At first the idea of equalizing marginalized groups sounds great. \u00a0Providing justice in an unjust world appears to restore balance.\u00a0 However, the pendulum has swung wildly in both directions.\u00a0 Kenan Malik\u2019s book,\u00a0Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics<\/em>\u00a0tracks the U.S. and U.K. path that has resulted in identity politics. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n What\u2019s wrong with Identity (and Identity Politics)? \u00a0Francis Fukuyama in his book, Identity writes, \u201cThe rise of identity politics<\/strong> in modern liberal democracies is one of the chief threats that they face, and unless we can work our way back to more universal understandings of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict<\/strong>.\u201d [3]<\/a><\/p>\n Fukuyama understands that there needs to be a balance. Rectifying social injustices based on race are desired, however, he highlights the need for the cultivation of a shared identity (We the people?).\u00a0 Otherwise, we are doomed to continuing conflict.<\/p>\n Part 1 How Malik defines the debate<\/p>\n Malik brings out many great points, two stand out to me.<\/p>\n One: Malik writes, \u201cWe live in an age in which in most societies there is a moral abhorrence of racism, albeit that in most, bigotry and discrimination still disfigure the lives of many. We also live in an age saturated with identitarian thinking and obsessed with placing people into racial boxes. The more we despise racial thinking, the more we seem to cling to it<\/strong>.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 This feeds identity politics which takes away of our shared identity (Americans?) and makes conflict easy to justify.<\/p>\n Two:\u00a0 Maliks discussion of class is enlightening, he writes, \u201cThat is, racial divisions don\u2019t arise from the objective circumstance of a species divided into different races, but in a society in which the idea of race has been fostered to enable those racial divisions. As Malik sums it up, \u2018race did not give birth to racism. Racism gave birth to race\u2019.<\/strong> [5]<\/a>\u00a0 The idea of stratified classes across the color spectrum impacting racism was profound.\u00a0 A revisiting perhaps to the aged old problem of “have’s versus have not’s?”<\/p>\n Malik shares an example of how racism exists today.\u00a0 In an interview with Trigger-omentry he states that today\u2019s generation faces a different kind of racism. For instance, in the job market structural racism continues. At (Minute 7:07) he refers to studies where identical CV\u2019s (Curriculum Vitae\u2019s) with white names versus Asian names seemed more likely to get interviews.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n Part 2 \u2013 What my peers are saying.<\/p>\n Frequently, I encounter new insights from my peers. Their perspectives allow me to view the authors from a different aspect.<\/p>\n DLGP 02 Adam Harris writes, \u201cWe are realizing that society both right and left, is encouraging us to quickly identify as black, brown, white, male, female, non-binary, gay, straight, etc. without acknowledging that there is something about us that is deeper than our physical categories<\/strong>.\u201d\u00a0 In his post, Harris calls us to look deeper than the color of our skin.<\/p>\n DLP 02 Esther Edwards writes, \u201cThis was the work of men and women who truly did not see African slaves as deserving the same freedom that they had in Christ. \u00a0Any reference to freedom was deleted. This gives an understanding that much of the Bible speaks to freedom for all, not just some\u2026.In closing, I do agree with my uncle. It is not like it used to be. On the other hand, maybe our diverse culture is a truer reflection of what the broader Kingdom of God looks like.<\/strong> There is no doubt racism is still alive and well and remains a wicked problem. However, there is much opportunity for us to make a difference right in our own backyards.<\/p>\n I lived in Germany for 15 years.\u00a0 Racial slurs sometimes crept into random acts of ignorance, but no more than in the U.S.A. (For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God).\u00a0 I think one has to develop a thick skin and forgiving heart.<\/p>\n Epilogue – Enter the Dragons. This is the year of the Dragon, and it is hard for me not to look at the history of Chinese Americans.\u00a0 Historically, the United States has a mixed history with other ethnic groups.<\/p>\n With that being said there has emerged the Model Minority Myth<\/strong>, \u201cThe myth of the model minority is based in stereotypes. It perpetuates a narrative in which Asian American children are\u00a0whiz kids<\/a>\u00a0or musical geniuses. Within the myth of the model minority,\u00a0Tiger Moms<\/a>\u00a0force children to work harder and be better than everyone else, while\u00a0nerdy, effeminate dads<\/a>\u00a0hold prestigious\u2014but\u00a0not leadership<\/a>\u2014positions in STEM industries like medicine and accounting.\u201c[10]<\/a><\/p>\n Buried under these stereotypes, the message is clear: Asian Americans are all the same\u2014and all different from other Americans. On one hand, Asian Americans are often perceived as having assimilated better than other minority groups. On the other hand, Asian Americans are seen as having some foreign quality that renders them perpetual outsiders.<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s a paradox familiar to every Asian American who regularly faces the question, \u201cBut where are you from,\u00a0originally<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0[11]<\/a><\/p>\n Engaged in three wars on behalf of U.S. Foreign Policy and I still get the above question.\u00a0 Sigh. I simply answer that I am from Hawaii. For some reason that works.<\/p>\n But I have to end with….EVERYWHERE I go, I am embraced by the “body of Christ.”\u00a0 This identity in Christ reflects, as Esther says, the true Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> A. B. C. News, \u201cDEI: What Does It Mean and What Is Its Purpose?,\u201d ABC News, accessed February 29, 2024, https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/dei-programs\/story?id=97004455<\/a>.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Malik, Kenan.\u00a0Not so Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics<\/em>. London: Hurst & Company, 2023.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Fukuyama, Francis. Identity. S.I.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018. 116<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Kenan Malik, \u201cRacism Rebranded: How Far-Right Ideology Feeds off Identity Politics,\u201d The Observer<\/em>, January 8, 2023, sec. World news, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2023\/jan\/08\/racism-rebranded-how-far-right-ideology-feeds-off-identity-politics-kenan-malik-not-so-black-and-white<\/a>.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Ibid., 13.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> What We Get Wrong About Race – Kenan Malik<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> \u201cAct to Prohibit the \u2018Coolie Trade\u2019 (1862),\u201d Immigration History<\/em> (blog), accessed February 29, 2024, https:\/\/immigrationhistory.org\/item\/act-to-prohibit-the-coolie-trade-2\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> \u201cBefore the Chinese Exclusion Act, This Anti-Immigrant Law Targeted Asian Women,\u201d HISTORY, September 28, 2023, https:\/\/www.history.com\/news\/chinese-immigration-page-act-women<\/a>.<\/p>\n [9]<\/a> Chinese Exclusion Act,\u201d in Wikipedia<\/em>, February 22, 2024, https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Chinese_Exclusion_Act&oldid=1209557202<\/a>.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a> What Is the Model Minority Myth?,\u201d Learning for Justice, March 21, 2019, https:\/\/www.learningforjustice.org\/magazine\/what-is-the-model-minority-myth<\/a>.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a> [11]<\/sup>What Is the Model Minority Myth?,\u201d Learning for Justice, March 21, 2019, https:\/\/www.learningforjustice.org\/magazine\/what-is-the-model-minority-myth<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u9f8d\u722d\u864e\u9b25” (Lung jing fu dau) Cantonese = Enter the Dragon Introduction Part 1 How Malik defines the debate Part 2 What my peers are saying Epilogue \u2013 Enter the Dragon Introduction About three hours of Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) training are required every semester for teachers at Pikes Peak State College. \u00a0DEI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2489,3049],"class_list":["post-36247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp02","tag-malik","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36247"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36249,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36247\/revisions\/36249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/chinese-wooden-dragon-symbol-new-year-ai-generative-272207126-300x217.webp\")
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