Windowbreaker

People of color shouldn't have to fight amongst ourselves for crumbs tossed out by the larger society.

I was once at SF State at the Ethnic Studies Program, and an African American woman came in and got offended by the fact that the three people working the office were Asian. Our very presence was somehow offensive to her.

"What's with all these Asians?!"

She kept going on and on about how she didn't see no Asians during her days in the Civil Rights Movement. She couldn't see past our eye shape and recognize that we were on her side.

I think that is what a lifetime of dealing with bigotry and discrimination can do to you. When you cannot recognize friend from foe and you recognize race instead of the merits of one's behavior, then you are mentally colonized and racism has an outpost in your head.

A person of color can still have a piece of white supremacist ideology lodged in his or her subconscious. Not every Asian is my friend and not every non-Asian is my enemy.

You have to prove your worth, which is why you should live honestly and be a role model. People should be judged by behavior first.