Establishment of cultural identity and value integration of Asian Americans
Asian Americans are some of the groups that have struggled with undesirable experiences in the United States. Notably, this is a highly diverse group, but unfortunately, they have markedly experienced issues related to racial profiling and discrimination in American society. On the one hand, there is a perception that Asian Americans have assimilated well to American cultures especially through academic achievement. However, a close look at their experiences shows that this group has been labeled model minority and this is creating more opportunities for stereotyping. On this note, as observed in Desai and Dario Villa’s experiences, it is clear that Asian Americans are struggling with issues related to their family values and interaction, as well as racism and stereotyping. Having come to the United States from the Philippines, Villa was still experiencing various conflicts because he was still a Filipino in the United States. His Philippine values were not well accepted in the United States, and at the same time he had to learn new values and new identities. Similarly, as an Indian living in the United States, Desai had to suffer from racism as well as his identity confusion.
Desai’s experience is a good example of Asian Americans struggle with the process of enculturation, acculturation attitudes, conflicts, and stress. Enculturation is the process by which people learn the needs of the surrounding culture and acquire appropriate or necessary values and behaviors in that culture. The influences that limit, direct or shape an individual (intentionally or not) as part of this process include parents, other adults, and colleagues. If successful, it empowers the language, values and consciousness of the culture. Acculturation is a phenomenon in which two societies with heterogeneous cultures change their culture through continuous and direct contact. It causes changes in two cultures that are disparate from each other, facilitating communication between groups in both cultures. Notably, the processes of acculturation and enculturation force an individual to try to assimilate into a dominant culture especially to avoid issues such as racial discrimination. In this case, their behaviors and values are shaped by the dynamics of the dominant culture and norms. Desai was an Indian and this is one of the cultural groups that can be categorized under Asian Americans. His experience shows how the mainstream society expressed prejudices and stereotypes towards the Indians. For instance, when Desai joined one of the American schools, one of the girls insulted him when she realized that he was an Indian (Desai, 2004). He also met the same girl outside the library in a group of boys and they chased him claiming that they would teach him a lesson. He managed to escape from their beatings, but he was afraid that in America, it was shameful being an Indian. Ideally, there was nothing wrong being an Indian but, however, as demonstrated by the students, the Americans hated the Indians.
Unfortunately, such reactions, hatred, and prejudice had psychological effects on the victims. After this incident, Desai claims that his pride as an Indian was wounded and he was angry. The case even becomes worse because he continued to experience incidents that proved the hatred of the Americans towards the Indians (Desai, 2004). As Iwamoto has noted, “Racism may overwhelm the available coping response and resources for Asian Americans, which may lead to psychological distress”. For instance, one day when going home from Little India, he was bullied by a local gang popularly known as “dot busters.” The Dot Busters was a hate group in Jersey City, New Jersey, that attacked and threatened Indians, especially Hindus. They ripped off his bag and spilled his items in addition to beating him. As a result of such incidents, Desai started to think about acculturation. He felt that if he no longer told people the reality of being an Indian, he would not be an easy target (Desai, 2004). At some point, he forced to identify himself as a half-Egyptian and half-Indian, half-Tanzanian, Guyanese, and even a Puerto Rican.
As Desai has noted, “I would try out being half- Puerto Rican and half- Indian. It turned out I would spend the rest of my high school years with this new identity. I realize that the most important thing is to know who you are” (Desai, 179). This means that to survive among the Americans and reduce cases of stereotyping, Desai was forced to sacrifice his identity. He tried to adopt different cultures and somehow, he felt successful for a while (Desai, 2004). For instance, when he acquired a new identity as a half-Puerto Rican and half-Indian, it became easier to date girls and he was not chosen like when he was identifying himself as an Indian. Unfortunately, his new identity did not mean that he was now comfortable or would gain respect from Americans. He felt the need to assume his real identity again and this proved a difficult process too (Desai, 2004). He tried to join the Asian Indian Association, but it was difficult considering that he did not even look like a Desi. Therefore, instead of being welcomed by his counterparts, he was considered an outsider by his own people and community. Due to this rejection, Desai was forced to have friends with people from other groups such as Filipinos, Latinos, and Blacks because other Indians looked down on him (Desai, 2004). Hence, looking at Desai’s experiences and attempts to be assimilated into different cultures, it indubitable depicts the struggles facing Asian Americans.
On a similar note, the experiences of Dario Villa depict the difficulties Asian Americans experience especially with the process of acculturation. When Villa and his family arrived in San Diego, he faced rejection from other Filipinos. He was labeled FOB (Fresh off the Boat) and this worsened his immigration to the United States (Villa, 1995). Instead of welcoming him, Villa was ridiculed because his accent reminded other Filipinos of their parents. He felt so embarrassed when his fellow countrymen giggled at him for dressing like Filipino parents. At this point, Villa was struggling with an inter-generational conflict because he was still carrying himself as a Filipino in the home country (Villa, 1995). His Filipino values made it difficult for Villa to be welcomed by other Filipinos. At the same, he was forced to go through a difficult journey of learning new values and identity. After joining Southwestern Community College, Villa had to go through the transition that made him more open and accepting. However, it is interesting to note that he also had prejudices against the Americans (Villa, 1995). He hated how the Americans treated the Filipinos especially, how the American sailors mistreated and abused Filipino women.
Nonetheless, unlike Desai who decided to self-rediscover and take pride again in his Indian identity, Villa decided to learn more about the American culture. He felt that the university provides him with more opportunities to understand this culture better. In this case, he met some Americans who were friendly and non-prejudiced against other cultural groups (Villa, 1995). At the same time, he did not fail to emphasize that along the way, he incorporated the American values in his life such that it became difficult to separate those values with the Filipino ones. In this case, Villa claimed that many Filipinos had become so westernized that it was difficult to say that they were 100 % Filipino (Villa, 1995). That is, although some of them could still speak the Filipino language fluently and know their history, they had become so assimilated to the American world. Some like Villa had decided to continue using some of the traditional Filipino values, and at the same time, incorporated American values to make their lives even better. As Villa has noted, “I have been careful not to lose myself in the process of becoming a well-adjusted individual in my adopted country. I am proud of where I came from, and I am proud of my ability to understand the soul of my culture. I use both the Filipino value of family interdependence and the American value of independence to the best interests of myself and my family” (Villa, 1995). That is, even in the process of Americanization, it is imperative for cultural groups to maintain some of their values (Villa, 1995). For example, Villa claims that although he can consider himself as an American, his family values have aspects of Filipino because he still likes a big and extended family. Therefore, this is to say that although many cultural groups have struggled to be assimilated to the American culture, they have not abandoned their cultural values completely.
On a further note, although Desai was an Indian while Villa was a Filipino, they were both victims of racial discrimination and profiling. They experienced several cases of overt racism. For instance, Desai explains that in several cases, he was a victim of police brutality and racial profiling (Desai, 2004). Police considered him trash that ruined the American community and Desai regretted changing his Indian identity in the first place. In his case, Villa explains that he was labeled as FOB not only to mean that he still held traditional values in the Philippines, but also to imply that he was a naïve and ignorant. This treatment influenced Villa to feel that Filipino Americans were not capable of making good friends and he missed his village mates. Just like Desai, Villa was not welcomed by his fellow Filipinos (Villa, 1995). Both of them resulted in making friends with people from other cultural groups because they were more comfortable around them than with people from their culture. For instance, because Desai did not look as a Desai, he was seen as an outsider while Villa was considered dumb because he spoke English with an accent. However, over time, Villa learned how to incorporate American values into Filipino ones (Villa, 1995). That is, even though he got assimilated into the American world, he did not abandon his traditional and family values completely.
Conclusively, as noted in Desai and Villa’s cases, it is notable that Asian Americans have struggled with experiences relating to their family values, acculturation, and racism in American society. Unfortunately, they do not only face rejection by the Americans, but also from their fellow countrymen especially those that have assimilated into American culture. As a result, most of them continue to struggle to create a new identity to fit within the mainstream society as well as curbing cases of stereotyping. In this journey, some manage to gain a new identity while others decide to work towards gaining back the lost pride and their original identity. Others learn how to incorporate both values and cultures meaning that they still maintain some of their traditional values as well as adopting a new identity.
Works Cited
Iwamoto, Derek Kenji, and Liu, William Ming. “The Impact of Racial Identity, Ethnic Identity, Asian Values, and Race-Related Stress on Asian Americans and Asian International College Students’ Psychological Well-Being.” Journal of Counseling Psychology 57.1 (2010): 79-91. Web.
Asian American X : An Intersection of Twenty-First Century Asian American Voices, edited by Arar Han, and John Hsu, University of Michigan Press, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/umboston/detail.action?docID=3414720.
Espiritu, Yen. Filipino American Lives. Temple University Press, 1995. Digital.
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