Why Do We Call Asian Americans The Model Minority? | AJ+
The Model Minority Myth is a pervasive stereotype of Asian Americans in the United States. The stereotype continues to have a harmful effect on both individuals and Asian American communities as a whole.
Asian American communities have long struggled to receive federal assistance based on individual community needs. So, how can the U.S. government provide adequate assistance?
Learn more here:
Where Are The Asian-American Mental Health Stories?
theestablishment.co/where-are...
“Model minority” myth hides the economic realities of many Asian Americans
www.urban.org/urban-wire/mode...
The real reasons the U.S. became less racist toward Asian Americans
www.washingtonpost.com/news/w...
Bill O’Reilly’s “Asian privilege” disgrace: The Fox News host needs some basic history lessons
www.salon.com/2014/08/29/bill...
2015 Hollywood Diversity Report: Flipping the Script
www.bunchecenter.ucla.edu/wp-c...
Presented by: Anna Sterling
Written by: Omar Duwaji, Anna Sterling
Edited by: Brian Joseph
Animations by: Chia Liu
Produced by: Omar Duwaji, Anna Sterling
Music tracks courtesy of APM and Audio Networks.
Footage and images courtesy of Getty.
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Asians are the most FOREIGN ethnic group in America. Even though I was born America I will never be perceived as American. And the easiest way I can prove this is by highlighting the question I’m almost always asked when I first meet someone: “Where are you from?” If I say Los Angeles, I will inevitably be asked again: “No, I mean WHERE do you come from?”. Sure, the question might be innocent, but it simply illuminates the fact that Asians can never be perceived American. When was the last time you asked an AMERICAN of Latin, European or African decent “where are you from?”
Luke Chueh ,you got a point there my friend. I too got asked the same. But I wasn’t born in the US. I came to the US when I was 13 Years old and didn’t speak a word of English beside “Okay,Bye bye”
Not gonna lie uso its true
The truth is, no non-white person will ever been seen as American in the eyes of many of the older generation of racist whites.
Pwat I wonder why that would be? Could it be because the country was literally 90% white within living memory of those people.
Shlomo Bergblatt-Shekelstein Yep, Well, it's also because the white ancestors wanted their future generation whites to always remain dominant. That's why many of them are now threatened by this change in America.
As I once heard from a fellow Japanese Brazilian friend, "my family's success isn't a weapon to use against black people". And I couldn't agree more.
HinataPlusle Now that's a smart asian!
However, it is evidence that race is at least not a major factor in ones success.
or it could be used to help and inspire black people
Handy Mayhem is that it? Black ppl just need to be inspired? I don't think that's the problem
using Asians to justify their means of harm doing to other races e.g. Blacks and latinos
I think you missed two major points. One, it degrades Asians because asians are suppose to be absolutely perfect students and are not allowed to venture out to other careers they may be more interested in, than becoming a doctor, lawyer, or whatever the stereotype may be. Its tells asians no, you cannot have a creative career or be your own person or something else that may contradict the asian stereotype. In addition, it tells asians you cannot make mistakes and grow as a person from your mistakes. Two, asians are so generalized despite being the largest continent in the world. It allows freedom for racism to thrive. People always assume that if you remotely look eastern asian, you must be one of the following and nothing else: Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. People don't take into consideration that you may southeastern asian or central asian. Asia is such a large continent with so many *different kinds of cultures* its crude to assume and confine asians to one specific group because they are not all the same. Same applies to middle eastern and southern asia.
I am central asian and despite the fact that I look different from the average eastern asian I still get called chinese or korean. If you know the history behind central asia(and thats still pretty much generalizing), you'd understand my frustration of being called after a country that is completely and utterly different from my country. Most of central asia that I know of are descents of the turks, we are mainly a muslim community. Several of us are russian speakers after the USSR. Our culture, traditions, and beliefs are very different compared to eastern asia.
So generalizing asians is a very difficult task because each part of asia is a completely different community.
Hmm, I am Asian but you can generalize Asian culture. Here is my example. Most Asians value family, education, and hard work. Even poor Asians will say that they would like their kids to go to better schools if they can do so. This video argue the exceptions but it is natural to have exceptions to the rule even if you are talking of a small group of people but generalizations, not hasty ones, are not entirely baseless. That is why science also use generalizations even though there will always be exceptions.
I completely agree, I mean, Asia is the biggest continent on earth. How can you generalise the biggest population continent group on earth?
Wonderful point 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
This is so true. A friend of mine who is asian has two masters and earns the same as her white co-worker with a bachelor degree. She eventually ended up leaving when they refused to give her a raise even when her responsibilities increased. I remembered she used the term 'asian mule' of how asians are treated in the work place. Expected to do most of the work while not being fairly compensated.
That's so sad and terrible. :((
What were her degrees?
Bamboo ceiling
That's why you do the work until you learn what you can. Then you leave.
So her best example of racism towards her due to being Asian is because she SUSPECTS that she is being underpaid...? Wow.. you poor thing. I'm so sick of over privileged American Cosplaying racism. You or your friend aren't oppressed.. you're just misled, naive and paranoid.
Im asian, i hate math.
eph elle you can't even lie..
Same, doesn't mean I'm not good at it though.
Simon Liu proud of you, my asian dude
Me too missed 3 questions on the math SAT though I did get a perfect score on the English section of the SAT.
So do I
I used to live in Japan. I met plenty of smart as well as stupid Japanese while I was there. The model minority myth is for those that don't know any better.
And those who do but have an agenda
kamaboko1 Average. Average is not all. Average Asians do better than other races. YOUR personal experience means shit
Dave Tyler, it isn't even average Asians lmfao. It's the ones who can afford shit
Deonte Walker in America Average Asians do better than average whites or blacks. That's a fact
Dave Tyler, average Asians? You realize most Asians who are immigrants do so legally and are decently well off before even coming here right?
I am Chinese American. My "trick" to learning mathematics (which I came up with all by myself) was to study one chapter ahead in my math textbooks. So when the teacher taught the class it was bewildering to most of my classmates but to me it was reinforcement of what I had already taught myself. It only took a small amount of extra effort, but actually made my classroom time useful and made learning more enjoyable to me and seemingly effortless to others. I usually scored 100% on every exam, or higher if there was an extra credit question. My classmates thought I was Albert Einstein or something. Kinda reinforced the "Asians are geniuses in math" stereotype to my white friends, but it was just a study habit. Ha ha ha!
Done the same when I've learned Chinese.
Me too
Thanks for that tip, although I have a very little, I have to work to take care off my basic needs, some people are fortune, they don’t have to worry about their basic needs, so they are able to focus on their studies. Sometimes I’m jealous of my Asian friends, they parents support and backed them fully when it comes to education. While majority of black students get very little to no support from their parents. This is my story, my parents never send me to school, I have to struggle to put myself through school and now university while struggling to work to take care of my basic needs, simultaneously doing my best to get a good grades. 😢 but I will try this
Can we stick to the topic
@@cajunfire6290 no need for a black guy here.
I’m black and I was a math tutor back in college. I had a few Asian students come to me for help
Midnight Velvet 👏
Cool
You have brought honor to your family.
Midnight Velvet you got some asian blood in you bruh. Get a DNA test done just to be sure.
African Americans tend to enjoy life and are more lazy
This video should be titled East Asians not Asians.......
lol, true, they are just being racist.
Mohit Dodke indians do really well. They r asians too
Exactly.
Indians are actually the richest and most educated social grouping in the US and the UK, and significant in Singapore and other countries also. So it wouldn't entirely be inaccurate to leave it unedited tbh.
They did mention Southeast and South Asian (well at least Indian) in the video, even if they were primarily focused on East Asians. Also, according to the statistics in the video. Indians are not the richest but third after Japanese and Chinese. Part of the point of the video was to explain that all Asians get lumped in together and that experiences of Southeast and South Asians are different from East Asians. So it makes sense to generally say that this video is about Asians.
As an Asian American or Asian Hmong American or what ever you want to call it, the reason why we are at 40%, is because we didn't enter the US until the 80's. Most Hmong American right now are either first or second generation in the USA.
Ker Yang that’s very true.
iviewutoob most of the Hmong population that make up that 40% are our parents, grandparents and relatives that was not born in the USA.
PdotTtc agree, we have lots of problems just like any othe race out there.
Ker Yang It's funny because I had never heard of Hmong people until literally a few days ago when I came across a video comparing a Korean music group to a Hmong one, and I decided to Google "Hmong" and read. Now Hmong is mentioned in this video, I see your comment and this other guy who said his wife is Hmong. Seems like y'all are trying to take over haha.
PdotTtc I think you might misunderstand me. I don't think it's a bad thing at all. I think diversity is one of America's greatest strengths and, after I read the way USA used Hmong people during a certain war, I think America owes Hmong people.
who said all asians are smart. its because of our parents bashing the shit out of us.
lol
IlyasAb , IQ tests have proven that Asians are smart.
@@tonyswe9463 Its about culture not race. I had Asian classmates who failed classes because our school had low standards so they didn't have to work as hard. Asian schools put a lot more pressure on them.
@@LangBellsChannel , its culture and race. many iq test have proven it.
@@LangBellsChannel both
Amen. I'm a Korean American. I've been RN for 17 years. I have been constantlly racially dicriminated by the white nurses, white managers and even by white patients.
They know there is always an Asian better than them. So they can not accept that reality
Don’t take any of it. I am Indian currently doing residency in Danbury, CT. I always speak out loud against any racism against me. People will respect you more and will not push you around.
@@ericxu3860 😂yeahhhh
No I work fine with the RNs and CNAs no matter the color. You might want to look at how you behave around them.
@@FieryJuniper this is why we have these kind of videos, to tell Asians it's not you're the problem but a society problem.
One of the benefits of being black is that you have nowhere to go but up, Asians have there own set of challenges and there’s the pressure to succeed. I’m not gonna lie I’d love to have label of being naturally smart, and not be the bad guy. But the label of being a criminal is what motivates me to do what’s right
Greentiger_420 you are a f****** ignoramus
Christopher Graham I am?
Asian have a lot of pride, the reason they are labelled as "smart" is because of the pressure to succed. And the easiest way (cheapest way) is being educated. Being educated can give you better job "high income""..... I wish black community follow the same mentality. Supporting black kids to succed at school (no drugs, guetto, violence, rebeillion....) JUST STUDYING HARD PEACEFULLY and with DISCIPLINE
Me too
Being black is an advantage always because you have more options, you can learn knowledge, but you cant make yourself taller, faster, and stronger that easy
This was so eye opening for me. Had never really given this much thought but after watching this video all that you saying makes total sense. I could see that the ideal minority saying could be totally offensive and take away from all your accomplishments. 😔 I hope that we can all grow and learn from each other’s experiences. I think it starts with opening up to each other! Awesome video
i’m asian and my weakest subjects are math & science lol 😛👏🏽
But can be still much better than others. Your standard can be to high.
Selmer Reference54 lamo, are you not embarrassed? The way your putting asians on a pedestal even when they claim there not that good in a certain subject is beyond me 😂😂
Liar you are disgrace to family
@@devinnelson6865 thank you
@@donut645 I mean at least y’all get good stereotypes for the most part
I like your message in this video but I caution against letting discrimination turn into victim hood. We Asians were discriminated against in USA but we thrived despite that because we refused to be a victim. We played the cards we were dealt and make the best of things. We keep rising because we choose to believe in the value of hard work, personal responsibility, think positive instead of giving into nihilism and put effort into raising family so the next generation can be better. We fight our own battles instead of depending on others to do it for us, including the government. We sacrifice instance gratification to invest in the future. Because of these traits we are indomitable and will thrive in any conditions. The governing elites don’t like that, the media don’t like that and the leftist can’t turn Asians into victims to further their own agenda for power.
Michael Vo , perfectly said. Intelligent person.
It’s not about turning into victims, it’s about the number of enemies you have. You asians slipped under the radar. The white man will live to regret that.
That's being ignorant of the history. Asian activists of all sorts of backgrounds advocated and agitated for rights and against discrimination just like other groups. Interred Japanese people, for instance, literally got reparations. Media advocacy groups challenged Hollywood to end yellowface. Asian people even teamed up with other people of color to fight for labor rights.
@@cjaquilino your comment is being ignorant to reality. The fact that you read that comment and that wad your response is bothering. They weren't ignorant to history, they just don't prioritize it right below victimhood as you just did. What your missing is you can't have personal responsibility and victimhood, it's one or the other. Everyone gets dealt a hand. You either focus on the hand, keeping it forever or you work with the hand till you change it.
@@michaelrandall7667The commenter is in directly taking a jab at other minority groups for supposedly embracing being "victims", not just being proud of people of their own background. That's my problem here. They should have solidarity with all people's struggle for rights instead of indirectly putting down other groups as "victims". No one's denying Asians in the US worked hard and valued "personal responsibility". But they also organized as Asian Americans just as other minority groups did. The commenter is diminishing that aspect
Did anyone else not expect that guy's voice to be so deep?
Kekkai_ yes
That's racism! Honestly, it is, as Asian men are usually portrayed as either feminine or Kung-Fu masters in Western media.
Its a fake deep.
typical racists unaware of what it means
Deep voice = power.
Wow this comment section is cancer.
You a hiv
Maybe the video is contagious?
This is why crazy rich asian is such a big deal. We want representation in America.
Dondada thats very true. But it is still a step in the right direction
J. M. Yeah. Well it is an American movie though so that too is likely a reason. It wasnt made for people currently living in Asia.
Dondada Well actually theres a lot more than you think its just that nobody casts us 😕
But it is mostly full of actors of Chinese decent despite being set in Singapore
stereotypes in general are a BAD thing and its ignorant to assume. some of yall arent getting it
I dont get why asians dont like those stereotypes, they get to have the best stereotypes that blacks dream they could have and they complaining so ungrateful, asian we gave you guys the best stereotypes to boost morals amongst you so stop complaining.
@@Beel_zeebub did you even watch the video?!
@@LostlikeNemo82 yeah I did black people wish they could have the stereotype of being smart and hardworking but instead they got the stereotype of being lazy, criminals, rapsit the worst kind like us white people gave asian good stereotypes and they complaining a bunch of ungrateful people
@@Beel_zeebub Except they have a stereotype that they are good at sports.
@@user-ry3lg7dw6s only for money
The transition from "yellow peril" to "model minority" is not as strange as it seems. The dark side of smart is viewed as 'cunning'. Cunning is threatening.
The model minority stereotype actually has two major drives: 1. An attempt by outsiders to categorize Asian Americans into specific traits and occupations simply by how they were born or looked...frankly speaking, it's an imposing form of caste system. 2. An internal struggle where Asian Americans steered their families towards these specific traits and occupations...but they do so out of practicality and classism in some sense (like the admiration for doctors). The first drive we can change overtime, but the second drive is something that's harder to overcome because it's part of human nature (not totally good nor entirely bad).
You can tell a lot about a person's political orientation by the language they use. "Model Minority" is a term that is exclusively used by Democrats and Leftwingers. Republicans never use that term. If a person uses that term, either directly or as a critique of American culture, you know they are leftwing.
I'm Asian, Why does it matter if we are held as the smart people out of the group or the mature one? I have no issue with being seen as smart and mature.
Everyone loves to be praised. You drank the cool aid and fell for white media tricks and propaganda. Now imagine had you worked all your life and studied instead of going out and after years of hard work, you went to Harvard, graduated medical school and became a doctor. You did it cause you're asian, not because of your hard work according to racist white media. Look blacks! Asians can do this so easily why cant you! Wake up, telling lies about a whole group of people with one broad stroke of a brush is just as bad even if the praise is good. It takes away YOUR hard work and YOUR childrens hard work and replaces it with "because your skin color". You guys don't know the amount of disservice you are doing to your children and their future. By portraying Asians as successful and how easy it comes for them and how because of their ethnicity it's in their genetics to be successful and it also effectively silences them and conceals racism against them and creates hatred against them never mind the millions of other unsuccessful and poor asians out there who are living in poverty.
@@dp1671 I take it you're not Asian. Clearly you don't understand it. Asians generally focus more on internal conflicts. Personal. It is "my family and I" first before others. What your opinions are does not matter, shit sometimes it doesn't even matter if things are unfair. And this, this is why Asians succeed.
Daniel D The focus really is not about if we succeed or not, it’s the use of utilizing our success as a way to diminish others. I understand your point of internalizing conflicts.. but then why is mental health not talked about among our families? Why are suicide rates high among our population? These are familial issues that are growing in our community. There are numerous college students who have committed suicide bc of the stress and impact that school has on them... most of the time, the pressure to be successful comes from the family. Yes, most Asian communities internalize their conflicts but having this racial mentality of “oh your Asian, this should be easy” or “it’s because your Asian” diminished the room to cope with the difficulties and discrimination. Our society uses this mentality to continue the discrimination among other minority groups to keep us separated. If we are so successful, then why are we still being discriminated against and still treated like foreigners when we were born on American soil? When will the unfairness stop or will we continue to let people step on us and diminish our worth as individuals - successful or not.
@@chelcheerose I take it you're Asian-American. Well, alright then. Then this might be quite a bit of a shocker. But Asians from Asia generally don't have issues with whites. They're good for business, good economic partners, and often seen as good looking too as a bonus. Blacks are unfortunately viewed as something to be exploited. Shocker, I know. Common stereotypes are: they're lazy, uneducated, live in huts, starving, criminals, etc. Surprised yet that it's not just "the whites"? Asians who are of darker skin color gets bullied by Asians of lighter skin. in fact, we've got all kinds of whitening products. of course, I'm being general here. Asians appreciate being recognized as a skilled, educated, hardworking group. So what if they use Asians as an example of how a minority can succeed? Go ahead. Be an example. At least that is supposed to encourage some of them and some of them would realize "Yeah, if they could do it..why can't I?". And some do, they do realize this and work their way through. I live in a country where actual privileges exists. Like, PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEGED, WRITTEN IN CONSTITUTION racial privileges exists. It affects you from the day you're born until you die. From studies, to house and car loans, and even up to goddamn food at times. Yet it's a minority group who came up at top. Another minority group remained at poverty. This other minority group...well they commit a rather significant percent of crimes, high number of school skipping and drop outs, have four to five generations living in one home with only a few people working, and spends a lot of time complaining about how racism is keeping them down. Does that sound familiar? But some refuse to fall into this. If the other minority can succeed, why can't they. And yes, Asians focus more on personal matters. You wanna discriminate, be racist. That's up to you. I'm too busy working for myself and my family. But when complimented for their success, the most Asian thing an Asian person would say is that "Oh, it's because we're like this", "Oh yes, we're all like that". Whaaaaaat? Yeah, you read that right.
m a i , I feel the same way as you. I have no problem that we are consider smart and a model minority. We will continue to succeed and be respected.
I would love to share this, is there any way to add captioning for this video? I am a part of the Deaf community and feel this video would be beneficial. If not, is there a way I can add captions myself? So many of your videos are highly educational so hope you are able to add captions for Accessible Communication for those who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing!
I use to LOVE math, though I wasn't really good at it unless I worked 3x as hard as the other students. My teacher ruined it for me when she asked me why I wasn't good like my "other people" in front of the class, completely destroyed my self esteem, took me years to build it back. Stereotypes are horrible.
No teacher should ever say that....
@@StevieSparkZ ha, you'd be surprised what people say. It's called microaggression.
tbh as an Asian person, Asian parents do play a big part in Asian stereotypes. if you have strict Asian parents you'll be forced to do well in EVERYTHING, get a university degree, be a doctor or similar profession otherwise you'll risks getting beaten or worst, completely disowned by your entire family. it's really up to my generation and the younger generation now to change this when we become parents ourselves, to not educate our children into submitting into the culture's stereotypes.
For each Asian individual,it's clear that everyone has to be more prepared to solve such thorny situation at personal level.Because it's still not sure how many generations that would take to solve this problem,and people need to struggle for their own sake.
I think many of these struggles are mostly caused by overly demanding parents. As.... NGL, some of the Asian parents I've seen are pretty demanding and hardly ever allow their child to explore or express anything. The toxic stereotypes enforced by the public aren't helping either.
I like the term "Indian asians" you used in the bar graph because many people don't know this.I am an asian and I am from India that makes me Indian asian not just the Indian.
hey hey, c'mon man, you get an entire subcontinent to yourself.
O By that logic, the rest of Asia, Europe, etc. were all connected to Africa at some point. Indians are Asian and culturally have many similarities with East Asian cultures partially due to the exchanges of cultural components. For instance, Buddhism(stemmed off Hinduism) has it's origins in India (although the original Buddha was born in Nepal he was an Indian prince). Buddhist attitudes had a huge influence on cultures throughout east Asia on multiple levels. Furthermore, if we were going off superficial phenotypes of appearance, many Indians, especially in northeast India can be mistaken for Chinese, Burmese, etc. based on appearances.
Un-broken and victorious But aren't they (ancient Brits)descended from Germanic tribes?? Angles, Saxons and Jutes?? Perhaps I am mistaken.....
The Asian community is kinda racist IMO. It sheds light on predjudice/racism within race. They don't accept Indians as Asians because they are darker. However, they don't know that Indians lead the Asian American group in many notable areas and are the reason that Asians are called "model minority". I love how they say Asians have the highest education and highest this and that but give no credit to indians. Truth is indians have the highest income and socioeconomic status among all asian sub groups. Indians hold more higher education degrees than other asian sub groups. The ceo of google and microsoft are indian.The first "Asian" congressman was indian. Buddhism is an indian religion that has heavily influenced east asia and the list goes on.... yet you will find many east asians deny that indians are Asian.
SwerveX8, Both Buddhism and Hinduism are splintered off from Aryan's Vedic religion which originated in Eurasia steppe. Buddha is from Nepal, the people are Sino-Tibetan stock. 1) Indian means nationality like American, it's not race or ethnicity. "Indian" is made up of many different race and ethnicity. 2) There's no concept of India and Indian before British rule. Dravidian, aka South Indians did migrate from the thorns of Africa. Racially, they are classified as Australoid. North Indians, esp upper caste, are closer to Caucasoid/European.
Lol America calls me a “hood asian”. So life is tough
What mean it hood asian
Thank you so much for making this video. It means a lot to me because many of my friends of different colors don't understand Asian issues in America and feel justified in casting away our problems and replacing them with their own when really both should be acknowledged and talked about and neither should be more worthy of being heard.
This isn't a real issue at all.. It is just that Asian Liberals really want to take part in the toxic American trend of claiming to be oppressed so they created a lazy and simple minded political narrative to convince other narrow-minded college students and activists of their "oppression". Plus, if you're a part of a certain minority or group and your BIGGEST example of so-called racial prejudice is "people respect our work ethic TOO MUCH".. theeeen your likely NOT oppressed at all and the concept is COMPLETE BS. The high rate of success of Asian Americans completely contradicts the Lefts narrative that people of color in America are racially oppressed. They know that this blows a hole in their narrative so they have to convince people somehow that Asians are oppressed. And this is the lazy and pathetic narrative that they've dragged up.
Anyone remember the question from "King of the Hill" to their neighbor from Laos? "So are you Chinese or Japanese?"
Im glad this video was made to address this sterotype. Conservatives tend use this myth to insult and sterotype black people. To justfy mistreating mistrusting or disenfranchising them.
There's a book called "servitors of empire" where it discusses the brain drain cream of the crop Asians leave their native land to come to the US and end up working for the corporations making the evil US corporate empire even stronger. These said cream of the crop end up facing a glass ceiling and or be kicked to the curb at old age with their pensions stolen by corporate raiders. Instead, they shoulda stayed or went back and used their talents to help build their local communities and native country stronger.
I believe that. Apparently, in Silicon Valley, "Asians" are overrepresented in all levels of work EXCEPT for management, where they are underrepresented.
Ooooo evil, spooky, scary corporations paying people to work for them.... the horror.
@@Tyler_0_ you miss the part of glass ceiling and kick to the curb at old age.
I’m asian and was forced to take higher level maths in high school even though I told them I was very standard at maths (just moved to the school). Took a whole semester and a D for them (principle and teacher) to finally listen to me and let me take standard level maths. I surprised them with how well I did in english though! Lol
Thank you so much for this video. Recently I've been thinking a lot about this issue, about how Asians have to work doubly harder but are not recognized, how we are pitted against other people of color, and how this creates a mental health issue in the Asian am community. You hit the nail on the head. Please continue to create more critical work like this! I really want to help move America forward but I don't know what my role is yet. But I'm working on myself, and it feels really good to see other people doing the same work that I aspire to do.
It's called divide and conquer, don't buy into the propaganda. They pit one group against another, they have been doing so successfully, for generations.
If Asians want to more prominent in media, the answer is simple. Asians need to unite, nurture and pool resources together rather than see each other as competition. Jewish Americans are only 1/2 of the population of the greater Asian American population but wield enormous influence in the US, not only because of talent, intelligence and tenacity but because of their wealth and common bonding. How many wealthier Asians substantially give back to their communities (time, mentoring, donation)...especially those who were left behind and were less fortunate or are the aspiring young. If we can't start from being in front of the camera, start from behind the camera and push forward from there....control the money and you control everything. I'm a lot older so I've seen how things have already improved since the 70's/80's but it's up to the younger people to dream about where it will go. Push on!
Christopher Chau Christopher, what is your Chinese name?
Really appreciate the overview on the history of this. Great video.
I find that asian families have 3 sets of priorities: Faith, Family and Education.
@mak 10 Confucian, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Muslim and even Judaism!
True
Mrs.Ruby Tang I think you mean Islam, and you forgot about Hinduism. No hate just telling you what you missed.
@@suppyboyson9400 thanks for the addition & correction.
I now found a model on how to speak. Thank you, Frank Wu and your soothing calm voice.
In my high school I played string bass in orchestra. My sister (cello) and I plus a handful of other white kids were in a vast majority Asian orchestra. Most Asian kids were basically forced to played violin by their parents- the instrument that is the star of the orchestra. Most of my sisters friends were Asian throughout high school. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indonesians were in our suburban community. Orchestra was considered higher class than other extra curricular activities. Asian parents had high standards of education and all their kids became doctors or dentists. One of my Indonesian-Chinese friends Moses Siswanto wanted to be an architect but even that wasn’t good enough. His parents were pushing him to be a doctor even though his dream was to design houses. Later on I met a lot of Hispanic and black folks while in college. It was apparent that these folks were just trying to get by and were from a vastly different mindset. I believe that Asian culture stands out in stark contrast to other minorities.
You haven't met many Nigerians and other Africans then. Because the pressure to excel and to be academically successful is alive and well in those communities as well, not just in Asian communities.
Happy Osseyi People are going to ignore what you just said because dark skin automatically means "lazy", "worthless", and "stupid" whether or not you're African or Black American. I grew up in a two parent family where failure was not an option. My parents made sure we knew the value of hard work and a good education. And guess what? We're black and American.
@@happyosseyi Haitian too.
This is a kind of stereotypical thinking that the video is talking about. Please watch the video.
Sports
do you know what kind of person can be called "good man"? a person contribute more but ask less; so what is "Model Minority", contribute more to the society, but have less rights(political, economical, cultural rights).
😳 I’ve learned so much from this post....thank you! It’s sad how the truth can be staring you in the face. 😶I knew some of the history but sadly, I still fell for some of the lies/fears I was taught about different Asian cultures. 🙆🏽♀️
Thank you for your video. (By the way, I hope the Zen circle does not offend anyone: I am aware that this could be seen as another stereotype as well. Speaking for myself, I have been a student of world religion all my life, and not just Buddhism. But this particular symbol has come to hold much meaning for me. Once again, I hope no one is offended.) Getting back to this video, I discovered my own Asian ancestry rather late in life when I learned that I had grandparents that immigrated to South America, namely Peru, from Southeast Asia. As such, I was at a much older age when I learned about the Model Minority Myth. And as I have come to identify as Asian American over the years, I have learned much about this topic. But this video brings up many important points that many people outside the community subconsciously overlook.
Good reporting. Growing up in Hawaii and being Japanese we have an "a skewed" perception of ourselves in relation to whites and other ethnic groups. Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese; have a positive reputation for being honest, hardworking, clean, studious. This stereotyping put on by society and our own culture placed a lot of stress for us the succeed. In a way it was good, kept us out of trouble and drugs (don't bring shame on yourself or family). It also perhaps made it easier to get jobs and rentals because of our ethnicity. But it also can become a "detriment" in other aspects in American society and culture. As a Japanese/Filipino American from Hawaii, I Thank you for the insight!
Speaking of movie representation, I'd say I'd thank agents of shield a lot. Not only did they starred two Asian actresses but also gave them characters beyond the stereotype for Asian women. Both May and Skye in the series are strong, excellent leaders, brave and skilled warriors, strong minded, and saved several men. That contradicts the appearance of obedient and perhaps a little 'weak' appearance of Asian females.
I'm Vietnamese, I don't see it as a negative in the way as I don't have to suffer the negative sterotypes as a black person, but I can see it creating racial resentment among other races as well as a way to scapegoat us in regards of political debates. I personally think that the pressure to be smart is a good thing, but I rather it be a goal of a nation rather than a race or ethnicity.
The funny thing about this is that it doesn't really include all Asians. However, it has been long running and somehow has been attached to all Asians when all groups of Asians are not good at math and science nor making a lot of money.
Model Minority until COVID-19 shows up.
My wife complained about the label model minority stereotype. I reminded her that our parents were dirt poor refugees. We grew up in the projects, but we're college educated, upper middle class, living in a house too big for the three of us. We pay our taxes, vote, and keep to ourselves. We are the reason there is that stereotype. She was silent.
You can tell a lot about a person's political orientation by the language they use. "Model Minority" is a term that is exclusively used by Democrats and Leftwingers. Republicans never use that term. If a person uses that term, either directly or as a critique of American culture, you know they are leftwing.
Yeah, ppl always treated me like I was filthy rich... As a Korean it was refreshing to see where we actually are on that bar chart ... I hope more ppl see this and stop beating me up for lunch money that I don't have.
filthy rich smart..... or they steel their lazy, there skin is dirty, they have no brains, not fully human.????? case closed and lets be honest some of that mindset is in asians too.
we Asians work hard to prove ourselves. even if we have to work in a lower paying manufacturing jobs, we make the best of it. i for once worked in factory surrounded all kinds but us Asians work the hardest, we get the job done even if it required working long hours to complete. Acceptance and Respect have be earned not given.
Turning accolades and praises into demeaning "stereotyping", these people certainly have big chips on their shoulders.
Thank you for shining a light on the asian sterotypes in this country, AJ+. Growing up I was sterotyped as being smart and good at math. I hated math. Originally from California, growing up in the Hmong community, my parents highly stressed my sibilings and I to be good in school. Every parents wants what's best for their kids. My parents moved to this country during the end of the Vietnam war. They came to this country with nothing. They worked and provided us with what they considered a normal American lifestyle, but with a mindset that to be truly well in life education was the key to be successful in life. Looking back, they were right. I would forever be grateful for them for pushing me to be well in school, so that my kids would not have to go through the stuggle I had when I was a kid. Thank you AJ+ for giving Asians a voice and a shout out to to the Hmong community in this country.
Regarding the statistics about earning power of the various Asian ethnic groups - the thing is that the statistics don't take into account recent arrivals (i.e. Asians who immigrated to America recently, facilitated by their wealth/education/expertise) versus those that were raised/born in America. In other words, if you have hundreds of millionaires from China bringing their families over to America, obviously the "average income" for those who identify as Chinese is going to go up.
I stopped watching Hollywood movies. And every asian worldwide too should stop till racism stops.
Welcome to AMERICA ASIAN COMMUNITY!! SO CALLED AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS SHIT SINCE THE DAY WHITES TOOK US UNWILLINGLY FROM AFRICA. 400 YEARS OF SLAVERY.PLUS 100 MORE YEARS OF JIM CROW LEADS UP POLICE KILLING BLACKS UNARMED TIL TODAY 2020. FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS FACTS
Beauty of streaming is the thousands of Asian films available.
I'm Asian and I'm the worst person I know when it comes to math.
Meiji is everyone you know also Asian?
Eat more rice it will help you brother
But math is fun?
He only got B+ on AP Calculus.
I don't believe you Asians are good in math.
*Native* born white 😂😂😂
It's okay, we are now considered the natives, and they are now the 'white' people, and they will try to do to us, exactly what we did to the real natives. Or so that is the way it would seem. I just hope us real whites get some kind of reservations ...
Un-broken and victorious No, mate! You must be humble and quiet. A model minority. :)
Un-broken and victorious It was intended as sarcasm, mate! I even put on a smiley face. Since you stated fighting as a solution, I simply stated what type of behaviour is expected of a "model minority".
Un-broken and victorious While black-Americans are already controlled by state (and society), Asians move by stealth. They increase their numbers, they dominate academically, and will soon be able to create an alternative power structure, parallel to the current one.
Un-broken and victorious It is not an incorrect assertion, for the good behaviour exhibited by the "model minority" is one of submissiveness. Good citizenry also means protesting, hence why you've stated, that you "could fight... like men" (a form of protesting). It would be fallacious to assume that the model minority status would be given to Asians if they were involved in protesting against the status quo.
my mom's Vietnamese and she loves this video so do I thanks for enlightening us u go girl
As a Mexican American who’s in a school district where It’s mostly Asians in good high schools and rarely ever black people or Hispanics, I’m always told that the reason im not in those good schools is because I don’t work hard enough or because I don’t try or im in a victim mentality when that isn’t even true at all. My parents actually place a lot of emphasis on academics but I still didn’t get that well of an education since my elementary school didn’t do so well with that. Who’s to say it’s my fault that I didn’t get into those good high schools? Sure I may have to work hard to get into it but does less Hispanics and blacks getting into those schools really mean we aren’t trying? Or is there a bigger problem here.
A lot of these “model minorities” play into it too. Look at the affirmative action Ivy League cases. They’re pawns for racist conservatives
Could you please add community options for adding closed captions? or subtitles? for those of us who have a hard time following what people say through audio? thank you.
Good Video. And it touches on the underlying point about the "model minority myth". And the video touches on it, but the underyling point is that black folks, Native Americans and others faced 300 years of overt racism, genocide, slavery and oppression but somehow their suffering is forgotten even though the immigration act of 1965 was only passed as a result of the deaths and struggles of black folks primarily and others for civil rights. So they use Asian immigrants and other immigrants as a 'buffer' population to represent "minorities" even though most of these new immigrant populations came here after the civil rights era and never faced any of the overt legal racism and oppression as African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and others. It is absolutely and insult to them who still haven't fully achieved what they fought for and a justification for the brain drain from Asian countries which need those brains for their own problems. Ironically, this also goes to show how well other people could have been doing if not stripped of their language, culture and identity in America and treated properly.
dnifty1 great comment. We have a sense for politics. No black peraon did not feel this narrative
But....China and Japan are among the most advanced nations on the planet....brain drain?
Well said. I love how white supremacists are pushing the divide and conquer narrative amongst non whites with the "model minority" myth while at the same time scorn both blacks and asian minorities.
The best comment ever!!
@@blackgold1980 YES!
It's because of the immigration policy. Same is for Cubans, Nigerians, and South Asians.
great conversation you have there. never thought it that way. and i thought i was a deep thinker. lol
Was just talking about this w/an "Asian" friend. So, thanks Anna (AJ+), and in particular, Prof. Wu. Any chance of seeing his full interview? I also think this "group" is a convenient choice due to (low) numbers relative to everyone else.
8:50 Music Name please. My Asian-ness is loving that sound of violin
ITT: people denying the effects of passive racism xdddd
denying racism in 2017 xddddd
xdddddd says 'pretending' to pretend facts aren't real omegalul
racism is still prevalent in 2017 checkmate athetits
Poor asian people the most successful minority in america even more so then white people ... They are so oppressed!!
I guess there is racism against Asians if they can't even get into the uni of their choice just because they do well in school LOL.....I am Asian but even though I do feel that some people look down on me for being Asian, I don't feel victimized since I am aware that all of us will have biases or prejudices based on age, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background. And a person who is saying that he or she has no biases or prejudices is actually lying.
I get that they’re upset about It, but, like, at Least you’re not nor have you ever been treated like black people.
Yeah, I think I'd much rather be seen as intelligent and hardworking than a lazy good for nothing that relies on welfare.
Tishidiv I totally agree.
Tishidiv , I totally agree. This model minority only make us stronger and be respected.
Oh okay it's about black people, I had to watch it to the end and my wife is Asian actually Hmong so shout asians! ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾
Willie Bee what kind of asian ?
O V E R D R I V E Hmong
We need more propaganda in the world.
Is your wife family traditional, like you know the shamen stuff? Lol
oh hellllllll yeah. Showing my Hmong people some love. Love you right back 💕💕💕💕💕 Nyob zoo! I see you Willie Bee
It's a lazy stereotype, just going to Chinatown dispels such myth, you still got souls stuck in poor paying jobs, partaking in the underground economy, some forced to even recycle to make ends meet, sleeping in Internet cafes...So we need an economy that's gonna work for everybody instead of just tags as solution
I'm asian and I understand, people keep asking me to help them with their f**king homework, Like pls stop, i dont like helping people
Mee
Wow such a great video! Hope to see more indepth of this topic!
Hard to complain when people automatically assume I’m smart lol, honest I find it pretty convenient most of the times
Zeke Kang , I agree. I have no problem with positive stereotypes.
@@calkinoshita7490 who is telling you to suppress your feelings and be timid? DON'T. You dont have to follow the stereotype but use it for your own benefits.
AJ+ please ask Qatari to stop call all dark shinned people Abeed or Abd before lecturing about race relations.
R.SANJAY GREGORY WILLIAMS does AJ+ work with Qatar or something
AJ+ and its parent company Al-Jeezra is owned by the Qatari royal family.
I agree but as an Arab I only knew the word "Abeed" meant slave this year. I always thought it was just a word to describe the color of a black person.
NORA that’s even worse. It’s so normalized that people don’t even think it is wrong.
I totally disagree with u because they don't even call them Abd . Because while u accuse all the qataris of being racist u are being racist There is some bad eggs but that's like in every country .
But that's one of the things that make me proud as Chinese...that we are seen as hard working, studious, successful. Despite tremendous discrimination and abuse Asians have faced in America in the past, we have become one of the most successful minority groups in terms of household income, education, etc. Why yall framing this as such a bad thing?
I would like to say how the 'model minority' myth doesn't 'do any favours' to East Asians who actually have developmental issues which affect mental health and such.
Asian here.. I'm shit at math, my gf is white, I have a liberal arts degree, and now I'm a shareholder for a business. I can't speak a word of my "ethnic" language and my parents are chill. I don't know where I would fit in this model citizen thing, but I'm probably the antithesis of the stereotypical Asian . Sometimes people would ask me where I'm from, or how my English is good, and frankly I can't blame them from asking so. In the end of the day respect is earned from the positive impacts we bring to the table. Identity politics (which we are very vocal about these days) won't earn you any. If you are bothered by the stereotypes, then don't internalize it.
Isnt being called smart a good thing? I am Indian and I am a computer engineer here and I do get said that Indians are good in computers and I completely agree with them. Better than getting stereotyped in a bad sense like being drug dealers lol
Rajarshi Roy , I agree with you
Model minority not because your well behaved, but because you keep your head down, won't speak up for yourself or others!
I have been binge watching videos on Asian discrimination. I didn't know before today that they go through this hell. 😱💔😢
This is because parents of most Asians put great importance in education on their kids at a young age.
im Filipino. to be honest, I'm loving the "Asian's are smart" stereotype. I live in a LA with a community of hispanics.. only thing that sucks is all my friends (who are all Mexicans) have high expectations of me to be successful. sometimes its too much pressure I dont want to let my friends down so I do somewhat good in Nursing school
Zachary Uniza as a filipino, you're a disgrace to our race. Hahahhaahah jk i suck at Math too 😧
They push you with expectation. Can you parellel now with being black and people expecting you to suck or steal. Your either gonna embody their worse fears or disprove them. Either way they're getting in your way
Zachary Uniza it just me, or i notice that Filipino is good at nursing
Zachary Uniza Honestly Mexicans are jealous of Filipinos
Gabriela Elena It’s true a lot of Filipino Nurses in the US
Excellent points. I've never thought about it from the angle presented. Gave me a whole new perspective. Well done.
I'm Chinese/Japanese born in Hawaii & I'm a convicted felon. Happy?
The model minority myth helps white people deny the love and assistance that we should be offering our fellow citizens of colour. Our ancestors oppressed their ancestors and we all need to own that history together and move forward in better ways hand in hand. As an aside, I want to also say sometimes being a member of the majority group also sucks. My personal history is horrific.... almost unbelievable that I am alive today, after foster homes and homelessness and so much trauma... I sometimes envy the collective sharing of trauma and stories that people of colour have, while I walk through mine alone.
@maeve quinn You seem like a very aware and empathetic person, wow
You can tell a lot about a person's political orientation by the language they use. "Model Minority" is a term that is exclusively used by Democrats and Leftwingers. Republicans never use that term. If a person uses that term, either directly or as a critique of American culture, you know they are leftwing.
Well I'm white and I was scouted by a model photographer and he was African American - nice guy too!
I'm Asian, I actually feel offended because if we don't get good grades we have the consequences, We don't get grounded like Americans but we get meaner and stricter punishments.... Edit : In Burma/Myanmar there are lots of poor countrys when you grow up I hope you guys can help❤💙💚💛💜
I’m a black dude that grew up in a mixed Asian community. I’ve seen and had friends that fit the stereotype and those of the complete opposite. Asians definitely stick together and have a culture of promoting success, but it comes with its cons and negative impacts. The Asian node minority was used as a weapon against the black community. Most Americans aren’t aware that a large portion of Asian Americans live in poverty as well as have disproportionate success rates in education and commercial industries. There’s a duality to it and it’s dynamic. That being said Asians are always left out of the equation until recently, they’re seen as submissive more prone to keep quiet and assimilate. The civil rights act benefited not just blacks but Asians and other minority groups. If you’re from California you know what I mean, especially Oakland, sacramento, Long Beach
Model minority is just “going along with White Supremacy”. It didn’t exist earlier, but once they proved themselves like the Italians, they assimilated and asked no questions.
Well, Asian Americans are dope AF and I wish I could see more representation for them in film and television. There are Asian Americans in the United States military and I'm pissed off that I haven't seen a character that reflects that yet.
I grew up a minority in germany and personally I thinks these video are one of the biggest problems and dividing countries even more if we could just be seen as people by the left and not as Asians blacks whites natives and so on the racial divide would slowly go back but this is just added to further divide. It also doesn't help to class all Asians under the same umbrella when there are over a large number of Americans who don't come from southeast asia but from India for example.
I agree with your second point: classifying Asians under the same umbrella overlooks many of the challenges that they face. However, going full opposite is also a form of discrimination. Different racial/ethnic groups are different in certain ways, and it's important to acknowledge those differences. By claiming that we "don't see race," what we're really saying is "we're ignoring those differences that make us diverse and unique." We're also (unknowingly) reinforcing the dominant group's cultural capital (for better or worse).
In order to fight racism you have to focus on race.
I'm curious as to where the statistics came from, and how the data was collected. Not sure how many East Asian Americans live with families/ or other family members in the same household in America, because these may affect the total household annual gross income. The sad thing is it appears to be a stereotype or a generalization, although there are some of us who don't fit exactly into this stereotype. Some people might see this as an advantage for East Asians, while others (who don't fit into the stereotype) might see this as a disadvantage. As for me, I don't want to be included in the stereotype since I can't seem to relate to it completely.
I don't know if it's so bad, I embraced it. I also did well in history / social studies along with art and not so much with grammar but better at pink. I never saw it as a way to put me in a box, rather than make me because it was something that others I saw could not do If anything I represented what most people that I knew saw of Asians. I was their first nation so I was a huge part of the impression they got of age in real life.
1:40 It’s funny to me that “raping our women” has been used in most minority racial stereotypes
That dude in the suit with the deep voice. hubba hubba!
I am Korean Canadian. I was not a good student. I didn't go to top universities. I didn't end up in "professional" occupations. But I did inherit some of my parent's traits. I worked hard and persevered when things didn't work out.
I swear 2020/21 is turning me into a racist
I live in Hong Kong, I find Guangdong people as business people. People who aren't afraid of failure. It's not jobs who make people of pearl Delta rich, it's enterprenurship. Same spirit made them successful in America.
Guangdong Chinese are genetically bussiness minded just like Gujarati of india. Ancestors of 90 % of South east asian billionars are from Guangdong and Fijian
@@shreeabraham Very accurate observation.
Great video. As a Black American, I love to learn more about other minorities, especially Asian cultures because there isn't a lot of information out there compared to others. Glad you mentioned how Asians do have a history of civil disobedience. In the 60s Asians were frequent allies of Blacks in the civil rights movement. It was a Japanese-American who armed the Black Panthers. Even recently there is a group called "Asians for BLM". Asians have always been on the right side of history protesting alongside Blacks but this gets overlooked all the time.
yeah but after they got what they wanted they left us to carry on battle, Just like another set that Ye is talking about
I enjoyed your video, very informative.
WOOOOOOOW.... The bamboo ceiling. I learned something today.