Jeremy Lin and modern racism
I will be generalizing the media reaction in this post. Of course, there have been quite a few different people talking about Jeremy Lin - in particular, some great writers who've discussed racism and how important Jeremy Lin is to (many) Asian-Americans, and how he's been breaking the many stereotypes linked with Asian-American men and culture, but here I'm mostly talking about the mainstream - the ESPNs, the NBA.coms. To put it bluntly, the (white) audience, the talking heads, those that were hyping up the "miracle".
I have a lot of problems with Jeremy Lin being described as a miracle. Don't get me wrong, he's freaking awesome. But the *way* in which he is (or was) being talked about is very problematic, and that's what I want to talk about today.
First of all, from a purely basketball perspective, he's a good player. At times, an excellent player. But he commits a lot of turnovers, can't go left, doesn't have a reliable shot yet, and needs to work on his stamina. Plus he has that weird habit of pulling up and kicking the ball out to the perimeter when he's already in the paint. That's such a weird pass. I didn't expect him to hit 20 points and 10 assists every game, and he didn't have to. I'd be worried if he did, because then he's a larger than life character and that overshadows one important thing - that he's an Asian-American kid who can really ball. That in of itself is important enough, and if it's all about him being some sort of superhero, then what's gonna happen when he regresses to a "merely" above-average PG when he returns from injury?
This isn't a "Rudy" story. Jeremy Lin's story really shouldn't be *that* surprising. (I suppose I should explain who "Rudy" is, for those who haven't seen the movie. Basically, his character is a small college football player who succeeds through sheer determination and at the end of the movie everyone cheers and it's inspirational and awesome and we all realize oh hey the little guy has a chance too) The fact that the media is referring to his rise as amazing/miraculous/totally unexpected is a problem.
Jeremy Lin is no Rudy. He was amazing everywhere he played basketball - he was ripping up the court in high school and still got overlooked by every college but Harvard. In college, he continued to play excellently. Statistically, he would have been one of the better PGs in the draft. Still, he was overlooked. If it wasn't for a lucky break with the Knicks, he would have been gone, through no fault of his own. It's totally different from the Rudy story. Rudy had none of the tools needed for college football. He didn't have the size, he didn't have the talent. He lived the dream despite his limitations.
Lin is 6'3" and 200 pounds. He's always been capable of playing in the NBA. His limitation is different from Rudy's. He was never too small, he was never lacking in talent, and it's not like he never did show his stuff. He did, and people ignored him. Why? For us Asian-Americans, it's pretty freaking obvious, and that makes the mainstream media somewhat amusing, yet sad to watch throughout this, because we know exactly what they are avoiding.
Racism.
He's an Asian-American male. It's pretty simple. There isn't any miracle here - a good basketball player showed that he could actually be a good basketball player. But it's being regarded as a miracle because of the way he looks. He's being treated like some undersized kid in a Disney movie that overcomes all odds. Yes, he overcame odds, but those were the odds of racism, and not limitations of his own making.
It's funny seeing so many "experts" going, "How did the scouts miss him? Is there a flaw in the meritocracy that is the NBA? Maybe it's just a fluke? Who knew?" when it really is just that simple. Racism. People see what they want to see. We have our own prejudices that affect our decisionmaking, and racism is one of them. People didn't think Jeremy Lin could actually play, because he didn't have the look. They saw someone who wasn't big enough, strong enough, poised enough. But that didn't have anything to do with whether or not he actually WAS capable, but rather people's perceptions. And our perceptions have to change.
Someone once said, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." And that's what's very troubling about modern racism - racists have been very successful at convincing the world that racism no longer exists. When people think of racism nowadays, they think of the KKK, Neo Nazis, Islamic Fundamentalists, Japanese Nationalists. But when we identify such extreme behavior as the only definition of racism, everything else flies under the radar.
In the old racism, it was a world in which white people were just "better". In modern racism, white people are instead "just right". The Goldilocks, if you will. You've got your (Asian) Night Elves, that are smart but weak. You've got your (Black) Orcs, that are strong and stupid. Then you've got the (White) humans. Not too smart, but smart enough to do whatever they have to. Not too strong, but strong enough to do whatever they have to. This, combined with their leadership and determination, make them the "well-balanced" character.
What does this mean, sociologically? It means white people can do anything, but other races are stuck in these artificial categories. Asian-Americans are great workers, engineers, and doctors. But they can't be great athletes, or managers, or CEOs. They just don't have the intangibles. African-Americans are great entertainers, athletes, and soldier grunts. But they can't be great philosophers or commanders. Or at least, don't expect it. There may be exceptions here and there, but only because these special individuals were just so good that they just couldn't be ignored. But otherwise, carry on business as usual.
It's racism, with a "new and improved" label slapped on it, but it's the same BS. It's a great sell to white society that is terrified of being called "racist", but still wants to consider itself "normal", or "default".
Jeremy Lin is viewed as "Lincredible" by the mainstream media for all the wrong reasons. He is indeed, awesome, and he means a lot to Asian Americans. In our culture, Asian men are almost never portrayed as heroes. They're nerds, scientists, background characters, comic relief. If they ever do kick ass, they're martial artists, but they're never going to get the girl. (unless there are ONLY Asians in the movie. If there's a single white hero in the movie, expect him to end up with the girl.
This is the world we Asian-American guys grew up in. Jeremy Lin's no Yao Ming. Yao was so freaking big that even racist scouts couldn't ignore that. But Lin is relatively "normal". He's given us sport-loving Asian-American males a chance to believe that someone that looks like us can make it, that we don't have to be a freak of nature (no offense intended to Yao, of course). Is it that sports trumps other things, that being recognized as a great athlete is objectively better than being recognized as a great engineer? Of course not. But the option itself is a privilege, to see someone that looks like you doing well, and that's a privilege that's probably hard for most white people to understand. Asian-Americans boys could only dream, until Jeremy Lin came along. He's broken stereotypes, and maybe that will expand the definition of "the look" needed to be a baller, that hey, maybe our definition of what a player needs to make it should be changed. Black kids used to laugh when they were told "anyone can be President". Not anymore. And if people were wrong about Asian-Americans being unable to ball, what else are they wrong about? Perhaps we could actually be great politicians? Movie stars? News anchors? Roles that have been traditionally thought of as incredibly unlikely. Essentially, the *possibility* exists, and that itself is liberating. That's why I love Lin's story, and I'll always be a fan even if he never puts up those numbers again.
It's sad when we need a star to prove that we can actually measure up to white people, what in America, that's what it takes. You have to be a *lot* better than the "default" to start to be taken seriously. I remember a Chris Rock sketch in which he observed that baseball didn't start to become equal until you started seeing BAD black baseball players in the major leagues. There's a lot of truth in that. For society to recognize the exceptional minorities isn't all too surprising. They're just too good to ignore, like Yao's height. But for society to start giving the average guy a chance... that's harder.
Some have said the Jeremy Lin bubble has burst. Well, that all depends on your definition of bubble. If you expected him to lay down 30 points every night and would carry the Knicks into the playoffs... then yes, I would expect you to be disappointed. If all people remember from the past few months is some guy who came out of nowhere and then faded, then it'll have been for naught. But if your definition of awesome is that a kid has proved that Asian-Americans can play basketball just as well as whites and blacks and that they've been consistently overlooked because of racism... and that as a society, we ought to learn something from our past prejudice...
then the Jeremy Lin story will truly be "Lincredible".
First of all, from a purely basketball perspective, he's a good player. At times, an excellent player. But he commits a lot of turnovers, can't go left, doesn't have a reliable shot yet, and needs to work on his stamina. Plus he has that weird habit of pulling up and kicking the ball out to the perimeter when he's already in the paint. That's such a weird pass. I didn't expect him to hit 20 points and 10 assists every game, and he didn't have to. I'd be worried if he did, because then he's a larger than life character and that overshadows one important thing - that he's an Asian-American kid who can really ball. That in of itself is important enough, and if it's all about him being some sort of superhero, then what's gonna happen when he regresses to a "merely" above-average PG when he returns from injury?
This isn't a "Rudy" story. Jeremy Lin's story really shouldn't be *that* surprising. (I suppose I should explain who "Rudy" is, for those who haven't seen the movie. Basically, his character is a small college football player who succeeds through sheer determination and at the end of the movie everyone cheers and it's inspirational and awesome and we all realize oh hey the little guy has a chance too) The fact that the media is referring to his rise as amazing/miraculous/totally unexpected is a problem.
Jeremy Lin is no Rudy. He was amazing everywhere he played basketball - he was ripping up the court in high school and still got overlooked by every college but Harvard. In college, he continued to play excellently. Statistically, he would have been one of the better PGs in the draft. Still, he was overlooked. If it wasn't for a lucky break with the Knicks, he would have been gone, through no fault of his own. It's totally different from the Rudy story. Rudy had none of the tools needed for college football. He didn't have the size, he didn't have the talent. He lived the dream despite his limitations.
Lin is 6'3" and 200 pounds. He's always been capable of playing in the NBA. His limitation is different from Rudy's. He was never too small, he was never lacking in talent, and it's not like he never did show his stuff. He did, and people ignored him. Why? For us Asian-Americans, it's pretty freaking obvious, and that makes the mainstream media somewhat amusing, yet sad to watch throughout this, because we know exactly what they are avoiding.
Racism.
He's an Asian-American male. It's pretty simple. There isn't any miracle here - a good basketball player showed that he could actually be a good basketball player. But it's being regarded as a miracle because of the way he looks. He's being treated like some undersized kid in a Disney movie that overcomes all odds. Yes, he overcame odds, but those were the odds of racism, and not limitations of his own making.
It's funny seeing so many "experts" going, "How did the scouts miss him? Is there a flaw in the meritocracy that is the NBA? Maybe it's just a fluke? Who knew?" when it really is just that simple. Racism. People see what they want to see. We have our own prejudices that affect our decisionmaking, and racism is one of them. People didn't think Jeremy Lin could actually play, because he didn't have the look. They saw someone who wasn't big enough, strong enough, poised enough. But that didn't have anything to do with whether or not he actually WAS capable, but rather people's perceptions. And our perceptions have to change.
Someone once said, "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." And that's what's very troubling about modern racism - racists have been very successful at convincing the world that racism no longer exists. When people think of racism nowadays, they think of the KKK, Neo Nazis, Islamic Fundamentalists, Japanese Nationalists. But when we identify such extreme behavior as the only definition of racism, everything else flies under the radar.
In the old racism, it was a world in which white people were just "better". In modern racism, white people are instead "just right". The Goldilocks, if you will. You've got your (Asian) Night Elves, that are smart but weak. You've got your (Black) Orcs, that are strong and stupid. Then you've got the (White) humans. Not too smart, but smart enough to do whatever they have to. Not too strong, but strong enough to do whatever they have to. This, combined with their leadership and determination, make them the "well-balanced" character.
What does this mean, sociologically? It means white people can do anything, but other races are stuck in these artificial categories. Asian-Americans are great workers, engineers, and doctors. But they can't be great athletes, or managers, or CEOs. They just don't have the intangibles. African-Americans are great entertainers, athletes, and soldier grunts. But they can't be great philosophers or commanders. Or at least, don't expect it. There may be exceptions here and there, but only because these special individuals were just so good that they just couldn't be ignored. But otherwise, carry on business as usual.
It's racism, with a "new and improved" label slapped on it, but it's the same BS. It's a great sell to white society that is terrified of being called "racist", but still wants to consider itself "normal", or "default".
Jeremy Lin is viewed as "Lincredible" by the mainstream media for all the wrong reasons. He is indeed, awesome, and he means a lot to Asian Americans. In our culture, Asian men are almost never portrayed as heroes. They're nerds, scientists, background characters, comic relief. If they ever do kick ass, they're martial artists, but they're never going to get the girl. (unless there are ONLY Asians in the movie. If there's a single white hero in the movie, expect him to end up with the girl.
This is the world we Asian-American guys grew up in. Jeremy Lin's no Yao Ming. Yao was so freaking big that even racist scouts couldn't ignore that. But Lin is relatively "normal". He's given us sport-loving Asian-American males a chance to believe that someone that looks like us can make it, that we don't have to be a freak of nature (no offense intended to Yao, of course). Is it that sports trumps other things, that being recognized as a great athlete is objectively better than being recognized as a great engineer? Of course not. But the option itself is a privilege, to see someone that looks like you doing well, and that's a privilege that's probably hard for most white people to understand. Asian-Americans boys could only dream, until Jeremy Lin came along. He's broken stereotypes, and maybe that will expand the definition of "the look" needed to be a baller, that hey, maybe our definition of what a player needs to make it should be changed. Black kids used to laugh when they were told "anyone can be President". Not anymore. And if people were wrong about Asian-Americans being unable to ball, what else are they wrong about? Perhaps we could actually be great politicians? Movie stars? News anchors? Roles that have been traditionally thought of as incredibly unlikely. Essentially, the *possibility* exists, and that itself is liberating. That's why I love Lin's story, and I'll always be a fan even if he never puts up those numbers again.
It's sad when we need a star to prove that we can actually measure up to white people, what in America, that's what it takes. You have to be a *lot* better than the "default" to start to be taken seriously. I remember a Chris Rock sketch in which he observed that baseball didn't start to become equal until you started seeing BAD black baseball players in the major leagues. There's a lot of truth in that. For society to recognize the exceptional minorities isn't all too surprising. They're just too good to ignore, like Yao's height. But for society to start giving the average guy a chance... that's harder.
Some have said the Jeremy Lin bubble has burst. Well, that all depends on your definition of bubble. If you expected him to lay down 30 points every night and would carry the Knicks into the playoffs... then yes, I would expect you to be disappointed. If all people remember from the past few months is some guy who came out of nowhere and then faded, then it'll have been for naught. But if your definition of awesome is that a kid has proved that Asian-Americans can play basketball just as well as whites and blacks and that they've been consistently overlooked because of racism... and that as a society, we ought to learn something from our past prejudice...
then the Jeremy Lin story will truly be "Lincredible".
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