Declining popular opinion of Asian-Americans, and especially Chinese-Americans, have worried many in the Asian-American community that racism and stereotyping will always be a presence in American society.
According to a recent survey conducted by consulting firm Yankelovich Partners, and commissioned by the Committee of 100, an elite group of Chinese-Americans that includes the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and architect I.M. Pei, Americans continue to hold "very negative" views about Chinese-Americans.
The survey found 67 percent of respondents held either "very negative" or "somewhat negative" attitudes toward Chinese-Americans.
In addition, approximately 20 percent of respondents thought that Chinese-Americans were undesirable marriage partners and would be uncomfortable with voting for an Asian-American candidate for president.
These themes are not new to the Asian-American community, given the long and difficult history of discrimination they faced since the arrival of the first Chinese immigrant a century and half ago.
However, reminders like this one are still painful, and for some, very disturbing, especially given the fact that the survey was conducted before the spy plane incident, which has further lowered American opinions of Chinese-Americans, according to the Gallup Organization.
"I'm worried about it," said Asian and Asian-American Student Advisor Nora Yasumura. "All Asians, not just Chinese, right now are vulnerable."
Yasumura said that she sees a troubling pattern in which the United States locates and categorizes certain nationalities as a vicious enemy. Currently, 69 percent of Americans consider China an "enemy" or "unfriendly" nation, a Gallup Organization news release said.
"I think we have stereotypes about every nation ... it is a natural thing to have. The difference between our perceptions of European and Asians is that we can make jokes about the 'stuffy' English ... knowing that there's a big rich reality underneath. There's not that understanding for Asians," Assistant Government Professor David Kang said.
The nationals of these countries are portrayed by the media using extremely negative stereotypes, which encourages suspicious and derogatory treatment of them.
In the past, Japanese and Iranian nationalities were subject to such treatment during the Second World War and Iranian hostage crisis, respectively.
"It's ridiculous how extreme those things can get," Yasumura said, referring to the media propaganda.
Although no individual students have approached her wanting to discuss the topic specifically, Yasumura foresees more trouble brewing in the future. Specifically, the movie "Pearl Harbor" may elicit more nationalist hostility toward Japanese nationals and, in turn, Japanese-Americans.
"I'm worried that [the movie's] going to glorify American soldiers as white soldiers," she said, noting that Japanese-American soldiers also fought in the war.
Many Asian-Americans see this type of treatment as evidence that Americans have not accepted them as "100 percent" American, a common term used to describe the fact that popular opinion has always been suspicious of Asian-American's "true" loyalties.
Kang describes two differing political stereotypes of Asians that have worked against them. The first is a positive, hardworking, productive image of the Asian-American. The second is a dangerous, highly organized and efficient foreign agent.
The two co-exist, and when suspicions arise, "Asians are doubly dangerous because they're good at stuff," Kang said.
When asked to evaluate the Bush administration's handling of the spy plane incident, Kang gave an answer that he's been giving to the many people who have approached him: "We're still waiting to see how Bush's foreign policy is really going to play out."
He gave a grade of B- to the governments of both countries, making the point that incidents like the spy plane collision happen all the time, but mostly unknown to the press, and therefore, the general public.
Other touchy incidents in the recent past that have evoked similar themes include the Gore fundraising scandal and the Wen Ho Lee case, which, as Kang said, "really got out of hand."
