To the
author Liz Lin: Your account on the reason why Asian Americans remained silent
about the Ferguson case is really compelling. As an Asian myself, I totally
comprehend what you’ve described as “the power of cultural tradition”. To some
extent, the status of Asian Americans on the so-called racial “food chain” is
really fluid and kinetic. If someone in the United States have been
characterized as an Asian American, their racial identity is destined to be
vague, and in many occasions, awkward in the context. Personally, I would
attribute the reason why Asian people remained silent in the face of injustice
like that of the Ferguson case in that people themselves feel isolated and
alienated within the society, and when other minorities suffered from in
justice, they tend to keep a distance and remain silent about it to gain a
sense of security and superiority. When Asian people are characterized in
stereotype as the “model minority”, a huge number of Asian Americans graciously
accepted it, for from this term, they sniffed a sense of belonging and
acceptance, although fake. This kind of mindset, combined with the conviction
that whoever is the first to stand up will be shot, it is reasonable to reach
to the conclusion of why people remained silent. I am also approve of your
statement that “to remain quiet in the face of injustice is to inherently
perpetuate it. When a whole group of people fell into the abyss of “mindlessness”,
as the famous Chinese writer and revolutionist Lu Xun has described, there is
just no way to get out of it. Just as the prevailing poetry about the Jews under
that Nazi reign during WWII has described, “when others are harassed, I remained
silent; when the blades are waving at me, no one stands up for me.”
Control
Dear Claudia Rankine, Thank you for Citizen . Before even opening the book, the cover struck me as I examined the torn, limbless black hoodie, now a symbol for racial profiling and police brutality. I was reminded of Ta-Nehesi Coates who writes about the lack of control black people have other their bodies, their lives, that can be taken from them at any moment because of microagressions and racism- all down to a hoodie. A black hoodie stands in for a black man, its presence seems to alert and warn the white viewer to stand armed. Upon reading the book, I fell in love with the way you structure prose poetry- it flows through memories and emotions which are not organized neatly and clearly. You place the reader as the "you" as they explore everyday racism (also known as microaggressions) and its detrimental impact on the person; we are forced into the crippling, disorienting minds of an annoymous person. You powerfully portray how racism deteriorates the psyche of a black p...
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