Hath Not an Asian Eyes?

Here is a response to a question about what it feels like to an Asian American.

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photo from NY Times article on Asian American Students

I don't really feel Asian-American. Is there really such a thing as "the way it feels to be Asian-American"? Nobody I've asked has thought so. They identify as Chinese-American, Punjabi, or Filipino, but I have never met anyone who will identify as an Asian-American first and foremost, outside of sociopolitical discussions. I don't doubt that such people exist, but I've never met one.

To me, the label "Asian-American" carries nothing more than a recognition of the shared struggles that immigrants from places as varied as Syria, India, Japan, and Thailand have faced, along with their descendants. We face many of the same prejudices and stereotypes, and historically, it has been useful to band together to achieve common political ends. Just look at the aftermath of the Vincent Chin murder, the genesis of the modern Asian-American movement, where Asian-Americans were able to constitute an effective pressure group only by banding together.

And yet, it would be futile to deny that for some people, being Asian and practicing Asian-ness has greater cultural significance. I have Chinese-American friends who talk about where to get the best pad thai, and it's clear for them, food is a very important part of being Asian, even if it's not the food of the culture their ancestors come from.

Common Application

Or look at the Internet, where you can find "High Expectations Asian Father," compilations of Asian parent emails, and this magnificent service: http://www.theasiandad.com/ And the reason why these are Asian memes, not Chinese or Sri Lankan or Malay, is that they are part of a shared experience that many of us have, regardless of what specific country we come from. We can sympathize with each other's experiences.

There are undoubtedly people of non-Asian descent who face similar experiences, but in some sense, they are considered anomalous. Among Asian-Americans, overbearing parents with high expectations are supposed to be the norm, even if this isn't actually the case all the time.

I don't think being Asian-American necessarily means the same thing for any two Asian-American people, and I don't think it has to. I have no experience of most of what Marq Hwang describes, but his experience is as Asian-American as mine; it just manifests itself in different ways.

from Asian Week Magazine

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I would like to thank the author, a student, who responded to the question on quora.com. and permitted me to post it here.

The words are wise and demonstrate a range of understanding few of us have about this issue. The student  also raises some important questions.

Do colleges and universities lump all but a few groups (Hmong for example) in the Asian category when making their evaluations? Of course it is unlikely that any schools would admit to this, but do the statistics on acceptance vary for certain groups? For example, is someone who has a background from China deemed as Asian or more Asian than someone whose background is from India?

Are both given weight as adding diversity or, is it accurate that among this demographic the students need to be better academically than anyone else?  Professors with good data (see the book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal) prove that Asians have to have scores 150 points higher, on average, than whites to get accepted to colleges. There are now law suits filed against several schools for discrimination. 

Is the big lump we in the US call Asian actually a useful term? In what ways, given the huge range of differences that exist between countries and regions? 

Is there an Asian asian-ness that exists genetically or culturally? Is it acceptable to group people in this way for the purpose of admission or hiring or friendships?

The guest writer mentions how banding together has produced certain positive results. Should this now happen again when it comes to some of these issues? How would this happen? Lawsuits?

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Shylock:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same
food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases,
heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter
and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If
you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the
rest, we will resemble you in that.

 Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Lawrence Olivier as Shylock