I was asked to review a film, and it prompted me to think about the recent Yankelovich survey that was commissioned by the Committee of 100, a Chinese-American group. The survey sampled American attitudes about Chinese in particular and Asians generally. The survey's results did not find favorable attitudes toward Asians as a whole and Chinese generally, as reported by the media. And that deceptive reporting prompted Chinese into a peculiar response strategy.

One week after the Yankelovich survey was released to the public, a group of Asians in San Francisco met with Mayor Willie Brown and others to determine what they should do to change the negative perceptions of Americans about Asians.

The film I reviewed was related to the Yankelovich survey because it had a major stereotype about Asian females that deals with American attitudes about Asians; that stereotype could have been a significant focus of the film, if it had been explored with care and sensitivity. The producer/director didn't, however, treat the issue raised; instead, he focused his attention on interracial gang violence between Asians and White gangs.

In the film, a young Asian female meets a White gang member at the grave site of her brother. The White male, who was the cause of her brother's death, is immediately latched on to by the young Asian female for no reason that is apparent, other than he was White. When an Asian gang member comes to grips with this situation, there is only this statement: "So you're another Asian woman gone over to the other side," hardly an adequate treatment of this prevalent social issue among Asians. So when viewing this film, since I was familiar with the issue this film unwittingly raised, I thought of the recent Yankelovich survey.

Yanklovich found that 23% of Americans felt uncomfortable supporting an Asian American presidential candidate; 24% disapproved of interracial marriage with an Asian American; and seven percent wouldn't want to work for an Asian American CEO. These figures covered all of America, but predominately White America.

That the media actually reported reverse numbers should not go unstated. Also, it should not go unstated that Asians have the highest out-of-race marriage numbers of all other races in the nation. This high percentage of Asian out-of-race marriages is fueled by Asian females marrying White males. A number of Asian male writers have addressed the issue of America's de-sexing of the Asian male and its crowning of the Asian female an exotic sex toy. So with these facts in mind, the Chinese response to the Yankelovich findings is extremely curious.

The film I reviewed used the stereotype that Asian females literally throw themselves at white males to function as the rule and not the exception. Whether this stereotype is generated by fact or fancy is not this writer's concern, but the fact that Asians have the highest rate of marriage to White Americans makes one think that their unfavorable numbers would be lower and less alarming to them. But they, based on last week's reaction, were very alarmed by their 23-25% unfavorable rating--their alarmed-meter was clicking as they met with Mayor Brown and others to determine what they should do to change their likableness, presumably in the eyes of White America. But that response raised another Asian stereotype, and it seemed very curious to this writer: Yankelovich only revealed a portion of American bigotry; the survey was not on Asian bigotry, but on American bigotry toward Asians.

Looking at the numbers Yankelovich found, those numbers actually showed that Asians had a 23-25% unfavorable rating in a number of categories. Yet this was only the media's negative spin on the survey. So why go into action about this normal media spin? The media was simply making news where there was none. If there is a 23-25% unfavorable rating, it means that there is a 72-75% not-unfavorable rating. Of course, the media would never spin it that way for ethnic minorities--they must show all the warts because that, to them, is news worthy of broadcasting. And that is why the media is labeled by Blacks as the White Media. Yet intelligent people understand how to read and decipher this media's facts from opinions and spin.

However, if this Committee of 100 were to commission a survey of White attitudes about Whites, they would probably see the same unfavorable ratings or higher. America has a certain strangeness about it; we all, I hope, know this.

Finally, it should not go unstated that bigotry is ignorance, and it is not the ignorance or fault of the recipients. Last week's meeting with Willie Brown and others, even the commissioning of the survey itself, indicates a need, indeed, an obligation that Asians seem to have to correct an age-old American malady--White bigotry and racism. And as a somewhat noninvolved observer, I am interested in knowing what was proposed in last week's meeting with Willie Brown-marriage does not seem to have enhanced the image sufficiently for Asians.

I have a suggestion: Why not just let bigots grope in their own darkness, without the light? As long as one can cause another to respond to his negativity, that person has control of the other. There is not enough time in this life to concern ourselves with the negativities of others.
Gibbs Staff