#asian american diaspora

For Fil-Ams and other people of color, the “American Dream” often means toiling away just to obtain a small piece of the spoils that were violently ripped away from your community.

Second-gen Asian Americans like me grow up oblivious about our own histories because the U.S. education system purposely withholds information about it, and our parents try to outrun their trauma by never sharing their experiences, instead pushing their children toward an assimilation sleepwalk.

AsAms realize too late we’ve inherited a deal with the devil we never agreed to: we can keep our language, but only if we speak it privately. Our food, if we serve it. Our culture, if it upholds the illusion of America as a benevolent melting pot that saved us from ourselves.

But AsAms aren’t the only ones ignorant of this history. Few Americans know of the Philippine-American War and the atrocities the US committed. Even fewer understand how the U.S.’s ongoing legacy of war, destruction, and colonization in Asia is a major reason the AsAm diaspora exists.

Americans aren’t taught about how centuries of exploitation of the Philippines’ resources by Western powers has led to most of its workforce immigrating and becoming a global servant class called Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Instead, they’re taught that poverty is inherent to Filipinx culture.

Americans aren’t taught about how the US installs and props up puppet leaders and dictators—like how Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan fully backed Marcos as he ruled under martial law and committed human rights violations. Instead, they’re taught corruption is inherent to Filipinx culture.

Americans aren’t taught that colonization is bipartisan and Trump and Biden agree on their view of the Philippines: a de facto colony whose resources and bodies can be exploited with impunity for the US war machine. Instead, they’re taught servitude is inherent to Filipinx culture.

Americans aren’t taught about one-sided US military agreements used to keep an imperialist foothold: the Mutual Defense Treaty, Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, Visiting Forces Agreement & Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Instead, they’re told it’s for mutual benefit.

American’s aren’t taught about how many AsAms struggle with poverty, institutional racism, and violence. Instead, they’re taught the Model Minority Myth—created by white people and propagated by all races—that says Asians don’t suffer race-based oppression.

Americans aren’t taught about how Fil-Ams give earnings to family, live in multi-generational households to pool money together, and how the Philippines’ economy would collapse without OFW remittances. Instead, they’re taught Fil-Ams have a high median household income amongst AsAms.

Americans aren’t taught about how AsAm leaders are installed with white backing the same way puppet leaders are, and use their shared race to hurt their own and prevent true progress. Instead, they’re taught that privileged, out-of-touch blue-checks are the voice of our community.

So if Americans aren’t taught any of this, who will teach them? The ugly truth is that AsAms who try to speak up are often crushed into silence by non-Asians who benefit from the status quo, and by Asian puppet leaders who’ve been installed to protect their masters’ interests.

Overall, being Filipinx and Asian means constantly navigating survival between rotating oppressors.

As an ex-Navy brat who grew up overseas, I’ve struggled with my concept of home and at one point believed “home” was a US military base. But maybe that’s as Fil-Am as it gets.

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