The “Asianization” of America - Nicole Zawislan

Before I read the article on the “Asianization” of America, I had never really given it any thought. I always just assumed that because America has always been considered as a melting pot, it would carry over into our 21st century. It’s a common thing for a town to have at least one Asian, one Mexican, and one Italian restaurant and bigger towns have an even more widespread array of cultures like Greek, Indian and Irish Pubs. But the USA Today article pointed out that it’s much more than food or a “Made in China” sticker. The East has infused so much in our Western lives that we do not even realize it. Since 2001 when the article was written, even more things have brought eastern culture to America. Some examples would be the Life of Pi movie that was a blockbuster in 2012 or from a political aspect, China buying our debt. Sports have also been involved in helping Asian culture to immerse more in America. Many famous Asian-American athletes have helped, since the article was written, to break stereotypes and increase discussion about incorporating Asian-Americans into mainstream sports. Examples of famous Asian-Americans would be Apolo Anton Ohno, who was a very successful speed skater in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympics, and Hines Ward, the Super Bowl MVP wide receiver for the Steelers, who has a Korean mother and black father. In addition to those cases, Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin both deserve credit for breaking the Asian barrier in the NBA. Lin, being born in America, has helped to break through many stereotypes that people think of when they think of the Asian-American population in sports.