Dear asian youth, For many of us, we were born in this country, born American citizens, while our parents worked day and night, memorizing obscure historical facts about the racist founding fathers, to obtain a green card or American citizenship, a supposed physical record that they are loyal to this country. We as Asian Americans were introduced to American pop culture, American television, American food. We watched American shows, read American books, and listened to American music. In some ways, it was all we knew. In some ways, it is still all we know. The culture of our home country fades away with every year that we live in this new country, the country that we call our home; because for us, America has always been home. And despite the fact that we live here, that we speak the language that should be foreign on our
tongues, that we adapt and assimilate to American ways, and that our parents worked their fingers to the bone to obtain a certificate that is supposed to mark their loyalty to this country, we are still told that we are not American enough. Because in their eyes, we are the cause of the ongoing global pandemic that is forcing people to stay apart from their loved ones in addition to killing millions of people around the world. In their eyes, we are terrorists. In their eyes, we steal jobs from those who are “truly” American. In their eyes, we don’t belong.
not american enough
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by tiffany fang
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@theaffairmag @dearasianyouth
edited by arushi patil, laya vijay, & cindy zhang artwork by sharon pan layout by sahithi lingampalli
