There are many facets to oppression. Outright aggression often gets, at the very least, reprimanding comments. However, another variety of mistreatment manifests in alienation, and it often goes unnoticed due to its quiet nature. Looking deeper into the matter, it becomes clear that the Asian population of the Americas has faced all the hardships of prejudice and abuse, yet they often get estranged from their history of it.
It is peculiar how little acknowledgment the topic gets nowadays. In the past, the misdeeds of the European colonizers often were considered unimportant in the face of their achievements. As time went by, more truths were uncovered about their mistreatment of people of other races. Nevertheless, the information about the trials and tribulations that the Asian people went through frequently stays unnoticed.
It can be seen in how, though ideological changes in European and American mindsets led to the abolition of the slave trade, the practice of using Asian coolies for work came to replace it (Coolies, Sailors, Settlers: Voyage to the New World). Even when the Chinese came to America of their own volition, the white population exploited them and put laws in motion to estrange them from the social aspects of life (Chinese in the Frontier West: An American Story). Despite playing a significant role in establishing the nations across the Americas, Asians never got respect or recognition for it.
This part of American history correlates with disturbing modern tendencies driven by racial bias. In a global sense, there exists a notion of seeing many Asian countries as exploitable and expendable. Politicians and corporations perceive Asia as less developed. To them, this whole region is a source of natural resources and inexpensive sweatshop labor. People from the West view Asia from an orientalist perspective. They stereotype Asian people and consider their homelands cheap tourist destinations with an exotic flair. The bias that people have is sometimes subconscious: there are no China Marys anymore, but often no one sees anything terrible in saying all Korean pop-stars look the same. In light of recent events, with the COVID pandemic originating in China, the bigoted attitude toward Asians rapidly changed from demeaningly mocking to humiliatingly aggressive. These opinions are common in modern society, which, amusingly, prides itself on tolerance and acceptance.
Working through any bias is often arduous work. Education is necessary to build a more accepting community. Many people nowadays are still unaware of the past exploitation Asian people had to face in the Americas simply because it does not concern them. It needs to become a more common subject of discussion and get more coverage in both formal education and media since its effects on people’s mentality are hard to underestimate. It is also vital to make such works of media easily accessible.
This documentary, for instance, could greatly assist people in gaining a deeper understanding of Asian people’s role in American history. It brings awareness of many aspects of it while also raising some uncomfortable questions. For example, what aids the still prevalent notion that Asian Americans were not an inherent part of the Americas’ history? Who benefits from it? It is easy to suggest that this mentality might be caused by the chauvinistic attitudes of those who pride themselves on their European ancestry. In reality, these questions are more complex. Answering them requires much thought and gathering a significant amount of information on the subject. Still, it is vital for people to at least start asking themselves those questions to become more self-aware of racial bias.
All in all, there is a certain level of cruelty in how oppression in Asian American history is disregarded, thus alienating the people from their historical backgrounds. It is abundantly clear that there exists a particular need for furthering the education of society on the matter because it might be crucial in changing the general social mindset, which is still full of prejudice. These steps are essential nowadays when racial tension leads to acts of violence that are unacceptable in modern, civilized communities.
Works Cited
Coolies, Sailors, Settlers: Voyage to the New World. Directed by Loni Ding, CET Films, 2001.
Chinese in the Frontier West: An American Story. Directed by Loni Ding, CET Films, 2001.