"I cannot discount how the immigrant experience informs one's willingness — or lack of — to pay attention to politics. In my eyes, my personal has always been political; I am a woman of color in a system that simultaneously tries to portray me as a model minority while perceiving my brownness as a threat. However, until I left the confines of Silicon Valley for college, I was almost as apathetic about American politics as my family friends. And apathy is dangerous, because it engenders complicity. But for many Asian immigrants to America, the struggle to succeed is a very real and very urgent one. It precedes almost everything else, because it determines whether or not we will be able to stay here, to get a green card, to ultimately obtain citizenship if we want it. What is political jargon in the face of that lived experience?...
I cannot discount how the immigrant experience informs one's willingness — or lack of — to pay attention to politics. In my eyes, my personal has always been political; I am a woman of color in a system that simultaneously tries to portray me as a model minority while perceiving my brownness as a threat. However, until I left the confines of Silicon Valley for college, I was almost as apathetic about American politics as my family friends. And apathy is dangerous, because it engenders complicity. But for many Asian immigrants to America, the struggle to succeed is a very real and very urgent one. It precedes almost everything else, because it determines whether or not we will be able to stay here, to get a green card, to ultimately obtain citizenship if we want it. What is political jargon in the face of that lived experience?...
We have rich histories of political and social activism and have shown our support for various movements. It's time we honor that legacy and demand that American politicians work for us, too."http://www.bustle.com/articles/103616-asian-americans-are-invisible-to-politics-politicians-which-is-a-major-problem-when-the-personal
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