Filipino American. Comic book creator. Artist & writer: ULTRA, GIRLS, THE SWORD, & WHISPERS (@ImageComics). Don't repost/edit my art. https://t.co/65sgGuKJQZ
Not too long ago, AsAms seemed united in outrage against racism & white-washed casting such as Scarlett Johansson in GITS, Tilda Swinton in Dr. Strange, or Netflix’s Deathnote. Yet as more projects with AAPI leads & casts were produced, this so-called unity proved to be a lie. 2/
When Corinne Tan debuted, AsAms were offended by the synopsis and how it centered a white man in what's supposed to be a COVID racism story. Once I heard the book had been fast tracked for 2 live-action specials on HBO Max and Cartoon Network, I knew more harm was coming. 2/
It's telling that describing an article as vying for a token position is seen as cruel, but labeling a dissenting Asian man as an incel, MRA, or MRAsian is not. This bigotry is pervasive. Racist hatred of Asian men has been normalized by AsAm media and leadership for years. 2/
Calling out racist white women is important and necessary. It is precisely because supposedly liberal white women are perceived as progressives that they get invited into marginalized spaces and then are able to cause more damage from the inside. 2/
Handler used this tactic in the Black community. Her response to backlash was to create content that talks around her racism without truly addressing it—& still profit from it. Ironically her "acknowledgement" of anti-Black racism is how I got exposed to her anti-Asian racism. 2/ 
Even in so-called progressive outlets, U.S. media invokes Orientalism & even gendered depictions of Asian countries to create a contrast: Evil Misogynist Asia vs. Benevolent White Male West. The goal is to dehumanize Asians, deify whiteness & justify warmongering against Asia. 2/
Unlike Robert Kolker's NYT piece—which I think did a disservice to the truth by not being chronological—I'm going to do a mostly chronological approach here. So Celeste Ng's name won't show up until a few tweets in. First, I'll need to explain an Asian American issue. 2/
I don't allow reposts of my comics in part because it's a frequent strategy of Nazis to warp the messaging that implicates them & instead slander me. So to see fellow AsAms do it is disgusting. Yet that's what Jenn Fang & her harasser friends did to my comic Reconciliasian. 2/
So not only did she help spread slander against me in order to permanently destroy my career and make sure no one in marginalized spaces would platform me, but she financially benefited from the harm she caused. The irony is she said a Filipino shouldn't write about Mulan. 2/
Understanding anti-Asian racism means connecting its history in the US with its history in Asia, instead of treating them separately. US imperialism, war, & colonization abroad directly informs the racism AsAms experience because the goal is the same: divide, conquer, & kill. 2/
Before this, I grew up in a loosely Catholic upbringing and rarely went to church. But after my dad left the U.S. Navy and our family, we moved back to the U.S. and lived with cousins who were Mormons. There, we were regularly visited by missionaries, and eventually converted. 2/
Second-gen AsAms like me grow up oblivious about our own histories because the US education system purposely withholds info about it, & our parents try to outrun their trauma by never sharing their experiences, instead pushing their children toward an assimilation sleepwalk. 2/
For some, this spike in anti-Asian racism comes as a surprise or seems like it's the first time it's happening. But that's because the Model Minority Myth—created by white people—tricked both white people and POC into thinking Asianness is a privilege. 2/
If you're POC & elect to partner with a white person, regardless of gender, you are burdened with the fact that your partner is racist by default & you will have to push them out of it—otherwise they will suck you into their racism & use you to shield them from accountability. 2/
It says a lot that the dialogue about the Filipino rapist & this scene—where Bradley Cooper nearly lynches a Black man with a leash & feeds him dog food—are presented as comedy. Although the story & its characters are fictional, these portrayals tell us how Shepard views MOC. 2/ 
Vampires weren't always depicted positively. The origins of vampire lore are steeped in a sort of Orientalism, where Eastern Europe was othered as barbaric & dangerous to Western Christian values. The earlier depictions were more visibly monstrous & less human, like Nosferatu. 2/
Remember how @NBCAsianAmerica published the "Decade in Asian America" article that didn't include Fil-Ams/SEA & NBC didn't apologize or even acknowledge the erasure? Kimmy & Jessica are on that NBC team. There's a pattern of treating Fil-Ams as lesser. 2/