One day I was emailed a petition about banning a certain song put out by a rapper. While I usually don't care much for petitions, I was shocked by what the petition was about. A rapper named YG was performing a song that included lyrics about robbing Chinese people. The lyrics said, "Find a Chinese neighborhood, 'cause they don't believe in bank accounts" and then proceeded to outline how exactly to rob the house. The song had caused backlash from Asian Americans, and I was offended as well. I'm usually indifferent to rap music, but YG's song is definitely a form of stereotyping and discrimination. First of all, Chinese people not believing in bank accounts is a clear example of stereotyping, and specifically saying that Chinese neighborhoods should be targeted was an obvious sign of racial discrimination. There could have been many ways to express the writer's feelings in the song without having to discriminate against Asians. Even so, YG's song is but one of many examples of discrimination against Asian Americans.
Take Carl Douglas's song "Kung Fu Fighting." The song is lighthearted and represents a respect for an ancient Asian martial art, but at the same time, it horribly misrepresents the people it is trying to praise. In the song, the singer can be heard talking about "funky Billy Chin and little Sammy Chong" as well as a so-called "big boss." These lyrics insinuate that all Chinese people have Chinese-sounding names like "funky Billy Chin" and many Chinese people are in gangs, as referenced by the "big boss." "Kung Fu Fighting" is a great song, but sometimes it stereotypes people in a way that makes it less enjoyable.
In many movies and TV shows, Asians are constantly stereotyped. In the book "ABC (American Born Chinese)" the author literally has to use a bucktoothed yellow-skinned character in order to make a point about racism. If mainstream pop culture and other media could prevent stereotyping and discriminating against Asians, then Asians would enjoy the same rights as other people. Even if it isn't direct discrimination, racial stereotyping should still be minimized.
