As the daughter of first generation immigrants, my parent’s individual, unique experiences of immigrating to the United States has carefully shaped my personal worldview. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States in pursuit of higher education; My father enrolled at the University of Wyoming, and my mother enrolled at San Jose State University. My father often tells my sister and I his strange experience as a Korean American in the rural midwest. In between laughs, he would remark how snowy white the entire campus was during the winter, and just how much whiter it was inside his lecture halls. As a minority, he often felt out of place, lonely, and yearned for community throughout his undergraduate years. What exacerbated his social isolation was the stereotype of the quiet, aloof asian that fellow students attached to him. He recollects his professors never taking an interest in talking to him, perhaps because of the extra effort they would have to put into communicating with his broken English.
My father was fortunate to have been offered a position at a financial firm following his graduate years. His position at the firm compensated him well above an average income. However, after numerous faithful years of service to the company, my father found it difficult acquiring management promotions like his white counterparts did. My father recalls how his bosses would promote his white colleagues of less experience over himself. It could be reasonable to assume there was a great deal of white privilege his colleagues benefited from— starting from the white camaraderie with their white bosses, and the feelings of trust and obligation in those relationships that influenced promotions and corporate advancement. Such a circumstance is one that backs up the model minority myth— meaning, while many Asians graduate from accredited universities and obtain well-paying jobs, Asian Americans as a collective still have a lower probability of earning management promotions. To further support the model minority myth, while my father represents the image of a successful Asian American(with an above-average income), this kind of success wasn’t representative of the collective asian-american experience. For example, my mother and her sisters who similarly immigrated to the United States struggled to make ends meet and would often have to work multiple jobs. This large income gap is a key pillar of the model minority myth, and one that affects Asian Americans today. My father’s experience in the workplace can be supported through the symbolic interactionist perspective. As an immigrant, asian man, it can be presumed that he possessed numerous labels. For example, his fragmented English could have caused his colleagues to overlook his potential. Everything from his skin color, hair, and small stature could have labeled him as incapable of leadership.
One of the lessons my parents pass on to me from their experiences is that no matter how out-of-place I may feel, resorting to assimilation will never solve my problems. They instill in me the value of staying true to my heritage— and roots.
Kommentare