>> LIKE MOTORIZED?
THIS IS A TEST.
THAT IS, LIKE, FOR SOME REASON,
VERY BIZARRE TO ME.
NOT THE FACT THAT YOU LOVE IT,
BUT, LIKE, I JUST NEVER WOULD
HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT KIND OF A
DEVICE, SO THAT MUST MEAN YOU
EAT VERY NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER.
THAT'S AMAZING.
YEAH.
MY DOG LOVES PEANUT BUTTER.
>>> WELCOME TO "NOON WEDNESDAY,"
I'M MARISA WOJCIK, MULTIMEDIA
JOURNALIST WITH "HERE & NOW" ON
PBS WISCONSIN.
IT IS MARCH 24.
A MASS SHOOTING IN ATLANTA,
GEORGIA SENT WAVES OF FEAR INTO
THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND
HAS DRAWN CRITICISM FOR
PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION
IGNORED AND PERPETUATED BY
POLICIES AND CULTURE.
FOR A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ON THIS,
WE ARE JOIN BY WILL HSU OUT OF
WASSAU, AND, WILL, THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
>> WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
THE INVITATION TO SPEAK WITH YOU
AND YOUR OUGHT YENS -- AUDIENCE
ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT SUBJECT.
>> I WANTED TO START BY
RECALLING A THREAD THAT YOU
TWEETED LAST SUMMER, AND YOU
CALLED IT "WELCOME TO WASSAU,
WISCONSIN, YOU'RE AMONG
FRIENDS," AND YOU WROTE ABOUT
RACE AND WHERE YOU LIVE.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT
THAT?
>> YEAH, I MEAN I THINK WE TURN
TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXPRESS
OPINIONS AND GET FEEDBACK FROM
OTHERS, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF
COVID, WHEN YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO
INTERACT WITH PEOPLE PERSONALLY,
YOU TURN TO THE DIGITAL WORLD TO
TRY TO GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR
VIEWPOINTS OF THE WORLD AND
CHECK YOURSELF AGAINST MAYBE THE
VIEWPOINTS OF OTHERS.
I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S ANY
ONE RIGHT VIEW OF RACE AND RACE
RELATIONS HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES.
IT IS A VERY COMPLEX ISSUE, BUT
I TWEETED THOSE STATEMENTS OUT
BECAUSE I DO FEEL THAT THERE ARE
DEFINITELY SOME MORE NARROW
VIEWED ABOUT RACE AND WHAT IS
RIGHT AND WRONG ABOUT RACE, AND
OUR STATE OF RATE RELATIONS,
ESPECIALLY IN THE STATE OF
WISCONSIN, HAVING GROWN UP HERE
AND GOING TO SCHOOL HERE, AND
NOW BEING AN EMPLOYEE AND WORKER
AND AN EMPLOYER, IT IS REALLY
IMPORTANT, I THINK, THAT WE GET
IN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND
HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND
DIALOGUES ABOUT RACE, SUCH AS
WE'RE HAVING TODAY, AND SO A LOT
OF THE EARLY TWEETS LAST YEAR
WERE ABOUT SITUATIONS THAT I WAS
IN OR THINGS THAT I SAW IN DAILY
LIFE THAT AS SOMEONE WHO IS A
MINORITY, SOMEONE OF ASIAN AND
TAIWANESE DISSENT, AND I SAY
"ASIAN" OR "CHINESE" BECAUSE DO
NOT KNOW TAIWAN IS A SUBCULTURE
OF CHINESE ET ETHNICITY AND IS
CONFUSED WITH THAILAND SO WE DO
SIMP PI CASES CATION --
SIMPLIFICATIONS AND CHANGES IN
OUR HEAD TO MAKE IT EASIER SO
HOPEFULLY TODAY WE CAN HAVE A
NICE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE
STATE OF RACE RELATIONS IN
WISCONSIN.
>> AND LAST WEEK'S SHOOTING WAS
HORRIFIC, AND YET SOME
ASIAN-AMERICANS ARE NOT
SURPRISED AND HAVE TRIED TO CALL
ATTENTION TO THINGS THAT HAPPEN
TO THEM, WHETHER IT IS FULL ON
HATE CRIMES OR MICROAGGRESSIONS.
HAVE WE BEEN IGNORING THE
WARNING SIGNS?
>> YEAH.
I MEAN, I THINK TO YOUR EARLIER
QUESTION, THE REASON I USED THE
"YOU'RE AMONG FRIENDS HASH TAG"
ON TWITTER STEMS FROM A JOKE
THAT CAME OUT HERE IN WISCONSIN,
PROBABLY IN THE 1980s
PRIMARILY WHEN THE TOURISM
SLOGAN WAS "YOU'RE AMONG
FRIENDS" AND SOME OF THE
PROBABLY LESS OPEN IDEAS AROUND
MONG AND MONG-AMERICANS COMING
TO INFLUX, AND THEY CHANGED IT,
AND ASIANS GROWING UP IN
WISCONSIN, WE JOKE ABOUT THAT
SLOGAN, YOU'RE AMONG FRIENDS,
BECAUSE IT WAS CONFUSED OR
LUMPED IN WITH THE MHONG
POPULATION AND ASIAN-AMERICAN
IDENTITY AND GREW UP WITH THE
UNDERSTANDING YOU'RE A MINORITY,
YOU'RE AN ASIAN, AND THAT WAS
KIND OF THE RUNNING JOKE.
AND SO IF YOU GREW UP IN THIS
STATE, YOU HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING
OF THE SLOGAN AND UNDERSTANDING
OF HOW THAT SLOGAN, TOURISM
SLOGAN WAS THEN TURNED INTO AN
EPITAT OF SORTS, AND YOU SEE
WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE BLACK
LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT AND STOP
ASIAN HATE MOVEMENT, AND I THINK
MOVEMENTS ARE HAPPENING NOW HERE
BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT HAD A REAL
FRANK DISCUSSION AND
RECONCILIATION OF WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE A MINORITY IN THE UNITED
STATES, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN
IMMIGRANT, AND OUR DEFINITION OF
IMMIGRANTS AND CULTURE HAS
GRADUALLY CHANGED OVER THE
YEARS.
IN TODAY'S POLITICIZED CLIMATE
WHERE THERE'S RIGHT AND LEFT AND
RIGHT AND WRONG AND CANCEL
CULTURE, PEOPLE, I THINK, ARE
REALLY STRUGGLING WITH HOW DO WE
HAVE MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE ABOUT
THE STATE OF RACE RELATIONS?
THEN YOU HAVE A VIOLENT ACT SUCH
AS WHAT HAPPENED IN ATLANTA, AND
THAT REALLY BRINGS THINGS TO A
HEAD.
NO DIFFERENT THAN IT DID IN
MINNEAPOLIS, A COMMUNITY I
WORKED IN FOR TEN YEARS, AND YOU
SEE WHAT HAPPENS THERE, AND YOU
GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF
HOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT JUST AS
HORRIFIC A SHOOTING AS IT WAS,
HOW THAT CAN KIND OF REALLY
BRING PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT IT,
BUT WE'VE HAD THESE ISSUES HERE
IN WISCONSIN.
YOU SAW IT WITH THE SHOOTING IN
MILWAUKEE IN A SIKH TEMPLE, WE
TALK ABOUT IT, AND WE LET IT GO
BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE IT WAS
OKAY.
WE HAD RESOLVED THE ISSUES.
THE ISSUES ARE NOT RESOLVED.
THEY STILL SIMMER.
ALL IT TAKES IS SOMEONE TO CRANK
UP THE HEAT, AND THEY BUBBLE
OVER.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING TODAY, I
THINK, IS THAT LONG SIMMERING
DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT DOES IT
MEAN TO BE ASIAN OR
ASIAN-AMERICAN IN THE UNITED
STATES, AND IS THAT DIFFERENT --
IS THAT A DIFFERENT
UNDERSTANDING THAN WHAT THE
MAJORITY CALLTURE -- CULTURE
VIEWS ARE MODEL MINORITY TO BE.
>> THAT TERM, "MODEL MINORITY"
HAS COME UP IN SIGNS AS PEOPLE
ARE PROTESTING ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, "WE ARE NOT YOUR MODEL
MINORITY," WHAT'S THAT PHRASE
MEAN TO YOU?
>> AS THE SON OF TAIWANESE
IMMIGRANTS, THERE IS A CULTURE
OF BOTH UNDERSTANDING AND
APPRECIATION THAT IN ORDER TO
FIT IN IN THE UNITED STATES, WE
NEED TO ASSEMBLE.
TO BE ACCEPTED SO THAT WE'RE NOT
VIEWED AS LESSER, TO BE PROMOTED
OR TO REACH SAME LEVELS OF
SUCCESS AS OTHERS, YOU HAVE TO
WORK HARDER.
I DON'T THINK IT'S VERY
DIFFERENT THAN OTHER IMMIGRANT
STORIES COMING HERE FROM EUROPE
OR FROM OTHER COUNTRIES THAT
PRECEDED US.
I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT
IT IS MORE NOTICEABLE, MAYBE
BECAUSE OF SKIN COLOR AND RAPID
SUCCESS OF CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR
PAN-ASIAN ETHNICITY.
IT'S A SHORT HISTORY.
I THINK MOST AMERICANS DON'T
REALIZE IT WAS ILLEGAL FOR
ASIANS, ESPECIALLY ETHNIC
CHINESE, TO IMMIGRATE TO THE
UNITED STATES UNTIL 1965.
IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH
ASIAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IN THE
U.S., YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE
THOUGHT OR MADE THE ASSUMPTION
THAT CHINESE PEOPLE COULD COME
HERE AS THEY HELPED BUILD THE
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD, THEY
LIVED IN CALIFORNIA, WE HAD
ETHNIC CHINESE ENCLAVES FOR OVER
100 YEARS HERE IN THE UNITED
STATES, BUT MOST WERE ACTUALLY
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.
LEGALIZED IMMIGRATION TO THE
UNITED STATES, ESPECIALLY FOR
PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO STAY AND
LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES,
DIDN'T REALLY START UNTIL 1965,
AND MY PARENTS WERE ONE OF THE
EARLY PARTS OF THE GENERATION.
THAT'S WHY I SAID WE WERE LUCKY.
IF MY PARENTS WERE BORN TEN OR
15 YEARS EARLIER, THEY WOULDN'T
HAVE IMMIGRATED TO THE UNITED
STATES.
THAT'S PART OF THE STORY THAT
WE'RE TRYING TO TELL TODAY AS
ASIAN AND ASIAN-AMERICAN
IMMIGRANTS ABOUT THIS BRIEF
PERIOD OF TIME, WHICH IS REALLY
KIND OF IN THE POST-CIVIL RIGHTS
ERA, WHERE EVERYONE FEELS LIKE
WE SHOULD ALL BE EQUAL, RIGHT?
POST CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
EQUALIZED AMERICA, AND IT
EQUALIZED IT AT CERTAIN LEVELS,
FEDERAL LEVELS, FEDERAL LAWS,
BUT HOW THAT FILTERED THROUGH
THE SOCIAL SPREAD OF THE UNITED
STATES, IT'S NOT THAT RAPID.
IT IS A TRICKLE DOWN TYPE OF
EFFECT, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, I
THINK WE'RE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW
AS A MINORITY RACE WITH OUR OWN
IDENTITY.
HOW MUCH DO WE PERPETUATE THE
MYTH THAT WE SHOULD BE HARDER
WORKING?
THAT WE SHOULD BE QUIET AND NOT
STAND UP FOR OURSELVES?
BECAUSE THAT'S HOW YOU FIT IN.
YOU FIT IN BY NOT STICKING OUT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO BE THE SORE
THUMB.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT IN CHINESE
WE ARE TOLD AND TAUT AS KIDS,
DON'T SPEAK UP, DON'T SPEAK OUT,
BE PASSIVE, ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN,
WORK AROUND THE SYSTEM, AND
THAT'S HOW WE'VE BECOME
SUCCESSFUL.
UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT IT MEANS IS
THAT WHEN THE SYSTEM DOESN'T
SUPPORT YOUR WORK WITH YOU, AND
YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK
AROUND THE SYSTEM WHEN YOU WANT
TO WORK WITHIN THE SYSTEM, YOU
WITH REALLY STRUGGLE WITH THAT
CHANGE, AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK
STOP ASIAN HATE IS ABOUT RIGHT
NOW, WHICH IS HOW DO WE WORK
WITH GOVERNMENT?
HOW DO WE WORK WITH POLICE
OFFICERS?
HOW DO WE WORK WITH OTHER
MEMBERS IN OUR COMMUNITY TO
REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT WITHIN
THAT SOCIAL STRUCTURE, WE CAN'T
DO IT ALONE, AND WE CAN'T DO IT
BY WORKING OUTSIDE OF THE
SYSTEM.
IT IS HOW TO YOU GET TO WORK
WITH THE SYSTEM, EVEN IF THE
SYSTEM IS WORKING AGAINST YOU AT
TIMES?
>> AND, AS YOU SAID, YOU GREW UP
IN WASSAU.
DID YOU EXPERIENCE PREJUDICE OR
HATE BECAUSE OF YOUR ETHNICITY
WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP IN
MARATHON COUNTY?
>> YES.
I THINK A LOT OF IT HAS TO DO
WITH THE FACT THAT PEOPLE
DON'T -- DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO
REACT.
I MEAN, EARLY GENERATIONS OF
IMMIGRANTS, YOU'RE THE FIRST OR
ONLY ASIAN PERSON THAT THEY
KNOW, AND, IN FACT, I PROBABLY
HELPED IN A LOT OF WAYS AS
IMMIGRANTS CAME TO WISCONSIN IN
THE LATE '70s AND EARLY '80s
WHO BECAME CLASSMATES AND
FRIENDS OF MINE AS YOU HAD A
BROADER GROUP OF PEOPLE YOU
COULD AT LEAST EMPATHIZE WITH,
AND SO GROWING UP HERE IN THE
COMMUNITY, IT WAS DEFINITELY
TOUGH.
I THINK A LOT OF ASIANS THAT
GREW UP HERE IN THE 1970s,
'80s, AND '90s, LEFT THE
AREA AND DID NOT COME BACK
BECAUSE THEY DID NOT KNOW WHAT
TO EXPECT.
IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE
HARDER DECISIONS I'VE MADE
MOVING BACK HERE.
I LEFT WASSAU IN 1994 WHEN I
GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, AND
I DID NOT RETURN FOR NEARLY 20
YEARS.
I SPENT 17 YEARS OUTSIDE OF
WASSAU WORKING, GETTING MY
EDUCATION, AND ONLY CHOSE TO
MOVE HOME BECAUSE MY DAD HAD
STARTED THIS SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
HERE.
WE WERE FARMING HERE, HAD ROOTS
IN THE COMMUNITY, HE WAS NOT
GOING TO MOVE, AND HE HAD
CANCER, AND I HAD A VERY LONG
DISCUSSION, MULTIPLE DISCUSSIONS
WITH MY WIFE ABOUT IT.
MY WIFE IS CAUCASIAN, FROM LA
CROSSE AREA, THE MOVE FOR HER
NOT DRAMATIC, BUT FOR ME, IT
BROUGHT BACK TRAUMA OF GROWING
UP HERE AND WHETHER OR NOT I
WANTED TO RAISE A FAMILY HERE
AND DEAL WITH SOME OF THESE
GHOSTS OF OUR PAST, AND THAT'S A
RECONCILIATION I'VE BEEN TRYING
TO MAKE AND TRYING TO ROLE
MODEL, UNFORTUNATELY, THE MODEL
MINORITY MYTH, THAT ASIANS CAN
BE SUCCESSFUL HERE AND WE HAVE A
ROLE TO PLAY AS LEADERS IN OUR
COMMUNITY TO ENSURE THAT THIS
DOESN'T PERPETUATE INTO THE
FUTURE WHETHER IT BE ABOUT HATE
OR VIOLENCE OR ATTITUDES TOWARDS
ASIAN-AMERICANS, WE WANT IT TO
STOP BECAUSE WE HAVE KIDS HERE
IN THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE GOING
TO DEAL WITH IT, ESPECIALLY WHEN
YOU START DEALING WITH MORE
MIXED RACE MARRIAGES.
>> HAVE THINGS CHANGED NOW THAT
YOU ARE BACK IN WASSAU AND HAVE
BEEN BACK IN WASSAU FOR A LITTLE
BIT OF TIME.
HAVE YOU NOTICED A CHANGE?
>> YEAH.
I WOULD SAY THE OVERT RACISM HAS
DEFINITELY SUBSIDED.
YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT USED
TO BE SAID IN PUBLIC, PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND PROBABLY ARE NOT
ALLOWED.
UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT THAT MEANS
IS THEY GO KIND OF UNDERGROUND
OR TO VENUES AND AREAS WHERE
THEY MIGHT BE AT LEAST ACCEPTED,
WHETHER THAT BE IN HUMOR OR IN
IMPOLITE CONVERSATIONS WITH
FRIENDS AS JOKES OR PEOPLE WHO
YOU BELIEVE SHARE THOSE SAME
IDEAS, AND THOSE DO NOT GET
RESOLVED THERE, BUT PERPETUATED
THERE.
STUFF I EXPERIENCED GROWING UP
HERE, THOSE NEGATIVE MEMORIES
STICK OUT.
I DOUBT THOSE TYPES OF THINGS
WOULD HAPPEN IN THIS COMMUNITY.
THEY STILL COULD, BUT THERE ARE
FLASHES OF IT, YOU SEE IT,
ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU START SEEING
INCIDENTS INVOLVING INTERRACIAL
VIOLENCE.
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A VERY
TRAUMATIC SHOOTING OF A POLICE
OFFICER HERE IN AND OTHER
CITIZENS OF WASSAU A FEW YEARS
AGO.
A LAWYER -- YOU KNOW, NOTABLE
LAWYER IN THE COMMUNITY WAS
KILLED, AND THAT BROUGHT BACK A
LOT OF MEMORIES, A LOT OF
DISCUSSION ABOUT RACE RELATIONS
HERE IN WASSAU, AND THEN IT
SUBSIDES, AND THEN YOU HEAR MORE
ABOUT IT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
ISSUES NOW IN THE NEWS LOCALLY
AS WELL.
A LOT OF THOSE STEM FROM CULTURE
BELIEFS AROUND MARRIAGE AND
HOUSEHOLD AND GENDER ROLES, AND
SO YOU CAN'T REALLY TAKE YOUR
EYE OFF THE BALL WITH THESE
TYPES OF THINGS.
WHEN YOU DO, YOU REALIZE THAT
THEY JUST COME BACK.
I DON'T THINK THE PROBLEM WILL
EVER REALLY GET RID OF.
I THINK IT IS HERE, IT IS PART
OF IDENTITY AS AMERICANS, AND IT
IS HERE IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE
NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB TALKING
ABOUT IT AND EDUCATING IT SO
THAT OVER TIME IT IS AN
EVOLUTION THAT WILL TAKE US TO,
HOPEFULLY, A BETTER FUTURE, SO
THAT WE CAN REALLY HAVE MORE
NORMAL RELATIONSHIPS AND TALK
ABOUT IT WITHOUT HAVING THE
POLITICAL ASPECTS OF IT INVOLVED
IN OUR CONVERSATIONS.
>> DO YOU THINK PEOPLE IN
WISCONSIN ARE AWARE THAT THIS IS
HAPPENING IN THEIR STATE?
>> I THINK IT DEPENDS ON HOW
MUCH YOU FOLLOW TRADITIONAL
MEDIA, WHO YOU ASSOCIATE WITH,
AND THEN IN THE COVID WORLD
RIGHT NOW, I WOULD SAY THAT
WE'RE MORE INSULATED.
WE CAN SELF-SECT SELF-SELECT OR SOCIAL
MEDIA SELECTS OUR FEEDS FOR US,
ALGORITHMS, TO HELP US GET DAILY
NEWS, WHICH IS AN IMMENSE AMOUNT
OF INFORMATION, AND WE SORT OUR
WORLD INTO MUCH SIMPLER TERMS.
WE DON'T HAVE WATER COOLER TALK.
WE DON'T SPEND LUNCHES OR TIME
WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS
WHO MAY CHANGE OUR IDEAS.
WE DON'T GO TO CHURCH IF IT'S
NOT MEETING IN PERSON.
WE DON'T GET TOGETHER AT THE
LOCAL DINER ON FRIDAY MORNINGS
FOR COFFEE AND BREAKFAST, AND SO
WHAT HAPPENS IS WE START TALKING
TO OURSELF.
THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH
OURSELF, UNLESS YOU ARE HIGHLY
SELF-AWARE, DO NOT RESOLVE THE
ISSUES AROUND RACE.
IN THE CHARGED POLITICAL CLIMATE
THAT WE'RE IN, THE LIKELIHOOD
THAT SOMEONE'S GOING TO COME UP
TO ME AND SAY, HEY, WILL, I KNOW
YOU'RE CHINESE, TAIWANESE, TELL
ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR
CULTURE.
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
HOW WAS YOUR CHINESE NEW YEAR?
THOSE QUESTIONS ARE NOT
HAPPENING.
IF YOU CAN'T ESTABLISH THE BASIC
TRUST AT THAT LEVEL TO ASK ME
HOW MY CHINESE NEW YEAR IS OR
WHAT I'M GOING TO DO FOR IT, HOW
LIKELY IS IT YOU WANT TO
UNDERSTAND MORE OF WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE ASIAN-AMERICAN OR WHAT MY
EXPERIENCES WERE HERE GROWING UP
WITHOUT FEELING LIKE YOU'RE
OFFENDING SOMEONE.
THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS THAT
HAVE TO HAPPEN IN PERSON.
IT IS HARD ENOUGH JUST YOU AND I
DOING THIS CONVERSATION VIA ZOOM
AND THEN SENDING IT OUT VIA
SOCIAL MEDIA.
I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I
THINK IT HOPEFULLY GETS PEOPLE
TO THINK ABOUT SOME TIME, MAYBE
REACHING OUT TO SOMEONE SAYING
WHAT WERE YOUR EXPERIENCES?
WHAT HAVE YOUR EXPERIENCES BEEN?
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN LIGHT
OF EVERYTHING GOING ON IN
ATLANTA AND SOME OF THE OTHER
SHOOTINGS GOING ON AROUND THE
UNITED STATES IN DEALING WITH
WHAT THAT MEANS TO BE
ASIAN-AMERICAN.
BECAUSE MY PARENTS NEVER
UNDERSTOOD MASS SHOOTINGS.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING THEY GREW UP
WITH, BUT MY KIDS DO ACTIVE
SHOOTER DRILLS AT SCHOOL.
HOW DO I TALK TO TELL ABOUT
THAT?
MY PARENTS NEVER TALKED TO ME
ABOUT MASS SHOOTS.
THEY NEVER TALKED TO ME ABOUT
LIVE VIOLENT ACTIVITIES BECAUSE
WE NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD OCCUR
SO THESE ARE THE THINGS IF YOU
DON'T TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT,
WHETHER IT BE VIOLENCE,
DRINKING, WHETHER IT BE ABOUT
RACISM, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO
GET FIXED.
TO SIT HERE AND EXPECT TO TALK
TO OURSELVES, TALK TO OUR
SPOUSES, THAT JUST PERPETUATES
SOME OF THE EXISTING UNTRUTHS OR
MISLEADING STEREOTYPES ABOUT ANY
OF THOSE SUBJECT MATTERS.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS ACTUALLY
GO OUT AND TALK TO PEOPLE,
UNDERSTAND THEIR EXPERIENCES, NO
DIFFERENT THAN, YOU KNOW, I TRY
TO LIVE IN THIS COMMUNITY AND
UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES OF
THE MAJORITY CULTURE THAT LIVE
HERE.
YOU KNOW, I DO FISH FRY, OKAY?
CHINESE PEOPLE DON'T FRY FISH,
BUT AS AMERICANS, WE'LL FRY
FISH, AND I LOVE FISH FRY.
IT IS A TRADITIONAL ACTIVITY.
THAT'S PART OF ME ASSIMILATING,
AND IF THE EXPECTATION IS THAT
MINORITIES THAT COME TO THE
UNITED STATES HAVE TO ASSIMILATE
IN ORDER TO BE PART OF THE
CULTURE TO BE QUOTE-ON-QUOTE
AMERICAN, THEN I THINK WE'RE
GOING TO HAVE A VERY, VERY LONG
TIME.
IT IS GOING TO BE LONGER THAN 30
OR 50 YEARS SINCE THE CIVIL
RIGHTS MOVEMENT, BUT IT IS GOING
TO TAKE US HUNDREDS OF YEARS TO
GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN EVEN
CIVILLY TALK ABOUT RACE.
IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO TAKE THE
FIRST STEP AND ASK SOMEONE OF A
DIFFERENT BACKGROUND THAN YOU
ARE, NO DIFFERENT THAN I THINK
IT WAS DIFFICULT 20, 30 YEARS
AGO FOR ME TO ASK MY JEWISH
FRIENDS WHAT IT MEANT TO BE
JEWISH.
I CAN'T LEARN IT UNLESS I
RESEARCH IT MYSELF.
I HAVE ALL THE TOOLS.
FUNNY THING IS NOW WE HAVE THE
TOOLS.
AS A KID GROWING UP, TO LEARN
ABOUT JUDAISM, I USED A
REFERENCE BOOK.
NOW I GOOGLE IT, USE WICK PEED --
WIKIPEDIA, BUT THAT DOES NOT
REPLACE CONVERSATIONS WITH
PEOPLE IN THE CULTURE TO
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CULTURE IS.
UNLESS THE EXPECTATION IS AS
AMERICANS THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED
TO REPLACE OUR CULTURE AND OUR
HERITAGE WITH AMERICAN CULTURE,
AND IF THAT IS THE EXPECTATION,
THEN AS AMERICANS, WE SHOULD
JUST PUT THAT EXPECTATION OUT
THERE.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SPEAK
ENGLISH.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE AND
DRESS LIKE A WESTERNER.
YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO WEAR
TRADITIONAL CLOTHES.
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TALK IN
YOUR NATIVE TONGUE.
YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CELEBRATE
CHINESE NEW YEAR.
IF THAT'S THE ROUTE WE WISH TO
GO, THEN WE SHOULD HAVE THAT
CONVERSATION BECAUSE THAT'S A
DIFFERENT AMERICA THAN I THINK
WHAT MOST IMMIGRANTS COME HERE
EXPECTING.
>> IS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO BE
THE ONE TO INITIATE THESE
CONVERSATIONS?
YOU MENTIONED THE IDEA OF, YOU
KNOW, JUST PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN,
STAY QUIET, WORK HARD.
IS IT DIFFICULT TO BE OUTSPOKEN
ABOUT THESE THINGS?
>> THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
I THINK IT IS DIFFICULT.
I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
I THINK I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY,
TOO, THOUGH, TO ADDRESS THE
QUESTIONS.
ONE, BECAUSE I THINK I EARN SOME
OF THE RESPECT THE NOT ONLY MY
ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY, BUT
THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY HERE IN
WASSAU, BUT THE SECOND REASON IS
I EARNED CREDENTIALS AS SOMEONE
WHO ASSIMILATED HERE.
I SPEAK FLUENT ENGLISH, OKAY?
I ALSO SPEAK CHINESE, BUT MY
ENGLISH IS BETTER THAN MY
CHINESE.
I WAS EDUCATED HERE,
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE, MASTER'S
DEGREE -- THESE THINGS ALL
CREDENTIAL ME TO SPEAK ABOUT IT,
SO I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO
BECAUSE IF I CAN'T SPEAK ABOUT
IT AS SOMEONE WHO HAS EITHER
EARNED THAT RESPECT OR
CREDENTIALED MY WAY TO THE
RESPECT, THEN SOMEONE WHO IS NOT
EDUCATED IN THE SAME WAY WHO
DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS WELL AS
I DO OR WHO DOESN'T HAVE AN
UNDERSTANDING OF THE MAJORITY
CALLTURE HERE IN THE U.S. WOULD
NEVER BE ABLE TO ADDRESS IT, AND
I PROBABLY HAVE EXPERIENCED LESS
RACISM AND LESS -- AND A FEWER
ISSUES THAN THEY HAVE BECAUSE I
ASSIMILATED MORE EASILY WITH THE
MAJORITY CULTURE OR THE AMERICAN
CULTURE HERE, AND SO I PROBABLY
AM SOMEWHAT MORE EMPATHETIC TO
THE MINORITIES WHO, YOU KNOW,
MAY NOT HAVE THOSE SAME BUILDING
BLOCKS THAT I WAS GIVEN, BUT AT
THE SAME TIME, IF I DON'T SPEAK
OUT, THE LIKELYIHOOD YOU'LL FIND
SOMEONE WILLINGLY SPEAK OUT AND
STICK OUT AS A SORE THUMB AND BE
A SPOKESPERSON FOR ALL
ASIAN-AMERICANS AND NOBODY LIKES
BEING THAT, NO ONE WANTS TO BE
THE, YOU KNOW, ONE BLACK FRIEND
OR THE ONE ASIAN GUY WHO SPEAKS
OUT OR ASIAN WOMAN WHO SPEAKS
OUT, BUT SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT
BECAUSE IF I'M UNWILLING TO TAKE
THE FIRST STEP, THEN IT IS
UNLIKELY THAT SOMEONE EITHER
DIFFERENT THAN ME OR WHO DOESN'T
HAVE THAT SAME LEVEL OF
UNDERSTANDING WOULD BE WILLING
TO SPEAK ABOUT IT, MUCH LESS
THAT SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO LEARN
MORE WOULD BE WILLING TO
APPROACH ME AND SAY, WILL IS
SOMEONE I CAN TALK TO ABOUT IT,
AND HE WON'T BE OFFENDED.
HE WOULD WELCOME THE
CONVERSATION, ESPECIALLY IN
TODAY'S POLITICAL CLIMATE, AND
NOT CALL ME NAMES OR THINK I'M
IGNORANT.
WE'RE ALL IGNORANT.
WE'RE ALL RACIST IN OUR BELIEFS
ABOUT OTHERS BECAUSE WE WIRED
OURSELVES THAT WAY, AND UNTIL WE
DEVELOP SOME SELF-AWARENESS AND
QUESTION WHERE SOME OF OUR IDEAS
AND BELIEFS COME FROM, WE WON'T
BE ABLE TO FURTHER OUR
RELATIONSHIPS AS HUMANS.
>> WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE,
WILL HSU, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US AND HAVING THIS
CONVERSATION.
>> YEAH, NO PROBLEM.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
>>> FOR MORE FROM "HERE & NOW"
AND PBS WISCONSIN, VISIT
PBSWISCONSIN.ORG, AND THANK YOU
SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON "NOON
WEDNESDAY."