Thomas' Response

Dear Robert G. Lee,

You make an impressive case for how in many ways the plights of Chinese Americans mirrors that of Black Americans. While many have argued that Chinese people are "model minorities" and not subject to the same discrimination as other minority races in America, you offer clear and convincing evidence that this is simply not the case--that Chinese Americans have had to suffer at the hands of discrimination and racism by the institutions of America as well as the individuals. By showing how Irish people discriminated against the Chinese and the Blacks similarly, you show how even early on--among ethnic Whites--there was a notion of whiteness that Asians and Blacks did not fit into. Always, even when ethnic, white immigrants were discriminated against, they were always considered better than non-white races, and that's important in understanding the history of the United States. 

In many ways, I find your ideas similar to mine. I argue how in the Jazz Singer, the main character becomes white by subjugating Blacks through the art of black face. While I would argue that some groups have been so marginalized that their struggles mirror that of Blacks and Asians--a point with which you disagree--I think we can both agree that apart of being white or becoming white in a historical context is the active subjugation of othered groups. You show this in how Irish factory workers marginalized Blacks and Chinese people, and I show it in how Jaky decides to do black face.

I look forward to a scholarly debate on the issues.

Sincerely,

Michael Rogin.

1. Was the otherization of European immigrants equal or similar to the same otherization of Blacks and Chinese people. If so, is it simply a matter of time before Blacks and Asians are absorbed into the larger category of Whiteness? If not, is it only color that differentiates European immigrants, Blacks, and Chinese immigrants? If the Irish and other white ethnics were considered just as bad and foreign as Blacks and Chinese, then why did they eventually become absorbed into the larger category of whiteness and minority races didn't? 

2. Do race relations in America boil down to White vs. non-White. Is it all white people vs all people of color in a historical context? What, then, of inter-ethnic violence--where Whites are not involved at all in the conflict?