Kate Adkins
Dr. McClure
SOCI 4444
March 19, 2008
What does it mean to be Asian in America?
In this time in history, it is a definite struggle for minorities in the United States to
be secure in their own race because of the dominant Caucasian race. The route that many
minorities take is seen as Anglo-conformity, where either they deny the belief systems of
their heritage to take on those of the whites or they combine their beliefs with those of the
dominant race. In this paper, I will discuss different routes that are taken by Asians in
America, as seen in Eric Liu’s book The Accidental Asian.
Liu points to the race and class theory as he says, “It was both: color and class
were all twisted together in a double helix of felt inadequacy” (Liu 47). For Liu, his class
ranking and his race were what made him strive to be assimilated into mainstream
culture, so that he would be able to succeed in life. Changes in American societal views
caused changes in Binet’s test by hindering the educational growth of students by
categorizing them into levels of ‘smartness,’ and in Liu’s case, levels of color. Class is
something that has been changed successfully by many minorities and whites alike, while
race is much harder to attempt to change and has not been changed effectively by quite as
many. In chapter eight of the Wilson reading, he says, “Classes are defined in terms of
their relationship to other classes within the market where different commodities are
bought and sold and where people with various resources (goods, services, or skills) meet
and interact for purposes of exchange” (156). I think that this quote is essential in
understanding this theory and relating it to what Liu discusses. Classes are a mindset that
can be twisted by difference in appearance of the goods and services and even in the way
a person acts or dresses. Race is not as easy to be changed. Race is perceived by the color
of someone’s skin, which is much harder to change. Liu attempted to change how others
saw him by conforming to as many “white” beliefs and values that he could. Still there
were many that did not see these changes as successful; this was shown when he
described the girls who would not date him because he was not white.
As Liu was changing his beliefs and values to those of the mainstream culture, he
was assimilating. Assimilation is a process that occurs when the values and beliefs of
several groups are comprised in order to blend in with the mainstream culture.
Assimilation can happen in several ways. One type of assimilation is referred to as the
‘melting pot.’ This is when groups come together and combine their cultures together
using roughly the same amount of each as they are compiled into one way of thinking. In
one of the Steinberg readings, he poses a statement near the beginning that sets the tone
for the entire chapter, “America’s melting pot has been inclusive of everybody but
blacks” (Steinberg 469). Liu could agree with Steinberg on this issue but at the same time
could raise reasons as to why this is not completely true for all Asians in America. Some
American Asians are taught to revere their ancestry and become as much like that as
possible in America while Liu was taught in a different way to become as Americanized
as possible. He says, “I had my own set of reasons for going along with the family
charade: as a Chinese boy in an American world, I wanted generally to project a normal
image, to cloak any handicap, real or imagined” (Liu 29-30). From early on Liu gave
himself a mindset to not let anything come between him and the “American image” that
he made up in his head.
Another type of assimilation that is prevalent in this country is Americanization or
Anglo-conformity. This type is very one-sided so that the emphasis on the culture that is
created is centered on the English language and patterns put in place back in England.
This second type of assimilation is seen throughout The Accidental Asian as Liu tells of
his struggles to fit in with the mainstream culture. Liu tells of how he did not ask to be
white and in physical ways is not white, but many things about who he is could be seen
as “white.” At one point, he rewrites a poem of William Shakespeare by saying, “Some
are born white, others achieve whiteness, still others have whiteness thrust upon them”
(Liu 34-35). I see his rewrite as relating being white to being great, as Shakepeare’s
original poem reads. This is not necessarily something that I believe can be totally
achieved. One can assimilate into the mainstream culture of the area they live in, but in
some parts of America that culture might be one that places emphasis on hip-hop culture
rather than a culture absorbed with preppy people, which might be seen in a neighboring
area.
Liu’s story of assimilating to the mainstream culture of America is a small
demonstration of an underlying concept. This concept is that, in America, white
supremacy is overruling all other races. This basically means that if you are not white
then you are not equal, not ‘up to par.’ In one critique I found, the author discusses how
minorities, such a Asian Americans and African Americans, have had to face resistance
in assimilating to the American culture. At one point he writes, “Liu knows that AsianAmericans cannot reasonably nurse historical grievances comparable to those of
American blacks” (Ponnuru). It has been a much simpler process for Asians to assimilate
than for blacks, but why? This is a question that has many different answers. For whites
and blacks to intermarry is almost considered a type of blasphemy, but for Asians and
whites to intermarry is much more acceptable. Structural Integration as described by
Gordon is shown in this idea as American of different races are voluntarily associating
with each other. Liu comments, “Today, close to 50 percent of Asian Americans under
thirty-five are marrying non-Asians, which promises rather quickly to change the
meaning of race…To put it simply: the Asian American identity as we now know it may
not last another generation” (82). I take these comments fro Liu as his opinion being that
the Asian American identity is one that is very fluid and susceptible to change.
Blauner addresses critiques of the internal colonialism theory at the beginning of
chapter five. On page sixty-five, he says, “The colonial interpretation has been rejected as
obscurantist and misleading by scholars who point to the significant differences in history
and sociopolitical conditions between our domestic patterns and what took place in
Africa and Asia.” This quote is suggesting that those who constructed the internal
colonialism theory cut off pieces of reality to make it fit into the model that they had
proposed. Just down the page from this, Blauner addresses another criticism, “Seemingly
the model must be stretched beyond utility if the American case is to be formed into its
mold” (Blauner 65). He shows how internal colonialism did not occur in the United
States because of the order in which settlers settled the land. Traditional colonization
occurs when a group of people invades a land and subjects the inhabitants to
colonization. “Unlike the classical situation, there has been no formal recognition of
differences in power, outside the South, since slavery was abolished…in America the
oppressed black population is a numerical minority and was, originally, the “outside”
group” (65). Internal colonialism was seen in the Asian experience in American when
Asians were forced into concentration camps because of the scare that any of them could
be terrorists because they were Asian. Asians still feel that pressure as they strive for
whiteness as Liu described about wanting to be associated with whites because of the
power that they had just because they were white. “I came to identify not with white
people in general but with that subset of people, most of them white, who were educated,
affluent: going places” (Liu 46). Just a few pages later, Liu says, “I do not want to be
white I only want to be integrated. When I identify with white people who wield
economic and political power, it’s not for their whiteness but for their power” (55). Liu
demonstrates that internal colonialism might not be a theory that is evident to the naked
eye, but one that can only be seen under a microscope.
The Accidental Asian was an eye opener to me. I had no idea what minorities
really deal with in response to the American culture surrounding them. This book
expressed many different views on the issue of race that are subconsciously known and
believed but not truly considered by the conscious mind. As a related what I read in this
book to the concepts we learned in the course, I began to understand how to apply the
theories that Liu was using as he expressed his thoughts about society from an Asian
point of view.