Vogue Dissent

when Asians discriminate against other POC, it’s the reproduction and propagation of white supremacy, NOT Asian privilege

whenever POC discriminate against other POC, its the reproduction and propagation of white supremacy

what did y'all think Malcolm X was talking about with his house slave-field slave speech?

what did y'all think Junot Diaz was talking about when he said, "White supremacy’s greatest trick is that it has convinced peoplethat it exists always in other people, never in us"????

WE ARE RACIALIZED IN WAYS DIFFERENT THAN YOU, DUMBFUCKS. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE AREN’T RACIALIZED OR RACIALIZED IN A WAY THAT *BENEFITS* US.

to say ~Asian privilege~ is real is an anti-Asian exercise because:

1. it denies our history of oppression

look up Yellow Peril. prior to 1966, we were stereotyped as dumb manual laborers who would rape and murder you in your sleep. (remember, we built the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad, we did people’s laundry, and we were storeowners in the Wild West. hence, the word cha-ching.) but then the CRM happened, and shit like Yuri Kochiyama being Malcolm X’s best friend scared the shit out of people. in 1966, some white people released a paper about how their “data” showed that Asians were ~actually~ hardworking, studious, and whatnot. that’s when Model Minority started. it got another boost in the 1980s when Reagan needed a counterexample for his whole “Black Welfare Queens” bullshit. 

here’s an often-quoted paper on the dialectic between Model Minority and Yellow Peril. just because we’re currently stereotyped as smart but physically inferior DOES NOT MAKE US PRIVILEGED. 

2. it denies our current oppression

we don’t face physical violence because of white supremacy? oh that’s hilarious because I’m pretty sure all the Asians who are getting their homes busted in by ICE would disagree. (we are the fastest growing demographic of undocumented people in the States!) Asian women experience domestic violence at two to three times the rate of women of other races. we have the highest suicide rate of any “minority” group (including LGBTQ and women) in the States. 

and this whole thing about “oh yeah well maybe not SE Asians but East Asians don’t get discriminated against that much, not as much as other POC”…are you fucking kidding me? are you really going to pull that bullshit policing of identity shit and ranking of experiences, which, let me remind you, ranking of races is a cornerstone of white supremacy and you’re doing the EXACT SAME FUCKING THING, YOU DUMBFUCKS???

don’t let the door hit you on your way out. 

3. it denies how our identity has been yanked around by people and white supremacy for white supremacy’s benefit

reference point #1. anti-blackness is the fulcrum of white supremacy, which is why our identity’s being used to justify anti-blackness, duh. and there’s a lot of anti-blackness in Asian communities, duh. and yes, there’s a hell lot of privilege to being lighter-skinned, duh. and no, I wouldn’t trade being Asian for being Black, duh. but to say those four points equate ~Asian privilege~ is anti-Asian. to call out anti-blackness in Asian communities without CHECKING YOURSELF and to call out anti-asian sentiment in your own community is LACKING SELF-REFLEXIVITY. to deny that ALL POC, not some POC, benefit from white supremacy is to COMPLETELY MISS THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT.

y'all are always talking about solidarity. where’s the fucking solidarity, huh?

also, recheck your working definition of power, privilege, and oppression, and know your history. or, as my favorite anime character always says, “Look underneath the underneath.”