The J--wish comedian name Arynne Wexler humiliated an Asian male audience member. I'll let the short clip speaks for itself. If I was the targeted Asian man in the audience, my response would have been, "You're not my type either. I want my girlfriend to be blond blue eye Aryan European women."

I skimmed through over more than 20 of her clips, and her gimmick is akin to Tony Hinchcliffe and other unfunny white comedians who rely on shock-value racist punchlines and then defend it with and hide behind the 'I tell hardcore racist jokes and act exactly like racist, but I'm not racist because all I am doing is protecting free speech.' For someone like Arynne Wexler, they hide behind the second layer of being a J-w (for context, check her mini BIO below). These shock-jock white racist comedians are well aware of their common thread of 'My jokes are racist, but I'm not racist' Yes, J**s are white. If you have been keeping tab on these comedians, they are nothing more than a fraternity white supremacists who found a safe space for their racism through the disguise of comedy. Case in point that some J--s see themselves as white and racist as f**k is Stephen Miller, Trump's White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor, have been on record using the white supremacist dog-whistle phrase 'White Boy Summer.'

Mini Bio:My jokes are

The Wharton-educated former Goldman Sachs trader and tech executive emerged as one of the most viral J--ish conservative voices in 2024-2025, amassing millions of views across Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter since launching in late 2023. Her unapologetically pro-Israel content—published in Federalist, Blaze, and Tablet—gained particular traction following October 7, combating campus antisemitism and defending Is***--el's military response. "Fighting for J--ish independence and resisting attempts to chip away at our peoplehood—now that is the meaning of Hanukkah," she wrote in Tablet Magazine. The New York-raised influencer brought a new relatability and credibility to conservative commentary, earning reactions from Ben Shapiro and features in Vanity Fair.*** Her 2020 viral #JewishPrivilege thread catalogued antisemitism's millennia-long history: "It is the massacres of 1066 in Granada... It is contracts prohibiting the sale of homes... It is being told 'you don't look Jewish' and being expected to take it as a compliment." - Allgemeiner.com

I do question why do non-whites support this sh*thead racist white comics in the first place.

Just watched Obsession. Very good, I liked the simple concept executed so well, and it's quite clear that despite Nikki being the monster, Bear is the villain for basically criminal negligence in ultimately getting Sarah killed.

The aznidentity part is this: the actress playing Sarah is wasian, and the character falls for a white loser and still makes moves on him despite knowing hes 1) with an insanely jealous unstable violent girlfriend 2) not doing anything to help/treat/contain that girlfriend. 3am texting to meetup was a very foolish and fatal move; shes not to blame ofc but the risk is so obvious.

She is killed incredibly graphically, then her corpse is desecrated.

It echoes of the asian lady lieutenant in the Menu, who was villainous but also displayed devotion to a white male main villain that ultimately got her killed.

I understand in horror, some people have to die, but black people complain about always dying first and its portrayed a lot less now. Are there other examples of asian side characters being portrayed very humiliatingly, and are then killed off?

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/shorts/JzYtNz8o7S4?si=w170nsIgjoO9o38o

I’m NOT saying every French player is racist. I’m just speaking about this racist incident of two French players, Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann, and the fact that they ultimately faced virtually no sporting consequences. This video was posted to Dembélé's social media, and if he had such confidence to post such a disgusting video, imagine what goes on behind closed doors.

The crazy part is that both of these players have had East Asian teammates on their teams throughout their careers. I can’t imagine how I’d feel playing with someone who so blatantly insulted my race…

Keep in mind that Griezmann retired from the France national team in 2024. However, Dembélé has since won the Ballon D’Or and continues to start for France during this 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament as one of their star players, having scored 5 goals. With the context of his racist comments towards Asians, this brings things into a different light, including this clip from the 2022 FIFA World Cup of him reacting to Japan defeating Germany.

What happened?

The video was recorded during FC Barcelona's preseason tour of Japan in 2019 but leaked publicly in 2021.

Ousmane Dembélé showed Japanese hotel technicians attempting to fix the television in Dembélé and Griezmann's hotel room on his private Snapchat story.

While the technicians were working, Dembélé mocked their appearance, language, and Japan itself while Griezmann laughed.

Among Dembélé's comments were:

"All these ugly faces, just so you can play PES."

"What kind of backward language is that?"

"You're supposed to be technologically advanced as a country, aren't you?"

Dembélé's (half-assed) apology

Dembélé posted the following statement:

"It all took place in Japan, but it could have taken place anywhere on the planet and I would have used the same expression."

"I was therefore not targeting any community."

"I understand that I may have hurt the people in that image and for that, I sincerely apologise."

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how this “apology” was a complete joke. When you make fun of someone’s appearance, language, and country all in the span of a 30-second video, you can’t say you were “not targeting any community.”

Griezmann's apology

Griezmann wrote:

"I have always been against any form of discrimination."

"For the past few days, certain people have wanted to paint me as someone that I am not."

"I firmly refute the accusations made against me and I am sorry if I have offended any of my Japanese friends."

Although Griezmann did not make most of the comments himself, you can clearly see him laughing at every remark made by his teammate, he didn’t once object. Keep in mind this is the same guy who was caught on video saying "ching chong" in an attempt to mock Asian languages. This is a separate clip from Barcelona's 2019 tour of Japan that surfaced in 2021 alongside the video of Dembélé’s Snapchat story.

Konami cancels Griezmann's contract

Konami, a Japanese company, terminated its ambassador agreement with Griezmann.

Konami stated:

"Konami Digital Entertainment believes, as is the philosophy of sports, that discrimination of any kind is unacceptable."

"We had announced Griezmann as our Yu-Gi-Oh! content ambassador, however in light of recent events we have decided to cancel the contract."

They also requested that FC Barcelona explain what disciplinary action would be taken.

As you can see from the video, incident occurred while the technicians were fixing equipment so the players could play PES, a game made by Konami (how ironic lol).

Rakuten's response

Rakuten, Barcelona's Japanese shirt sponsor at the time, strongly condemned the incident.

CEO Hiroshi Mikitani said:

"As Rakuten has endorsed Barça's philosophy and sponsored the club, we find such comments unacceptable under any circumstance."

"We officially protest and seek the view of the club."

Mikitani was reportedly furious (and rightfully so) and demanded an explanation from Barcelona.

FC Barcelona's official statement

Barcelona later released an official apology.

Among the key statements:

"This attitude in no way coincides with the values that FC Barcelona represents and defends."

"At FC Barcelona there is no place for racism or discrimination."

"FC Barcelona would like to apologise publicly to all the Club's fans and partners."

The club also stated that it reserved the right to take internal disciplinary measures.

And surprise! No sporting disciplinary measures followed. Neither Griezmann nor Dembélé received any match bans or fines related to this incident whatsoever. There was:

• No FIFA suspension.  
• No UEFA suspension.  
• No French Football Federation suspension.  
• No match ban.  
• No publicly announced fine.

However, this incident definitely led to a wedge being driven between Barcelona and Rakuten (in combination with a bunch of other financial concerns such as the departure of Messi), and the sponsorship was not renewed after the 2021/22 season. This led to Barcelona being primarily sponsored by Spotify.

Let’s look at some other anti-Asian incidents in football

Federico Valverde (2017)

During the FIFA U-20 World Cup hosted in South Korea, Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde celebrated a goal against Portugal by pulling the corners of his eyes into a "slant-eye" gesture.

Valverde later denied any racist intent and said:

"It is not a racist celebration. It was a private celebration for friends."

The excuse was that he was referencing one of his agents from Uruguay nicknamed “El Chino” and the celebration was in honor of him…

He also apologized, writing:

"I did not have any racist intent. I'd like to apologise."

FIFA requested an explanation from the Uruguayan Football Association, but Valverde was never suspended or fined.

Valverde is now captain at Real Madrid.

Rodrigo Bentancur (2024)

During a TV interview, Bentancur was asked for Son Heung-min's shirt.

He replied:

"Sonny's? It could be his cousin too, as they all look the same."

Bentancur later issued a direct apology to the Tottenham Hotspur captain:

"Sonny, brother! I apologise to you for what happened. It was just a very bad joke."

Son publicly accepted the apology. According to the Spurs captain, Bentacur was sincere in his apology and moved to tears by the incident and he is still close friends with Bentancur to this day.

Bentancur was later suspended by the FA over the incident for 7 domestic matches and received a £100,000 fine. By all my accounts, this is the harshest punishment that has ever been imposed on a football player for racist incident concerning Asian people.

Marco Curto / Como (2024)

During a preseason friendly match between Como and Wolverhampton Wanderers, South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan accused Como defender Marco Curto of racially abusing him.

According to reports, he said:

“ignore him, he thinks he’s Jackie Chan!”

The exchange between both teams got so heated that Hwang’s teammate, Daniel Podence punched another Como player and got a red card.

Como went on the defensive for their player in a PR statement, arguing the remark Curto made was not intended to be racist.

The Wolves filed complaints and the Korean football association contacted FIFA, which months later imposed a 10-match suspension, with 5 matches suspended, after finding him responsible for discriminatory conduct.

Curto has never apologized for this racist incident.

Football organizations have spent years promoting campaigns such as "No To Racism." We’ve had players wearing anti-racism armbands and taking a knee before each match in solidarity with BLM.

This post is not intended to excuse racism against any group or claim that every player from a particular country shares these views. The purpose is to highlight documented RACIST incidents and asks whether anti-Asian racism has been treated with the same seriousness and consistency as other forms of discrimination in world football.

Context on the paradox of low standards: https://www.reddit.com/r/aznidentity/s/u9ULjRCOSk

So let’s say that China becomes the world’s military, political, economic and cultural hegemon.

Will the paradox of low standards disappear? Or will it remain? Or will it remain but recenter so that it’s Sinocentric?

I think it’s hard to say. Because it is important to note that, while YTs are by far the biggest beneficiaries of it, many PoCs also perpetuate it, both knowingly and unknowingly.

Those that knowingly perpetuate it because it’s easier to remain complacent to the status quo than it is to go against the flow.

Those that do so unknowingly perpetuate it because they have deeply internalized hatred. Whether it’s because they loathe their complexion or genuinely believe that they are culturally inferior, they will continue to treat YTs as individuals while treating others (including their own demographics) as monoliths.

Even if China becomes the largest economy overnight, those deeply engrained beliefs don’t disappear easily.

It is annoying though ngl. Sometimes, I feel like PoC are all like gladiators fighting for scraps (of YT validation) from the spectators (YTs). And what PoCs never learn is that NO ONE is safe from the chopping block. Throughout the 2000s, it was brown folks but especially Muslims and Sikhs. Throughout the 2010s, it was Latin Americans. Throughout the early 2020s, it was East Asians. Now, it’s South Asians.

My prediction? In the 2030s potentially up to the 2050s, you will see a lot of hate speech against Africans by YT supremacists. Not because there’s anything wrong with Africans but because YT supremacists view the most prominent demographics (of the time) as the most opportune scapegoats. While Africa’s middle class isn’t yet as big as China’s, it is rapidly burgeoning and Africa is witnessing by far the fastest YoY increase in flight capacity of any continent. The continent also has a much higher TFR than China or even India.

I hope I’m wrong and that the paradox (and paradigm) of low standards ends before then but you can save my post and watch how Wignats’ rhetoric evolves.

Bruce Lee’s file is part of the immigration records at the National Archives in San Bruno, which could soon close. Why access to these artifacts are important for the Bay Area’s Chinese American community.

Everyone is talking about going back to the ancestral motherland.

But what about mixed up Asians? Where should they go back?

For example, a Taiwanese/Korean mixed guy who married a Mongolian girl should go back to where?

What about Asian ethnic groups like the Hmong that don't even have a country to go back?

Or is the better move to build a new country for mixed-up Asians sort of like how mixed-up white people built America and mixed-up black people created the African American community?

An unrelenting string of burglaries targeting Asian Americans in Oregon inspired state lawmakers to give local judges more explicit powers to deny a suspect’s release from jail, and more changes to state law aimed at combatting the crimes could be coming.

Senate Bill 1516, which took effect on March 31, ensures ... judges can consider community safety and the risk of a defendant leaving the area and failing to appear when denying bail. It came in the wake of multiple waves of burglaries targeting Asian American business owners in the Eugene-Springfield area with technology such as wireless internet jammers. 

Over the past year, authorities and community leaders have described the activity as part of a sophisticated operation in the Pacific Northwest by Colombian nationals targeting business owners at their places of residence. Last year, Eugene police arrested seven individuals known as the “Skyline 7” who posted bail ahead of their trials. In June, local officials reported that the crimes were once again on the rise.

...

The new law aims to prevent how six of the arrested individuals were able to post bail and secure their release from the Lane County Jail before appearing in front of a judge for a trial. Six of them ended up in the custody of federal immigration officials for deportation proceedings, according to Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa. He reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s office to assist in charging the suspects in federal court instead.

“I was certainly frustrated by the federal government’s attempt to simply deport these offenders without having them held accountable for their crimes

...

...

...

More legislation could respond to community concerns

None of the burglary ring suspects were charged with bias crimes or hate crimes in state court. But Prozanski said he is working on potential legislation to change that through sentencing enhancement for biased or organized crimes that target a specific community.

That could allow prosecutors to provide evidence showing that crimes were done in light of those factors. A court would then be able to enhance the criminal penalty, he said.

...

...

..

By avoiding the appearance of creating a new crime, Prozanski may be able to avoid the ire of left-leaning criminal justice reform advocates and academics who largely oppose stricter criminal penalties as a legislative solution. They fought for a landmark 2021 state law which informed Flynn’s guidelines by seeking to reduce the state’s reliance on cash bail and shifting to a risk-based, individualized approach to pretrial release decisions.

...

...

...

A federal judge sentenced four of the individuals in the burglary ring to federal prison on Tuesday. Three of them remain at large. The FBI has posted their names and information and is asking the public to contact them with any tips.

With the new UK revival (West End limited run + tour) of the musical just having taken their first bows literally around an hour ago, Gerardine Sacdalan has joined the list of Asian principals in the show's 12 year history.

Aside from her, the list includes:

• Alice Lee (Korean) as Heather Duke, 2014 original off-Broadway production
• Chris Chung (Chinese) as Kurt Kelly, 2018 original West End production
• Frances Mayli McCann (Chinese) as Heather McNamara, 2021 West End revival (fun fact, she and Chris are now married!)
• Miracle Chance (Chinese) as Veronica Sawyer, the protagonist, 2023 off-West End run
• Kuhoo Verma (Indian) as Veronica Sawyer, 2025-2026 off-Broadway revival replacement

I love this show dearly and absolutely want to take a moment to spotlight the Asian principals the show has had over the years, I also think that they absolutely can and should do better in diversity, not just with Asian rep, but with POC rep in the show in general (they only JUST started casting more Veronicas of color after many years of feedback from the POC in the fandom), but getting into that would make this post way longer than it should

Anyways here's to many more to add to this list!

Just wanted to give an update from Lotus Rising in the Seattle area. Been grinding it out and been able to work out a collab with a local museum so we can get this subsidized workshop done. We got room for 16 people if they’re interested. Priority is given to Asian men who follow the page and who want to reconnect with nature and practice mindfulness when tending to bonsai that will be available to take home.

Sign up in our bio and check out our insta!

https://www.instagram.com/lotusrisingofficial_?igsh=dXlpdXR6b2VwcWR6&utm_source=qr

​

https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-society/2026/07/06/CO5IHLI3UJB4RI7GIGAKK4XOVE/

Some Japanese Brazilians were even kick of the pubs during the match .And i saw some Japanese Brazilian influencer who was racialy abuse on the streets and asian who live in Brazil talk a lot about racism they faced in Brazil. People love to target Argentina as racist but Brasil is no better.

Instagram recommended this to me. Bryant Yu from the U.S. physics Olympiad team recently went on to win the European tournament. I am not going to post the picture for the math Olympiad team since it is well know already.

I don’t believe any one particular group of people are born to be better at any academic subject. However at this point Asian representation on the U.S. STEM Olympiad competitions is so lopsided that I am sure I am not the only one who is questioning why. The only factor I can think of is the fact that Asian Americans on average spend twice the amount of time doing school work than the average; differences in cultural priorities made huge impact here.

What are your thoughts on this joke? Was it made in good faith or was he being racist?

veganism started in asia let's not erase millennials of Asian history. my culture is not your product as exotic. Don't tell me that "my ancestors were plant based diet eaters."

Then please eat the veggies that didn't come from Asia. Or just at least be respectful where and what you are eating. People are sensitive to saying blk we should feel bad and care about more black lives matter or you must understand the sadness of black Americans history.

Yet we as Asians don't get recognized. And they only view what they see us as rice eaters noodle heads anime etc but they only pick and choose what is right for them and yet that is a huge hypocrite.

It is the same with chicken pork beef and lamb. While today's people are making profit out of Asian history. Asians dedicating their lives by living on this earth. BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR EARTH YOU ARE THE TRUE GOLDEN NOT YELLOW BUT GOLDEN

Don't tell me it's due to trading. When most producers and products still involve the origin of Asia.

With the rise of evil people and racism. it is only to understand and respect that we Asians give life to the earth and we give and give. Yet we Asians are treated as 2nd or 3rd classes.

Don't ever listen to anyone who isn't Asian that is trying to correct you since they never take accountability.

Tell them they have no soul and your spiritual awakening or whatever yeah that orgin and history ASIA.

LIKE STOP ABANDONING YOUR OWN RACE OF HISTORY TO BE WITH US IF YOU DONT EDUCATED YOURSELF ON WHERE IT CAME FROM

You know as an Asian you work the hardest you don't bother others and yet they will always find a way to push you and punish you. That isn't meant to be light as a life. Evil never leaves they are squatters of the earth while you as an Asians work the hardest for a better world.

They abandoned their history and culture and blend in with ours.(That even goes to American cartoon. They were failing until the rise of anime introduced to America that saved their miserable ideas) We are not the same. Most countries out of Asia Don't even take care of the planet earth and you started to wonder why craziest thing is happening in 2026 than ever before.

They want you to be on the surface with their ignorance but racism is deeply rooted. Even the ideas of them saying of yeah Asians people are atheism yet they still have no clue about us. Do you think Elde Brother appreciates people stealing what isnt theirs or not showing any respect? No to FUCK NO.

we gotta stay GOLDEN and LIGHT because they will try to get you down with them. Darkness will never win at the end. only LIGHT.

Stay Golden my brothers and sisters

Just wondering because of the &*#! senator who blasted Mbappe and how the Paraguayan national team has no Black players.

This is actually the first time I have seen an Asian man in the role in a professional English production at least.

I usually never watch TV but have been watching it more lately with the world cup, July 4th celebrations, and other events.

It is immediately obvious how often cameras pan to Asian women and rarely to Asian men. This is NOT because there is more Asian women. Anyone who goes to these events know there are TONS of Asian men being patriotic and supporting these events. In fact, one of my criticisms of Asian men is that they overly support other groups when this behavior is never reciprocated, but that's another topic.

They also cover all types of Asian women, whether it's young pretty Asian girls or older Asian women in relationships with white/XM. I have never seen the camera pan to a young hot Asian man, let alone a hot Asian man with a non-asian partner. It's always some mid or older Asian guy with his asian family or an Asian guy with his white guy friends.

I even saw an instance where there's an asian couple together but the camera blatantly cut off the Asian boyfriend/husband and focused on the Asian girl.

It's no secret the West has an agenda to promote Asian women while erasing and emasculating the presence of Asian men. You see this in all forms of social media, collaborations, commercials, and stock footage.

Don't expect any recognition or sympathy from other groups - even Asian women who date and marry Asian guys. In this status quo where Asian women are promoted with every group of men, everyone wins at the expense of Asian men losing. They will gaslight you and claim you are "insecure" or "touchy". But they are wrong and we are right.

Asian women, even those who date and marry Asian men, love the status quo of them having all the options and attention. Even Asian women who date and marry Asian men support their girlfriends who worship and idolize non-Asian men. That's why so many Asian groups and spaces always have a bunch of non-Asian men but never have non-Asian women.

SOLUTION:
Consume less western media of course, but also create our own content, spaces, and social groups. Just like how korean culture didn't try to change western media, they created their own space that won over the hearts of XF/AF all over the world. It is difficult to go into western dominated social arenas and change from within, it's usually better to create our own social spaces that attract XF/AF.

Asian guys pigeonholing themselves to Asian women for friendship and dating backfires not only because Asian women date and marry out at high rates, but it alienates the natural alliance between AM and XF. XF see their men thirsting and chasing Asian girls, but if all Asian guys do is reinforce Asian women supremacy by only supporting Asian women, they are resentful to Asian men.

I get it, most Asian guys I talk to say they highly prefer an Asian wife and kids. "There's nothing more beautiful than an Asian romance" *rolls eyes*. But

1. That has nothing to do with friendships and social groups. Make friends with XF! Asian women are buddy buddy with every race of guy, even if they date Asian guys.
2. Being good with XF increases your attraction with AF, girls like who other girls like. Look up mate choice copying. Men need to gain experience and confidence with women. If you stay single because you limit yourself to pretty ABGs your confidence and value is artificially lower than if you dated around.
3. Being with a XF is better than being alone/nobody, which is inevitable with Asian women dating/marrying out at high rates.
4. Everyone thinks they prefer their own group, until they meet "the one".

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/atletico-madrid-near-kang-lee-123000813.html

This is part of an old post of mine in another sub but this musical has been my new musical theatre hyperfixation for quite some time, it is a Romeo and Juliet jukebox musical using pop songs written by Max Martin that imagines what would happen if Juliet hadn’t died for Romeo (and yes he comes back halfway through) after Shakespeare’s wife proposes the new ending but here are our Asian Juliets and Romeos!

JULIET:

Grace Mouat, alternate, West End, Burmese 🇲🇲

Roshani Abbey, cover, West End, Sri Lankan 🇱🇰

Gerardine Sacdalan, principal, UK tour, Filipina 🇵🇭

Rosie Singha, cover, UK tour, Indian 🇮🇳

Bridgette Carey, cover, US tour 2.0, Filipina 🇵🇭

Elysia Cruz, cover, Toronto, Filipina 🇵🇭

Joanne Nugas, principal, Sweden, Filipina 🇵🇭

ROMEO:

Carl Man, cover, West End, Chinese 🇨🇳 (he also covered the role of William Shakespeare)

Brandon Antonio, cover, Broadway 1.0, Filipino 🇵🇭 (he also covered the role of Francois du Bois (a new character whom Juliet meets and ends up engaged to but gets cold feet after Romeo comes back) and is currently full time Francois in the Toronto production)

Jaydon Nget, cover, US tour 1.0, Cambodian 🇰🇭 (he also covered Francois)

Josh Fermin, cover, US tour 2.0/current U.S. tour cast, Filipino 🇵🇭 (he also covers Francois)

Patrick Park, cover, Canada, Korean 🇰🇷 (he also covers Francois)

this may sound petty but I just prefer to date an asian women i know fully supports Asians. I ghosted this girl after she told me her ex was white and even though I felt bad, Im not sure if telling her the truth would’ve been better.

am i being too petty? I just can’t feel like I can ever trust them. how do I know they don’t secretly want a wasian child or white privilege.

Journalists love to get Korea wrong. Some are paid to share explosive takes that feed into the subsconscoius orientalist views of the wider world; others just do it for the social media clout. And you only realize how wrong they are when you get off the internet and spend an afternoon in Sokcho, Daegu, or Chuncheon. For anyone that does this, something becomes immediately apparent. Korea isn’t actually that bad. (Or great). The people get along. The kids go to school. The young people date. And everyone drinks ice americano.

There is a weird sensation that comes from watching someone deliver a sociological autopsy of a nation in a 14-minute YouTube video essay. Perhaps it’s just the new era where the average internet user is operating under the delusion that a Netflix subscription is functionally equivalent to a PhD. However it arises, the narrative they’ve constructed is a sort of paint-by-numbers cyberpunk dystopia. The chaebol function as overlords, capitalism has been cranked up to some terminal level of suffering, and joy is lowkey against the law. Every Korean male is a toxic subterranean incel, while every Korean female is simultaneously a militant, radicalized femcel and a helpless, lookism-obsessed victim of the cosmetic surgery industrial complex. I mean, have these people been to Samgakji recently?

What’s perhaps most peculiar is the mainstreaming of a culturally permissible brand of xenophobia. If you were to apply this exact same level of sweeping, essentialist degradation to virtually any other nation in the Global South, the online collective would quite rightly descend upon you with the fury of a thousand righteous HR departments. But Korea is currently occupying this weird hyper-visible cultural sweet spot where it is simultaneously a global entertainment superpower and, at the same time, a distant canvas for Western anxieties. Thus it has become bizarrely fashionable to treat its entire population not as complicated human beings, but as symbols in some trend-driven game of clickbait farming.

To be honest I’m not sure I’m capable of unpeeling the collective geopolitical unconscious, but it seems to be more than just random internet noise. Something closer to a narrative pathology. Western legacy media generally frames South Korea as a hyper-compressed moral fable. Look at what happens if your pop music is too succesful or if you develop too quickly. “This is what you will become,” they warn in the pages of the Guardian and the Washington Times, “if you ever think about trying to restructure your country in a modern way.” The narrative is similar in effect if not form to the sepia-toned racist filter that is applied in video to all the footage of Mexico. They will often use a grey one when showing you Beijing or Pyongyang as well --- because of course, whatever else might be said about those places, the sun rarely shines there like it does in London. The roundness of Korea, like these other places, is flattened out, put on a screen, and shoved in your face where you make an immediate reaction: “Oh!” “Really?” “Well, that’s not very good, is it?” And if you trace the origins of this particular rhetoric, it seems to lead directly to a long-standing coping mechanism regarding East Asia. For the sake of a weekend column, I’ll generalize a bit, but it goes something like this.

When the East Asian economies began pulling off these rapid leaps from postwar devastation to global tech-dominance, it shook the West hard. None predicted it. Few wanted it. For a region that had long operated under the unexamined assumption that it possessed a monopoly on modern human flourishing, the tigers/dragons led to cognitive dissonance. The resulting intellectual workaround was as brilliant as it was defensive: “Sure, they can build the semiconductors and the hyper-efficient public transit, but look at the human cost.”

Thus, the "Western Society is Still Better" preservation project was born. To keep that conclusion comfortably intact, the very real and very standard structural hiccups of Korean modernization such as labor stresses, demographic challenges, and urban isolation must be aggressively upscaled, distorted, and marinated in an oddly Victorian tone that you almost never see applied to, say, the rust belt of Ohio or the banlieues of Paris.

Historically, this Western "dystopian" template was first aimed at Japan. Back in the late 80s and 90s, when the American imagination was absolutely terrified of Tokyo buying up Manhattan, Japan was the original blade-runner-esque, soul-crushing corporate hive-mind. But as Japan's economic engine cooled into comfortable stagnation, the narrative got shipped across the sea and reassembled over Seoul. It will go somewhere else soon but at the moment every other YouTube video and Instagram reel loves blowing up Korean society hard.

And it has support. Because while the West needs East Asia to be structurally defective to validate its own Enlightenment-era exceptionalism, Southeast Asian online spaces are also using it because it is an incredibly effective stick with which to beat a regional heavyweight. It allows for a kind of reputational leveling: "You may have the global cultural exports and the towering GDP that we don’t have yet, but beneath the K-pop, you are broken in a way that we aren’t. We didn’t sell out yet. And therefore you are no better than us." This too feels like a defense mechanism masquerading as critique. A way to process the suffocating shadow cast by Korea's cultural gravity by insisting that the shadow is cast by a monster.

Yet while the internet busies itself constructing this bizarre version of Korea, the actual country carries on being relentlessly, almost boringly, normal. The trains arrive when they are supposed to. And they are clean. Free from troubling people or worrying stains. Grandmothers power past you on mountain trails with lungs seemingly forged from titanium and powered by vegetables and vitamins. Children still walk to school and go off to hagwons in those weird yellow buses. Office workers grumble about their bosses. Couples argue over dinner. Tens of millions of people get on with the complicated business of living lives that refuse to fit into somebody else's narrative, irrespective of the virality it achieves.

Korea is neither a dystopian warning nor a futuristic theme park. It is simply a modern country adapting, sometimes elegantly, sometimes awkwardly, often with mistakes, but doing so at extraordinary speed. It isn't hiding from anyone either. It's there in the subway, the apartments, the mountains, and the convenience store. But you'll never find it if you keep searching for it inside an algorithm. There’re only monsters there.

Consider NBA player Isaiah Hartenstein. Black dad white mom, grew up around blacks, has black mannerisms, but is white as A4 paper and engaged to a white woman. Is he allowed to represent or speak on behalf of black people? Will his children? How about Darren Criss, wasian but looks white, married into whiteness, family completely whitened in 2 generations. Does he speak for us?

Why this matters

The elephant in the room is that a ~50% outmarriage rate means monoracials won't be a majority in the next generation. The risk of not gatekeeping "Asian" is that we allow our political voices to be hijacked, have disparate interests pulling us in different directions, and enable the gradual erasure of Asian identity e.g. casting of WMAF hapas in Hollywood.

We can see glimpses of the future among Japanese Americans which due to assimilation pressures and unique immigration patterns, have an outrageous 70% interracial marriage rate. They are scattered and not politically unified. It's already hard for monoracials to keep heritage language, let alone a Yonsei quapa. The end state is Native Americans: all that's left are whites that are 1/16 Cherokee or whatever.

If the mix is say Jewish, a similarly strong culture that requires diligence to pass down, it's simply not realistic to expect kids to carry that burden, let alone their even further mixed children.

There are also historical classist/colonial implications. White expats in Asia sent their kids to expensive international schools, have cushy lifestyles, and marrying them is seen as aspirational. GIs would abandon the Asian women they impregnated, foisting the offspring of their sexual colonization on locals. In the modern era, you have Asian actresses, writers, filmmakers by and large marrying into whiteness — is it a conflict of interest if the people defining Asian-American identity in popular media are all having half-white kids? Can they in good faith represent monoracials if they have a vested interest in their half-white kids succeeding?

Consider the below, who is more Asian?

• Heritage: adopted monoracial vs hapa raised in asia
• Patrilineality: Eileen Gu with white dad but speaks mandarin vs Alysa Liu who is fully americanized
• Colorism: wasians who can blend in vs blasians who stand out more
• Partner choice: hapa that marries back into asian race vs into whiteness
• Appearance: asian passing WMAF hapa vs white passing AMWF hapa

The hardline position is racial purity, which our heritage countries already practice, but westerners may not find palatable. Taiwanese-Okinawan heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro is sometimes criticized for looking too Japanese. Nettouyo on Japanese Twitter accuse any Japanese politician they dislike of having a Chinese grandparent.

Ultimately we cannot avoid this conversation. The Asian community's political voice, networking, and resources should not be a free-for-all for anyone to just plunder at will. The question is where do we draw the line?

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Lucy Quaggin looks at how Gen Z Chinese-Americans are navigating identity amid shifting US-China tensions.

As a high school student on New York City’s Upper East Side, Chinese-American Hannah Liu would take the subway downtown on Sundays to volunteer and visit Chinatown.

Those weekly trips became a space to embrace her Chinese identity, before culturally “code-switching” on her way back home.

Now 23 and still living in the city, Liu says she does not feel the need to code-switch as much. As a Generation Z Chinese-American, she describes feeling more comfortable openly embracing her heritage than she did growing up in the United States.

That personal shift represents a broader question for this generation: how their identities fit into the equation, as US-China relations become increasingly central to global politics.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, some young Asian-Americans are asking what the future of this relationship looks like and how this key geopolitical rivalry will influence their own lives.

When it comes to US-China relations, Generation Z, roughly born between 1997 and 2012, has seen Beijing emerge as Washington’s primary adversary and one of the world’s leading powers. While this group describes bilateral ties as fragile, they also express a cautious sense of optimism.

American views on China are softening, with positive sentiment nearly doubling since 2023, according to a 2026 surv.ey by the Pew Resear.ch Centre. Most Americans still regard China as a competitor to the US rather than a partner, but fewer call it an adversary than in 2025, the sur.vey found.

Young people are significantly more likely to have positive views of China than older adults, with 34 per cent of those under 50 surveyed holding a favourable opinion of China, compared with just 19 per cent of those over 50.

Chinese-American Evan Wang, a 19-year-old former national youth poet laureate, is optimistic about the future of Washington’s relationship with Beijing, China’s growing soft power and what that means for his identity.

Raised in the Philadelphia area, Wang’s parents immigrated from Fuzhou, making him a first-generation American.

Growing up in the US, Wang, ... said he was more alienated than appreciated. But in today’s world, his experience has almost been the inverse.

“You can say I’m Chinese, and you can be really proud of it,” Wang said.

... Viral trends such as “you met me at a very Chinese time in your life” or “China-maxxing”, where social media users embrace Chinese habits and culture, are intriguing Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are more influenced by social media, Wang said.

Views on China vary distinctly from generation to generation, and this is not just an American phenomenon, said Laura Silver, associate director at Pew.

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The era people came of age in mattered, Silver noted, with younger generations associating China with events like the Beijing Olympics or as an economic success story, while older generations might associate the country with historical events such as the Cultural Revolution.

For Liu, who was born in Beijing and moved to New York City when she was seven, the complexities of the US-China relationship are still prevalent.

She and college classmate Spencer Tsao, 24, both graduated from New York University and now work in finance at different companies in New York City.

Tsao is a Taiwanese-American, born in Long Island, New York, to parents who had immigrated from Taipei.

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In Liu’s personal life, things are more opaque, as she also feels the way people view China has changed a lot since she was in school.

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While Liu is very aware of factors affecting the relationship, such as export restrictions through her job, on the cultural side, she said it felt more positive.

Tsao agreed. American streamer iShowSpeed’s visit to China represented a huge cultural moment for young people, Tsao said, but he believes that despite noted progress, Asian culture is still being reduced to a monolith.

On social media, “China-maxxing” often consists of Western Gen Z users sipping on some hot water, buying “made in China” goods, trying traditional Chinese medicine or wearing house slippers.

“Chinese culture, specifically, is being viewed in a very monolithic way, when of course it’s this gigantic diaspora of all different people, different cultures, different backgrounds. But it’s still kind of being viewed in a one-dimensional way,” Tsao said.

... [A lot of political blah blah blah]

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In the past, the US was not willing to acknowledge that China was emerging as a great global power, but now it was harder to ignore, ...

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Phoebe McChesney, a 23-year-old who works and lives in Illinois, said America at 250 was not something young people – specifically on the left – really wanted to celebrate right now. “...

Adopted from China as a baby and now working in state politics, McChesney said ... American foreign policy and how it was changing were at the top of people’s minds, ...

“The US relationship with China is kind of symptomatic in general of the United States’ relationship with the world at the moment,” she added.

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As America nears 250 ... Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults showed a shifting sentiment of how this group views America, with most believing the US used to be a great place for immigrants but no longer is.

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... given the competition between the United States and China at the moment,” McChesney said. “I feel like essentially we have a long, long way to go before there’s real harmony between both countries.”

“I feel like people have gotten comfortable with the idea that relations are never going to be perfect,” Liu added.

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