9 #MyAsianAmericanStory Tweets That Hit Real Close To Home

By Sameer Rao Aug 27, 2015

In the latest edition of “Republican presidential candidates outdo each others’ racism,” Jeb Bush made reference to “anchor babies” once again on Monday night, saying that the problem wasn’t Latinos as much as Asians: 

What I was talking about was the specific case of fraud being committed where there’s organized efforts—and frankly, it’s more related to Asian people coming into our country, having children—taking advantage of a noble concept, which is birthright citizenship. I support the 14th Amendment. Nothing about what I’ve said should be viewed as derogatory towards immigrants at all. This is all how politics plays. And by the way, I think we need to take a step back and chill out a little bit as it relates to the political correctness that somehow you have to be scolded every time you say something.

Not derogatory? Cool, thanks for telling us how we should feel. 

Fortunately, Bush’s statements compelled Jason Fong, a 15-year-old Los Angeles student and AsAmNews intern, to launch the hashtag #MyAsianAmericanStory on social media and offer a community counter-narrative to the racism and xenophobia grounding these statements, which are a reinvigoration of “Yellow Peril” stereotypes that have stuck with American society for over a century. 

The ensuing responses run the gamut of Asian-American experiences of triumph over odds, disenfranchisement, and anguish at never quite being considered American. From the hearbreaking to the hilarious, historical to contemporary, #MyAsianAmericanStory should be immediately relatable to anybody, Asian American or not, who acutely understands the dislocation of disempowered racial or ethnic status in America. 

While we could never truly rank these tweets, we found nine that struck us with their poignance. Take a look below.

9)

8)

7)

6)

5)

4)

3)

2)

1)

 

What was your favorite #MyAsianAmericanStory tweet? Let us know in the comments! 

(H/t AsAmNews, LA Times, Angry Asian Man