10 Times Asians Crushed Stereotypes And Refused To Stay Silent In 2016

Raising our voices, obliterating the "Quiet Asian" stereotype.
Ji Sub Jeong Huffington Post

2016 was pretty awful for everyone across the board. But for the Asian-American community, the positive upshot was that this was unofficially the year that the “quiet Asian” stereotype was basically annihilated.

Asian-Americans spoke out in the face of harmful racism, discrimination and a lack of media representation. Some of the worst offenses included Chris Rock’s tasteless anti-Asian jokes at the Oscars and Jesse Watters’ horribly offensive Chinatown segment.

Here are 10 moments of solidarity when Asians spoke out against injustices.

Asians Clapped Back After Chris Rock Made Offensive Jokes At The Oscars Ceremony.

Kevin Winter via Getty Images

At the Oscars in February, Chris Rock decided to make jokes at Asians’ expense ― and Asian-Americans, including a number of celebrities, weren’t having it.

The stir actually caused Academy CEO Dawn Hudson to issue a statement, apologizing for “any hurt the skits caused.”

After A Chinese-American Editor Who Was Told ‘Go Back To China,’ The Community Stood In Solidarity With Him.

The Asian-American Twitter community took a stand in early October after Michael Luo, who was a New York Times editor at the time, wrote an open letter to a woman who had shouted at Luo, “go back to China ... go back to your f―-ing country.”

Using the hashtag #ThisIs2016, the Twitterverse shared their countless stories of racism and showed Luo he wasn’t alone.

Asians Made Their Opinions Clear After Donald Trump Proposed A Muslim Ban.

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Following Trump’s proposal of a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” last year, Asian Americans aired their disapproval of the idea.

And they’ve continued to do so ever since, with every transformation of the ban’s language. Loudly.

Asians Then Took A Strong Stance After A Trump Supporter Cited History As ‘Precedent’ For A Muslim Registry.

Asian-Americans were horrified when a Trump surrogate, retired Navy SEAL Carl Higbie, suggested that imprisoning Japanese-Americans during World War II set a “precedent” for a proposed Muslim registry.

Japanese-American lawmakers demanded Trump denounce the comments and Higbie later admitted that the time period was a “huge black mark on our society and we would never want to do it again.”

Though Trump’s transition team has denied his support for a Muslim registry, a video from the president-elect’s campaign trail last year in Iowa shows him detailing how a Muslim registry would involve “good management” and how he would “sign them up at different places.”

When Trump Proposed An Immigration Ban From The Philippines, The Group Wasn’t Having It.

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When Trump had suggested that immigration should be banned from the Philippines and other “terrorist nations,” the Asian community felt compelled to speak up.

Democratic Alameda Assemblyman Rob Bonta, the only Filipino American legislator in California, called Trump’s comments “ a direct attack on the Filipino community.”

Trump’s remark caused so much outrage that one Filipino lawmaker actually called for Donald Trump to be banned from the Philippines.

After Fox News’ Jesse Watters Dedicated A Segment To Flagrant Racism Against Asians, The Community Fired Back.

When Jesse Watters somehow packed in more than 21 horribly offensive of overt racism into a 5-minute segment in Chinatown, he ignited a fire in the Asian-American community.

The Asian American Journalists Association fired back in a statement, addressing the numerous problematic issues in the segment.

Watters never apologized for the segment, but tweeted that he regrets “if anyone found offense.”

Asians Everywhere Expressed Their Outrage On Twitter After A Magazine Looked To A White Chef As The Authority On Pho.

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Bon Appetit magazine enlisted the help of a white chef, for a piece originally entitled “PSA: This Is How You Should Be Eating Pho.” The Asian-American community did not let that slide and accused the outlet of cultural appropriation.

The outrage made such a statement that Bon Appetit ended up issuing two updates and removed the video completely.

And When Scarlett Johansson Was Cast As The Lead In Japanese Anime Adaptation, Asians Rallied Together.

Fans were outraged to see that Scarlett Johansson, a white woman, was cast as the protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi in the live-action adaptation of popular Japanese anime series “Ghost In The Shell.”

Many saw the casting as another example of Hollywood white-washing. So A Care2 petition entitled “DreamWorks: Stop whitewashing Asian characters” was started to get producers to recast the role, racking up an impressive 104,000 supporters.

Asians Raised Awareness After A Divisive Election Sparked More Instances Of Racism.

Following the presidential race, Asian-Americans ― as well as minorities and immigrants ― found themselves the targets of physical harm and hate speech.

The Asian-American community took to social media and revealed racist incidents that have happened post-election, from death threats to derogatory slurs.

The Asian Community Called Out Glamour Brasil After They Took A ‘Slanty-Eye’ Photo For Social Media.

The Glamour Brasil team members posed for an offensive gif, causing an uproar among Asian-American celebrities and influencers on Twitter, who made it known that the post was far from glamorous.

Glamour Brasil issued an apology “to the Asian community and every follower who has been offended by the publication in our Instagram account,” in addition to removing the post.

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