Civic Cipher 021222 Let's Improve Race Relations with Asian People ft. Pineapple Lawyer Amy Owen Part 2

But if you have empathy, beating heart, and you love it when we all get along a little bit better, then you can do the same. But I want you to follow some social media accounts to give you a glimpse into what it's like, what it's like to be fully tapped into the goings on for our Asian American and Pacific Islander brothers and sisters. Some of these social media accounts include Asians Never Die that's on Instagram. Another

one that's on Instagram is Fighting Asian Hate. Those two are two that we follow on our social media accounts civic ciphers, So if you forget these, check out our account and follow who we follow. Next Shark at Next Shark is another one, and that's a website that we've referenced a lot so far in the show. And then there's a song that features Rocket Iris Science of the Dilated Peoples, who also is my older brother who's also half Korean and the de facto producer of this show.

He gave us a lot to talk about and unfortunate we're gonna have to put some more stuff in some other episodes. But the song is the lyrics Born Anti Remix. It features Cutso Bohan, Phoenix, Lb shing O two and of course Iris Science Raka of Dilated People's. The song is to a boost to boost awareness and love and it really reflects what's going on in the Asian community and with the Asian experience. So again the Lyrics Born Anti Remix. Be sure to get that, check it out

and follow those accounts. Now, a couple of things before I bring us to where we need to be. We need to finish all this in the last part of the show. But there was another post uh. This one came from the New York Post, and it was how a deranged man pushed an Asian woman to her death at the Times Square subway station. He was kind of suffering from some mental illness or something. It's assumed because he was saying that he did it because he's God,

and that this woman took his jacket. And I don't believe, based on the story that they had any contact prior to him pushing her into the in front of the subway. There was someone else he was going to push, and then he just that woman got away, and then he pushed this other woman who happened to be Asian. No matter which way you tell yourself these stories, the fact remains is that this community is hurting, and when we

were hurting, they stood with us. Doesn't matter whose fault you think it is, right, I think it's our fault. We need to have these hard conversations and our homes. As black people, we need to challenge what issues or prejudices exist in our homes. If we're going to ask white folks to challenge their prejudices, we need to be willing to put that same energy in right. And then if you have a problem with that statement, you can

talk to me. Normally, I don't want to talk to anybody, but that time you can now one thing that raka iras Science did mention to me. Before we move on, I just want to tag this is that Asians in jail in California, Asian people roll with black people in jail. Right, So this isn't This isn't something that is a hard line written into the cultures. It's not genetic, it's not buried in our DNA. Somewhere. Asian people often find community

and solidarity with black folks. There's tons of examples of that. If you just open your eyes and see we have, you know that it works way more often than it doesn't work. Now, that's not We're not going to ignore the roots of the divide between our two communities. We will talk about that when we get to the way black history fact. But it works more often than it doesn't. In other words, we share. You know, Amy's here with us.

Amy is a good friend of ours, She's she's she's a lawyer that I've trusted many times over many years with all of my legal affairs of attorneys. So yeah, also by fighting amongst ourselves, I think that what we end up doing is fortifying white supremacy or white supremacist institutions, and those things needed to be said. But you know, my brother told me that. And again my brother is his mother is a Korean immigrant, so he has that perspective of being a black man but also being half Korean.

We share the same father. We're full brothers. That's how we treat each other. But you know, his mother is different from my mother. But I know his mother. His mother's changed my diapers too. So anyway, I want to move on. Now, let's talk about Aquafina.

divides and separates us. But they have so masterfully caused us to focus on our differences and use those very very small differences to divide us that it keeps us from ever really becoming this. And people listening to my voice can't see me balling up my fist, not in a way that's violent, but in a way that's uniting. All these separate people from all these separate cultures, all these separate religions, all these separate socio political positions, separate backgrounds.

Together could be so powerful, so strong, and share so much love. But we have been so expertly torn into pieces and torn apart from one another that it keeps us weak, worrying, and divided. And I have to say, looking at these videos, Ramses, I've been so disappointed. And I mean that in a way that when we talk about our sons and when we talk about our kids, and they do some things that we know that they know better than I've watched them as like a disappointed parent.

In a way, it's the same emotion, like man, you're so much better than that. We're so much better than that.

So as with George Floyd's murder, right, if we don't see that video, we know for fact that the response around the country and around the world isn't the same. Because we saw it. Because we had to watch it, the impact was felt in a much greater way than it would have otherwise. So I understand that some people think that by filming they're somehow doing their part. But at some point your human being has to kick back in and let's do something and try to prevent some

of these haineous things from happening. Now, I have to understand and know and acknowledge some people are afraid, right, And I won't call it cowardice. I'll just call it fear. Some people think that by interacting they could be harmed, maybe even killed. But sometimes we can't just be audience to our brothers and sisters being brutalized in front of us.

doing horrible things to people of color. So, while I agree with you Q that you know, we have a bigger duty to sometimes step in, sometimes just filming these acts is actually a huge help towards the movement as well. So I just don't want to discount that, and I'm not saying that you are trying to discount it at all, but I do want to make the point that I feel that people who are filming these things are absolutely a huge part of the change as well.

from me. I've known Kevin since he was three years old, right, and I was his big brother his whole life still am. So if I do something and it's cool, he wants to do it right, very very heavily influenced by me. And you can google this white man who is thriving in a black environment, and people try to throw words like this at him all the time, as though he is somehow taking this accent and putting it into his mouth and then he takes it out when he gets

home or something. And this is what I believe people were thinking about Aquafina. People that didn't do any research and people who just want to bully. That is not going to get us anywhere, that is, especially if we're bullying each other. She is someone who celebrated black culture, partaken in black culture, and has brought black culture to a movie where the full cast.

you are. That now you're starting to talk about things like race. You know. Culture is something that you share language, food, you know, et cetera. If someone grows up in your house and they don't look like you, well guess what They're going to get a heavy dose of your culture. And if they grow up with it, that is the culture, that's the base programming that they have. That's it, that's

the lens through which they see the world. They will learn later that their skin may not reflect that, but imagine how confusing that might be if people are attacking them for what they got. Honestly, I'll continue she okay, So Aquafina she started rapping at thirteen. She came out with an album I believe it was called Yellow Ranger.

This is a direct quote from her. As a non black person of color, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of I believe it's African American vernacular English. Aave what is deemed appropriate or backwards toward progress of any and every marginalized group. That was what she put on Twitter, and then she followed it up but saying, but I must emphasize to mock, belittle, or be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is

simply period, not period, My period nature period. It never has been and never was, or sorry it never has it never was. So this is her actual statement, right, So she's saying, look, I'm with you. I met no offense, you know, but she can't say because it'll sound like an excuse. Hey, this is how I talk. This is

how I talk. But I could say it because I know it right, And I'll leave you with this shout out to Raka Taylor one time, because he says, look, if we're giving up Aquafina, then we have to give back the riza, the jizz old, dirty bastard, inspect the deck, ray Kwana Chef. You've got ghost Face killer and the method Man and capa Donna while you're playing around, and the killer bees and killer Army, the whole Wu Tang. You know all that Shaolin is an actual place. It's

an actual temple, a holy sacred temple. You want to talk about cultural appropriation, where we just borrow a little bit when it's convenient and give it back when we don't want it. Let's talk about Wu Tang. Everybody that has a problem with aquafina, go look at Wu Tang, right and then if you still have a problem, come see me. But I don't think you will. All right, let me move on.

still getting All of them are still getting money. Shout out to Kapa Donna, Shout out to Queen Nay.

You know, the heaviness of that was happening. This this is something similar that's happening to our Asian brothers and Asian American and Pacific Island brothers and sisters, and we need to keep that same energy, all of us, even Mexican all we all in We all in it together. Right. So next Shark, New York based rapper, I don't even want to say her name was battling. Uh, I have to say this name. The name is Nounchi Chinks. Right on December fourth, when she delivered this line, okay yea.

For those familiar with battle rapping, you basically insult the person that you're battling. Right, the line says, quote, you are a lame disgrace. Should have played it safe. Now I could get Chinks beaten in the street for no reason. Then hashtag stop Asian hate. And the word Chinks was referring to the name. But she used it sort of as a double entendre because as you know, and I can't say it now, that word that I said, which was the name of this other person, is also used

as a slur for Asian people. It's it's it's it's weird because she she was doing a double entendre there, but anything.

I don't even want to say her name again because it's not spelled differently, so it might even I don't know, but let's see, despite her rapper name is not a Asian. Okay, quote, I flipped the derogatory name for Asians. Eh, I get it, But I don't know anything not offensive about battle rap. That's why I didn't get into it sooner. They certainly took me wrong. In quote. This is what she said on Twitter She also accused Asians of being racist by

referring to alleged actions by the Chinese government. Huh, and she says after COVID they wouldn't let Africans into places in China. They were wildly openly racist. You're right, and that's real life, not battle rap. So basically she doubled down on this. She tried to make a case for no. I should be able to say this right now, everybody has a problem with Aquafina. I want you to take a good look at this lady right here. I didn't say her name, so it might be tough for you to look her up well.

that she flipped it. I don't think it works.

black and Asian communities. Many of the attacks that have gained widespread attention have featured black assailants and have threatened to inflame tensions between Asian Americans and Black Americans. While Box found no evidence that Black Americans are predominantly responsible for this rise, in attacks, or that they are particularly hostile to Asian Americans relative to the rest of the population.

The narrative of Black Asian hostility is rooted in immigrate, immigration, and economic policies that have historically pitted these communities against one another. I'm gonna read this. I'm gonna give you a framework. I'm not going to give you an excuse. Okay, this is a framework so you can understand and overcome, not so that you can double down. Don't do that, all right. Ultimately, there is a failure to remember what got America to this place of racial hierarchies and lingering

Black Asian tensions, white supremacy. White supremacy is what created segregation, policing and scarcity of resources in low income neighborhoods, as well as the creation of the quote model minority, myth end quote thank you Amy for that, all of which

has driven a wedge between Black and Asian communities. In fact, it is white Christian nationalism more than any other ideology that has shaped xenophobic and racist views around COVID nineteen, according to a recent study, and for Black and Asian American communities to move forward, it is important to remember

the root cause and fight together against it. There's already a long history of Black Asian solidarity against depression and structural racism listened up, which has been obscured by these recent fissures. In the late nineteen sixties, for instance, black and Asian activists led the Third World Liberation Front movement to establish race and ethnic studies in college and university

curriculums in California. And today members of both communities are showing up for each other in demonstrations for black lives and against anti Asian violence. I ramses Jah Ruby King Taylor the Second gave a speech at a stop Asian Hate rally black as I am, and you know me. I am vanca black. I stand with them and you should too, all right. In nineteen sixty five, the United States endo the quota based system of immigration and began to push for high skilled labor to enter the country.

One group that was able to enter the country where Korean Americans, who were hyper selected. That is, they had much higher socioeconomic and educational attainment relative not only to their country of origin, but also to the native born

US population. Forgive me if I mispronounced this yin les Is spirit to a professor of ethnic studies who specializes in Asian American studies at the University of California, San Diego, explained how this highly educated popular came to the United States and was often unable to replicate the social status that they enjoyed in their home country due to racial

discrimination and other barriers. Instead, they found employment as small business owners, opening up shops in predominantly black communities all right footnote, Many of these immigrants didn't intend to be small businessmen. The structural context, that is, Korean immigrants couldn't regain the employment and educational status they once held. A Spirituo told Box their proximity to black people was because they were only able to start businesses in quote, economically

disadvantaged areas in quote. This coupled with the fact that anti black racism in financing meant Black people often couldn't start their own businesses, which sparked bitterness on both sides. The Spiritu added that an additional barrier was that both groups had already been primed to mistrust each other. As Koreans consumed American media, they internalized the racist depictions of

Black Americans as violent, uneducated, and poor. Similarly, black Americans had watched with the rest of America as Koreans were depicted as untrustworthy during the Korean War. And I'm sure this is me adding and I'm sure there was something also with the war and Vietnam as well, Okay. Edward T. Chang, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California Riverside, explained the middleman minority theory, which helps further explain the

tensions that arose at those Korean owned businesses. Middleman minority is a term derived from the historical experience of Jews in Europe and Chinese in Southeast Asia, and Asian Indians in Africa. Changed told Box Middleman minorities exist between dominant and subordinate groups in society and often hold professions heavily concentrated in the retail and service industries like grocery markets

and liquor stores. He explained, these groups often have daily contact with one another in a way that white Americans often do not due to segregated neighborhoods, shopping centers, and schools. Between the racist stereotypes of both groups. Sorry, between the racist stereotypes both both groups have internalized, and the linguistic and cultural barriers separating them. It's little surprised that continual

interactions could lead to conflict in America's collective memory. The most notable such collision occurring in during the nineteen ninety two Los Angeles riots, sparked by the acquittal of four white LAPD officers after they were videotape beating Rodney King, a black man. Over the following week, more than fifty people were killed and a thousand were injured in the uprising that showcased not only anger at the verdict but also long standing resentments between black and Korean communities in

the LA area. According to CNN, roughly half a billion dollars worth of damage was borne by Korean owned businesses. So no bodies blameless today, it's our turn, black folks. Q. What do you think we got about a minute?

especially black people. Right, So, when you have a bigoted, racist, xenophobic president pouring into these stereotypes and making an entire continent responsible for what has been one of the most difficult periods of most of our lives, then all those stereotypes, all that ignorance, all that hate, and all that divide us is given like a steroid. Everything exploded and these

like people being called carrier. That's absolutely born directly from that, from the way that they that they characterized this pandemic. So accountability, we must do better.

that we should retitle the show that anyway. I would love to once again thank our guest, the Pineapple Lawyer, the one and only Amy Owen.