Abstract
This chapter explores factors that influence the current divisiveness in sociopolitical discourse and rhetoric in the Chinese American community and, in particular, the family unit. The findings contribute to understanding the origins of ideological differences that reflect the polarization facing the U.S. at large. The author integrates her experience and knowledge of the community and draws on a range of literature on Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, and psychological theories to identify three themes that influence the world views and modes of communication of many first-generation Chinese Americans: an authoritarian orientation, a polarized psychology, and a national origin orientation. Utilizing an autobiographical research approach that combines phenomenology and autoethnography, the author captures the trauma of her parents growing up during the Chinese Communist Revolution to bring awareness to disruptive events that shape cognitive processes that underlie the three themes and contribute to the current discordance in intergenerational discourse.
TopIntroduction
The United States has become deeply polarized in recent years, characterized by economic and political fissures that have arisen alongside an authoritarian populist movement (Norris, 2016). This polarization represents a crisis that has deepened and opened an intergenerational chasm in the Chinese American community, whereby discourse has been marked by the same divisive rhetoric that has engulfed the national conversation (Linthicum, 2016; Rong, 2019). One may find first-generation Chinese Americans advocating for strict adherence to immigration laws, while younger Chinese Americans objecting to the use of racialized rhetoric around illegal immigration (Linthicum, 2016). Holding differing sociopolitical views is not surprising in and of itself because each generation applies its own unique experiences to evaluate issues. However, rhetoric propagated by a far-right strand of modern American politics, characterized by anti-socialist, nativist, and authoritarian ideologies, has exacerbated this ideological fissure to create deep discordance in Chinese American communities (Rong, 2019; Roose, 2020; Zhou, 2020). Examining the discourse around such rhetoric reveals unique characteristics in the Chinese American community that, the author observes, has impaired intergenerational communication and family relationships.
For this chapter, “first-generation” specifically refers to Chinese immigrants who came to the United States around, or shortly after, the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s-80s; “second-generation” refers to the first-generation’s children who were born in the United States or arrived as children. The author postulates three themes that contribute to intergenerational discord. First, many in the first-generation tend to possess an authoritarian orientation that emphasizes respect for authority and hierarchy, especially within the family, and a Confucian-steeped communication pattern that was deepened by Communist ideology. Second, the formation of group identities engendered under repressive regimes may contribute to many first-generation members embracing polarized thinking. Third, the first-generation has a “national origin orientation” in which they apply their understanding of political and social structures from China to the U.S. context so that they may not fully understand the complexity of current events. These three themes reinforce each other to influence rhetoric and create friction in discourse within Chinese American families.
The author positions her family in a historical context to bring awareness to traumatic events that may underlie the discordance in intergenerational discourse that is the subject of examination in the chapter. The author’s parents immigrated to the United States as refugees in 1978 and settled in New York City’s Chinatown, where the author was born and raised. Subsequently, the author’s entire clan immigrated from China—grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The author seeks to make sense of the sociopolitical discourse within her family that reflects a larger pattern in Chinese American intergenerational discourse, such that the inability to bridge perspectives and build dialogue have sown frustration and resentment in families. This chapter’s contribution is the application of the three-theme framework to bring clarity and understanding to such rhetoric and discourse in the Chinese American community.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Baizuo: Literally translates to “White Left,” which is a Chinese derogatory political epithet to describe Western/American leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people.
Second-Generation Chinese Americans (Second-Generation): The children of the first-generation who were either born in or arrived in the United States as children in the 1970s and 1980s.
First-Generation Chinese Americans (First-Generation): The first set of immigrants of a family from China who arrived in the United States around, or shortly after, the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s and 1980s.
Far-Right: Politics that represent conservative social ideas belonging to the extreme right of the American political spectrum that frequently embodies anti-communist, nationalist and nativist ideologies and authoritarian tendencies of modern American politics.
Authoritarian Orientation: Theoretical construct for describing and understanding the Chinese cultural emphasis on respecting authority and hierarchy, especially within the family.
National Origin Orientation: Theoretical construct for the first-generation’s tendency to apply social norms and political structures from China to analyze socio-political issues in the United States.
Guanxi: Chinese communication characteristic that uses an insider and outsider perspective that shapes interpersonal relationships, interactions, and connections.