"Model minority" is a term that came into use during the civil rights movement, first put forth by sociologist William Peterson to frame a comparison of "ethnic minorities," to divide and conquer. Asian Americans, it was said, kept their mouths shut, worked hard, and eventually succeeded, so why couldn't African Americans do so? Why did they have to keep fighting and bringing the focus back to race?
If Frank Chin has gotten one thing right, it's that Asian Americans themselves have internalized these claims. They are loath to get into the issue of race unless it affects their own community. Then they might turn out for their community alone, and directly or indirectly side against other communities of color—note the Peter Liang protests, where Asian Americans rallied for an Asian American police officer who killed an innocent, unarmed black man instead of seeing that the privileges police officers get are part of the same system of power that views black people as dangerous threats without privileges and creates the overarching racial hierarchy.
There is an advantage to keeping our heads down. There is an advantage to working hard, ignoring other people's problems, fighting only for our own rights. But it's the same advantage that makes Asian Americans white supremacy's one success.
i’ve always said that asians are NOT allies. don’t let the few woke ones fool you and stop this grouping of black people with other ethnic minorities with bullshit terms like “poc.” most are not our allies and most certainly, overwhelmingly asians are not.
