Fong Chapter 1
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Chapter 1 of the book The Contemporary Asian American Experience: Beyond the Model Minority, author Timothy P. Fang discusses about how the different Asian groups came to the United States. The first who came to the United States from the late 1880's and early 1900's were the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Indians. These groups immigrated to the United States to look for jobs and find a better life. Japanese immigrants were the most different compared to the other Asians of the time because they first came to Hawaii, were already introduced to agriculture, had international military power, the people were able to adapt and increase in population (19). The second wave of Asian Immigrants and refugees came to the United States after 1965 due to the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, global economic restructuring, and the Vietnam War. Southeast Asian groups like the Vietnamese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Hmong came in waves came as refugees after the Vietnam War.
One thing that stood out to me was the process by which the Hmong came to the United States. I remember the stories that my grandparents used to tell me about how they would spend restless nights fleeing from Laos to Thailand. It would take them weeks and months before they would reach the Mekong River, the river which sits between Thailand and Laos. Once they reached Thailand, they would await months to years in refugee camps before coming to the United States. My father was around the age of 16 when in Thailand and he served as an interpreter for the Hmong and the Americans. Authors of the article, Radical Formation in the United States, Michael Omi and Howard Winant of 1994 focuses on the main idea of race and how a the 'Whites' made their way differentiating the kinds of race. Immediately, Omi and Howard introduces the readers that race is not a biological concept and is still argued about today. The thought of Race was first used by Europeans as a way to distinguish themselves from the 'natives' or those different (1). Most thought of race as a biological concept, however truth of race is that it was based on the characteristics of skin color and physical attributes to determine who should be free and who should be enslaved (2). As a social concept, those who are referred as 'White' are seen as pure and those 'Black' are seen as all who are 'non-whites' (3). In addition, Omi and Howard mention that there is permanent "racial etiquette" in the United States, meaning that there is a way Americans deal with a certain race, which can never be changed (5). I agree that race is still an issue today as it creates stereotypes about certain types of groups other than the 'white' race. African Americans, for instance, are stereotyped as disobedient and violent. Due to these stereotypes, it makes it easier for the 'whites' to distinguish themselves from the 'non-whites' and makes it okay for society to think that those are the true characteristics of the targeted group. After watching the documentary of the Brown Eye/Blue Eye experiment, by educator Jane Elliot, I found that there were two specific moments in which reflect the nature of discrimination, prejudice, or bias in society. The first moment was when the two boys fought because of eye color. The brown-eyed fought with the blue-eyes because of teasing. Elliot then asked the brown-eyed boy to see if fighting had helped stop the blue-eyed boy from making fun of him; the boy said no. This is a great example of the discrimination in the United States due to the fact that fighting will help no one and will solve nothing. This shows that fighting will not help with discrimination, but in fact may even continuously worsen the situation. The second moment from the documentary was when the blue-eyed students were made the targets. Elliot showed the audience that the students read card packs every day. When the brown-eyed students went to read card packs, they had done better than the first day when they were made to wear collars. Elliot points out that the only difference between the two days was that they had become superior. The children who had been superior the first day were then made into nothing during the second day, therefore they were much slower with the card packs. This shows that being superior make a big difference and that may show that being superior over another will never work out between the two groups; either both groups are made equally or nothing at all. This relates to the reading Mother Tongue by Amy Tan, where she describes her opinion of speaking the English language. Tan refers to her mother in this piece and states that her particular way of speaking the English language is so called by native-born Americans as "broken" or "fractured" English. In the early years, this "fractured" English of her mother's made Tan ashamed and well aware that many could not take her seriously- limiting her perception of her mother as well. Tan now realizes that although the language was not perfect, it was perfect for her mother and that it showed her that in a way, English played a large role in shaping her language skills. Tan's piece relates to Jane Elliot's A Class Divided because it shows that children can be influenced by those around them. Elliot's class thought that they were different due to the color of their eyes and Tan thought that her mother was different due to the fact that her language skills were not proficient of those who were proficient. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html Chapter two of Timothy P. Fong's The Contemporary Asian American Experience talks about the specific areas Asian Americans settled in and their contribution to the work force. While most Asian Americans became attracted to big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, there were exceptions like the Hmong. The majority of the Hmong decided to stay in California's Central Valley agricultural regions in and around Fresno, Merced, Sacramento, and San Joaquin counties (51). The reason behind this was that they did not like to be separated from one another and could not stand the weathers. In my opinion, the reason why they could not separate from one another was because Hmong is a group of people that valued family and tradition. In the Hmong Culture, families tend to stick together and if one chose to move away for any reason at all, they would be considered selfish or disrespectful to the elders and family. Therefore, coming to the United States was one of the biggest hardships for the Hmong people because they never encountered a situation in which they had to separate from their people until the Vietnam War. The discussion of the work force of Asian Americans intrigued me as most Asian Americans worked together and opened businesses owned by particular groups of Asian Americans. The types of Asian American businesses range from highly successful international high-technology research and manufacturing firms, to professional businesses and medical offices, to small-scale street vendors, restaurants, mom-and-pop grocery stores, as well as hotel and motel operations (54). One example is the nail salons; its obvious that when you go to nail salons the majority of workers are Vietnamese and Vietnamese owned. The video below is of comedian Anjelah Johnson, who was apart of a stand up comedy show where she touched on her experience at a typical Vietnamese salon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoqcAe06Fz8 gbsbbt Chapter eight of Timothy P. Fong's book, The Contemporary Asian American Experience: Beyond the Model Minority, discusses the topic of Asian Americans in the media and how it affects the way others view them. Fong focuses on Asian Americans in film, television, theatre, and sports. Asian Americans in film was first introduced in the mid-late 1800's where they were portrayed as 'polluting the environment, degrading American labor, debasing white women, and destroying American Society' (196). In the mid 1900's, White Americans began using the term 'scotch-tape Asians' as a term in the film industry for non-Asian individuals who played Asian roles in films (197). The actor and actresses would put tape on their eyelids to alter the shape of their eyes, specifically into almond eyes to imitate the eye structures of Asians (197). Overtime, the growth of Asians in films form stereotypes; Asian men were seen as nerdy and asexual, while Asian women as petite, exotic, and eager to please to serve men (198). As an individual who loves watching historical Asian dramas/films, I find that the subject on entertainers and hostesses play an important role in some of the Asian cultures. One example are the Japanese Geishas, whom are female entertainers who study in the arts of playing traditional instruments, dances, tea, and entertaining men. Geishas are either born into the system or taken away by their parents at a young age to learn the arts. I think that these traditions play a key role in the stereotyping that Asian women are eager to serve men. Due to the fact that women serve men in the Japanese culture, people might take this and think that that's how all Asian women are, but no they are wrong. Intro of the book Little Manila is in the Heart, by Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, introduces the readers to an Asian American group called the Filipinos/as who immigrated from the Philippines to the United States. Mabalon starts off by talking about her experience as a child growing up in Stockton, a small little town in the Central Valley of California, and mentions the history of her family. Mabalon explains that most Filipinos/as settled in Stockton, California because of the number of jobs that needed cheap immigrant labor and farm workers (5). The main goal of Mabalon's work is to consider how the Filipino people has transformed as a group and how race, place, and space played a role in shaping their American identities in the twentieth century (6). Mabalon also wants to explore the relationship of Filipinos/as in Stockton to their memories and experiences of their lost community, Little Manila. After reading the intro, I find it very interesting because my people, the Hmong, were also immigrants of the United States. The Hmong were also people who settled in the Central Valley; in the cities of Sacramento, Stockton, Merced, and Fresno. I'm excited to read Mabalon's work as I hope to see that there will be many similarities with the experiences of the Filipinos and Hmong. With massive economic shifts, most jobs move into the cities and leave neighborhoods behind(1). These lower-income neighborhoods are seen by most Americans as a problem and because of this, those neighborhoods come to believe that their well-being depends on being consumers of services with no incentive of being producers (1). McKnight and Kretzman, authors of Mapping Community Capacity, finds that there are ways in which there can be help rebuilding low-income neighborhoods. The first step is to find those that are located in the neighborhoods controlled by those who live there, those who control elsewhere, and controlled outside the neighborhood. McKnight ad Kretzman call these these primary building blocks, which are the assets and capacities inside the neighborhood (4). These assets are separated into two kinds- individual and organizational. Examples of individual assets are skills, talents, individual businesses, and personal income. The second primary building blocks are the assets located within the community but are largely controlled by others such as private and non-private profit organizations, public institutions, and physical resources (9). I agree with the authors that in order to help a community, the people within the community must be able to understand their individual assets and how they can contribute it into the community. In Chapter one Little Manila is in The Heart, author Dawn Malabon discusses the history of the Filipinos/as before they immigrated to the United States and the struggles of the people after immigrating to the United States. Malabon first discusses the topic of the American-Philippine War in 1899, about how colonialism changed the people forever. The United States military changed the Philippines school systems by creating public schools and offering power positions, turning them to loyal colonials (31). Some of the more educated and rich families sent their sons and daughters to the United States to attend big universities, hoping that they would come back to the Philippines afterwards to help their people (36). Those who still lived in the Philippines were struggling because the hardships of farming and high rates of poverty, therefore they resorted to immigrating to the United States (44). Women of families chose to stay behind because of gender-role expectations, staying behind to take care of the family, possible hardships in the Untied States, and uncertain future (47). The men and sons mostly came to the United States because most thought of returning back once they made enough money (46). Once they came to the United States, they saw how hard it was, working long hours and low pay. Regardless of the hardships, they still chose to stay rather than to go back because it was better than nothing and they were still able to send money back to their families. Letters and pictures were sent to their families; hiding the fact that they were struggling because they wanted their families to believe that the life in the United States was easy and successful. Like those of the Filipinos, my family also immigrated to the United States and faced most of the same hardships. The only difference was that my people were not educated and did not know how the United States would benefit them. One other difference is that the Filipinos came to the United States because they wanted a better lifestyle and to make money for their families. The Hmong did not want to come to the United States but had to because of the Vietnam War. The elders thought that the United States was the land of the "Hnyav"- big human-like monsters who ate human beings. Elders demanded families not to immigrate, but like the Filipinos, they wanted a future for their children and it was either to go or stay behind to deal with the aftermath of the Vietnam War. After 1943, the Chinese immigrants slowly adapted to the United States and began standing up for their people. The Chinese men were participating in the Cold War and aided the Americans, which led to the identification of 'good' and 'bad' Chinese. In terms of jobs, there were still significant barriers for Chinese Americans in the United States: both real and psychological. One example is that although most Chinese Americans were over-qualified and well trained for jobs, they still struggles because it was hard to gain promotions to supervisory and higher administrative positions (50). The fact that the Chinese struggled with English and did not protest, they were called the 'silent minority'. Major social problems like discrimination, educational handicaps, lack of marketable skills, language barriers, citizenship requirements, and culturally biased irrelevant tests all aided in the 'silent minority' (52). Big social problems like the ones that the Chinese immigrants went through is something that I believe all immigrants eventually go through. Discrimination, for one, is a great example of a social problem that immigrants go through; it is something that would never change even through time. The Hmong Immigrants, for instance, came to the United States to escape war and still faces discrimination because of the language barriers and educational handicaps. People look at the Hmong people and automatically think that they are Chinese, making sounds and yelling out words like 'ching-chong'. Chinese Americans were one of the first Asians to immigrate to the United States and made a living despite the struggles and discrimination that they had to face. According to Kitano and Daniels, the Chinese were attracted to the United States because of the gold and economic boom that was occurring in the mid 1800's (21). Most came a sojourners, expecting to go back home once they made enough money to support their families and because of this, most who came were men. While working in the United States, the Chinese immigrants became easy targets of discrimination, beaten and killed by mobs of anti-Chinese (24). The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 stopped the incoming numbers of Chinese laborers for 10 years (25). Over the years, the Chinese moved into areas such as San Francisco and flourished there because of the goods and services that were distributed; which also made it easy for illegal Chinese immigrants. When going through big cities, like San Francisco and Los Angeles, I notice that there is China Town. China Town usually consists of shopping areas and centers owned by Chinese people, who sell items shipped from China. It attracts many tourists because of the rich culture and items. I used to question why Chinatown was smack right in the middle of the busy streets and big buildings, unaware that there were more history to it than I thought. The settlement patterns of the Filipino/as was based on labor and the availability of jobs that hired Filipinos. Filipinos went where jobs were offered, specifically in the jobs of agriculture, along the San Joaquin Delta of Stockton, Merced, Fresno and Sacramento. Some of those who immigrated from the Philippines to the United States came expecting to pursue a higher education. Unfortunately, some could not as most had to work in asparagus fields in order to prepare for college first. Money was paid very little to these labor workers(67). Not only there was very little pay but the living conditions were bad as most laborers were put in labor camps, where they would savage for anything they can kill to eat (82). Although working in the fields was hard, different groups of Filipinos managed to find time to have fun and enjoy themselves like practicing escrima, gambling, cockfights, and prostitution (84). After the mid 1920's, labor workers and organizations like the Valley Fruit Growers of San Joaquin Valley would conducted small strikes to hurt the growers right before the peak of the harvest. Eventually, after a while strikes became ineffective as the contractors would find new workers to replace them in labor. Discrimination became clear as the Filipino/as were attacked by non-Filipino organizations; beating immigrants, smashing cars, and burning down bunk houses (93). The discrimination between non-Filipinos organizations and Filipinos is not an uncommon issue. It seems that for every immigrant group, there is always hatred coming from somewhere. It intrigues me that Asian immigrants took some of the worst jobs of the economy and yet they were still discriminated because of it. It does not make sense to me because there is no wrongdoing being done. The fact that most Asian immigrant groups conducted strikes was simply not wrong because it was for the well-being of their people. The Japanese were different of the Chinese immigrants due to the fact that they did not want to shame Japan and the decline of the Japanese immigrant bachelor society. As the Japanese population grew, there was also a growing anti-Japanese movement. In order to fix this issue, Roosevelt and Japan, came to an agreement and came up with the Gentlemen's Agreement in 1907-08 (60). The agreement states that Japan would no longer let their people come to the United States unless it were the wives and children of those who were already living in the States. The Japanese women and children then were allowed immigrate to the United States and lived alongside their husbands. The native-born, citizen generation of the Japanese were called Nisei and eventually outnumber their parents in the years (58). The Nisei quickly adapted to the American culture and excelled in school, which made their parents worry (64). The parents joined Japanese organizations in which caused a controversy; some saying that Japanese immigrants are still loyal to Japan while others said that it was only to help them. During World War II the United States feared that Japanese immigrants were still loyal to Japan; therefore they decided to incarcerate any Japanese and relocated them to 'assembly camps', where they would spend for the rest of the time until the war ended (66). They lost their homes, property, and businesses (66). After the war, the United States finally realized that they have done 'grave injustice' to Japanese Immigrants and apologized, allowing them to collect money for the damages that had been done and a payment of $20,000- The Japanese Claims Act of 1948 (69). The Nisei were the second generation of the Japanese immigrants who had outnumbered their parents and adapted into the American Culture (64). The parents worried that they adapted too quickly, entering universities and acting like those of the middle class (64). In addition, the Nisei did not want anything to do with Japan or the Japanese culture (64). I find that this piece greatly relates to my personal experiences as a second generation Hmong American. Those like my parents, first generation Hmong immigrants, are worried for their children as most are losing the language and the rich culture. There are numerous problems with this considering that the Hmong do not have a country and that religious ceremonies are only practiced by the elders. Once the elders are gone, there will be no one to educate the children of the culture and practices. This worries me because, unlike other Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, the Hmong do not have a country to remind them of the culture. The Japanese Americans, for instance, has a country to go back to remind them of their culture and practices, but the Hmong does not. Overtime, I fear the Hmong in the States will soon lose all of their culture forever as some are already losing their Hmong. The diets of a group of people determines their health status. Author of the article Asian American Dietary Issues, Kim-Phuc Nguyen discusses the different diets of different Asian groups and the things that they should do in order to maintain good health. The trend of meat consumption for Asian Americans in the United States have increased due to the fact that meat is more affordable and more available (Nguyen). The dairy product intake increased for Asian Americans; however since the majority are lactose intolerant, it leads to low bone density. 65% of Asian American women are found to have lower bone densities, which can lead to osteoporosis (Nguyen). Exercise is one Asian American health issue because it is rarely apart of their United States lifestyles (Nguyen). The fact that most do not exercise, it leads to diabetes;the rates of diabetes in AAPI children doubled from 2001 to 2006 (Nguyen). Along the same lines of Nguyen, Asian American Health Initiative discusses about the different kinds of health risks in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community (AAPI). According to AAHI, the number one cause of death for AAPI is cancer, specifically liver and stomach cancer (21). The second leading cause of death is heart disease due to high cholesterols and diabetes (22). Type 2 diabetes is found to be 60% higher in AAPI communities compared to non-Hispanic whites (23). Osteoporosis, low bone mass, lactose intolerance, hepatitis B infections, and tuberculosis rates are the highest among Asian Americans (24). Asian American Health Initiative also mentions that AAPI communities lack health care access due to the lack of knowledge, lack of English language proficiency, and transportation. In chapter three of Little Manila is in the Heart, author Dawn Bohulano Mabalon focuses on the discrimination Filipinos faced, the rise of Filipino community organizations and clubs in Stockton, and the lifestyles of Filipinos. Mabalon introduces to the readers that Filipinas/o were made up of different groups determined by the language, dialect and the region such as: Ilocano/as, Visayans, and Tagalogs (103). These different groups began coming together forming community organizations and clubs as a surrogate family and support network for the thousands of single men and young families whom left networks behind in the Philippines (107). Some individuals depended on these organizations because it was a way of the community helping one another out, especially when it came to money (111(. Mabalon then talks about how the Filipino businesses in Stockton thrived and made it possible for Filipino immigrants to explore their capabilities in terms of owning businesses. One positive outcome was that Filipino/as were buying and supporting Filipino businesses, however one negative was that when it came time to pay for bills, they would support Japanese and Chinese restaurants instead. Mabalon also mentions how Boxing played a big role in the Filipino community as it caught the eye of many and made it a place for gathering (127). As mentioned in the previous chapters, many single Filipino men gambled and went to dance with prostitutes. Those dances were called Taxi dance halls and there Filipino men would pay for a dance with white prostitutes (132). In addition, Mabalon mentions that discrimination grew towards the Filipinos because not they were adapting so quickly, but that they would do things better than the white Americans. I have noticed that there is a connection between the Filipino people and the Hmong people. The connection between the two is that they both have many sub groups within their group as a whole. The Filipinos have the Tagalogs, Ilocanos, and the Visayans- within those groups there are additional sub groups. The Hmong culture consist of sub groups like the Hmong Green/Leeg, Hmong White, and Hmong Striped. These subgroups have their own unique language and dialects which makes it hard for one another to communicate. Mabalon mentions that the Filipino groups do not get along as well and tend to lean towards people of their group. The Hmong groups do the same because of the differences and sometimes do not get along with each other. The Hmong Green/Leeg and Hmong White, for instance, share a long rivalry between the two groups and dislike the ways and lifestyle of one another. South Asians that will be discussed in Chapter 8 of Kitano and Daniel's piece are Asian Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis. Kitano and Daniels introduces the readers to the numbers that first came to the United States in the early 1900's. Like the Chinese, the vast majority of those who came were men and hoped to make enough money to send back to their families back in India. They did not think of staying, but hopefully that they could return back to India as Sojourners. The majority of those men were bachelors that eventually got married. Those that got married were married to Hispanic women, vast majority were from Mexican American Farm worker families (108). The Asian Indian community kept growing after 1975 and were approximately 250,000 Asian Indians in the United States (112). The census showed that Asian Indian women were having less children than most of white Americans (112). Most have concluded that because of the low numbers of birth rate, the success rate were higher. In terms of women in the work force, there were only a 58.2% rate of Asian Indian workers compared to Japanese Americans at 72.5% (113). In terms of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, the majority of those who immigrated to the United States came as Asian Indians (116). Overall, one of the things that Asian Indians have accomplished are owning small businesses and opening newsstands. I find that there are many similarities between all of the Asian Immigrants that we've learned so far. Asian Indians can related to Chinese immigrants because of the expectations coming into the United States; they expected to make money and then go back home to India as Sojourners. Once they reached their arrival, they had to work hard in farms and agricultural. The majority were bachelors and some married from outside of their ethnicity. They were similar to those of Japanese Immigrants because they worked hard and explored their capabilities, challenging the laws like the case of U.S v. Bhagat Singh Thind and Ozawa v. United States. In Hmong Traditional Martial Roles and the Pursuit of Higher Education, author Mai Shoua Khang discusses the roles of men and women in the Hmong community and why there are gender roles. Khang importantly notes that the gender role is based on a traditional practice called "The Burial of the Placenta", which determines where the placenta should be buried (17). In villages, if the placenta is of a boy then it would be buried by the house's central post to symbolize support for the family's linage once he has matured and married. If the placenta is of a girl, it would be buried beneath the parent's bed to represent reproduction and domestic chores as she learns to become a daughter, daughter-in-law, and a wife. This particular ritual is not practiced in the United States as Hmong have their children in hospitals, in which the placentas are thrown away; however, the meanings of the placenta are still in play within the culture. The role of men and women in the Hmong community is a fixed role, in which it is planted in the culture itself and can not be changed unless otherwise. As the Hmong came to the United States, they realized that education was open to men and women; shifting the rules little by little. As the gender roles begin to change, young Hmong teenagers are torn between the two worlds of balancing family values and expectations as well as individual educational goals (11). Kao Lee Yang, author of The Impact of Hmong Women's Gender Role Endorsement in Decision-Making, finds that most women in the Hmong community support do particular chores within the home based on what they did most in the home. Washing the dishes, babysitting, vacuuming, cleaning the toilet, and doing the laundry were some chores that Hmong women attended to. Yang states that in old traditions, Hmong families were structure so that the family was under the authority of the male head of household (3). The men of the house hold were expected to uphold the traditions and values of family and clan. The women were expected to be quiet and passive followers of the husband and elders, and provide unconditional support for their husbands(4). Women in the United States experience gender role identity crisis as they are stuck in between the traditional society and western society. I believe that because of these particular gender roles, women have less of an ability to speak for themselves. In addition, these gender roles create personality within the men and women; men can do whatever they please while women are restricted and passive. There is no surprise that domestic violence would go hand in hand with the subject of gender inequality. Chapter 4 of Dawn Bohulano Mabalon's Little Manila is in the Heart, talks about women in the Filipino society in the United States before and after WWII. Pinay were an importance to the Filipino community as they showed the hardships that bachelors had to go through in finding a mate. Filipino women were hard to come by because most were still in the Philippines and only very few came to the United States in having the same expectations as men. Like the men, the Pinay came to the United States with their families to go to school but most ended up on the farms and worked as laborers. Besides the struggle of going to school and finding a good job, most were well off because they were considered a rare diamond in the Filipino community and had many admirers. The men did everything to get their attention since there were so little Filipino women at the time. Pinay were able to choose whom they wanted to love and took their time with marriage. The term coboy coboy derived from the word 'cowboy', which was used for men who abducted women to be their wives in Hawai'i (159). The struggle was real as Filipino men became frustrated with their female counterparts and eventually lead to murders and killings. The fact that there was a sex ratio imbalance, it made women stronger in the household. They were basically leaders in their own homes, even the men could not say anything about their rules. The term family was more than just family as they all relied on extended family networks (164). Family was also dependent on godparenthood, where godparents (ninong and ninang) took care of children when their parents were sick or passed away (165). I find it very interesting how the practices of Filipinos are very similar to those of the Hmong. In the beginning of the chapter, Mabalon mentions that if a man wanted to marry a woman, he would send a representative over to discuss the marriage with the woman's family. The Hmong does the same as the men's side of the family send someone similar called the 'Mej Koob' to discuss the marriage with the girl's side of the family. In addition, the term 'coboy coboy' is similar to the actions of the Hmong where they kidnap a girl to marry called 'zij'. I find it fascinating that although the Filipino and Hmong are two different ethnicities, their cultures are very similar. The Impact of Immigration on Hmong Women, by author Kaying Lo, discusses the impact of Immigration on Hmong women and the educational aspect. Lo starts off by introducing the readers to the personalities and expectations of Hmong daughters and women. Hmong women earned the approval of others when they follow the rules of the community; and earned disapproval when they deviated (3). Women are meant to be mute and majority of the time had no voice in decisions that are made. The reason why the method of behavioral control worked so well was due to the fact that it was all based on 'reputation' and 'being good', which was then reinforced by peers, family members, and the Hmong Community as a whole (3). Education in America plays a major role in the shaping of culture and at the same time, women struggles with the imbalance of school work and in the home. When it came to school there were many differences between the expectations of boys and girls. For boys, parents worried if they were putting effort in school work, and highly encouraged sons to go to school in order to fulfill their adult role of supporting a family. Girls on the other hand, parents were mostly worried about school being a dangerous place where girls are at risk for elopement or pregnancy (4). Girls received support from their families when they left school to pursue a domestic role instead. Lo states that the reason why some do not encourage their daughters to go to school is because the parent's understanding of college is not clear. Hmong women who have pursued higher education states that the reason why they go is because they want independence and freedom from male-dominance (7). Similarly authors Huping Ling and Allan W. Austin suggested that such gender inequality is a product of the Hmong's largely rural background and patriarchal clan system. There are a total of 18 clan in the Hmong system and usually one man would represent a clan, which then all 18 clan members would hold meetings discussing the next steps for the Hmong. Boys and girls grew up in this system in which men were the ones who controlled life inside and outside of the family. Women, yet again, only controlled the home when then men was not home. Hmong girls were expected to be innocent and quiet. Boys had higher expectations in which they learned of rituals and the Hmong system to possibly one day be a clan leader or sub-clan leader. I can see where the struggle begins to fall as women and men have fixed roles in which they are bounded by and cannot escape since it is rooted in the culture itself. Coming to the United States gave an opportunity for Women to reach higher level of education, to maintain independence and avoid male dominance. However, when it comes to family wise and marriage, the ideal of male dominance in the culture occurs yet again. The marriage ceremony is a great example of that, in which the man's side of the family presents dowries to the woman's family to marry her. The majority of Hmong still see this as an issue because they believe that the man is buying the women in marriage. This often leads to mistreatment later in the marriage, along with domestic abuse and polygamy within the Hmong community. Korean immigrants came to the United States in three waves. The first wave were those who went to Hawaii to work in the sugar plantations. Koreans in the sugar plantations took over the work of the Japanese because during this time, the Japanese were beginning to demand for better treatment. The majority of the first waves were from the lower class and very few were peasants because peasants were very conservative- they still followed the teaching of Confucianism (122). Those who came converted to Christianity before they immigrated. Once immigrated, they took the typical jobs such as laborers, tenant farmers, cooks, janitors, and launderers (123). Koreans of this first wave were very attached to Korea and developed Korean Language schools in 1905 to maintain values, customs, histories, and geography of Korea (123). 'Picture Brides' were imported from Korea to America at this time and because of this, there were less bachelors. Some were accidently mistaken as Japanese and were attacked by white mobs; the Japanese took this and protected them (124).The second wave of Koreans came from 1951-1964 and consisted mainly of wives of American servicemen of the Korean War, war orphans, and students. The second wave had to deal with culture shock, lack of education, isolation, problems of communication, and general alienation (125). The third wave of Korean immigrants began coming in 1965 and continues to this day due to the Immigration and Naturalization act of 1965. Most of those who came were family oriented, made up of housewives and children (126). Most of the third wave were very educated and hardworking. Koreans began assimilating into the American culture and began moving away from farm work; moving to education, job mobility, and opening businesses. Three of the same factors that make Koreans so successful is that they are hardworking, strong family and kinship ties, and community churches. In addition, women and the youth were willing to work despite the hardships. I find it interesting how the newer waves of Korean immigrants became much smarter than the previous groups. I believe that the first wave of Koreans struggled because it was hard for them to adapt into a totally new world. The second generation had it tough but I don't believe they had it as bad as the first generation because there were already Koreans living in the United States at the time and the majority were wives. The last wave were smarter and seems to have adapted into the United States easier than the two waves because they had family and strong ties. In addition, since the majority were just housewives and children, adapting was easy. Chapter 5 of Mabalon's Little Manila is in the Heart discusses the spirituality and religious practices of Filipinos in Stockton of the 1920's-50's. Those who arrived in Stockton were Roman Catholic due to the Spanish Catholicism that was adopted throughout the Philippines (194). After arriving, Protestants of Western Christian churches immediately established missions, churches, social services, bible study, English classes, hospital work, single-sex dormitories, and Sunday schools (195). The goal of these missionaries was to save Filipino/a souls and make them into good Americans (196). As the Catholic churches begin to push the Filipinos/as out and discriminated against them by supporting the 1935 Filipino Repatriation Act (204). Protestant churches wanted to help these problems by accepting Filipinos and took them in, providing them with food, shelter, and inspiration. I found it particularly dissatisfying that the California Catholic churches would support the exclusion and the 1935 Filipino Repatriation Act due to the fact that I thought they should not have supported things like that. I understand that Filipinos were having a hard time at the time but the reason why they came to the United States were because of education, better lifestyle, and jobs. Since the Catholic churches wanted them to go back, its the same thing as discriminating against Filipinos and is wrong. Chapter 10 of Kitano and Daniel's piece discusses three groups of the Pacific Islander Immigrants: Samoans, Guamanians, and Hawaiians. The Samoan people live in under hierarchical social structure and believe in the Faasamoa, which is a term for customs, culture, values, and traditions of the Samoan (141). Westernization made it possible for the first migrations of Samoans to come to Hawaii and in general, were more business-like compared to their counterparts. The second wave of Samoans came to the United States to seek for better jobs, education, and reunion with relatives (143). The Samoans differed from most of the other Pacific Islanders is that they are much bigger in size and participate in sports (144). The Guamanians became a United States territory after the Spanish-American War of 1898 and since the 1950 Organic Act, were allowed to travel between Guam and the United States as they pleased (144-145). The struggles of the Guam are similar to all other Pacific Islanders. The Hawaiians struggled the most and at the same time were the most successful. Hawaiians were most similar to the Native Americans because they were unprepared for 'foreign invasion' and at the same time were exposed to 'the white man disease', which killed many Hawaiians (147). The Hawaiians are so similar to those of the Native Americans because they were essentially killed off by others and their will to live was no longer that many of them faced high poverty rates, short life expectancy and highest infant mortality rate (151). In addition, I find that most of the Pacific Islanders were similar to the Hmong people because most of the prestige leaders ended up in unskilled labor and jobs. The Hmong are similar because when they came to the United States, they were stripped of their titles and made to work in labor jobs. My uncle, Moua Feng Thao, was stripped of his title as a nurse in Thailand and made to work in companies. This chapter discusses refugees from Southeast Asia and their struggles before and after immigrating to the United States. According to Kitano and Daniels, a refugee is a person who flees his or her native company country for safety in a time of distress (155). The three refugee groups that will be discussed in this chapter are the Vietnamese, Hmong from Lao, and Cambodians. All three Southeast Asian groups mostly immigrated to the United States due to the Vietnam War (1959-1975). The first wave of Southeast Asians came into the United States as refugees who consist of privileged wealthy, upper-class families, military personnel, civil servants, teachers, farmers, fishermen, employees of Americans, and Catholics (157). The second wave was made up of economically poor refugees after 1975, after the Vietnam War (157). The Vietnamese refugees came to the United States due to a civil war between the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (North Vietnam) and the Republic of Viet Nam (South Vietnam) (159). United States aided South Vietnam during the time and after the war ended, there became as much as 3 million Vietnamese that became refugees. These refugees then settled in camps (in Thailand) but after the camps were full, they decided to leave Vietnam by traveling by ship to Thailand. The Hmong, a people indigenous to China who lived in the mountains of Laos, were a group that aided the Americans during the Vietnam War (163). The CIA specially trained this group of people to rescue American personnel (pilots) and collect intelligence on North Vietnamese movements (164). The Hmong fled to refugee camps in Thailand and eventually were able to come to the United States. The Cambodians (Kampucheans) came to the United States due to the fear of the hate between the Vietnamese and the Khmer during the Vietnamese war so they fled to Thailand to look for safety. The majority of these Southeast Asian groups all suffered though the difficulties due to the Vietnam War. Coming to the United States and immigrating to other countries was the only way they would escape all the things that were happening in their countries. The push factors made it possible for them to do what they had to. Although most had to leave, they all hoped to eventually come back to their homelands; different from sojourners because their homelands would be different than before. Some had no choice but to either assimilate to the culture of the United States or not do anything at all. The older generations struggled more than the young in my opinion because they were stripped from their credentials and jobs from their country, only to come to America to start all over. In addition, the language barrier made it even harder for them due to the fact that without understanding English, it was basically the same thing as being handicapped. Most had to start over and work in companies and low-level jobs (176). My grandpa, for example, was a Chief of the Police force in Laos and as soon as the Vietnam War began, he had to leave his job and join the army of Hmong, aiding the United States. After the War, he came to America wishing that he could go back to Laos because of how is title was taken away from him. The young generations and American born were quickly adapting to the American culture and had high hopes to fit in with the American lifestyles. My father came to the United States at the age of 17 and was given the privilege to go to school and obtain his nursing certificate. Because of the steps that my father took and the push to assimilate, he quickly adapted to the American culture and made it possible to live the way he wanted. In chapter 1 of Howard Zinn's The Politics of History, talks about knowledge as power. Zinn introduces force, by which are rules which controls the things that we should and should not do in society. Knowledge is something that does not confront force directly but it can question force (6). Zinn mentions five rules that those with knowledge should keep in mind. Rule number 1 states that in order for us to make change in knowledge, scholars should be rather neutral. Rule number 2 states that scholars should be able to distinguish between the things that are relevant and things that are not irrelevant, in addition to being objective. The third rule states that scholars should stick to their disciplines (11). This means that they should divide and rule, they must work together in order to achieve their main objective. Rule number four states that in order to be scientific, they must be in a neutral position, which Zinn argues that scientists do have values in order to achieve their purposes of saving lives (12). The last rule is that a scholar must be rational and avoid emotionalism. Yet again, Zinn argues emotion is the beginning of every movement.
I can see where Zinn is going with this because it greatly relates to what we are learning in class. I, as a college student, am beginning to realize the social issues within the Asian American community and how they impact each and everyone. In order for me to be able to dissect a particular issue in the community, I must be neutral and yet be understanding emotionally and knowledge wise. I am doing my community issue on Hmong gender equality and in order to be able to distinguish from what should be done and what should not, i need be as neutral as i can so i can eliminate bias and distraction. Chapter 6 of Little Manila is in the Heart, by Dawn Bohulano Mabalon, dives into the subject of labor unions and the World War II. Labor unions began to form as Filipinos struggled with working conditions and low wages. Asparagus growers were setting wages at 10 cents less per hundred pounds of asparagus than the years before 1930, and workers were still being given substandard housing (220). These issues made it possible for Filipinos to form the first labor organization called the Filipino Agricultural Laborer's Association) FALA, which demanded for a 20 cent wage increase per hundred pounds of Asparagus and called for strikes consisting of Ilocanos, Visayans, and Tagalogs. The first FALA strike surprised Japanese and White growers and was very successful because it was non-violent and did not use picketing (220). The Japanese leaders viewed themselves better than Chinese and Filipinos because they thought of themselves as racially, politically, and economically dominant (221). Filipinos would boycott Japanese stores and convince others to not purchase things from Japanese businesses. Since Filipinos boycott, the Japanese would hire Japanese who were willing to work and Mexicans in replacement of Filipino workers, majority of whom were in FALA (222). Japanese created organizations Leader of the Japanese American Citizen's League, Kay Morimoto, stated that there were two kinds of Filipinos- the bad, who organized with FALA; and the good- who were willing to negotiate (224). Congress decided to pass the Smith Act or Alien Registration Act, which required that all aliens aged 14 and up to register and be finger printed (229). Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt issued the Japanese to concentration camps under the Executive Order of 9066 (234). Most Filipinos sided with the United States on this one and for one began to see themselves more worthy. Filipinos and Chinese became more acknowledge and joined the war, took Japanese businesses, and farming. Filipinos fought side by side the different races and became the 'good Asians' because they did what they could to help in the War; the growth of nationalism (239). Although there was war, there was still segregation back in the United States and Filipinos were unable to get the same treatment. At the end of the war, many opportunities and benefits came to the Filipinos. Citizenship was finally and option for Filipinos and many became citizens. Filipino men were finally able to bring their War Brides and children over from the Philippines, making the sex ratio equal. Families were finally reunited. Filipino Labor Unions continued to fight after the war and joined hands with the Mexican labor unions I particularly enjoyed this chapter because it talked about so many things- the struggles, pride and nationalism, war, and the first instance where Filipinos came together regardless of background to work together. At this point, Filipinos found that working together as a people was their only way of getting their rights. I can relate this to the Hmong and the protests for General Vang Pao and 9 other that were arrested on June 2007, accused of planning to overthrow the Pathet Lao Communist of Laos. This attracted the attention of the Hmong community due to the fact that they saw Vang Pao as a leader whom guided the Hmong through the Vietnam War and eventually to the United States. A Hmong organization called the Hmong American Ad Hoc Committee of Sacramento was formed in 2007 to organize multiple protests for the release of General Vang Pao and others. President Vaming Xiong and Vice President Lao Thao (my father) of Hmong American Ad Hoc, Sacramento worked hand in hand with other Hmong organizations in Fresno, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In 2009, all charges against Vang Pao was dropped. After 30 years since the Hmong immigrated to the United States, they finally joined hands to fight for what they believed in. According to Gary Y. Okihiro, oral history is and should be seen as a tool for recovering history (27). The reason why history is such an important aspect is due to the explanation of human lives and the human condition for the guidance of human actions (28). In other words, history is important because it explain the courses of things that the humans have been doing up till this point and in addition guides human being to not make mistakes as the past. Okihiro suggests that in order to eliminate the irrelevant parts of history, it should be free from myths and lies because those are the things that influence human activity (28). Furthermore, historians should and must be able to distinguish subjective perceptions and objective reality in order for it to make accountable and as close to reality as possible. For example if a historian wanted to see the objective reality of how the white's viewed the profile of the black people, he/she would look over the black's account of plantation life of records, diaries, and letters for information. Thus, in order for a historian to find the historical facts, he/she must be able to look at both how history is already written and historical reality, through oral history. Chapter 7 of Little Manila is in the Heart focuses on the destruction of Stockton's Little Manila and the effect that it made for Filipinos at the time. Mabalon believes that the destruction of Little Manila of Stockton was due to race, class, suburbanization, and the term 'Blight'. After World War II the federal government wanted to turn urban areas to all-white suburban areas. Federal policies aided in the racialization of downtown and integrated neighborhoods as the Home Owners Loan Corporation formed in 1933 to deny federal insurance and federal loans for people and businesses of racially mixed neighborhoods (275). The term 'blight' was introduced as an area with racially mixed families and individuals, similarly to slums (278). Stockton elites believed that with the destruction of the west side, poverty rates and crime will decrease. Over the course of time, Filipinos were made to move out of their homes and businesses to relocate. Filipinos were unhappy because most of Little Manila was destroyed, leaving only two blocks left. Many left their businesses and some even took their families out of Little Manila. Business owners and families were able to file for relocation grants, however the grants only helped very little- not enough for the things that have been lost. From 1961-75, the freeway was being built right in the middle of Little Manila and the majority of Filipinos opposed the idea because it would destroy their homes and businesses that were already dying. The city leaders believed that the freeway would bring more people into downtown (286). These two last chapters of Little Manila is in the Heart discusses the struggle over power, space, and resources which brought together the old-timers, educated immigrants, and third generation Filipinos/as. The 1965 Immigration Act brought over two waves of Filipinos: highly educated workers and family members of those already living in the United States as residents (300). Of those who came, the majority were nurses whom received their training in the Philippines. San Francisco became the new Little Manila as it was in demand for workers. In addition, those who came post World War II was much different because they had no idea of the struggles that Filipinos have faced living in the United States (303). The old-timers and new-timers did not get along well and were always on guard (304). This somewhat relates to the Hmong people because the two different waves that came to the United States. The first wave was after the Vietnam war in 1975 and the second wave was in 2005. Some of the Hmong from the first wave did not like those of the second wave due to the came concepts as the Filipinos. The first wave felt that the second wave were not adapting well and were making a bad name for the Hmong people as a whole because the majority highly depended on welfare as most did not go past high school. After the World War II most Filipinos agreed that in order for to avoid racism, the best route to take was to assimilate into the American culture even if it means to lower the knowledge of culture and language. Culture and language was something that was most important to those who first came to the United States in the earlier years due to the fact that many would despise the differences between one another like being Visayan, Taglog, or Illocano. I found this the most interesting because the Hmong people were the same when they first came to the United States in 1975. Post World War II brought Hmong people together from all parts of Laos and Thailand, consisting of White Hmong, Green Hmong, Black Hmong, and Striped Hmong. The two that stood out the most was White Hmong and Green Hmong because most did not get along due to the language and customs. After coming to the United States, they became more tolerable to one another. The second and third generation Filipinos assimilated, went to schools, and became exposed to the politics of college. Escrima, the ancient martial arts of stick, hand, and blade fighting became one of the Filipino arts to develop a new kind of way of keeping the culture alive although most assimilated (312). In the epilogue, Mabalon reflects upon her experiences and what makes of Little Manila today. She also mentions the uprisings of a Filipino center site for Filipinos to celebrate and to represent the decades of struggle. |