Tag Archives: strangers from a different shore

I wish you well

Orientals: Asian Americans in Popular Culture pg. 1 – 50,
& Strangers from a different shore pg.  1 – 75

I could have sworn that I made these posts, but I evidently did not.

“They could feel the liminality of the land awaiting them. Would everything be “familiar and kind”? the newcomers wondered. Or were they merely seeing illusions, harboring hopes that would “vanish,” too?” (Takaki, p. 74)

For all the hardship that many immigrants faced during their years, it’s truly a wonder that they had the bravery to actually leave their homes and their lives in order to set out for something that could have been better for them. It may have been easier with the way that many people spoke of America, but even now I still find myself in awe of the attempts that were made. The people that left everything they knew, sometimes to send money back to their families, and sometimes to try to better their own situations. I don’t think I would have had the courage to do that unless I absolutely needed to. If it were just me, with no one else, I think I may have given in to fear and remained wherever I was. The only way I believe I could be motivated to do it is if it was an unavoidable scenario for the well-being of my family.

In Orientals, we see first hand horrific instances of racism. The extent of this racism is truly startling in some cases, and others can still be seen today. Even among my own family members I frequently see horrible instances of racism. The last time I visited my extended family, an uncle of mine couldn’t stop complaining about his job as a local Casino. He’d frequently say something to the effect of “Those damn chinks,” and complain about them coming down from New York to gamble. He’d cite numerous improbable circumstances regarding them, and the entire time it would happen I mostly just felt sick. I worry a great deal for my distant cousin, a girl of about ten-years-old and also his granddaughter, given that she’s there often. The only reason I would want to be around that portion of my family is probably for her sake.

you got a hole in your head

Strangers From a Different Shore: 10 – 13

“Most second-wave Asian Indians have found economic opportunities here to be much greater than in their home country.” (pg. 446)

In reading this quote, I had to go back and double check when this book was originally written. 1989, if I read the dates correctly, with updates and revisions in the version released in 1998, which I can only assume is the copy that I have.

I may be interpreting this incorrectly, but as I was reading, it seemed like the book was glorifying the “opportunities” that Asian Indians, which included “travel agency work, sari shops, and luncheonettes”. It goes on to say that you don’t really need capital to start off that way, but before that’s state it also says that many of them are college trained and educated. It seems rather hypocritical, doesn’t it? What is the point of being college educated if you can’t make use of your degree, and all the training you’ve been through? Why should they be expected to work jobs with awful hours, with very little gratitude ever given to them? The book is excellent, but I found myself a little disappointed in this aspect of it.  The most desirable thing that’s mentioned is that Asian Indians have quite the influence in the hotel/motel business, which could be quite lucrative if you were a stock holder or an owner.