Asian Americans: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
5,623,970
Published 2021-06-06
All Comments (21)
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I really didn't expect John to sum up our experience with racism perfectly: we're told to accept racism because "at least it's the nice version."
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He also didn't mention the fact that the model minority stereotype completely discounts any Asian Americans that DO 'fit the stereotype'. When Asian people excel academically, people assume that didn't work as hard, and are just 'naturally' more intelligent. It's a true mind fuck
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“There is no nice racism”
This right here. I grew up being constantly told by other poc that “at least you have a good stereotype” as they simultaneously made fun of me for not being good at math, and yelling “ching chong” at me. Yeah thanks guys -
Overlooking Filipinos is a weird thing. Especially during covid times, Filipinos who populate hospitals as nurses not just in the US but all over the world, have been on the frontlines dying to fight off this pandemic for almost 2 years now. That and your east and west Asian medical professionals who are all doing their best to keep everything together.
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I'm Japanese-American (half Filipino and half Japanese). Everytime I visit the Philippines and Japan and reconnect with extended family and my roots, I find it very humbling, but at the same time, very lonely as an Asian-Americans are too American to be Asian and too Asian to be American on both sides. Thank you so much for bringing this issue up and educate others in our struggle.
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My biggest problem as an Asian American is basically I’m too Asian to be taken seriously by Americans and too American to be taken seriously by Asians, it’s like I’m stuck in this weird limbo lol
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I had a Vietnamese roommate in college in 1972. One day we had a terrific storm and a bolt of lightening struck a nearby building causing a huge BOOM. Hui said that it reminded him of home. I said oh you have major storms there too? And Hui said nonono. The bombs. I kinda had to rethink a few things.
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This means a lot to me as an Asian American and a John Oliver fan
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Saying “these weren’t the kind of men you send to jail” in reference to two white murderers is a condemnation of America’s prison justice system that’s far more scathing than anything I could’ve come up with.
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A client told me that his doctor told him he had jaundice from eating Indian food. I told him to go back to the emergency room ASAP as that was a ridiculous diagnosis. He had pancreatic cancer.
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As a Japanese living in Japan, when I visited US and stayed there for some time, I was deeply surprised that American society was so complicated. And I thought that staying in US as Asian needs a lot of energy, because you are forced to be constantly conscious about your identity all the time. Here in Japan, my identity is just my age and sex, monotonous but no tension. I feel the respect for American people there who are always coping with the issues of diversity of culture and races.
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As a Korean-Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Korean and a huge John Oliver fan, I do appreciate this bit. It's a cultural and ethnic quagmire to feel between and among cultures.
The coverage about defining what Asian American means, and the emphasis of model minority is spot on... We are not a monolith.
Thank you for sharing! ✌️💕 -
When you dismiss Vietnamese or Japanese students who do well as if it's part of their heritage, you undermine the hard work they put forth to achieve.
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The level of nuance this show gets correct is profound. Excellent writing.
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Thank you!! As a Sri Lankan-Malaysian I’ve always identified as Asian, even when my white friends have tried to tell me that I’m wrong about my own heritage 🙄🙄
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As an Asian American, This hits deep and hard. I have worked very hard in order to fit the "model minority" and multiple people have told me that the conditions I find myself is inhumane.
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The sentence "Filipinos arent dismissed they are overlooked" is one of the most true statement ive ever heard. Whenever someone asks where my family comes from, they guess china, thailand, or even mexico. As a Filipino American, i love this video.
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My great grandparents came from japan to make a new life in America after hearing a lot of wonderful things and hearing stories of its grandeur and opportunity. They did this right before Ww2 and my grandfather grew up in those internment camps. He wasn't okay in the head, ended up being more abusive to his loved ones than his siblings were, and I often think of it as being heavily influenced by that experience in those camps
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Nothing more therapeutic than a British man explaining systemic racism on a Monday afternoon.
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I have a friend who emigrated from Japan. His family had all the young kids pick an “American” name to fit in more. What’s sad is that I can tell he loves his original name more. I call him Tak short for Takeshi and he definitely prefers that but everyone calls him Tyson including his family. It’s sad what some Asian Americans need to do to feel American.
