have the right to enjoy orgasm. However, the movie's exploration of orgasm is like telling me that women have absolute physical sovereignty, and all sovereignty makes them happy.

RESPONSE

I am very sympathetic to the male host of Spa night. The full text is stating the fact that family immigrants are expecting better job opportunities and living conditions. But reality often disappoints people, and it usually makes people suffer. Unemployment and poor economic conditions made him lack a normal living environment, but his desires did not disappear. Desire and life became conflicting roles, making him extremely painful. In my opinion, I have some related experiences that I would like to share. For example, the communication circle of international students is also very limited, and their desires are also not satisfied. I am an international student from China. I came to the United States for a better way of learning. I think the way of learning in the United States is more suitable for me. Similarly, my communication has become limited. Because of cultural differences, it is difficult for me to integrate into the American social circle. My comfort zone is locked in the social circle of international students. This made me have to give up many possibilities and needs for making friends, so my friends are not many. I am lucky that I met a very good Chinese boy who became my boyfriend. Many boys and girls of foreign students around me also face the problem of sexual needs, so software dating has become popular. Many people dare not face their desires directly, but on the one hand, their desires are not satisfied, and there is no more possibility to know more people. The vast majority of people are still in a dare not to face their own desires, which is considered shameless. This is a very real situation. Furthermore, the experience of many software friends is not very good, I have heard of cheating money and being bullied. Some people take a lot of courage to contact a new partner, but they get some scammers that keep their emotions fluctuating. I have to say that even if I know that the other party is a liar, I still don't stop communicating because of desire and social circles. It is very sad that a lot of girls around me have encountered and are experiencing this kind of thing.

#AAS218QiujunDong #AAS218midsem

[s99park]

Blog #2: Minding the Gap

Just a heads up, I wasn’t able to watch the Seoul Searching movie so I had to read a synopsis so because of that, I decided to go a bit further with my analysis of this documentary for myself. That’s why it’s very long but I’ve sectioned off a chunk of it that isn’t necessarily relevant to the aim of this project so I’d suggest skipping it.

Minding the Gap, directed by Bing Liu is a documentary that details the lives of three skateboarding friends that must face hardships and responsibilities that create hurdles in their decade-long friendship. The three friends, Bing, Keire, and Zack all formed their friendships through skateboarding, which was a way for them to escape their difficult lives and to actually have fun. As the years passed and their friendship grew older, their friendship also became more distant as they began to age and learn about the responsibilities of the real world and how harsh life is for those who are impoverished in the Rust Belt. Each of these friends faced their own difficult situations in their childhood that would ultimately impact their coming into adulthood. Because of the childhoods the three had, they might have made bad choices, but those bad choices are not solely because of their own decision to act in a certain way. This entire documentary was about confusion and self-discovery for the three friends. It was about understanding their situations, why they were in their situations, and what they could do to improve themselves.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bing, Keire, and Zack are all from working class families and asides from Zack, are minorities. For historical context, the Rust Belt is a region of the United States which consists of the Midwest and the Great Lakes that faced harsh industrial decline in the 1980s. The Rust Belt was known as the industrial heartland of America and held a large amount of manufacturing jobs. However, as automation made its way into the Rust Belt and manufacturing began to move overseas, many people lost their jobs and fell into their own depression which is still apparent today. Crime increased, the outcome of education worsened, job opportunities lessened, and the population of many cities decreased heavily. The situation in the Rust Belt is still terrible and is not seeing enough improvement as promised by the Trump administration. This brief summary of the Belt explains why our three friends have their low quality of life as displayed in the documentary.

The working class needs to work 24/7 in order to pay bills, put food on the table, and to take care of the family. The working class and minorities are simply pawns to be used for those who employ them, industries and corporations have no care for how the working class and minorities live. There is no care for the quality of life of workers and minorities considering the wealthy hoard their wealth while workers have to live off of unlivable wages. Since the 1970s, productivity has increased by roughly 150% while compensation has remained stagnant. So, we see the families of Bing, Keire, and Zack struggle to maintain a stable household which has clearly played a role in how the three enter adulthood. It is not the fault of Bing, Keire, Zack that they made choices that wouldn’t benefit them for the future, it is the system that we live in that has set them in a position where there is a small chance of making it out and possibly entering the middle class. It is not necessarily the fault of their parents for not being able to raise them properly or to care of them properly, it is the system in which they live in that is made to ensure that they, along with their family, do not succeed. An American can work as hard as they physically can, but they will only receive crumbs for their hard work. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the connection into Asian American identity, according to Bing, his mother immigrated to the US because it was her American dream to have a traditional family, but that citizenship also played a role. She would marry a white man who would become Bing’s stepfather. Both Bing and his mother faced abuse from him, physically and emotionally. His stepfather had internalized racism and tried to use it to alter their identities. Race plays a huge part in a person’s identity, and his stepfather tried to erase that part. Bing himself even tried to erase part of his identity just to assimilate into American culture because in the land of the free, if you’re not white and you have a cultural background that’s different to an American, you’re not American. Skateboarding was a way for him to connect to others in the area because those skaters didn’t judge on how he looked, they welcomed him because he was a skater and they all had the common purpose of just wanting to skate. Asian Americans unfortunately have to face the same sort of intolerance that other minorities have to face as well as our current administration continues to divide the country and its people by so called “patriots” and the rest who are “against the country they live in”. Discrimination, xenophobia, racism is extremely apparent in the way that the Trump administration is handling minorities in the country and how it is handling immigration. 

I can’t relate to the three friends because I have grown up in a middle-class family. My family situation is complicated considering how my mother was already in the US before she had married my dad, but both immigrated from India. My dad was lucky enough to get a government job working as a postman, and he still works, and that has been a large part in our financial stability. They continue to work but they have no time to enjoy the fruits of their labor. However, I can relate to some their feelings of mental instability. I also found myself in rough situations, nothing like theirs’ but I can relate to the anguish and pain that many of us felt when we were growing up, trying to understand the world they were in and the lives of those around us. But their experiences are not mine, I don’t want to dive deep into how we lived similarly because we didn’t. I come from a middle-class family and am privileged, so its not right for me to equate our situations except for maybe mentally.