That really made me wonder if there really is this subliminal message that Asian American = activist; if that is being conveyed through the publication, do certain individuals feel marginalized that they don’t fit into that equation. And so having thought about it, I realized that there is just a phenomenological sense of being Asian American. The fact that individuals who encompass this broad group cannot define the term themselves suggests that identity is ineffable. Shakespeare had put it most eloquently in Romeo and Juliet–”a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. You are who you are. The label itself shouldn’t matter so much in that our inherent qualities encompass our being. So if you read hardboiled and feel empowered, great! If you feel left out, don’t! hardboiled is only a medium for expression of issues that certain individuals subjectively feel are important. The purpose of the newsmagazine is not supposed to characterize the issues that Asian American’s should be concerned about. If you don’t care about it–it’s ok. At least you know yourself well enough to see what you aren’t.

Honesty, she shouldn’t be embarrassed by girls who enjoy Asian paraphernalia; we should be embarrassed by people like her who draw on superficial features as salient measures of identity. I see no real difference in her article and the numerous video postings on Youtube on “how to be a fob”.

Monte’s take: Wow, an azn hater. I didn’t even realize the concept of being “azn” had escaped middle school but wow, here it is. Are you kidding me? This girl isn’t embarassed of her own race? Nobody who respects her own culture would spend 2/3 of an article spewing hate on it, and then spend the last 1/3 reconciling with it. First off, being “azn” shouldn’t be classified as emoticon loving, peace sign waving, hello-kitty loving people. If that’s being “azn,” a subgroup of “asian,” then I know too many confused white people. Emotions, hello-kitty, and peace signs are all pretty popular cultural norms that deserve respect in their own right, not hate. I personally don’t care for hello-kitty, but I certainly do not judge others for doing so. I don’t understand where this concept came that the aforementioned traits are “embarrassing.” I think what’s embarrassing is being on a newspaper staff belonging to the most prestigious public university in the world and having the audacity to publish an article that reinforces stereotypes. This article tries to redeem itself at the end saying it embraces “azn,” but it really doesn’t. It just reconciles it. There is no celebration of culture, and what’s especially sad is that there’s so much more to Asian American culture that is never mentioned );

Cecilia’s Take: what.the.hell. I think a part of my soul just shriveled up and died after reading this. First off, Daily Cal, when did self-deprecation, cultural ignorance, and general ludicrousness become news? Pang begins by saying it’s ridiculous for her to hide her oh-so-embarrassing Asian-ness because of her “squinting eyes” and ethnic last name, as if she’s tainted and marked as inferior. Internalized racism much? More than being angry at her, I’m incredibly disturbed by the fact that she just doesn’t get it. Even when she embraces her “azn” side, she still speaks about Asian identification as a disorder or illness that cannot be suppressed in spite of desires to absorb mainstream American norms to remedy her internal handicap. What really gets me though is a certain retort that follows someone’s comment that the writer should take an Asian Am class: “Don’t you know the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans?” Being azn is cute.. IN ASIA. Being an American-born azn IS NOT. How is flashing the peace sign in photos a part of Asian culture? Um, what? And what in the WORLD does Asian American studies have to do with anything? How would Asian AMERICAN studies help??” Um I don’t know, generate some sort of intellectual thought on racism and identity? Thank God for alternative media is all I can say.

Denise’s Take: Playing on Cecilia’s aformentioned “disease” metaphor, I really feel that this author’s discomfort with her identity is the result of a misdiagnosis. “Asianness/Aznness” is not a virulent disease-like state that can only be “lived with”; however, idiocy and ignorance are. But I’ll refrain from being as mean as I’d like to be; while Pang’s uninformed, judgmental generalizations of “Azns” and her self-deprecating fear of being judged are indubitably HILARIOUS, they are also tremendously tragic. The quality of this piece’s writing as well as the mention of a “dorm room” at the end of the article already suggest the author’s youth, and it may be possible that she comes from somewhere where poorly-crafted, racist vitriol is tolerated or even considered funny. No biggie. Humans make mistakes to learn, and it may just be incredibly unfortunate that this one was racist, horrid, and made many people feel very, very sad for society (especially that rather distasteful remark about the Wah Ching Gang. Classy!).

The real culprit is whatever idiot at The Daily Cal who thought this was appropriate to publish. This was essentially the only piece in this issue that did not have to deal with the walkout–really? Of everything in the world to have an opinion about aside from the walkout, the only one worth publishing was this sophomorically written regurgitation of antiquated stereotypes. This is absolutely pathetic that The Daily Cal thought this passes off for news, or even intellectual thought worth representing at this university. Maybe this was an attempt to join the illustrious ranks of such schools as Yale and Dartmouth in terms of unfunny, anti-Asian “satire”  (disclaimer: I realize that the vast majority of students at Yale and Dartmouth are probably far more intelligent than the perpetrators of those two articles). In any case, it’s a particular slap in the face,considering the complete lack of discussion on how the budget cuts will affect API students outside of API spaces. Nah, don’t worry, our progressive spaces, representation from underserved API demographics, and classes that speak to our communities’ interests aren’t in danger at all. The biggest problems we have today are making sure we don’t look like “wannabe geishas” or choosing between the “ordinary square eraser, or handy and efficient but Azn clicking eraser.”

On a lighter note, I found this online comment on the article pretty fucking funny:

“One last thing.. Democrats make fun of Republicans all the time, stereotyping them as gun-toting, Bible-thumping conservatives.

Do white Democrats then have “classic internalized racism” for their own race as well??”

….LOL.

So clearly breaking into Hollywood is hard and maybe after a while you’ll take anything to get your name out there. But come on, Jeong, have a little dignity. Running around butt naked on the big screen, kung-foo-ing, and shouting in shrill broke English (when you really can speak perfect English) about your man purse is humiliating. Way to bring something new to the cinematic plate as an Asian American male.

When I think of the Third World Liberation Front (twLF), I get warm fuzzies. Why? Well, to me it’s the epitome of stick-it-to-the-man-ism. Come on, look at Richard Aoki in his fierce shades and tell me that’s not pretty kickass.

On a more serious note, the twLF represents a kind of unified activism that has become so rare these days. 2 weeks from now will mark the 40th anniversary of this epic student-led movement to instate ethnic studies classes in Berkeley and in SF State. I think that there’s so much to learn from this because it shows us that there’s not only strength in numbers but strength in multiculturalism and diversity. The basis of the movement was for different ethnic communities to acknowledge a common history of colonial oppression and to unite under that banner to promote ethnic education and equality in the eyes of a Eurocentric administration. We could use a little more of that today, no?

Interested in coming to some celebrations of the anniversary? Check it outtt

The API Education and Languages NOW! (APIEL!) org is putting on open forum to talk about how to strengthen language education at Berkeley, recession or not. I know that it’s not necessarily easy for the administration because they do have the tough job of finding ways to make ends meet but we need to let them know that what we really can’t afford is losing language education. Come to the event to voice your opinions and learn something!

They’re going to have amazing speakers like Prof. Ling-Chi Wang (activist since the Third World Liberation Front), Prof. Elaine Kim, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, and Vice Chancellor of Equity and Inclusion Gibor Basri.

When: Thursday, February 19th, 2009 from 4:00-7:00 pm
Where: Heller Lounge, MLK Jr. Student Union

Got questions? Contact apielnow@gmail.com. Check out the fb event here.

1. Miley Cyrus takes non-racist picture with Asian people.

2. Miley Cyrus gets slammed with a $4 billion lawsuit.

3. Margaret Cho dedicates a song to Miley Cyrus (Hey, they have the same intials! … similarities end there.)

My little sister, Jelly, used to love Hannah Montana. She had all the chapter books (you know, the ones where publishers basically recap the episode, print it out in 38 font, stick a glittery cover on it and sell it for 8 bucks at school book fairs). She blasted “If We Were a Movie” through the headphones of her Mickey Mouse Mp3 player, while dancing around the living room with an imaginary microphone tightly held in her chubby fist.

Now she’s in sixth grade. She refuses to wear pink, replaced Mickey Mouse with an ipod, plays Coldplay on her electric bass, and recently informed me that she no longer “plays” with her friends… she “hangs” or “chills” with them.

Here’s my question.

If my little Jelly has managed to mature into a too-cool-for-school hipster in the blink of an eye, how long will it take for Miley Cyrus to grow up?

Cyrus is 16. Which is old enough to know making “chinky eyes” is not just making a “silly face” (which is what she claimed she was doing). She’s also experienced enough to know that her life is not private, and that many little girls look up to her.

With all of that said, $4 billion seems extreme. While I doubt my parents will be recieving $4000 in the mail anytime soon, the suit definitely makes a statement. The Asian community isn’t going to be pushed around.

Yay.