AP News is stereotyping elderly Asian Americans
(or at least one article on AP News is).
I read a very ironic post on AP News. The article “Asian Americans see generational split on confronting racism” by Sudhin Thanawala appears to stereotype the elderly Asian American population. (Here is the article)
The article claims, and I paraphrase, that there is a generational split among Asian Americans. The older generation of Asian Americans — probably first-generation Asian immigrants — do not support activism and protest against race-based violence. The observation is that many young Asian American activists experience that their parents and elders do not recognize that racism is real. They doubt that there is a positive value to protest. Throughout the article, there is a negative portrayal of how elderly Asian Americans respond to the criminal acts done against them, saying that they blame the victims rather than acknowledging racism-based violence.
The problem with statements (mentioned above) made in the article is not apparent. It is not clear whether the stereotyping of the elderly Asian American population is intentionally implied. However, this is what the article is doing. It is stereotyping the elderly Asian Americans that reinforces implicit bias. Many who have a stereotypical view of elderly Asian Americans would read the first two paragraphs of the article and say: “of course, only old Asian Americans would behave like this.”
I want to ask why the article only points at elderly Asian Americans? Clearly, there is a generational gap in almost all ethnic communities. This should not be a surprise. It would be odd to say that Black American grandpas think exactly the way their grandkids do. Who can assure that Latino American grandmas do not stop their grandkids from protesting in the middle of the streets? Also, what reasons do we have to think that young Asian Americans do not oppose activism and protest? Can we say for sure that every single young American, or if you prefer Asian American, believes that the shooting of six Asian women at a massage parlor in Georgia was a racism-based crime?
Furthermore, why specify that Asian American parents and elders do not recognize racism? Are there no elderly non-Asian Americans who adhere to similar denial? Aren’t there also a whole lot of young people who deny the existence of racism altogether? The answer to these questions is obvious but significant. Of course, it is not just the elderly Asian Americans who hold these opinions. But then why encourage stereotyping the elderly Asian Americans? Obviously, not all of them hold these views.
Most importantly, can we even conclude that there is a generational divide among Asian Americans based on a few testimonies? We must also ask how it is morally okay to picture elderly Asian Americans in a manner that implies that they have narrow minds. We must not forget that these are the people who have been the target. Wouldn’t these kinds of portrayals leave the already vulnerable condemned for holding views that might be true of a very small number?
Neither practically nor rationally does this AP News post seems appropriate, specifically if we want to protect and sympathize with the elderly Asian Americans and oppose the crimes committed against them. The post seems to be (intentionally or unintentionally) implying that the crimes done against the elderly Asian Americans are well deserved. My conclusion is that the article does not depict the condition or mindset of elderly Asian Americans; instead, it portrays a distorted image of the elderly Asian American population. Maybe the implied aim of the article is to put pressure on the elderly Asian Americans to encourage activism. However, it seems unlikely to happen if we keep stereotyping them.
