Asian Appreciation

WARNING! Misleading title, and yes the pun is to reel you in and confuse the crap out of you as I ramble on in the form of a blog post. This is not a post about how everyone should go to their nearest Asian friend and give them a hug, and believe me I wouldn’t want that. I’m one of the only Asian kids in my class. So what else could this ridiculous Chinese kid be talking about? Well if we are not talking about how thankful we are of the Asians in our lives, that leaves one other option… economics. The appreciation in value of our Asians, specifically Chinese, and specifically the males. This isn’t one of those men are like wine, and woman are like milk arguments that Chinese males get better over time (although I’m not denying that argument :P). And here’s the cue and the thing that will get all them Asian girls reading this post. When I’m talking about Asian (Chinese Male) Appreciation right now, I’m talking about Jeremy Lin.

 

Jeremy Lin is dominating the news feeds on TV, Facebook, Twitter, and whatever social media outlet there is out there, oh and Google+. ESPN, and other broadcast networks have been talking about the racism that has been brought into play because of Jeremy Lin. Reporters estimate that basketball players are feeling threatened because since when do Asians get good at basketball? Were infringing upon others territory which a new frontier for us. Sure there was Yao Ming, but the thing was, he wasn’t American, and he wasn’t your cookie cutter Asian nerd. Asians are stereotypically branded as smart, brainy, usually smaller than the rest, and good at doing their work. A good number of my classmates have told me I’m smart, but if you guys are reading this, I promise you, I’m pulling the answers out of my ass and it’s a complete guess, albeit an educated one. Jeremy Lin is all of that. He came from a good family background, he was smart, had a beast of an education and academic career, and for the cherry on top he’s a strong believer and doesn’t let the media forget it. But now he’s brought another standard to the game of what it means to be a Chinese Christian Male. We have to be good at sports now FML!

While I’m not saying that all the Chinese Christian guys need to step it up and learn how to play basketball, I’m saying that a lot more is going to be expected of us now. The bar has been raised for us, and not because we are JUST Chinese, but because we are brothers in Christ, we can’t afford to disappoint. The spotlight is on us even more than before.

Before it was just societal pressure, and the overbearing presence of our Tiger Moms. Now we have even more pressure to deliver because of the media, and potential employers, and professors. I have this family friend, who is by all definitions a Tiger Mom and will even admit to being one. She reads the books on how to get her kids into Ivy Leagues, and how to help her kids get a perfect score on their SAT. My dad was joking with her the other day that she’s going to have to implement a sports regimen into her son’s ongoing mental training schedule. And while it was funny to hear, I almost feel like someone is going to break that poor boy.

But that’s besides the point. To my Chinese Christian brothers in arms, it’s time to take all our games to the next level. NOT because it’s expected of us by society, but because we’re called by God to do greater things, and to not let JLin be the only example of what it means to be a godly chinaman.Whether it’s sports, music, the work we do, or the causes we support, it’s time put on your game face. Get em.

~ by ho.sai.gai on 02/28/2012.