Racial discrimination is a very
important concern in the US. For some reason we can't all seem to get along no
matter what the color of our skin is. One particular race that is often
stereotyped is the Asian-American race.
Several examples of these stereotypes can be seen across all areas of
society including business, military, education, and sports.
There
have been incidents at different fast food restaurants, where Asian-Americans
are marginalized and discriminated against. One occurrence was at a Papa John’s
in New York City, when an employee typed
a racial slur on a receipt to a
customer. The picture of the receipt, which showed the name “lady chinky eyes,”
was tweeted by the customer and went viral, gaining it public notoriety. Papa
John’s has apologized publicly both via Twitter and on its Facebook page, and
the cashier responsible for the slur, a sixteen year old high school girl, was
fired. I don’t believe this individual meant to stereotype or garner any sort
of hate behind her actions, but used rather ignorantly ways of describing a
customer in a busy fast-food establishment. She is a product of her educational upbringing and had she
been more knowledgeable and sympathetic to current ethnic issues, this incident
may not have happened.
Another
incident of this discrimination is the death of 19-year old Private, Danny
Chen. Chen was found dead with a gunshot wound below his chin. This gave
evidence that the wound was self-inflicted. Upon further investigation, it was
found that Chen had been the target of racially motivated taunts and physical
attacks at the hands of his superiors and comrades before he died. Five of
these soldiers were charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent
homicide in Chen's death. As a sibling of soldier, I had the opportunity to
witness the Marine Corps boot camp and witnessed the brutality these men take
from their superiors. It is comforting knowing that they will be prepared while
protecting our country, however a line should be drawn. Danny Chen’s death is
devastating not only because his life was taken, but that his life was
dedicated to serving his country and yet he was treated in such a heinous way.
Asian-Americans
have also been determined as being the most bullied in US schools. Data shows that Asian-American
teenagers are three times more likely to be bullied on the internet. It was
found that 54 percent of Asian American teenagers said they were bullied in the
classroom, sharply above the 31.3 percent of whites who reported being picked
on. The data comes from a 2009 survey supported by the US Justice Department
and Education Department which interviewed some 6,500 students from ages 12 to
18. The Obama administration has made efforts in halting the continued
bullying. In March, the president joined Facebook for an online anti-bullying
conference, where he warned that social media was making the problem worse for
many children. Obama has also
contributed to the It gets Better movement by submitting a video to those who
seek hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment