Race Is Not A Joke

2 things I am proud of: The description I put into my work and also the research I did before I started writing because it really helped me to just sit and write without having to side track.

2 things to improve: I should have integrated my quotes better and should have had more description in my introduction.

Every day there are people in the world that have racial things to say. Some people are not able to overcome the diminishing effects of racists, but in the comedy, Homecoming King was written by Hasan and “What Kind Of Asian Are You” written by Alex Dang can express themselves in different ways to show how they are poorly perceived in society. Homecoming King and “What Kind of Asian Are You” both express how stereotypes have affected their way of life even though both the stereotypes towards them are drastically different. Both Hasan and Alex feel the shame though the stereotypes but overcome it. The reader learns that stereotypes may be harmful, but if one finds their passion voice, they may overcome it.

In the comedy Homecoming King performed by Hasan Minhaj, he had moved to Davis, California from India with his family. At that time, there was the attack on the World Trade Center, by terrorists. People from his new community started to criticize Hasan’s family by calling them terrorists and were very racist towards them. The people from the community were so rude that they ended up breaking the window to Hasan’s dad’s car: “We sit down. I hear “thud, thud, thud” outside. Me and Dad run outside, and all the windows on the Camry are smashed in.”(Storer) Hasan was troubled and confused why people were rude a vulgar towards him and his family. He was going to take a girl named Bethany to prom, and when Hasan knocked on the door her mom answered and said “But tonight is one of those nights… We have a lot of families back home in Nebraska, and we’re going to be taking photos, so we don’t think you’d be a good fit.” (Storer) These words haunted Hasan for years, and it made him become a ruder person to the people around him because it seemed like he needed to prove himself. Hasan wasn’t very excited about living in America anymore from all the racism he was facing. People who face racism have a tough life during that time. They have to deal with the negative comments and still go about their day just like every other person. Hasan was able to get through for a while in high school as he was feeling good about the year “I’m crushing life. Out here, killing it.” (Storer) Despite the negativity, he faced from: “First grade. “I love you!” “You’re the color of poop.” (Storer) And it is getting worse later in school. Racism has affected his culture and the way of his life because he has to act differently to fit in. He has to change the way he acts around people at school rather than his parents at home.

What kind of Asian are You written by Alex Dang is a Poem written about the racist comments that he has had to endure through his life. Alex, like Hasan, had overcome the comments while they were growing up. Alex had been called a bad driver, Kung Fu expert, Jackie Chan, a math genius and have had derogatory words said at him. Alex wasn’t too proud of being Asian. He said, “I still feel the shame of being Asian” (Dang 26) People would group Asian people by just not calling them by their actual nationality. “Every time you lump an Asian person into one culture, it is systematically making us assimilate” “Is Stripping away my Individuality” (Dang 25) The racist comment affected Alex all the time. Him being grouped and nationalized makes him feel like he isn’t as significant as other people. Alex also said, “society that projects us as nothing but the secondary role and never the leading man” (Dang 18) Society sees Asian as not as good as themselves and does not always give them a chance to prove their worth. Alex had to endure all of the comments that were thrown towards him, and he was continually feeling insecure. If one is feeling uncertain about who they are or where they come from it is very hard to be confident in things that you do in life especially if you are thinking that people are judging you and don’t like you. Every time someone was racist towards him, he would be getting upset about it. Alex talked about how people just use them and then throw them away like building the railroad across Canada. “Like how chink, comes from the clinking of metal to railroad as the slaves built train-tracks for this country to be connected” (Dang 15) When someone wants to change who they are to try to fit in is when people need to realize that the way you are making them feel need to stop and change.

Homecoming King and What Kind Of Asian Are You both show how racisms affect ones way of life and also show how Hasan and Alex overcame the rude and hateful comments. Homecoming King is a comedy show and Hasan over the years has developed his passion for comedy. Even before Hasan knew he wanted to be a comedian, he was always wondering why things would happen to himself and his family. When rude comments were said, he would get super angry about it and wonder why they are calling him names when he is the one that was born in America. Hasan realized he should use his comedy to make fun of the things that people had said about him. Hasan found his way of dealing with racism. Alex, on the other hand, was embarrassed before about being Chinese because society was diminishing Alex’s confidence. Alex overcame this by remembering everything about his heritage. Alex feels proud of his past and where he has come from, and he realizes that people can’t tell you who you are and who you may be. People can only make assumptions about who you are. At the end of Alex’s, spoken word, he says “and I still feel pride, and I still feel heritage, and I still feel Chinese” Alex Overcame the racism not just by remembering his past but by putting the passion for the racism, he has into a spoken word.

In conclusion, Homecoming King and What Kind Of Asian Are You both show how one can have less self-worth if society is disrespectful towards who they are and what they believe in. It expresses the effects of racism but also does show how one may be able to overcome the hardship if they can find their voice and their passion. In the case of Homecoming King and “What kind of Asian are you” Hasan and Alex both use their passion for presentation and talking to groups of people. They make fun of what has been said to them, and they show that those words, comments, and actions don’t affect them anymore. That has moved past the past and don’t let it impact them anymore. Having Hasan and Alex stand up and perform help bring awareness to the problem of racism. Hasan said jokingly at the end of his performance, “I am the cure to racism.” One that stands up and talks about their personal experiences with this kind of hardship always bring awareness to this topic and hopefully little by little more people will stop being racist or rude to people as they will have heard of the effects it has.

References

Alex, Dang, Poetry Button, What kind of Asian are you? Youtube,29 Jan. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoPOox Jw w.

Storer, Christopher, director. Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King. Performance by Hasan Minhaj, Netflix Offical Site, Art & Industry, 23 May 2017, www.netflix.com/search?q=homecoming king&jbv=80134781&jbp=0&jbr=0.