“I Love Yours for White People” by Lac Su Essay
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed significant transformation of American society. This is of particular concern to period of Vietnamese war, the era of escape of Asian immigrants to the United States. However, in the pursuit of a better future, the Asian community faced significant resistance on the part of the residents. Under the influence of political, social, cultural, and economic factors, the Asian people considered it a serious obstacle and, therefore, they strived to deserve love, acceptance, and recognition of the American population. As a result, the Asian American community had to sustain solitary existence. Numerous accounts and documented history provides evidence of the hardships and prejudiced attitude that Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese had to overcome on the way to the American Dream.
The tremendous shifts happening in Asian American community requires a total reconsideration of interdisciplinary studies. In particular, constant attempts of the Asian communities to adjust to a new cultural environment has led to the synthesis of new communities that exist within the contexts of transnationalism, racism, multiracial identity, social justice, and immigration. In the book called I Love Yours for White People, the author focuses on the actual transitions and adjustments that a Vietnamese family had to face to gain recognition in the American realm.
The American society has long been considered a united nation with a strongly shaped feeling of identity, sense of traditions, culture, and religious beliefs. Therefore, the residents resisted the first waves of immigrants arriving in the United States. In the 1960s, the Asians were encouraged to enter the United States, but these refugees had to live up to the ethnic minority image. The situation has changed dramatically as soon as the 1965 Act because the U.S. immigration policy has been reinforced and, as a result, the immigrants had to reside predominantly in rural areas where the poverty level reached the bottom line. In I Love Yours Are for White People, Lac Su reports about his hard experience while living as refugees: “I’d see adulterous men rendezvousing with mistresses at the local café, mothers catching their sons drinking and smoking, corrupted officers blackmailing naïve citizens” (3). Adjustment to an alien cultural environment creates serious problems for ethnic minorities due to the absence of equal attitude to all the citizens irrespective of their race, gender, and social status.
The story provided by Su proves the absence of consistent South Asian infrastructure failed to support civil rights of the Vietnamese refugees and challenged their peaceful existence. Exposure of violence and unjust treatment of minority groups has negatively influenced family and generational relations because the reinforced governmental policies encouraged mass arrests of immigrants (Yu-Wen et al. 26). In the memoir, the author focuses on the eternal confrontation between various cultures leading to biased and prejudiced attitudes on the part of the residents. Cultural transition and violence against Su’s family makes the author confront the criminal world and struggle with street gangs. Hence, the author exemplifies the horrible routine from the life of Asian community: “He hasn’t eaten for three days. Anxiety suppresses his hunger” (Su 15). The expression accompanied with vivid dialogues and brave comparisons enhances the overall meaning of Su’s experiences and highlights the images of violence. More importantly, the story narrates the deeper truth about the cultural identity issues and urban violence, which makes the immigrants resort to well-trodden paths of constant fighting.
The cultural assimilation is an inevitable consequence of the immigration process. The dominating culture has penetrated to the lives of Asian communities that have been under the direct influence of American culture. In fact, the ethnic minorities faced a serious challenge in preserving their cultural and national roots. The problem is highlighted in the poem by Bao Phi. In his poetical piece, the author describes the way American culture contaminates Asian communities. Living in marginalized community, Phi calls for action and questions the actual reasons why the Asian community faces inequality. The poem 25, the poet wonders, “Did we push your people into jobs where toxic fumes turned your lungs to scorched wings you nails breaking on our skin to paint ours pretty” (Phi n. p.). Bao Phi, as a community activist, calls for an action by presenting his revolutionary outlook on the fate of Asian people living in exile. Similar to Phi, Su also confesses about his terrible experiences of residing in the country where no legislature recognizes human rights and freedom.
In the book, Su explains that extreme violence against ethnic minorities is largely predetermined by geopolitical and historical situation. In particular, socioeconomic patterns of treating immigrants have led to the development of the strong opposition against the immigrants. More importantly, the international climate predetermined by the conflict with the Islamic War triggered the extremist policy against the Muslims (Su 180). As a result, the terrorist organizations ignited by the 9/11 attacks call for activating powers and resources in ensuring security and protection through prejudiced attitudes to the communities migrating from the Eastern world. Therefore, Su’s account about true experiences of one family is saturated with politically and historically biased scenes. In addition, the author skillfully manages to present the connection between immigration policies and the way they contribute to a cultural transition process.
The geopolitical and socioeconomic situation in the United States shaped by war and cross-cultural conflicts influence the perception of immigrants. As a result, the representatives of the minority groups are often illustrated as victims for the purpose of accomplishing sociopolitical agendas. However, in I Love Yours Are for White People, Su attempts to describe himself not as a Vietnamese immigrant who adheres to a specific character sketch, but as a distinguished personality who is able to make independent choices and take specific roles. Despite the hardships the author surpasses, he managers to stay committed to the traditions and culture that allow him to preserve his identity. As story also reveals complicate father-son relationships, the author illustrates the way the U.S. immigration policy and geopolitical environment affected the family and generational relations among Asian communities. The well-established stereotypes about family traditions prevented the ethnic minorities from following the norms accepted in their culture. At the same time, hope for better future made Su adjust to new societal environments in order to gain recognition.
The cultural and social transformation of the Asian community is also connected with the development of a self-identified group that has a potent impact on American society. As a result, Asian Americans have greatly contributed to the development of new consciousness that fights against the established norms in the United States (Zia 34). Due to the rise of the globalization process, the issue of culture diversity comes to the forth and, therefore, the increased awareness of Asian group has introduced dramatic change to social and political infrastructure of the country. In particular, the evident shifts in understanding create a strong foundation for shaping a new identity where ethnic differences are recognized and expected.
Finally, cultural assimilation is strongly connected with language issues because most of the newcomers faced a language barrier. Indeed, communication failure was among the leading reasons for misunderstanding between two societies. Therefore, most of the Asian immigrants strived to learn the new language to enter new cultural and social climate because acceptance was a primary condition to become a respected member of American society. As a result, most immigrants faced mistrust and ignorance among the residents because of their inability to reach a consensus with the dominating community. Su also describes his experience in penetrating to the alien community through accepting the norms of the local gangs.
In conclusion, the memoir I Love Yours Are for White People is a vivid account about Vietnamese family escaping from the Communist regime and migrating to the United States in the hope for better future. However, in the pursuit of the American Dream, the newcomers faced serious challenges determined by difficult geopolitical and socioeconomic situation in the country. In particular, most of the families arrived in the country were treated as minority groups that were severely suppressed by the prevailing community. Su’s experience reveals horrible scenes from the life of Asian American community that had to surpass boundaries of mistrust, aggression, and violence on the part of American society. The reinforcement of U.S. migration policy was also predetermined by 9/11 event which has led to prejudiced attitude to the Eastern society.
Works Cited
Phi, Bio. “Lecture’s Notes”. MP3 File.
Su, Lac. I Love Yours Are for White People: A Memoir. US: HarperCollins, 2009. Print.
Yu-Wen, Jean, Shen Wu, and Thomas Chen. Asian American Studies Now: A Critical Reader. US: Rutgers University Press, 2010. Print.
Zia, Helen. Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. US: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, Print.
