Asians Harrassed, Beaten in High Schools-- Can You Relate?

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20051113/ap_on_re_us/asians_bullied_1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20051113/ap_on_re_us/asians_bullied_1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Is your high school like that? Lafayette High School has become infamous over the past two years for it's anti-Asian discrimination. The article doesn't mention it, by the way, but the school is 45% black and 26% Hispanic, with 10% white and 20% Asian. </p>

<p>People don't like to talk about it, but it's pretty obvious: black and Hispanic kids are really beating up on and harrassing Asian kids. If the bullies had been white, the article would have mentioned it and called the beatings "hate crimes." But the article doesn't even mention the bullies' race meaning... they went the politically correct route (i.e.... the bullies were black/Hispanic and it wouldn't have been PC to present them in a bad light).</p>

<p>Is it like that at you school? What do you think of racism within different minorities? No one talks about it, but I've seen so much racism from blacks it's ridiculous.</p>

<p>this is happening at my school: i think with all those jokes of blacks being black (in like movies and songs) they are constantly aware that they are victims of racism, and although they don't show it (they might not even notice it), they want be equal to others by being racist against others (like asians), so i don't think the black are to blame, at least not as much as the those who constantly make blacks feel like they're victims of racism. in other words, the first group is racist for mean reasons, and other minorities are racist just because don't want to feel like the victim any more, which is not a mean reason at all.</p>

<p>Well I'm Hispanic. I know I shouldn't have to do this at all.... but I would like to apologize on behalf of Hispanics. That's terrible!
At my school, there is some inter-minority conflict (blacks v. Hispanics). There is also tension between whites and Hispanics. Luckily, we've had a lot of awareness programs.
You know what's awesome? We just had the RACHEL'S CHALLENGE program here at our school. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Rachel Scott, one of the students killed in the Columbine High School massacre. She had great ideals about kindness and starting a chain reaction of kind acts and love. I'm not sure what state you're in, but ask your high school principal about Rachel's Challenge. You may also want to check out <a href="http://www.rachelscott.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.rachelscott.com&lt;/a>
If you brought that to your school, it would definitely have some positive results - I'm living proof. My school has been SO MUCH BETTER ever since we had the program!
We have people going up to people they don't know in the hallways and striking up pleasant conversations; and even people going out of their way to sit with someone lonely in the cafeteria. Check into it and let me know how it goes. No one ought to feel scared to go to school! I wish you the best of luck!</p>

<p>-Jon :)</p>

<p>That is RIDICULOUS! These people have issues. Probably, the problem is the language barriar (sp?). I hate to think that this kind of stuff happens at schools. Some of the people at my school are stupid enough to just say racial slurs, no more, and they get transferred to the lowest caste in high school society. What saddens me even more, is that the teachers got punished for reporting things like this. WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON!!!!!!!! Chinese people have a cultural tradition of being quiet and nonchalent about things, etc. and the school has enough nerve to PUNISH them for reporting CRIMES. What a world. I hope this new principal and Chinese VP is able to better resolve this issue than previous principals.</p>

<p>It is ridiculous! I recommend Rachel's Challenge to EVERYONE who would like to see HARASSMENT STOP! Again, definitely visit the official website: <a href="http://www.rachelscott.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.rachelscott.com&lt;/a>
We can't do anything if we just rant and complain! I'm telling you, this program works! Try it out. If I'm wrong, then what's the worst that can happen? - Some senseless bullies will perhaps see harassment in a different light! Here's an excerpt from Rachel's essay entitled: "My Ethics, My Codes of Life"</p>

<p>"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same."</p>

<p>What do you all have to lose? Go for it! I hope that you all take my advice and that it does help you for the better!</p>

<p>Jon :)</p>

<p>wow...I really can't believe how closed-minded and stupid some people are. I think the porblems are more societal and deeper than just the kids being bad, it's true that people need to educate tohers on open-nidedness and acceptance.</p>

<p>That's terrible.</p>

<p>It's the Model Minority myth at work here. Asians are lifted up from the depths of the other minorities, but do not have any real power or influence like whites. They're attacked on both sides, from the less well-off minorities who view them as part of the hostile system, while also scorned by whites who see them as upstarts who get into all the good schools and take all the jobs, like a virus. And whenever Asians register a complaint, it's dismissed because they're the Model Minority after all. What right do they have to complain? This complacency regarding race relations is so ingrained that it's not considered offensive to make fun of all things Asian on national media outlets. That is, if they're even mentioned at all.</p>

<p>yeah, i wholeheartedly agree with nbachris
it's something that will always be unavoidable, but being an Asian myself, I would hope that more attention is brought to the subject so that more people are aware of the stuff that goes on in these schools</p>

<p>the only thing that can cure ignorance is knowledge</p>

<p>And the only thing that can cure knowledge is ignorance.</p>

<p>And the only thing that can cure 'em both at the same time is awareness! What good is knowledge if it's biased or incomplete? On the other hand, is ignorance really as bad as we think? I would say yes, actually - maybe worse! But that's why I'm telling you all try Rachel's Challenge. I'm being honest when I say it's eased these tensions at my school! If you're itnerested, the official site is: <a href="http://www.rachelscott.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.rachelscott.com&lt;/a>
Tell your high school principals!! Come on everyone, don't let such a great opportunity pass you by! I'm sure that for those of you who accept Rachel's challenge in your own lives, you'll feel the change in yourself - and then you're going to want to "start a chain reaction" as Rachel herself once wrote. Good luck to everyone! Let's hope that a little kindness really can go a long way!</p>

<p>-Jon</p>

<p>Damn, that sucks. </p>

<p>At my school, if you mess with an Asian, there will be others to back him up...It's not right for anyone to pick/harass/etc others and so we fight back :/</p>

<p>kateappollo,</p>

<p>You definitely do not have any concrete evidence that supports that all the hate crimes were done by "blacks" and "hispanics".. IMO, it sounds like you are trying to make it seem as if the other races do no harm, which is certainly not the case.</p>

<p>What's happening all across the globe is wrong. It just disgusts me that a person can have enough hate inside of them for a full group of people based on a characteristic that ino one chooses.</p>

<p>Racism isn't going to go away. Whether it be from Blacks, Whites (& middle eastern for the biological-anthropology handicapped), Hispanics, & Asians</p>

<p>Living in Brooklyn I can deffinetly say that the article is on point, however this is a problem largely in Lafayette. The school is known for attacks on Asians. In my school (Midwood High School) we have a 30% Asian population, one would be hard pressed to find any harrassing of Asian kids just because they are Asian..</p>

<p>Makshim, you said that since your school is 30 percent Asian, it would be rarer to see racism upon them.</p>

<p>However, Lafayette is TWENTY percent Asian. That is a huge percentage when you think about it. The Asian population in the US is only around 4 percent at best. Twenty percent is a very significant percentage. And yet they are still treated as extreme minorities? As a powerless, faceless group though they make up a considerable part of the population? </p>

<p>So what is particularily wrong with Lafayette? Is it just in a worse part of the ghetto, that the students are worse and more harrassing of Asians? Or do the Asians there just not fight back enough? What particularily is it in regards to the environment and population at Lafayette that would make it worse for Asians there than anywhere else?</p>

<p>Between this, religions still existing, and other sad things...I just lose more faith in man every day.</p>

<p>I am Asian and I say we fight back. We are just being constanstly labled as weak and cowardly and we need to break that stereotype. I go to a school where the school is about 14% Asian and if anyone dares to pick on an Asian because of his ethicity, there will be a riot. Asians need learn how to bond together as one and stand up for themselves. There are 20% asians in Layfayette, why can they stay as one and fight as one?</p>

<p>If silence is not going to solve the problem then the fists will.</p>

<p>My high school had an ethnic breakdown with no majority- ~30% each of black, white, and hispanic and ~10% Asian. There wasn't much discrimination, but there were plenty of gang fights among all four groups. As a matter of fact, an Asian-Asian gang fight shut down the school and brought the police out one year. Anyway, it would've been hard to pick on Asians at my school because they inevitably moved in large packs.</p>

<p>I've gone to schools in Chicago that are as racially diverse as Lafayette, but problems of the sort never seem to surface. Teasing is probably the worst kind I've seen or heard about in the Asian community; fighting simply because of racial tension is almost a non-issue (that's just ridiculous). Of course, it is also possible that harassment reports are simply not made public.</p>

<p>My mistake, I just checked the numbers again and it is 32 W 40 B 9 H 21 A. Lafayette is not in a great neighborhood, but the student body is considerebly "worse" than the neighborhood itself. My school is in a much worse, and in fact a horrid neighborhood. However we don't even have metal detectors, and problems never arise.</p>