Week 1 - Ralph Imatong

Denationalization Reconsidered

I identify as Filipino and not under the Asian American terminology because I feel that the Asian American term is too generalized but sometimes limiting to certain groups. Part of it, too, is that I was born in the Philippines and immigrated here in the United States when I was already 18 years old. Generalized and broad because there is a wide array of insights and discussions to consider in order to understand an identity that will encompass the minority, and also limited because, perhaps, I am too focused on what is going on within my own community. In a sense, I think that the limitations that I perceive about the umbrella term, as it applies to me, is justified so far. However, I also understand the importance of what Sau-Ling Wong is conveying about the denationalization of the term Asian American. Because of the fast growing geopolitics of our time, the directional flow of people are now changing. People of Asian descent who studied here in the United States are going to Asian countries for jobs due to the growing economy of countries like China, Japan, Korea and other Asian counties. In addition, there are many immigrants today that are considered part of the "trans-Pacific families," in which I am part of, where a person in the United States still have family ties in their homeland. In this sense the definition of common Asian American term is complicated by this trans-Pacific relationship which is integral to the experiences of certain immigrants in the United States. 

Questions:

Is there a generational limit on who will be considered part of a diaspora? Will the 10th or 15th generation Filipino youths in the United States be considered a part of the Filipino diaspora?

The Asian American experience as minority in the United states in influenced by the capitalistic form of government in this country. How would the Asian American experience be if a democratic socialism will become the form of government in the United States? 

Sources: Wong, Sau-Ling C. "Denationalization Reconsidered: Asian American Cultural Criticism at a Theoretical Crossroads"