I actually had forgotten what I had said about the "Little House" books until recently. But even though "Ma hating Indians" made me feel insecure about my own racial identity, I wouldn't have them censor out Ma's hatred, now. I didn't like it, but it was true sentiment and one that showed how even good people could believe/feel things that weren't right. When I began to witness different kinds of racism--Asians against Blacks, Chinese against Japanese, Asian-Americans against Asians-- that sometimes originated from people I trusted and loved, books like "Little House" set the groundwork for me to realize that what the adults around me thought weren't always the right things to think, especially when it came to things like race.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
interview
Last summer (pre-baby bulge!), I participated in an Asian American Author Series of interviews for Primary Source. Other authors in the series include the lovely Mitali Perkins, Jean Kwok and GB Tran. Here is a excerpt of one of my interview (you can see more here):
I actually had forgotten what I had said about the "Little House" books until recently. But even though "Ma hating Indians" made me feel insecure about my own racial identity, I wouldn't have them censor out Ma's hatred, now. I didn't like it, but it was true sentiment and one that showed how even good people could believe/feel things that weren't right. When I began to witness different kinds of racism--Asians against Blacks, Chinese against Japanese, Asian-Americans against Asians-- that sometimes originated from people I trusted and loved, books like "Little House" set the groundwork for me to realize that what the adults around me thought weren't always the right things to think, especially when it came to things like race.
I actually had forgotten what I had said about the "Little House" books until recently. But even though "Ma hating Indians" made me feel insecure about my own racial identity, I wouldn't have them censor out Ma's hatred, now. I didn't like it, but it was true sentiment and one that showed how even good people could believe/feel things that weren't right. When I began to witness different kinds of racism--Asians against Blacks, Chinese against Japanese, Asian-Americans against Asians-- that sometimes originated from people I trusted and loved, books like "Little House" set the groundwork for me to realize that what the adults around me thought weren't always the right things to think, especially when it came to things like race.
