Updating an Outdated Mindset

The last several years have marked difficult times in Sino-American relations; it’s been a period of disappointment. For people of Chinese descent residing in the U.S., it’s also been a time of withdrawal. Derogatory political narratives have become the norm, intersecting with unfounded allegations of human rights abuses which directly correlate, ironically, with spikes in anti-Asian racist occurrences and the demonization of China in popular thought.

The idea that China is somehow responsible for America’s decline and, more broadly, some form of human regression globally, is one of the few things many Americans can agree on—including many Gen Zs. Consequently, it often seems that if you’re Asian in the U.S. right now and not Chinese, then one of the first things you want to tell