Currently Listening to: Ne-Yo – Go On Girl
I dedicate way too much time to this subject, and to CJ, who always seems to be at the center of controversy. I don’t want to say its because he enjoys the attention or its just of his nature, that’s unfair, but through private e-mail conversations and discussions with him, while I do attempt to keep it passive and friendly, I can’t help but find his remarks and comments to be antagonistic and patronizing. I don’t mind it in the sense that I understand where he’s coming from and it’s a subject he’s very passionate about, I am passionate about the subject as well. But I think the best way to approach conflicts in ideology and such, is to do it much in the say way Jon Stewart approaches some of his interviews. I source back to his interview with Jim Cramer or even the one last night with Cliff May, where Stewart very much shows his disgust and a bit of his ego, but still ends on very friendly terms. I can’t help but feel that everyone who disagrees with CJ has to become his enemy or hated rival because that’s seemingly been his mindset or experience; and I hesitate to use that label of enemy or hate because I genuinely think he’s a very bright, and friendly person who just happens to have different political and social opinions from myself. I think sitting through the panel last night, Ilan Wurman was much more receptive to discourse and conflicting ideologies, and did not attempt to put down those who disagreed with him. He didn’t take any remarks to be an “attack” on CI, which I believe no one tried to do. It was a genuine joy to listen to Ilan speak, despite some over generalizations (Diversity groups do not aim for a color blind world, for example), and he is a very charming and bright person.
Now I’m telling you to take the comments I just made with a grain of salt. I really do think its unfair and a bit of an exaggeration, but that being said, I also think many people have far worse opinions of CJ there’s a reason for that as well.
I start the post that way because of the following post in the Claremont Conservative, which is very biased and antagonistic in nature (that’s fair, its a blog and is very much partial in its purpose). I know parts of my last post address some of the issues presented, but that post was written before the one on the CC was published. Anyway, I’ve shared this post with some people and they had a bunch of really mean things to say and I want to set up a framework where we stay from bashing the author or understand that I do not mean to bash the author (If it does seem that way). I just want to point out contradictions and inconsistencies.
Now I know many people told me not to do this, because it adds fuel to the fire, whatever. As APAM head, I am obligated to defend the organization and what we do.
He starts with this interview with the founder of the Black Student Union, who states at one point that “Racism is just a part of being human. Creating a “safe place” is not the solution that I would support. I prefer confronting bigotry, not avoiding it.” I think that Mr. Doggett has a misinterpretation of what diversity groups do. We don’t avoid bigotry, but we (save for a handful of radicals) don’t attack it with militancy either. I think the genuine goal of many diversity groups on campus, and subsequent civil activist groups outside of college campuses, is to increase awareness on social issues like bigotry and racism and deal with them in a peaceful manner. I also think that its sort of ridiculous to say that the election of Barack Obama represents the end of the “minority victim”. Minorities do not want to be the victim, but they usually are because of the nature and definition of a minority. What’s even more ridiculous is that he victimizes himself in his answer to the next question posed by saying that
“As I walked away, many white Republicans looked back at that camera crew in shock. For the first time, they had seen the power and the fury of white liberal racism.Before that confrontation, I had been struggling with the tension between my conservative beliefs and my history of equating Republicans with southern racism.”
Another comment he made which really struck a chord was this.
“Individualism is understanding that there is only one you. Individualism is understanding that only you can figure out what will make you happy. Individualism is respecting yourself enough to insist on leading a life of meaning. Individualism means that no one is a “minority” because no one is a “majority.” Individualism is finding your core values and making sure that you live a life that is true to them.”
I think the problem with that is that it is near impossible to address individualism because we as people want to find parallels and dichotomies. Good and Evil, Man and Woman, Gay and Straight, Black and White (think about that for a second), and so on. It’s human nature. If anything, the Bush Administration reaffirmed dichotomies, otherization, and such and so on (look at post regarding Reza Aslan and his book, which I got but have yet had the time to read). Even he does it with his “white liberal racism”. The problem isn’t individualism, the problem is that people fail to address individualism. As I wrote in my last post, APAM celebrates more than Asian culture and heritage, it celebrates individualism, it just so happens that we are categorized as Asians by the collective (both by ourselves and by others). We always say first impressions are important, and that we cannot understand and celebrate the individual without getting to know them. Well “Asian”, “White”, “Black”, along with “male” “female” and so on are our first impressions (that’s why stereotypes and/or gender roles are so important and devastating). I think Mr. Doggett reaffirms that. I mean the reason why those “white liberal racists” made the comments they made was because his skin color (and their associations with such skin color) was all they knew of him.
Moving on,
“Groups like OBSA and CLSA are inherently discriminatory. Ilan, after all, is the child of Israelis and yet he is never invited to APAM event. Technically, speaking, Ilan can lay greater claim to being “Asian” than many of the students who are third or fourth generation American of Asian descent. Indeed, given that I spent my formative years in Dorchester’s Savin Hill, a.k.a. “Little Saigon,” I can make the claim of growing up in a majority Asian neighborhood. My grandfather and (ultra far left) grandfather was an officer that helped resettle Vietnamese refugees at Fort Indiantown Gap and so he is often honored in our neighborhood for his contributions.”
Under the same logic, someone who grew up in a predominately “white” community is now “white”, even if there family was “Asian”. Under that logic, the majority of Asia America no longer exists, instead they’ve become “white” America, so to speak. Under that logic, Asia America exists in San Marino, but not Arcadia because that community predominately Latino, it exists in Chinatown SF, but not for that one Asian kid in small town Kansas. This is such a dumb explanation and it honestly makes me sad that I have to do this. It isn’t based upon the community you grew up in, but more the family and household you were raised in. I think if you talk to the Caucasian international students who lived in Japan or China, they still think that they are very AMERICAN and CAUCASIAN, not Asian. And for the love of Christ, CJ knows he’s a Caucasian conservative straight male. That being said, a Caucasian person who grew up with Asian parents has the right to join APAM if he has a Asian mentality and I will gladly accept them. Reading Asian American X, I see the vast differences between Asian children with biological parents and Asian adoptees who grew up with Caucasian parents. They believed they were white and in most cases, adamantly rejected their Asian heritage. In the case of Asian American X, many people who went on to college with that mentality embraced and accepted their culture when they hit the college campus (not because they joined some culture club), and were exposed to such cultures. But I think adopted students have different motivations, mindsets, and psychological reasons for pursuing their culture. It goes hand in hand with the psychology of adoption, of which I am no expert of but I think we can safely assume that there are some subtle differences in mindset. To get back on point, CJ’s parents are not Asian and aren’t culturally Asian, he was not directly influenced, in the sense that it was not in his HOUSE, by the Vietnamese culture. It’s a misinterpretation of race and the effects of race.
I always say that I’m Asian in America and American in Asia. People see me as American when I go to Hong Kong or Taiwan, and I feel that constant tick in my head of being “Asian” in America. By his making those comments, I know for sure that he doesn’t have that same RACIAL tick, he might very well have a tick where he notices everyone else is liberal and so on. It was interesting, when fellow members of CI came to the ath at near 6:45, Ilan (jokingly?) said something to the extent of, “oh hey, reinforcements.”, much like what minorities do when they see others that look like them. It was very similar to the minority mentality. It isn’t an issue of self-confidence, but more an issue of awareness, of realizing that you are part of the smaller group, and that the collective/majority is not so much AGAINST you but simply DIFFERENT from you.
It’s also a different (and a generally unaccepted) definition of “Asian”. I think we can all agree that Israeli and Russian cultural mindsets, traditions, and philosophies are all vastly different from South Asian or East Asian ones. You can even make the statement that South Asian and East Asians have very different ideologies, but they hold many many similarities, more so than say a Israeli and Chinese mindset.
“Along comes the Asian/Hispanic/Black groups to tell them to join up before they have even met the rest of the campus. I’ve seen how it works. Oftentimes they make claims like, “we’re the only Asian group on campus, don’t you want to celebrate your culture? Here have some candy!” Then before the semester is even really underway, they decide to have an exclusive, minority-only retreat. It leaves little doubt in incoming students’ minds that APAM, OBSA, and CLSA can lay claim to being the monopoly or repository of all things, “Asian,” “black,” or “Latino/a.” Many, many students have told me that they feel uncomfortable when approached by these groups in the beginning of the school year and that they feel pressured to join them.”
Just no. I really don’t want to touch on this issue. APAM is not militant. We don’t judge, we don’t coerce people into joining, and its a misrepresentation and exaggeration of what APAM does. If by some lucky case, some student we will undoubtedly approach on friendly and un-coercive term next year reads this, YOU ARE UNDER NO PRESSURE TO JOIN APAM. Milton Kids, lets say APAM is like the Transition Program, but by far less intrusive and runs for the entire year, we’ll send out an e-mail or something before the school year begins, and go and say hi, introducing who we are and what we do and what our goals are, but whether or not you want to join is up to you. I’ve never heard of a student who felt pressured to attend the Transition Program, nor have I heard of any stories of students who were pressured to that extent to join APAM. We don’t care if you don’t join APAM, its less planning, less money spent, and a smaller mess for us. What we care about is missing that student who does want APAM, who does need APAM, but slips through the cracks.
I’ll say this. I think this fear mongering comes from those who ostracize APAM and otherize APAM. We try as hard as hell not to outcast ourselves and include ourselves. We don’t publicly declare to everyone - HI GUYS WERE GOING OUT ON OUR RETREAT TODAY. YOU CAN’T COME! BYE NOW! (and a sidenote, most Asian students can’t go to the first APAM retreat, it is for mentors and mentees only.. I thought this was obvious, but apparently it isn’t.) And our group of friends isn’t restricted to only Asians. God no. It becomes uncomfortable and awkward because people who AREN’T in APAM make it so. Most people I talk to don’t have a problem with me going on the APAM retreat and do not make me feel guilty for going. And apparently the people who talk to CJ do feel guilty. I’m just going to put that out there.
To be fair, many of the people that defend these subsidies argue that the clubs benefit students academically. But don’t we already have the writing center for that? Ilan Wurman is a writing center tutor! Can students only learn from tutors that “look like them”? In that case, I had better avoid learning stats and macro from Indians….
I offered CJ Frank Wu’s Yellow, and indirectly wanted to show him why identity reaffirmation was so important, but he didn’t have time; which, with finals, is fair… but I think the book also counters the CC’s argument. I don’t want to summarize it because I wouldn’t do it justice. Read the first chapter regarding Johnny Sokko here. Basically, race exists and it matters. Being color blind is being ignorant and basically creates a facade.
Moreover, the mandatory racial sensitivity training that every R.A. must complete before becoming an R.A. is an indication of how these diversity groups don’t just stay confined to dealing with student groups, but try to impose themselves on everyone else.
I didn’t even know that they had to diversity training, let alone know that I “imposed” it on them.
Which, invariably brings me to my point, I believe that Claremont McKenna should refuse to provide that information to these affinity groups, at least for the first few months of school. As we do with alcohol during dry week, we should have a “cool off” period where we let students settle into campus before they are inundated with calls to join APAM, OBSA, and CLSA. Let OBSA, CLSA, and APAM contend with every group on campus during the activities fairs. Let them recruit all students so that when they go on their retreats, it won’t just be the same color faces talking about issues that affect the “community.”
That’s cute and cuddly, but ultimately allows for more students to escape through the cracks. I say we don’t allow the CI to publish for the first few months of school, that way I can form my identity as a liberal without conservative rhetoric pressuring me. For an institution so adamant on free speech, and there might be some legal issues with “recruiting” if that’s what you want to call it (I don’t see it as recruiting), it sure seems to love to suggest the restriction of free speech (my ability to talk to students, for example) to “benefit” society. I mean if you want me to wait a week before I knock on their door, fine, but I don’t think a week really affects whatever effect we supposedly have on their mentality identity and such. We “recruit” students to a lesser extent than other groups. I remember when a message was on my Facebook wall in April/May of 2008 about the CI or CC. I forget but I deleted it because I’m not conservative (ok to be honest, high school drama, social do’s and don’ts, and mentality had much to do with how I approached facebook back then/why I deleted it, embarrassing I know). I’m just going to put it out there that I didn’t join the Facebook group for the CMC class of 2013.
I’d like to point out that Tracy Kao is on that list. That is all.
“But the gentleman very much misunderstands the success of the Cabrones and if he thinks that The Claremont Independent or Ilan is arguing against the Cabrones, he sorely misunderstands Ilan’s argument. The reason we celebrate the Cabrones is that they are an affinity based group that doesn’t use coercion or the school to advance their interests. No one who wants to attend their parties is hounded down before they come here. The school does not give them any data whatsoever on the percentages of the population that like to drink and listen to rap music”
We don’t use coercion, although we do use the school, but to a very minimalistic extent. As a former debater, I just see this as an extension of the last arg, so just extend my arg from the previous quote down the flow. Lazy and sloppy, I know, but I’ve been doing this on and off for the last 24 hours. Also, I’m pretty sure Cabrones tries to spread word/post fliers/emails about their parties. We don’t “hound people down”, we extend friendly gestures, geez. It makes me sound like a maniacal and evil being who’s going to chase after poor and fearful freshman. And to some point, they’re all 17, 18 years old and this happens in the real world. I’d like to think I’m a jolly, friendly, and inspired tele-marketer/door to door salesmen with a very strange product for a very specific market. 
Oh, and while we’re at it, I’d love to be invited to any APAM, CLSA, or OBSA retreat or dinner. And as anyone knows after someone once called me “pudgy,” I don’t discriminate on the basis of food. I love it all.
All are welcome to many APAM events, and I’m sure you’re welcome to the second semester AdBoard retreat. We’ll discuss our Asian culture, our identity, why things are this and that, and have good food.. mmm those banana coin things. DE-LI-CIOUS!
- Kevin
