From the Philadelphia Weekly comes this article about how Asian high schoolers — specifically recent immigrant kids from China and South and Southeast Asia, are not just bullied, but outright assaulted at South Philadelphia and Fels High Schools in Philadelphia. As someone who went to Portola Junior High School in Richmond, CA — a low-income, mostly Black school, I had some scary moments of my own in 1989 — this was a terrifying moment in my life, where kids were willing to bully or kick the shit out of anyone who wasn’t like them, and beating up on the tiny kid always looking down was the perfect target. Like all alternative weeklys, don’t look for any helpful solutions in the article. And don’t read the comments, lest you feel like giving up on all of humanity. (hat tip: yvespaul)
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5 Comments to “South Philly Asian Students Under Assault by Black Students”
gthro123 wrote:
wow… you'd kinda hope with these “open-minded” times, that s&*t like this wouldn't happen. I too have had things said about me because of my stature. It's just down-right… not right
Posted on 07-Sep-09 at 1:06 am | Permalink
ckshaw wrote:
The racist abuse occurring in South Philly is disturbing and sad. We've moved to the point that racist portrayals and treatment of Blacks and Hispanics is not tolerated, but Asians are still fair game. Perhaps the Asian American community needs its own Al Sharpton and/or Jesse Jackson to be the out front and loud voice. Regardless of how anyone feels about them, these two men have forced America to acknowledge the racism.
I agree that the comments from the article are disturbing in their own right. Disappointing.
Posted on 07-Sep-09 at 10:25 am | Permalink
Dan W wrote:
I think there have been thoughts of wanting a leader in the AA community who can reach that level of status for some time. I agree that despite all the controversy these men actually did something and devoted their lives practically. Them and many other leaders who are less well-known. IMO, I think there would be another set of unique challenges for each demographic group, and sometimes they overlap.
One thing I'm sort of surprise is that I haven't read about any gang or criminal organization trying to exploit the situation. I do not codone that type of activity but most of you all know that these things happen and this particular situation is sort of a big potential petri dish.
Posted on 07-Sep-09 at 10:50 pm | Permalink
Cindy wrote:
It's probably more difficult to have a singular spokesperson for the Asian American community. The African American community is a more homogeneous group in a general sense. The same cannot be said of the Asian American community where there are very different cultural identities/histories intermixed with large immigrant populations. There have been some wonderful quiet gains as more and more Asian Americans gain political office but that is still not having the effect of changing the underlying social construct. The idea that a 7th generation Chinese American is still somehow foreign continues to have a firm root in the non-Asian American consciousness. Maybe a little yelling is in order.
Posted on 08-Sep-09 at 6:08 am | Permalink
Dan W wrote:
You're right about that.
The differences between the Asian demographic groups are very significant. The life experiences too, like many Asian/Asian-American social issues are unique and/or universal. It probably would work better if organizations and movements were more specific like within specific ethnicities, occupations and locations. Some topics overlap of course but then they got start somewhere and have a particular emphasis.
Come to think of it, with such challenges, a good Asian/Asian American leader would probably be a good leader overall for the general public.
Posted on 08-Sep-09 at 9:43 pm | Permalink
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