ANTI-ASIAN BIGOTRY IS A PROBLEM WITH DEEP ROOTS
In 2016, Alison Collins, moderator of the San Francisco Public School Mom blog, tweeted a series of heated statements directed at Asian Americans: “Many Asian Am. believe they benefit from the ‘model minority’ BS.” “In fact, many Asian American[s] actively promote these myths. They use white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead.’” “Where are the vocal Asians speaking up against Trump? Don’t Asian Americans know they are on his list as well?” “Do they think they won’t be deported? profiled? beaten? Being a house n **** r is still being a n **** r. You’re still considered ‘the help.’”
In 2019, Collins became vice president of the San Francisco Unified School District board.
In 2021, her inflammatory tweets resurfaced and quickly caught the attention of an angry public. Collins claimed they were taken out of context.
In a recall election in February, 78 percent of those who cast ballots voted for her removal.
Two months later, in San Diego County, comments made by San Dieguito Union High School District Superintendent Dr. Cheryl James-Ward outraged the local Asian community.
Dr. James-Ward was asked during a diversity training session, “Do we know why Asians do so well in school?” She responded, “We have an influx of Asians from China, and the people who are able to make that journey are wealthy. You cannot come to America and buy a house for $2 million unless you have money. You cannot send kids and send them with a guardian unless you have money.”
“In my community, in Carmel Valley, not so much today, but up until a couple years ago, we had a large influx of Chinese families moving in, sight unseen, into our homes, into the community, and that requires money,” she said. “The whole family comes, grandparents, parents and the grandparents are there to support the kids at home, whereas in some of our Latinx communities, they don’t have that type of money, parents are working two jobs. They’re working from sunup to sundown.”
Dr. James-Ward claims her comments were “misconstrued.”
I felt this was an opportune moment to debunk xenophobic perceptions face-toface with Dr. James-Ward, so I invited her to coffee.
For several hours, we spoke about our families, our heritage and our culture. I see this as a powerful way to communicate by having open dialogue instead of open hostility.
To convince those who did not understand the uproar over the superintendent’s comments, I posted on NextDoor evidence of ongoing xenophobia against Asian Americans, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the forced internment of Japanese citizens by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, and the Los Angeles riots of 1992 when Korean small businesses were targeted for vandalism. Today the United States has experienced a surge in Asian hate crimes. When our own president intentionally inflames the public with hateful rhetoric like “kung flu,” or “China virus,” as the last one did, we need to pay attention. Still, one neighbor told me to “stop complaining,” adding, “We don’t want to be reminded about that again.”
Politicians who have used the model minority trope to insist that racism is not a deterrent are manipulating the emotions of Asian Americans to oppose policies benefiting minorities. In addition, WeChat, the Chinese-language social media app, is fueling Chinese American conservatism and has become a powerful platform for spreading misinformation. We must remember that Asian Americans are beneficiaries of the civil rights movement, which led to the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act that eliminated national origin quotas. Many of us would not be here today if not for the sacrifices of Martin Luther King Jr. and the bloodshed of countless activists who paved the way for all people of color.
Despite the optics at recent board meetings, not all Chinese Americans are demanding Dr. JamesWard’s termination.
In a prepared statement, the Alliance for Chinese Americans San Diego asked, “do we just fire all leaders with biases ... or shall we use this as a teaching opportunity to bring about positive change?”
To Alison Collins and Dr. James-Ward and everyone in America, I say, we all need to talk because we all have biases. Understanding the dynamics of race in America is crucial to facing our individual prejudices.
Ignorance breeds hate. Hate breeds violence. We have witnessed it firsthand, not just with Asian American hate crimes, but with mass shootings that have become a regular part of our lives. Fear and intolerance for those who feel like strangers among us only create a perfect storm for more hate and violence down the road.
Ignorance breeds hate. Hate breeds violence. Fear and intolerance for those who feel like strangers among us only create a perfect storm for more hate and violence down the road.
Tsao is research assistant in the Office of Research and Institutional Effectiveness at San Diego Mesa College and a parent of three students in the San Dieguito Union High School District, one who was in the Torrey Pines class of 2014, one who was in the Canyon Crest Academy class of 2017, and a rising senior, also at Canyon Crest Academy. She lives in Carmel Valley.