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Comment by wcarron | Hacker News Reader

> I'm Asian

The person you are replying to

It fits the bill. Asians are treated as white in tech. There's never any conversation around Asian-Americans. It's awkward because we're not quite Asian, but not quite treated as fully American either. Many programs have checkboxes to identify as minority groups (black, LBGTQ+, women, LatinX, which is great), but not Asians, who are statistically one of the biggest minorities at ~5%.

Despite my family being refugees, much of which died getting here. Despite eastern culture being almost the polar opposite of western culture. I wish that counted for something more.

Not asking for any special treatment because I feel Asian-Americans just put their head down and do the work. But it's stark how silent the conversation around Asian-Americans is, except for when we talk about Crazy Rich Asians.

> It fits the bill. Asians are treated as white in tech.

Or are they treated as asians? This whole thing is complicated, but including asian people as 'white' when it is colloqially used to mean 'caucasian european' for the most part, is just disigenuous and moving the goalposts.

Never in tech have I seen conversation about Asian Americans been brought up. When I say, they're treated as white, it's more like they're treated "not a POC", which only leaves a designation of white. Except Asians don't get put in leadership positions as easily as white counterparts (bamboo ceiling). I've seen many times (online at least) where people have explicitly said Asians don't count as POC, despite facing a large brunt of racism.

> Never in tech have I seen conversation about Asian Americans been brought up.

But also

> Except Asians don't get put in leadership positions as easily as white counterparts

I guess it's now been brought up, so that's a milestone.

We ain’t known for speaking up :)

It is a time where we are getting violently targeted. And while people are jumping at the bit to speak up for every other group, we’re forced to uncharacteristically muster it up ourselves. I imagine if I was any other minority group talking about my experiences, it'd be taken more seriously.

> When I say, they're treated as white, it's more like they're treated "not a POC"

You have missed the point. However they are being treated, by definition, is how asian-americans in tech are treated.

They aren't being treated as "not POC", that is how asian poc are treated.

That seems like a pretty circular argument.

What evidence would falsify it?

What if I made a similar argument except I replaced "asian" with "french"? How would you prove there's a difference between that argument and your argument?

It is a tautology in a sense, but the point is that the case isn't "asian people are treated like white people in tech". The case is "white and asian people are treated like X in tech".

Hope that makes sense.

Okay, sure. I’m just drawing an equivalence to how Asians are treated to how whites are treated, rather than how I think they should be treated, as POCs. That’s my point, a point of comparison and contrast.

I've seen discrimination against Asians. Sometimes a current of disrespect or resentment exists. I also notice a distinct different between how an Asian, or non-white in general, is treated when they are in a superior position vs an inferior position.

You never feel uncomfortable when you are the only non-white? I too am non-white and see myself as white, due largely to the way my mother raised us.

My Father is white and my mother is hispanic, but I've been asked if I am Asian or Pacific Islander many times. I've also noticed a distinct difference in how people treat me when they see me, vs virtual or phone.

I meant to draw attention to how many non-whites are forced to immerse themselves in mostly white groups and can feel ostracized in the US.

> You never feel uncomfortable when you are the only non-white?

Well I am white, so no.

> I meant to draw attention to how many non-whites are forced to immerse themselves in mostly white groups and can feel ostracized in the US

Well the majority of the population in the USA is white. No getting around that, even if a theoretical perfect distribution of diversity is achieved.

I'm addressing lack of empathy. Not population distribution.

Racism takes many forms.

Doesn't matter. If you take a particular viewpoint, there's a whole strata of American society that will call you white/black based on politics alone. Or you'll be called a race traitor, etc... e.g. "Asians are considered white because they have privilege."

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