Although we do not pretend to represent all of Asia and Asian America, we are writing to add to the diversity of reactions to this year’s Mabuhay. While we recognize that Asian/Asian Americans face political issues, we disagree with the portrayal of these issues in a monologue and with the dismissal of someone’s view just because he is a white male.
Kendra Ing and Una Osato make valid points that they have a right to include politics in a cultural show and that Asian/Asian Americans have political as well as cultural experiences to share. Ing says, “We’re not here to help you enjoy our culture.” However, who are “we”, and who decided that Mabuhay was not about allowing the audience to enjoy Asian/Asian American culture? Indeed, many Asian/Asian Americans were at the show to support their friends.
As MCs, Ing and Osato represent all the performers, not just the “radicals,” as they put it. But they took advantage of the fact that MCs speak in a monologue, a platform that does not allow for dialogue about controversial issues, such as cultural appropriation, exoticism, and marginalization.
The MCs also neglected to represent issues that Asian students face, but that are not necessarily related to issues faced by Asian Americans. One such example is the recent U.S. immigration policy that requires most international students on campus to have their fingerprints taken and retinas scanned on arrival to the U.S.
According to the MCs, Asian/Asian Americans do not all feel and think alike. By this logic, ethnicity is not the only basis for one’s perspective and opinions. Consequently, a white male like Jesse Brenner could conceivably come to some understanding of Asian/Asian American issues. Yet the MCs and Justin Leroy, a member of the Mabuhay Planning Committee, seem to suggest that Brenner seeks a sexual high from the performance, as if he cannot understand what is being presented.
We are therefore disappointed about the lack of conversation before, during, and after the show. We suggest that if MCs broach political issues in subsequent shows, they should engage, rather than ignore, different views on issues concerning Asian/Asian Americans. If the point of the show is to communicate, we suggest that the MCs “give a fuck” how everyone in the audience responds.
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