Vincent Who?
Asian-Pacific American Institute and The Center for Multicultural Education
November 21, 2008 6-8pm
This was a film screening of the documentary "Vincent Who?" It explored the 1982 beating and murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese American and the impact it had on the Asian American community. Vincent Chin was killed by two caucasian men who were un-employed and blamed immigrants for taking their jobs. Because Asian Americans didn't have much political power, they were let off only having to pay a $3000 fine.
The film opens up with college students being asked if they knew who Vincent Chin was. All of them said they didn't. The Vincent Chin incident is one to remember because it did have a large impact on the Asian American community. Generally as a population, Asian Americans were more in the background. The Vincent Chin case however pulled together Asian Americans to create a pan Asian response. Despite of background, Asians rallied together and began to give themselves a voice.
I thought this documentary was interesting yet relevant. The evening was opened by parallelling this incident with the killing of an Ecuadorian man on Long Island. This shows that hate crimes run across cultural communities and are still issues which we face today. As a future teacher, it is important to make students aware that these things do still happen although we'd like to think we're a more tolerant society. It is important to teach students about other cultural communities as well as teaching them about immigration. Raising awarenessa bout other cultures would hopefully teach students not only tolerance but acceptance as well.
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2 comments:
I find myself taken aback as I read your post as this is the first time hearing about Vincent Chin. It makes me wonder…where is the justice in this act of hate (among many others)? I simply do not and cannot understand how the murder of one is met with the consequences of paying a fine. I agree with you about the importance of teaching students about immigration. Immigration so often holds a negative connotation. As teachers, I feel that we are responsible for providing students with opportunities to iron out any misconceptions that they may have or feel about this issue. When I think of hate crimes, I feel as though they occur partly because people wrongly attribute the cause of downfalls – whether it be their own or the economy’s – to the presence of immigrants. While immigration has an undeniable impact on the nation, immigrants should not be victimized and seen as scapegoats.
Before hearing about this documentary, I too was unaware of who Vincent Chin was. It's so upsetting to know that such acts of hate, violence, and intolerance still exist (ever existed). It's shocking that the two caucasian men only had to pay a fine; it shows just one of many "white privileges" and the injustices of the "system."
Although this may be an emotionally difficult subject matter to bring up in the classroom, it is our job as educators to make students aware of the realities of our society and give them the opportunity to speak out against such inequalities.
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