Jeremy Lin: Super-awesome Asian-American NBA star.
Okay - so I'm not an expert on Asian men but because I've been heavily involved with Asian-American male empowerment activists and writing for a number of blogs pertaining to Asian men, I can safely say I understand a thing or two about them and how they are perceived in society.
You can't deny the facts - there are nearly no Asian male chart-topping musicians, no "Hollywood hunks" to speak of, and nary an Asian-American man in sight in "manly" sports like the NBA...until last week. Jeremy Lin, the humble hero from Harvard, graced the New York Knicks with his presence and his astounding talent in basketball.
You can't deny the facts - there are nearly no Asian male chart-topping musicians, no "Hollywood hunks" to speak of, and nary an Asian-American man in sight in "manly" sports like the NBA...until last week. Jeremy Lin, the humble hero from Harvard, graced the New York Knicks with his presence and his astounding talent in basketball.
His stats don't lie - scoring a career high against the Lakers with 38 points, this 6'3" point guard from LA has agility, dexterity and a finesse that no one expected from an Asian-American athlete (another blog post for another day).
Sports articles and bloggers are, of course, jumping on the SEO craze - writing anything and everything about him just to get a few likes and shares. While the majority of it has been about his career, the obstacles he's overcome and, in a bizarre rumor, an alleged date with Kim Kardashian, a few postings have been biased and even racist.
In the past, it was common to overlook comments like Jason Whitlock's "small penis" tweet, simply because there was no Asian man that non-Asians liked enough to defend. Now that Jeremy Lin is New York's newest idol, protests were made and apologies were coerced - people are now taking interest in Asian-American racial issues.
So what does this mean for your average Asian-American male and how others will perceive him? While there are many, MANY ways, I personally think that there's at least one Psychological process that can explain a social behavior. Remember, folks, this is just my opinion based upon my observations and understanding of the human mind and our society.
Enter the Positive Feedback Loop.
Sports articles and bloggers are, of course, jumping on the SEO craze - writing anything and everything about him just to get a few likes and shares. While the majority of it has been about his career, the obstacles he's overcome and, in a bizarre rumor, an alleged date with Kim Kardashian, a few postings have been biased and even racist.
In the past, it was common to overlook comments like Jason Whitlock's "small penis" tweet, simply because there was no Asian man that non-Asians liked enough to defend. Now that Jeremy Lin is New York's newest idol, protests were made and apologies were coerced - people are now taking interest in Asian-American racial issues.
So what does this mean for your average Asian-American male and how others will perceive him? While there are many, MANY ways, I personally think that there's at least one Psychological process that can explain a social behavior. Remember, folks, this is just my opinion based upon my observations and understanding of the human mind and our society.
Enter the Positive Feedback Loop.
As I stated earlier, a Positive Feedback Loop, commonly misunderstood in today's jargon, is defined as an output cycled back into the system as an input. The input will then become an output, the output an input, etc.
So basically, A produces B which, in turn, produces A.
An easy example is when someone is hungry. Their stomach rumbles, so they are reminded that they are hungry. They think about their hunger, making themselves hungrier. Their hunger has increased, so they think about it more. The more they think about it, the hungrier they become.
So, what you have with Asian and Asian-American guys (more specifically, Asian/Asian-American male fans of Jeremy Lin) is this:
Asian-American guys read about Jeremy Lin and feel happier.
They are happier and have a more cheerful demeanor. (A)
Asian-American guys have interactions with non-Asians. Since they are cheerful, the interactions seem more pleasant than before and less discriminatory, biased or racist. (B)
Asian-American men are happier due to the pleasant interactions with non-Asians and have a more cheerful demeanor. (A)
...and thus, the Positive Feedback Loop continues.
So basically, A produces B which, in turn, produces A.
An easy example is when someone is hungry. Their stomach rumbles, so they are reminded that they are hungry. They think about their hunger, making themselves hungrier. Their hunger has increased, so they think about it more. The more they think about it, the hungrier they become.
So, what you have with Asian and Asian-American guys (more specifically, Asian/Asian-American male fans of Jeremy Lin) is this:
Asian-American guys read about Jeremy Lin and feel happier.
They are happier and have a more cheerful demeanor. (A)
Asian-American guys have interactions with non-Asians. Since they are cheerful, the interactions seem more pleasant than before and less discriminatory, biased or racist. (B)
Asian-American men are happier due to the pleasant interactions with non-Asians and have a more cheerful demeanor. (A)
...and thus, the Positive Feedback Loop continues.
While this is more of a perception change for the Asian-American fans, it can also positively affect how non-Asians feel about them as a whole.
Now, I'm not saying that Jeremy Lin is here to eradicate all Asian-American racism, but it's a nice start. Many people are starting to take notice of racist comments and slurs and are now realizing, en masse, that it is wrong. Jeremy Lin has the torch now, but the Asian-American community needs to keep it lit - and keep it going...and the rest of us need to do our part to help them pass the torch along.
Now, I'm not saying that Jeremy Lin is here to eradicate all Asian-American racism, but it's a nice start. Many people are starting to take notice of racist comments and slurs and are now realizing, en masse, that it is wrong. Jeremy Lin has the torch now, but the Asian-American community needs to keep it lit - and keep it going...and the rest of us need to do our part to help them pass the torch along.
