On behalf of Asian Americans all over this nation, I am writing to say that I believe your ruling in both my case and that of Takao Ozawa brings to light the fundamental fallacies of our society. How can it be that Ozawa, a man with skin paler than moat Europeans, or even myself, man with Aryan blood pulsing through his veins, not be considered white according to your undefinable standards?
What is it about Asians that you find so alien and alienating? We have been here for generations, yet we are treated with little no respect. We live in racial limbo, neither negroid enough to termed "colored" yet still not able to be considered white despite our coloration and ancestry. By referring to us as a mere color, yellow, you are stripping us of our humanity and placing us a racial category that permanently labels us "the other." Is it because we refuse to leave that you find us so frightening, giving you the need to treat us as you do?
Even if we did return "home", know that these problems would continue to exist, they would just come in a new form. If race is only defined by a common understanding, then I am writing to tell you that I, and those like me, do not understand who we are according to your simplistic definitions of race.
Sincerely,
Bhagat Singh Thind
Questions:
!) What commonalities do yellowface and blackface share? What are some of the differences?
2) How do media portrayals of Asians Americans help contribute (or take away from) the stereotypes associated their race?
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