Comparing Hsiang's And Staples

Many people assume that whenever the topic of racism or ethnic discrimination comes up, the discussion would be solely regarding opposing races. Surprisingly, in Hsiang’s and Staples’ written experience it was quite often the opposite effect. In their narratives, Hsiang and Staples convey that it is a myth that racism only occurs outside of one's race. It emphasises ‘only’ to show that indeed racism transpires inside the race as much as or more than outside of the race. As Hsiang recounts from her personal experience, “Most of the students told of being discriminated against and marginalized by members of their own ethnic groups” (Hsiang 342). While some differences between African Americans and Asians are evident, the similarities are salient. …show more content…
Staples' essay contends that his skin color and size causes people to discriminate against him, "...youngish black man- a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into pockets" (Staples 346). He believes that the color of his skin is the only thing that people see to categorize him as an individual. On the other hand, Hsiang's essay reflects how the ethnic group interacts with each other rather than just the outward appearance of her skin color. Hsiang says, "Asian Americans grow up experiencing enough difficulties living in a predominantly white country with the face of a foreigner" (Hsiang 344). This proposes that there are more problems within the inside of the racial group and in America, where Asians not always welcome. These two essays both show that racism exists in the country based on skin color, or as Hsiang says "... the face of a foreigner" (Hsiang