Asian Majority

Knicks lost their first game with Jeremy Lin as starting point guard on Friday night. The whole team seemed to struggle to get into a rhythm, and Jeremy Lin struggled with ball handling in the first half with 8 turnovers. He was able to clean it up and only had one turnover in the 2nd half.

In general, it seems that when Jeremy Lin is allowed to be aggressive and penetrate, that the team excels. When he either takes the shot or makes the kick-out, they tend to find success. Unfortunately sometimes Jeremy seems to run a little wild. This will hopefully clean up as the season progresses.

Despite all that, he still managed to score 26 points, have 5 assists, and have 4 steals.

At the end of the game, in the interview he stated that people want to give him all the credit for the first 7 games so he is taking the blame for this lost. He is young and still learning, but I disagree with assessment totally. Post-interview for all the wins, he kept emphasizing that it was a team win which I found to be quite true. He has been a catalyst, but the effort was a team one. But now, faced with a loss, he is too quick to shoulder the whole loss himself. YES, the turnovers were costly but so were all the missed shots that other team members had. I say to Jeremy, realize the losses are team losses as well.

The major controversy of the night though was in the wee hours with a really poorly titled article came out on ESPN. Read all about the controversy here: Racist Article Title.

Click image to enlarge

Source: Infographic World

No words needed. Clutch!

For those who haven’t seen them yet, there are some entertaining clips from the Fung Bros about the recent emergence of Jeremy Lin. Take away the comedic side, and there is actually a social commentary there about how Asians are perceived in the USA. Bottom line: not favorably which is why everyone is coming out in big support of Jeremy who is shattering the small box that most Americans try to box Asians in.

Being an Asian and knowing a lot of other Asians, I know A LOT of tall Asian guys good at sports. At 5’9″, I was actually the shortest among my close Asian friends including a few at 6′ or taller. We just needed the media exposure to change perceptions. If you’re an Asian teen growing up today, soak it in. These are good times. Enjoy these videos:

Being a minority in the US has placed a lot of challenging barriers on us including Asian Americans. It’s true that many of us have succeeded in academics and the work place, but there are still barriers to reach the pinnacle in all aspects. This is apparent in the recent success of Jeremy Lin.

Here is someone who rose to the top at all levels of basketball in High School winning states but was under-recruited by schools. He excelled in college and was under-recruited in the NBA. He finally only broke out when Knicks were more desperate.

Let’s take a look at academia where you wouldn’t think Asian Americans would have any complaints. There was a recent article by New York Times on the possible bias that Asian Americans base when applying to elite colleges showing how Asians had to score much higher in tests to get in. For most Asian Americans I know, this was no surprise at all and almost accepted as fact.

That is a problem though to accept such things. There needs to be a fight against this type of discrimination which is hurting students and just another systematic way to hold back a minority. I have seen many arguments that there is a lot more to getting accepted than test scores which is true, but a lot of people I know who did not get into top schools had extra curricular activities that were no less impressive than others accepted.

People try to make claims of diversity, but if that’s the case, should sports not have the same type of diversity clauses too? In fact as shown by Jeremy Lin, it goes the other extreme in sports. If we haven’t seen “your kind” succeed in pro-basketball, then you have to not play as well as everyone but even better to even get in.

Let’s take another look beyond college and into corporations. There are a lot of successful Asians, but are they at the top of the firms and companies? There is under-representation there as well. Many of the exceptions are tech companies that people have founded themselves. Rather than being given opportunities, they had to go create their own. That was the only way to get it.

Many senior managers still think Asian-Americans don’t have the social, leadership, etc. skills to lead and manage. Well, many of us do and will take companies to another level. Give people the chance. If they fail, fine, but don’t assume anything.

NY Times Article

Jeremy Lin again! Explodes with 38 points to defeat the Knicks. Once again the focus is on Jeremy Lin who has been the catalyst on this turn around, but I like his attitude.

Knicks are playing amazing TEAM ball, and it’s not all Jeremy. He is amazing though and on a crazy run. He is the real deal. How many more excuses are the doubters making up? Only 1 game…only 2 game…only 3…they haven’t beaten a good team yet…ok, let’s see how it lasts.

He has already been a success. If he does nothing else ever again, he has already made it and is a hero in many of our books forever. I hope this streak never ends for a long time. The unselfish play and humble attitude are amazing. Shatter those stereotypes and play the role model for EVERYONE…underdogs, Asians, Christians, Ivy Leaguers, Asian Christian Ivy Leaguers. haha. Keep rolling!

Netherlands-born Pete Hoekstra is trying to steal American jobs! This is just the beginning of having immigrants trying to take away US Congress jobs. Netherland-born people will soon run this country if we allow this to happen!

Be scared! Be very scared! As a US-born Asian American, I say we must protect our jobs. USA! USA!

Ok…all of the above was satire. I have no problem with “foreigners” or people born in another country coming to the US and making it. I have a problem with blatant racism as displayed in Pete’s commercial without apology. Do you see the double-standard? Let’s fix it. Vote against Pete Hoekstra.

Three in a row. Count it. Jeremy Lin continues to deliver with a double-double.

23 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists…including this highlight. Keep it running! Tough competition against Lakers on Friday.

Here is a list of the type of reactions I am seeing:

1) Dismissive – ok 1 game but can he do it again. Ok 2 games, but can he do it again.
2) Supportive, but racist – he can ball…and [random joke about Asians]. For example, tutoring people’s kids on the side, going back to work at Chinese restaurant, showing that Asians can drive, etc. On that last point, by the way, do you not know the car cultures in the US? A large amount of Asians there.
3) Ignorant – what country is he from? (USA), whoa…he can speak perfect English (born in the USA), he came from nowhere! (tore it up on all levels from high school to college to NBA summer league)
4) Asians not embracing his ethnicity – who cares if he’s Asian…and I’m Asian! US culture can really damage Asian self-esteem…hopefully that is changing.
5) Taiwanese? Chinese? – he is/isn’t Chinese, he is/isn’t Taiwanese! This is politically charged stuff. No comment aside to say it is out there.
6) Supportive – Thank You!

There are others, but this covers a large swath.

A few more comments:
- I was born and raised in the US. I am Asian American, and I have also lived in China for half a year and visited many Asian countries. I have NEVER seen anyone put their fist in another hand and bow! Stop this ridiculousness!
- High expectations – Jeremy has hit dangerous territory where his reputation and expectations are off the charts. I hope it has not outpaced him. He will have bad games as all people do, but hopefully he can sustain long-term solid play.

Watch him play!
New York Knicks Tickets

Jeremy Lin doing it again! Even without superstars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony who got hurt early in the game, the Knicks win against Utah Jazz. Jeremy Lin chalks up 28 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals.

He did have quite a few turnovers this game, but he delivers the win. So many people are wondering where he came from, but if you’ve followed him through the years, you will see he excelled at all levels he played in. Unfortunately he has felt discrimination due to his ethnicity despite his ability to play.

Recently news came out on how Asians had to score much higher to get into Harvard due to what people chalk up to Affirmative Action…well it doesn’t swing that way when it comes to sports. In fact, he has to put up amazing numbers to get noticed. We’re glad he’s extending his performance. There will be ups and downs, but keep your head up and keep running Jeremy.