Here's a somewhat enlightening article in The Washington Post today as an example of how Asian racial slurs are sometimes overlooked by the general American public.
A cheese steak shop in Philadelphia has been in business for over 50 years and has a loyal clientele base. But recently this popular eatery has stirred up quite a bit of protest from Asian-American groups. Why? Because of it's name--Chink's Steaks.
The restaurant was opened by Samuel Sherman, who was nicknamed "Chink" as a child because of his supposedly slanted, Asian-looking eyes. "Nobody ever called him Sam," said Groh, who started working at the eatery at age 15 and later bought it after Sherman died. "That was his name from the age of 6."
The problem is that the term "chink" is every bit as racist and hurtful to Asian Americans as "the n-word" is to African Americans -- so much so that some have taken to calling it "the c-word."
"It's definitely a derogatory term," said Ginny Gong, national president of the Organization of Chinese Americans, one of several groups pressing for the restaurant to change its name. ". . . Maybe there is this feeling that Asian Americans will not express some degree of outrage. But we are outraged that there is this comfort level."
For Groh, 45, the name remains part of his restaurant's tradition. When his mother suggested he change it to "Joe's," he said, he told her: "Why would I? This is Chink's."
I'm not quite sure what to think about this. Part of me says the nickname, and hence, the restaurant's name, wasn't really meant to be derogatory, so why get all worked up about it? Yet another side of me wonders if I shouldn't be a bit more sensitive to such terms. I mean, if a guy had some African-American features, I'm sure we wouldn't be calling him and his place "Nigger's" in public. This is yet another example of how the Asian-American is kind of in limbo as far as race is concerned.
Yu and others said that the groups learned from the failed experience, and that they recognize that part of their efforts must be to heighten sensitivity and educate non-Asians about the term and why Asian Americans find it offensive.
They are in some ways battling entrenched stereotypes. Among them is the perception that Asian Americans are, for the most part, affluent, educated and well assimilated, and should therefore have no complaints -- the "model minority."
"We have not done a good job at sensitizing the general population," Yu said. Many Americans, she said, "generally don't associate Asians as a minority facing discrimination."
Grace Kao, director of Asian American studies at the University of Pennsylvania, said part of the problem is the way race is still defined and discussed in the United States. "In this country, race is still largely a black-and-white issue. Asian Americans and Latinos are largely left out of the conversation," she said. "In public dialogue, you can't say certain things about African Americans, but it's still okay to say things about Asian Americans."
I'm not quite sure I agree, though. Perhaps being too sensitive about racial terms isn't such a good idea. Just the whole ___ - American terminology seems to have done nothing more than make people a bit more uncomfortable about talking about race. Do I call you black or African-American? Can I call you Chinese or Chinese-American? Maybe you're Asian-American. Crap. You only look a bit Asian (or is it Asian-American), but actually you're Tiger Woods and you're African-American. But isn't your mother Asian? No, she's Thai. Oh wait. That's Asian. But she's an American citizen. That makes her Asian-American. Or is that Thai-American? Wait. What? It's all so confusing. Please don't hit me. Here--have a sack of Cheetos.
2 comments:
I am hungry for Chinese food all of a sudden!
I read the article, but 30 minutes later I felt like I needed to read it again...
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