"Model minority, my ass"
Eugene Volokh writes about Judge Sotomayor's nomination to the
Supreme Court:
That's obviously important for a wide range of issues on which the
liberal position would trouble not just conservatives, but also
libertarians and moderates: the individual right to keep and bear arms,
the right of Asians and whites to equal treatment under the
Constitution's racial equality provisions and federal equal rights
statutes,
I am so sick of people using Asians to drive wedges and otherwise
cover up their real agendas.
Sidebar: Volokh is obliquely referring to the claim, mostly made by
anti-affirmative-action types, that Asian-Americans are harmed by
affirmative action policies, mostly by focusing on university
admissions. See the Nation for a good rundown on why
Asian-Americans consistently reject an end to affirmative action
policies.
As A.R. Sakaeda wrote:
Members of the model minority often are used to shame other people of
color. They can do it, why can't you? If you would only have those same
close-knit families. If you only valued education more. If you only
worked harder. Racism is a thing of the past.
Holding up Asian Americans as a model divides communities of color,
making it difficult for us to see our commonalities.
"Model" too often means you don't have to ride in the back of the bus.
You can ride near the front of the bus, but you have to be very, very
careful never to say anything about the people forced to ride in back,
as writer David Mura notes.
Honestly, I remember the 80s, specifically for me growing up in
Vancouver as Chinese immigration surged. I think the reasons American
conservatives try to lump Asians with whites (essentially against other
minorities) is (1) because it sounds better than just saying "the right
of whites to equal treatment under the Constitution" and (2) because
there are relatively few Asian-Americans in the US. If the numbers of
AsAms in the US was a lot higher, I don't think that 'solidarity' of the
kind Volokh espouses would have a whole lot of staying power.
