Asian Americans - Essay Example

Resisting Assimilation Asian Americans Martin Sharkey Western International Resisting Assimilation Asian-American resistance to assimilation and the group's social status in U.S. Successful assimilation of one cultural group by another is a two-way process, whereby the cultural gap between the groups is overcome through education, tolerance, and political will. This is a gradual process and the two cultures learn to understand, and either adopt or discard certain cultural practices. Today in USA there are even non-profit organizations and associations, like the Korean-American Management Association that devote resources to enhanced intercultural communications (Jandt, 2004). Especially for big cultural subgroups, like Asian-Americans who amount to 4% of US population (Wikipedia, 2006), it is increasingly important that cultural specifics do not impair social status in a country of diverse cultures and equal opportunities. This objective, however, proves a challenging initiative, burdened by the negative heritage of history and by existing cultural gaps. According to Jandt (2004) the Asian-Americans represent a diverse group of cultures and people from many countries - Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Pacific Island nations. Initially the US legislation excluded Chinese and other Asians from US citizenship (Jandt, 2004) and this governmental policy impaired the assimilation process of Asian subgroups at the very beginning. Asian-American's resistance to assimilation is a natural process. For one thing, it is visible in first generation immigrants who sometimes lack documentation (Wikipedia, 2006) and whose dreams about the bright future are not met by reality (Jandt, 2004). This disappointment leads to greater uncertainty, and avoidance of socialization. Additionally, language barriers impair the social status of the Asian-American group in USA. For example exactly because of language deficiencies Korean-Americans use English language that can be viewed as rude and exploiting by customers and employees (Jandt, 2004). This has lead to misinterpretation of Korean's behavior, hence to the isolation of the group by the American society and other subgroups. Further on, other behavioral patterns that are interpreted by other cultures differently hinder effective communication. For example, Korean-Americans are reluctant to develop friendships with strangers, regard inappropriate smiles as superficial (Jandt, 2004). Especially in the services sector, where communication with customers is critical, keeping such distance makes the Korean culture look confusing and inappropriate. Tradition that is visible in medicinal practices, rituals, clothing and other cultural tokens is another source for misinterpretation of culture (Jandt, 2004). While rituals and habits are regarded as healthy by one culture, the US culture may condemn them as inappropriate, unhealthy and even dangerous. There is the example of a Vietnamese father who treated his sick child, as per Vietnamese tradition, with coins rubbed in hot oil. The father was imprisoned and subsequently committed a suicide (Jandt, 2004). Such tragic incidents do not only prove the necessity for mutual understanding of group specifics, but lead to the presumption that at minimum partial assimilation is a natural process, whereby the smaller cultural group adopts the norms of the larger group. This is so because practices that are regarded as extreme and health damaging by the US culture are unlikely to be tolerated by people and legislative authorities and pressure is exercised to change those tokens that contradict common US norms. Today attitudes towards Asian Americans vary greatly. There is a common conception that Asian Americans have not faced racial discrimination as African Americans and Latinos (Wikipedia, 2006), but this idea is based on the fact that these immigrants do not report such incidents. As a result, even reported incidents do not receive adequate attention by local authorities and media. There is, of course, another aspect of the story. As it is true that this subgroup is generally regarded as a "model minority" (Wikipedia, 2006), and there are critical issues like poverty, compensation levels, language barriers and education, statistics prove that as a percentage this cultural subgroup surpasses the other communities. According to the U.S. Census data (cited by Wikipedia, Asian Americans, 2006), the average Asian American household today earns a higher income than other US ethnic groups, and achieves higher levels of educational attainment. What is more, the rising political and economic power of China and the global economic presence of Japan significantly improve the group's overall status in the country (Wikipedia, 2006). 2. What makes it possible for a culture within a culture to retain a distinct identity According to the situational perspective on ethnic identity (Le, 2006), ethnic identities are socially defined phenomena. This means that specific factors influence the development and the preservation of these identities, particularly in the case where a subculture exists in another culture. As Jandt (2004) states, "Cultures within cultures are most based on economic or social class, ethnicity, race, or geographic region. [They] usually encompass a relatively large number of people []". Common historical developments are one aspect that helps cultural subgroups retain their identity. As Le (2006) points out, many Japanese Americans felt a resurgent sense of their Japanese identity in the 1980s when the federal government was pressed for reparations for the WWII. Racial differences also influence the process of assimilation. For example white American immigrants assimilate faster, both culturally and structurally in the American society, precisely because they are white, whereas non-white minorities integrate at a slower rate (Le, 2006). Concentration in specific regions is another of the aspects for keeping a distinct behavioral identity. For example, the highest concentration ratio of Asian-Americans is in San Francisco (Jandt, 2004) - over 35%. Those people who live in cohesive ethnic communities and who regularly participate in co-ethnic organizations (Le, 2006) are more likely to retain their cultural identity; the higher the concentration, the more powerful the cultural group in the region, even if the ethnic group is low-income. This way the group exercises stronger formal and informal influence in the region it is present; group members feel securer to show off their cultural belonging. Freely expressed visual signs of cultural patterns thus support the distinct imaged of the culture within a culture. Specialized media are another bearer of specific cultural tokens. According to Jandt (2004) in New York alone Chinese language newspapers, weeklies and magazines are readily available to local immigrant groups and this sustains people's links to their culture and to their native Asian countries. Today, modern communication technologies and global availability of other media like national radio and televisions, and the Internet further maintains cultural strong identity among immigrant groups. References 1. Jandt, F. E. (2004) An introduction to intercultural communication 4th Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 2. Le, C.N. (2006) Assimilation & Ethnic Identity Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. Retrieved February 28, 2006 from http://www.asian-nation.org/assimilation.shtml 3. Wikipedia Contributors (2006) Asian American Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 28, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.phptitle=Asian_American&oldid=41585104 Read More