Introduction
America is a diplomatic and prosperous country that misses a lot of potential due to racial intolerance. Naturally, diversity makes life stunning and wholesome due to social complements. As the country with the most diverse population, the U.S. can develop beyond conceivable extents. Many people in the republic, including leaders, wish for a safe land, which remains a big dream. Race-based killings and branding grow daily in America, with the minorities living in a perpetual state of fear. African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Aboriginals constitute the commonly covered minority groups facing plights in the U.S. However, the wholesale coverage of issues hides significant lessons and aspects with the potential to transform America. For example, public attacks and murder among Chinese Americans remain high, despite enacting policies fostering racial forbearance. The use of police to curb racial issues cannot help America realize its full ability. Instead, American policymakers must find alternative measures to solve racism for the country to heal. Accordingly, covering Chinese Americans’ dark past amounts to teaching about their full lives and helps cultivate historical empathy necessary for racial tolerance.
Racism and the Chinese Massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles
Chinese Americans are some of the most suffering individuals in the U.S. based on the many plights that the race encounters. According to Tsou, the current pandemic period constitutes a highly tense condition for the Chinese living in the U.S. due to hate speech crimes and other atrocities targeted to the minority racial group (3). Many non-Chinese individuals in America accuse the Chinese of creating COVID-19 to cause global instability (Tsou 4). The accusation comes from the media’s association of Coronavirus with Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus was reported first (Tsou 3). The matter causes significant pressure, with many Chinese Americans feeling insecure. As per Tsou, several Chinese live on the American streets not because they lack houses but because they fear neighbors’ branding and accusations (6). Hwang reports the rising number of criminal cases involving Chinese people’s victimization, physical attacks, and even deaths since 2020, justifying the race’s suffering (590). Accordingly, there is a significant link between the present and past issues involving Chinese Americans, which can be managed through history studies.
Importance of Chinese History Education
Studying the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles promotes racial tolerance and social inclusivity. Tsai maintains that many people in the U.S., especially the Whites, mistreat the minorities because of fear (1130). For example, the popular race often believes that growth in size among the minor races will lead to social deprivation and a lack of opportunities (Tsai 1132). The aspect forces the former group to use all possible means, including labeling and physical attacks, to intimidate the subgroups. According to Huang and Vidourek, “Chinese people constitute one of the rapidly growing races in America today” (193). The situation leads to significant concerns when coupled with the emergent China-U.S. economic conflicts (Tsai 1135). Many whites feel that the growing Chinese American population will promote China’s influence on the U.S., using the erroneous mentality to settle misplaced concerns. However, studying the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles can resolve the racial problem involving the whites and Chinese Americans. The historical subject will prove to the whites that concerns about the loss of economic opportunities to Chinese Americans are old and misplaced, leading to calmness and empathy.
The subject of the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles can help reduce crimes and promote order in U.S. Tsai argue that many race-linked crimes in America result from misunderstandings and racial labeling (1132). According to Chen et al., over 80% of Chinese Americans living in the U.S. have experienced hate crimes between 2017 and 2021 (122). Most of those facing such atrocities are children in schools and individuals employed in mixed-race settings. Flaskerud reports the rise in murder cases among Chinese Americans serving as house managers in white families due to race conflicts (171). These issues end up in police records and crime registers, making America seem like a crime-dominated society. Teaching Americans about the dark history concerning Chinese Americans and the other minorities living in the country can correct this matter. Studying the Chinese massacre of 1871 will prove to the contemporary Americans that the Chinese generally love peace and feel pain like the other people. The massacre account provides the deep sufferings of the poor Chinese, whose businesses got burnt due to race-connected misunderstandings, leading to a possible change of mind and a peaceful America.
Most importantly, ethnic studies covering the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles will teach the Chinese Americans about their history and strengthen them to face challenges with understanding and patience. As per Hwang, America’s racial problems currently are not unique to the country alone (572). Other republics exhibited similar issues in the past but overcame them for a stable future exist. Germany offers an excellent example of such a nation, according to Hwang (594). The republic is responsible for even causing global war due to race-related problems. However, “ethnic studies about the Jews and their lives positively help the race face life issues” (Nolte-Laird 7). Similarly, teaching the Chinese in America their dark past and how their forefathers overcame difficulties to realize the many good things the community enjoys will strengthen those living today to bear. Knowing that what one is facing is not personal generates hope, according to Nolte-Laird (13). Consequently, the many Chinese Americans living in pain due to destroyed businesses and disrupted life, all caused by racial battles, need to relate their plights to those of their ancestors to find hope.
Refutation
Some groups involved in ethnic studies maintain that offering lessons to young people about their communities’ dark past elicits hatred. The team thinks that passing this information to the current generations makes people want revenge for their ancestors. However, studies into the matter hardly prove these fears to be true. Accordingly, Nolte-Laird (15) provides indigenous scholarships covering Jews’ plights and past as a major source of the society’s strength. Still, Meeus maintains that “undertaking ethnic education amounts to being sincere of the historical happenings without essentially accusing the lineages of individuals who may have committed certain injustices” (119). Consequently, the Chinese Americans are suffering and require immediate liberation. Seeking police help to offer increased security to the minority group fails to deliver the anticipated results. Fear and resentment are characteristic features of this Asian race that continue to suffer while the others watch (Meeus 120). This information breeds hope, patience, and power, supporting the need to educate Chinese Americans about their past for increased forbearance.
Conclusion
Higher learning institutions in the U.S., such as the University of California, Los Angeles, must lead in providing ethnic studies on the Chinese culture. Doing so will lead to several benefits, including promoting racial balance among the minorities. Several institutions in America already support cultural scholarship on African Americans and Jews, with some groups remaining overlooked. The mistake promotes low self-esteem and a lack of self-worth among the ignored cultures, causing racial instability. Universities should stop fearing that teaching some groups about their past will cause revenge feelings and instead adopt appropriate strategies and tactics that make the study and findings informative.
Works Cited
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Flaskerud, Jacquelyn H. “Faces: Identification and Biases.”Issues in Mental Health Nursing, vol. 41, no. 2, 2020, pp. 168-171. Web.
Huang, Shu-Tzu, and Rebecca A. Vidourek. “Bullying Victimization among Asian-American Youth: A review of the Literature.” International Journal of Bullying Prevention, vol. 1, no. 3, 2019, pp. 187-204. Web.
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Meeus, Alexander. “Truth, Method and the Historian’s Character: The Epistemic Virtues of Greek and Roman Historians.” Trends in Classics-Pathways of Reception, vol. 3, 2020, pp. 83-122. Web.
Nolte-Laird, Rachel. “Contact Programs and the Pursuit of Positive Peace: Reframing Perceptions of Equality.”The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Peace, 2021, pp. 1-18. Web.
Tsai, R. L. (2020). Racial Purges. Michigan Law Review, vol. 118, no. 6, pp. 1127-1156. Web.
Tsou, Christine. “Racism Reckoning during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Critical Review of the Literature.” DNA, 2021, pp. 1-12.