Asian-Americans Victimized by Racism Paranoia

We assume that racism is rampant in the United States, believing that Asians and Asian-Americans inevitably suffer racial discrimination in American society. But isn’t it also true that we are often victimized not only by actual racism but also by our own paranoia of it?

In his short story, “Yellow,” Don Lee tackles the most compelling, sensitive issue many Asian-Americans encounter: the feeling of being victimized by racial discrimination. When young, Danny Kim, the Korean-American protagonist of this story, watches in horror and disgust as a white drunkard kisses his father on the mouth, muttering: “I forgive you for Pearl Harbor.” Young Kim realizes early on that, in the eyes of many white Americans, all East Asians look alike.

Nevertheless, Lee enlightens his readers by equally criticizing Asian Americans’ obsession with racial conflicts, and their belief that they are constantly victimized by racial inequity in American society. “Yellow” well illustrates the issue by portraying Kim’s life from his stumbling into boxing as an adolescent, to his social ascension into the Boston society as a management executive. Closely following the life of Kim, the story gradually reveals that he has been a victim not so much of racism in American society as of his obsession with it. When the African American boxer yells, “Yellow!” at him while he is in the ring, Kim initially misconstrues it as an affront to his skin color. Years later, he comes to realize that perhaps the black boxer simply meant “Coward!” and thus he got him all wrong.

The same thing happens again when Kim competes with one of his white colleagues at workplace in Boston for a promotion. Initially, he thinks that he will be discriminated against because of racial bias. Eventually, he becomes paranoid, suspicious that all of his workplace colleagues are conspiring against him. To his surprise, however, the company chooses him over his white rival. Kim comes to realize that he has been wrong about them. Perhaps for the first time in Asian-American literature, Lee touches upon the controversial question: “Are Asian Americans a victim of actual racial bigotry, or rather, the paranoia of it?”

During a speech at Brandeis University, Lee complained that the title of his collection, “Yellow,” is often misunderstood.

“To me, the title, Yellow, is more about stories than race,” said Lee. “It’s about cowardice and paralysis, about people who were too afraid to live their lives. We all feel alienated. We all feel like outsiders. I write about fears common to us all.”

Lee poignantly criticizes the lack of courage of his protagonists in confronting the present reality of America, in which they are hopelessly trapped. One reason for Asian Americans’ lack of courage may stem from their expected role in American society as a model minority. But then, a “model minority” could be a straightjacket for Asian Americans. Another reason may be the intoxicating comfort that American society provides, which easily paralyzes one’s defiant spirit.

Lee also tackles the compelling problems of an immigrant’s cultural identity. His protagonists face the common psychological dilemma of Asian-Americans and pose a question: “In order to assimilate, do I have to repudiate my cultural identity?” Lee replies, “It’s something we all try to grapple with. I probably tried to deny it, and then I embraced it.” Lee illuminates the topic of identity, saying: “Everyone is trying to deny or preserve or find their origins, but the point, I think, is that identity is elusive and can’t be easily defined, and maybe the search for it, at least on the external level, is futile. In the end, I think it can only be found in the tiny circle or principality you build around you – love, children, friends, family. That’s what becomes your true country of residence.”

Lee is unique in the sense that, instead of whining about racial intolerance in American society, he has doggedly explored the possibilities of Asian-Americans by redefining the meaning of difference and identity. He does not perceive “difference and identity” as a crisis. Rather, he perceives them as a new possibility for Asian-Americans living in multicultural America. While other Asian-American writers are struggling with the more immediate problems of the first-generation immigrants such as language barriers, nostalgia, or identity crisis, Lee, as a third-generation immigrant, suggests that we try to take deep root into the American soil and mingle with others. That is why “relationships” play an important role in his stories, because having meaningful “relationships” with others is crucial in a country of diverse immigrants called America.

As Lee suggests, we may be a victim of our own paranoia. At Wal-Mart, white Americans often ask me, “Do you work here?” But I am not offended, for I know that my T-shirt resembles Wal-Mart employees’ uniform. We now live in a multiethnic age when Barack Obama could win the election and may become president of the United States. We need to be more confident of ourselves.