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I thought I already said everything I had to say but when you engage in a debate with many people, there is no end to counter-arguments. They just keep coming. So, here is my latest on this topic of SHSAT and high school admissions process.
In this, I argue that a standardized test is a better tool to combat racism than any multi-factor selection process that includes subjective evaluation, because, as soon as subjectivity is involved, it becomes impossible to identify racist... biases (both conscious and unconscious) and to hold anyone accountable. And, when we allow subjective evaluation, the dominant racial group, which is to say white people, would have unfair influences in the process. This is how institutional racism persists even if nobody has racist intentions. Just as nobody in this country is above the law, nobody, not even the school principals or chancellors, should be above the admission process for public schools.
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The fight over SHSAT schools may look like a fight between Asians and black/Hispanics, but behind the scene, it's white people who are driving the fight because they are now the smallest minority group in the NYC public school system. It is becoming increasingly hard for them to find schools that reflect their values. But that is exactly how being a minority feels; the dominant group pushes your values aside. It's about time white people learn what it's like to be a minority.
I could not keep my mouth shut about this.
This is a fascinating story about musical talent. A Jazz performance recorded by these Japanese college students in 1975 has become legendary even though none of them pursued music after college. Normally, if you don't pursue it, you don't get to learn if you had what it takes to be successful. The pianist in this album, Tohru Aizawa, became a doctor and is still working as one. I wonder how he feels about his life now. Some part of him must feel bad about not pursuing it, bu...t at the same time, nobody becomes rich from pursuing this type of Jazz. I'm sure his life now is quite good as a doctor, and he probably doesn't regret that.
This is also a very Japanese story too. In Japan, nobody encourages kids to pursue art or music. If Aizawa had grown up in the US and had told everyone around him that he is going to abandon music to become a doctor, many would have told him he is crazy. In Japan, abandoning one's passion is seen as an important part of becoming a mature adult. It's as if to say, "I had fun in my childhood; now it's time for me to be responsible." Aizawa probably didn't torment himself with the question of whether to pursue music or not. He likely played music in college with the understanding that he would need to stop after college.
This is also a story about how the process of finding talent has changed over the years. Today, with the Internet and social media, if anything is noteworthy, it gets noticed without much effort. This was not true in 1975. Only a few hundred copies of this album were produced, so you had to be one of the lucky owners to hear it. And, even if you did own it, there was no easy way to share it with a bunch of people. Today, we can listen to anyone's music for practically free on Spotify. If it's good, it would spread rapidly through the social media. You don't need to wait a lifetime to find out if you are any good. Just post it on Spotify, and see if anyone listens. If anything on the Internet has a viral potential, you would see it within a matter of weeks. Anything that I've done that went viral happened within weeks. It's pretty rare for something I wrote/created many years ago to suddenly go viral.
This story of Tohru Aizawa Quartet proves how efficient talent discovery is today. If Aizawa were a college student today, thousands of followers from around the world would have encouraged him to keep playing.
This is a review of the documentary film, "Good Luck Soup", about the impact of the Japanese internment camp across multiple generations. I contrast it with my own experience as an immigrant, and as a father of second-generation (half) Asian American daughter.
I have conflicting feelings about high-end Asian restaurants, especially when the socioeconomic origin of the particular dish is the ordinary class. Ippudo is a good example. Ramen in Japan is common people's food; the only reason why Ippudo is so fancy is to cater specifically to white people. That is, "high end" has become the key characteristic that defines white cuisine in contrast to the cuisine of other races. We know that a particular ingredient, dish, or cooking techn...ique has been accepted by the dominant (i.e. white) culture if it is served at high-end restaurants. This is when "critical acclaim" is reached; when it is packaged in a manner palatable to the white people.
Zizek's analysis of "ethnic" restaurants is quite astute. Those who understand the true nature of the Other, dive right into the "violence" of it, what feels quite foreign, hostile, and offensive to our conception of the norm. Most people don't. They wait until someone makes the Other tolerable, less violent, foreign, hostile and offensive to their senses. In music, this is done by white musicians appropriating the black street innovations.
MSG is a good example of this. MSG is practically in everything if you go to Japan. Everyone is eating MSG all day and night, yet nobody is complaining. Sure, a small percentage of people may have adverse reactions to it, but that's true with almost any ingredients. Do we ban sugar, nuts, and gluten? The fear of MSG is nothing more than xenophobia. Because Chinese food was foreign and exotic, white people had to blame something when they didn't feel well after eating. MSG was a good candidate because it seemed so mysterious and was an Asian invention. One of my favorite Chinese cooking channels on YouTube unapologetically call for MSG in almost every dish. The narrator says, "Add some MSG to scare away your hippie friends." It's brilliant. We shouldn't pander to white xenophobia.
Yet, I feel conflicted about the class association of Asian cuisine because certain Asian cuisines/dishes are high-end in their origins. White people don't own "high-end" any more than gays own rainbows. Arguing that Chinese food, for instance, should always be eaten at dirty, hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Chinatown where they pay their workers next to nothing, is equivalent to calling black kids "acting white" if they study hard.
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to these problems. Human perception is a complex problem to address. We can't live with them, can't live without them.
Asians are throwing a monkey wrench into all the research about race and education. What determines educational achievement is more about culture than about income.
This cafe is around the block from where I used to live. In an earlier article about this incident, it says, "I explained the situation to the manager by the name of Rocco who then proceeded to ask me so what is the customer’s name then? I said irregardless, the receipt said Ching Chong, a derogatory term for Asians. He made an excuse and said maybe the server misheard the name."
The same manager now says he is not racist but, "As manager I still take full responsibility..."
...Here is the problem. His own response was indeed racist because he didn't see anything wrong with labeling an Asian customer "Ching Chong." Yet, he still does not see it. He apologized on behalf of the restaurant, not for his own racist response.
Racism is in us all. Very few people are ideologically or unapologetically racist, yet the problem with racism still persists. Why? Because nobody thinks they are racist even though they are. If we want to solve the problem of racism, we need to recognize the racist within ourselves and be honest about it. What we should NOT do is to deny it.
People often demand an apology in situations like this but forcing people to apologize doesn't achieve anything; it only modifies the outward behavior and makes them feel defensive and even more blind to racist within themselves. Even after this apology, I'm sure this manager is more convinced than ever that he is NOT racist.
Many years ago, while at work, I assumed this black guy at the reception area was a messenger and asked him, "You need me to sign it?" It turned out that he was a prospective client. I still cringe when I think about it. He said nothing and still addressed me respectfully.
This type of prejudice adds up to have a huge impact on our society and becomes "institutional" without anyone consciously trying to be racist. If we want to solve the problem of racism, we need to create an environment where people can honestly recognize the racist within themselves. Forcing people to apologize and say the right things will only lead to denial and blindness to their own racism.
All Look Same shared a link.
This article was interesting but I felt that the writer forced two issues that actually have nothing to do with each other. There is no interesting alignment between fraternity hazing and Asian American life. The main issue in this article is about fraternity; why kids are drawn to it despite the numerous bad press and reports of abuse. What is attractive about it for them?
What drew these kids to the fraternity is not anything unique to Asian Americans. The writer tried to ...force the connection unsuccessfully. Interestingly enough, he says in the article: "Over the past year, I’ve found myself wondering what exactly Kwan might have meant by an 'Asian perspective.'" That is, the writer himself is also wondering if there is any Asian perspective to this incident.
The kids wanted a sense of belonging, which is irrespective of race. What I find curious, which the article did not address, is why all these fraternities subject the new members to these abusive rituals? What does abuse have to do with sense of belonging?
My wife belonged to a Quaker youth group throughout her young adult life, and they provided the sense of belonging she needed but they did not require any type of harsh treatment. These hazing rituals are quite strange. Just as some child-molesters are unconsciously drawn to Catholic churches, I'm wondering if the people who are drawn to these fraternities have ulterior, unconscious motives, like their sadistic/masochistic impulses.
I suspect it's partly because Asian women are given more freedom to pursue their passion. Asian parents get more conservative when it comes to their sons' careers. I'm just guessing...
