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Asian pride is a slogan used by people of Asian descent to express pride for their heritage.

History

Asian pride in modern slang refers mostly to those of East Asian descent, though it can include any one of Asian descent. Asian pride was originally fragmented, as Asian nations have had long conflicts with each other; examples of this are the old Japanese and Chinese religious beliefs of their individual superiority. Asian pride emerged prominently during European colonialism. At one time, Europeans owned 85% of the world's land through colonialism, resulting anti-Western feelings among Asian nations. Today, some Asians still look upon European involvement in their affairs with suspicion.

Culture

The core idea of Asian pride is respect for things Asian and also involves "Asian" "pride" as is included in the slogan. Asian pride is seen by some to be another racialist movement, such as Black power, Red power, or White power, some see Asian pride as a jocular concept, due to the decreased militancy of Asian pride relative to the other racialist movements. Asian pride re-evaluates the devaluation of Asian culture by European culture, claiming that Asian values are better than European values. It is highly racialized concept trying to separate "Asian" from the others, particularly White people and has explicit cultural and racial emphasis. For example, the prime example of Asian Pride is considered to be the Got Rice? song that identifies the "Asian" countries as a single entity.

Asians find error in many ideas introduced into their societies by Europeans. The European ideal of individualism is at odds with the traditional collective and family-oriented mentality of China. Asians do not like European Christian missionaries trying to convert them to Christianity under the guise of trying to civilize Asians, because Asians have had centuries of advanced civilization without Christianity. However, in Asia there are large communities of devout, evangelist Christians who are committed to the introduction of their faith to others. In popular websites such as Myspace and Facebook, there are groups existing not under the names of "AZN Pride", but named, "白人看不懂", which literally means, "White people can't read ."

There is also increased tension of Asian pride with other minority groups, such as African Americans and Latinos, due to members of each group establishing an exclusive 'pride' movement. This tension erupts in violence in times of gang violence, most visibly evidenced by the 1992 Los Angeles Riot.

Usage

Its current usage originated on the streets in the 1990s and has spread to the extent that most Asian Americans have heard of it, mostly the younger ones. It is now a huge internet phenomenon largely because of the Got Rice? song. It is known to be used by Asian American youth to describe their sense of connection to other Asians. It is often written in camelcase and/or spelled as variations of "AZN Pryde. In North America, it is usually used by those with ancestry in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and in Britain by those with ancestry in South Asia. "Worldwide" is sometimes added to the end of the slogan to express an identity which extends beyond national borders to all Asians and because it rhymes.

Daily life

The mentality may prove incompatible with non-Asians. Australia has been considered 'un-Asian' and an "Asian values promotion was largely an assertion of East Asian pride against the long wounding it had received directly or indirectly at the hands of the West," with the West denoting everywhere outside East Asia in this case.

Some counselors and social workers have interpreted the declaration of 'Asian Pride' to signify membership to gangs and a precursor to violence.

Criticisms of "Asian Pride"

Although the concept of "Asian Pride" is somewhat present in assimilated Overseas-Asian communities, those who have immigrated directly from Asia, as well as those who are not assimilated, think otherwise. Chinese nationalism, Korean nationalism and Japanese nationalism all cause people of the ethnicities in question to resent each other, due to historical and social issues (See Anti-Japanese sentiment, Anti-Korean sentiment, Sinophobia). Persons from East Asia are also known to look down on their counterparts from Southeast Asia, due to common stereotypes of poverty and living standards from where such people arrive from. It is doubtful as to whether Pan-Asianism can exist, given the amount of hatred present between different Asian countries and people.

See also

• Pan-Asianism
• Got Rice?
• Racism

Other cultures

• Black pride
• Brown pride
• White pride

External links

• Between Two Worlds: Born in the U.S.A. to Asian Parents, a Generation of Immigrants' Kids Forges a New Identity, a Time magazine article from their January 16, 2006 issue

References

1. ^ Langguth, Gerd. German Foreign Affairs Review. "Dawn of the 'Pacific' Century?" 1996. June 30, 2007.
2. Rawdon Dalrymple (2003). Continental Drift: Australia's Search for a Regional Identity. Ashgate Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 978-0754634461. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
3. Pyong Gap Min (2002). The Second Generation: Ethnic Identity among Asian Americans (Critical Perspectives on Asian Pacific Americans Series). AltaMira Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0759101760. More than once have I heard counselors and social workers at seminars declare that 'when gang kids talk about "Asian Pride"... beware! What they're actually up to is more trouble, more violence!' {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

• Asian American issues
• Asian American culture
• Racism