Sometimes it sucks to be an Asian Male

On my way to an interview, I grabbed an issue of La Voz on my out of the parking lot. As I was stuffing it my bag, a group of men approached my direction. I swerved to my right to avoid contact, continuing to stuff the issue in my bag when I hear the words, “f***in’ stupid.”There are many reasons why he said what he did, but the one reason that stuck out of my mind was because of my appearance. No one can really say except him, but I think because of my short height, lack of muscles, thick glasses, and an arguably nerdy appearance, he judged me the way he did. If I was tall and strong looking, this story would have ended other wise.Let’s be honest here; looking at De Anza’s student body, a lot of Asians males seem to fit this stereotypical appearance. I am no exception. And in this stereotypical package, Asians are supposed to be quiet, mind their business, be good students and never retaliate. Thus, the “model minority,” was born, first used my President Reagan.Maybe that’s why he called me stupid; because my type of people are not supposed to lash back at others?Michael Richards’ controversial remarks during his comedy act didn’t help alleviate my anger. His racist remarks further deepened my pessimistic wound on my perception of the US. Racism still seems to be alive and well.The biggest slap in the face is knowing the people whom I look like and share the same culture decides to reject me for that same reason. “Yellow fever,” as it is commonly called, is one of the biggest insults for an Asian male. Asian women will choose not to have a romantic relationship with other Asian males, despite the commonality we share. Instead, they are attracted to white males and vice versa. This is discrimination and puts me and other Asian males at a disadvantage.Therefore, a void of white women should be available for Asian men according to the math, correct? Not exactly.Ever since the first Asian immigrants stepped on US soul, American society and government tried everything they can to discourage Asians to settle here, which included the prevention of their wives from coming over with them. Furthermore, to prevent American women from being romantically involved with Asian men, they were demasculized. They were in a no-win situation.What’s troubling is that Asian men are still trying to fight this battle, despite the origins of this problem over 100 years!Someone may argue that the Kung-Fu era during the 1970s and 1980s helped Asian men, such as Bruce Lee. He was a fighting machine. He showed Asian men can be feared because we had quick reflexes and able to snap an elbow with our thumbs. Unfortunately, Lee never had sex in any of his films, much less kiss anyone.Matter of fact, current Kung-Fu movies featuring Jet Le also showed a lot of action and violence, but Le’s master forgot to teach him the art of seducing women.All in all, Asian men kicked ass, but they never got any.If you must know, I did not retaliate when I was called “stupid.” If I did, maybe I could have shown that there are Asians here with a pair of balls, just like any other man regardless or race. On the other hand, I could have dug a deeper hole for myself.Asians only make up approximately 4 percent of the US population and the odds are stacked against me. But of course, sitting here complaining about it won’t change anything.