A Question Of Identity Summary

“A Question of Identity: Being Yellow in a Black and White World”

In “A Question of Identity The headline, the tweet, and the unfair significance of Jeremy Lin” by Jay Caspian Kang, racial prejudice and stereotyping in society is brought to light. People of different ethnicity are ostracized in the United States because Caucasians and African Americans make up the majority of the population in the United States. Racial prejudice is influenced by the society around us. Culture can be seen through similarities and differences that unify and differentiate groups, for example: race and ethnicity. However, this black and white categorizing of groups leave out people of different ethnicity. Individuals are classified by socially defined and influenced
People of different culture and ethnicity are disregarded in a largely black and white society as seen in Kang's article, “A question of identity.”
In a nation of equal opportunity and political correctness there are glaring prejudices against people of different culture and ethnicity. The author reveals several nicknames he gave to himself such as“the Mental Oriental, the Raging Asian, Chink-opotamus, Chinkletoes, and so on.” These nicknames are ridiculing of his ethnicity and show he is ashamed of his cultural background. In order to fit in with his friends he feels the need to mock himself so that no one else can make fun of him. As much as Kang tries to fit in being, “the token Asian celebrating "ghetto" things in the most condescending manner possible” with his friends he is reminded of his ethnicity shown as Kang says, “My white
The author ignores that his peers see his difference in race and assumes he fits in as long as he acts and follows what everyone else is doing. Kang tried to fit in as best as he could by copying his friend's hobbies and constructed his life to be as Caucasian as possible. This is shown as the author says, “Like many of the Asian American kids of my generation stuck somewhere between white and black, I filled the vacant parts of my identity with basketball and hip-hop.” Just as Kang neglected his Asian heritage, he assumed his friends ignored his Asian side and accepted him as one of their own, not knowing their prejudice toward him and how far away from being white he really was. This oversight of Kang's ethnicity creates a gray area of races that are neither black nor white. The majority culture is unaware of how to address those of different race and as a result disregard the