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Are you from an immigrant family, and have you grown up thinking that through hard work and sacrifice, anything could be overcome - including racism?
Until recently, I didn't think there was anything wrong with being a 'model minority'.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
Until recently, I didn't think there was anything wrong with being a 'model minority'.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
My parents, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, spent their weekends chauffeuring my brother and me to our lessons.
Saturday: Chinese school and piano lessons.
Sunday: Art classes followed by music theory.
Does this sound familiar? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
Saturday: Chinese school and piano lessons.
Sunday: Art classes followed by music theory.
Does this sound familiar? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
I cried when my brother brought home a report card that contained mostly B’s.
Sometimes strangers would say rude things to us, but it was something to make peace with. Life would inevitably get better if we just kept working hard and didn’t complain. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
Sometimes strangers would say rude things to us, but it was something to make peace with. Life would inevitably get better if we just kept working hard and didn’t complain. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
What do other kids do after school or on weekends? To this day, I have no idea because for us, it was a lot of practicing piano, studying and additional lessons.
Parents hoped this would mean their kids would lead successful lives in a new country. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
Parents hoped this would mean their kids would lead successful lives in a new country. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
I was taught to brush off racism as a kind of flattery — that it stemmed from people being “jealous” of Asians’ high rate of university admission and higher-than-average salary level in North America.
Just don't draw attention to yourself. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
Just don't draw attention to yourself. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html @TorontoStar
This wishful thinking made sense, but it doesn't anymore.
In Vancouver, a man pushed a 92-year-old man with dementia to the ground, shouting about #COVID19.
Among my relatives, I think it's finally sinking in that there are some serious problems. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
In Vancouver, a man pushed a 92-year-old man with dementia to the ground, shouting about #COVID19.
Among my relatives, I think it's finally sinking in that there are some serious problems. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
I tutored kids from S. Korea, and the pressure on them was unreal! They didn't have to learn just one instrument, but several. Not just one foreign language but several. I was just one tutor they saw out of a fleet each week! https://twitter.com/CRIMS0NGUARDX/status/1290475268583260161
I wrote this essay because I couldn't get this piece by @stevenzzhou out of my head. He explains how cultural pride can go too far, and lead to ingrained racism and anti-Blackness within communities of colour. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/07/23/why-dont-they-just-work-harder-this-kind-of-anti-blackness-is-prevalent-in-chinese-canadian-communities-its-time-to-address-it.html
"Internalizing an implicit hierarchy based on race ... leads to envious worship of those above you in the arbitrary ethnoracial hierarchy, along with contempt or fearful hatred of those who you think can’t get to your level." https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/07/23/why-dont-they-just-work-harder-this-kind-of-anti-blackness-is-prevalent-in-chinese-canadian-communities-its-time-to-address-it.html
Officer Tou Thao’s participation in George Floyd’s death had sparked overdue soul-searching among Asians.
There's been a lot of silence on issues affecting other minorities that cannot be solved by trying to play within the rules of white supremacy. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
There's been a lot of silence on issues affecting other minorities that cannot be solved by trying to play within the rules of white supremacy. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
We’ve mostly heard from Asian millennials referring to racism among our elders.
Although our “aunties and uncles” are more likely to say racist things, we all have biases, too.
What can someone who has internalized the model minority myth do? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
Although our “aunties and uncles” are more likely to say racist things, we all have biases, too.
What can someone who has internalized the model minority myth do? https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
For me, my instinct was to hit the books to study how to be more anti-racist.
Then I realized that part of the problem was that I was always over-working and didn't leave time to reflect on uncomfortable truths and try to understand. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html #BlackLivesMatter
Then I realized that part of the problem was that I was always over-working and didn't leave time to reflect on uncomfortable truths and try to understand. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html #BlackLivesMatter
My biases are rooted also in classism and able-ism, where despite having a disability myself (ADHD), I’ve assumed most people have similar access to education and can overcome challenges to pursue conventional success.
My idea of success is narrow, too! https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
My idea of success is narrow, too! https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
It’s easy to think of all the "isms" as problems that other people have. The truth is that we all have unconscious biases (such as the internalized model minority myth), but we also have the power to stop them from turning into hate.
Thanks for reading. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
Thanks for reading. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
Once you're done confronting uncomfortable truths within yourself, it's good to speak with others in your community, too. Language can be a big barrier. @Izzy_Niu has put together a list of great resources. https://chinesestorytellers.substack.com/p/talking-race-with-chinese-parents
And images can be more powerful than words. Here's a photo essay by @dong_mengyu, who told me she embarked on this project to counter the misinformation about #blacklivesmatter on Chinese social media: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2020/07/photo-essay-chinese-for-black-lives/
on Chinese social media: https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2020/07/photo-essay-chinese-for-black-lives/
Context: There's been an uptick in bashing of anyone perceived to be from "Communist China". I've gotten a lot of hate from people who can't tell "where I'm from".
It's a tough time to have nuanced conversations about race, but people are doing it anyways because it's important.
It's a tough time to have nuanced conversations about race, but people are doing it anyways because it's important.
ICYMI from my colleagues: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/07/30/new-toronto-data-reveals-covid-19s-disproportionate-toll-on-racialized-low-income-groups.html #COVID19
Also curious to hear if anyone’s felt the “model minority” myth can lead to people getting taken advantage of in the workplace or other settings? I’ve only heard anecdotal stories from people who say their work is taken for granted without recognition/appropriate compensation.
Another thing the “model minority” myth didn’t prepare me for is the violent sexualisation and “exotification” of Asian girls.
I spent a lot of time in the library reading as a teenager, but was molested or harassed so many times in other public spaces. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
I spent a lot of time in the library reading as a teenager, but was molested or harassed so many times in other public spaces. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/08/03/confessions-of-a-model-minority-how-im-learning-to-confront-my-own-biases.html
It wasn’t because I was very attractive, but I think many predators think Asian girls are more likely to be “submissive” and won’t make a fuss.
Sadly, I did stay silent for years. I was 31 when this happened and the story resonated with a lot of people. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/life/opinion/2019/03/25/how-my-tweets-about-harassment-sparked-a-conversation-about-what-bystanders-can-do.html
Sadly, I did stay silent for years. I was 31 when this happened and the story resonated with a lot of people. https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/life/opinion/2019/03/25/how-my-tweets-about-harassment-sparked-a-conversation-about-what-bystanders-can-do.html
Lots to think about. I wonder if the #MeToo 
and #BlackLivesMatter and anti-racism movements will intersect. Or if intersectionality will be more widely understood. It’s hard to get through life unscathed without certain privileges that provide greater safety and opportunities.
and #BlackLivesMatter and anti-racism movements will intersect. Or if intersectionality will be more widely understood. It’s hard to get through life unscathed without certain privileges that provide greater safety and opportunities.
From @dong_mengyu: “Instead of assuming issues like police violence don’t matter to us and we have no role to play, I think more Chinese communities are starting to realize that when there’s systemic racism, everyone in that system is affected in one way or another."
