Having immigrated to the United States when I was 8, I had to learn English and simultaneously assimilate to American society. While I was busy attempting to do all of that, my peers seemed always one step ahead of me. And in a way, they still are — culturally. Because I had to learn English at 8 years old, and because I had to learn how to live in a new country at that age, I missed out in the years that followed on what many of my peers learned. Some–if not most?–of this ‘pop culture knowledge’ or what is deemed as ‘common knowledge’ is, in fact uncommon to me. I could not count the number of times I’ve gotten the incredulous looks alongside the “how do you not know that?” or “where were you growing up?” comments when I admit that I do not know some pop culture or “American culture” references.

Of course, I am open to learning and discovering what I may have missed out on when I was at home and not allowed to watch TV because I had to do homework. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not blaming all of my “confusedness” in certain aspects of American culture on my immigration, but it plays a pretty major role in why I may not know what people are talking about when they refer to characters of TV shows that were popular in the 1990’s. Most of the time, I respond to people’s glances and remarks with the “I wasn’t even in the States until 1997″ answer.

Pop culture references aside, I think there’s more at work here than the mere “wow, you don’t know that?” comments. It becomes a question of assimilation and just how much “assimilating” is “enough.” In one of my classes last semester, I learned about the assimilationist policies adopted by the Bureau of Indian affairs in dealing with the American Indians, and the assimilationist attitudes of the Mexican American movement, before it gradually became the Chicano movement. These policies attempted to erase the cultural traditions and ways of life of each respective racial group and called for them to be distinctly “American.” We often covered the topic of cultural authenticity: just what exactly is “American,” anyway? The rest of the world, when they think “American,” they think of what we term “WASPs” — White Anglo Saxon Protestants. But that’s not always the case, obviously. The US as a country prides itself on racial and ethnic diversity, cultural diversity, etc. etc.; at the same time, there seems to exist certain societal expectations of immigrants assimilating to “American society.”

Take the Asian population, for example. Here, I will refer to the “Asians” as one large population, but obviously the different ethnic groups apply here as well. For one, if an Asian is “too Asian” (of which we will define as those who may speak their Asian language to their Asian friends, focus mostly if not solely on Asian pop culture), we refer to them as “fobs” and with that, the expectation for them to assimilate into “American society” seems to be lowered. On the other hand, for the Asians who may have “completely” assimilated into American society (of which we can say those who know nothing of their Asian culture, may not have learned or have forgotten their Asian language, focus solely on American pop culture), we call them “white washed.” And then there are others in the middle — which is where I view myself — who have, for the most part, assimilated to the American society but nonetheless would like to retain (or do retain, because it’s partially ingrained in us) aspects of our Asian culture. Along this middle-part of the spectrum, we are neither “too white” nor “completely fob,” where people would expect you to know enough about American ‘traditions’ and ‘pop culture.’

There is a fine line between not being exposed to certain aspects of American society/pop culture references and plain ignorance, but from my experience these two areas have become mixed. I don’t think people have in mind per se that I am an ignorant person for not knowing X and Y about some aspect of American culture, but yet I don’t think people take into account that different cultural knowledge and traditions are emphasized during one’s childhood.

This goes back to the question of cultural authenticity: just how “authentic” can one be? Especially in a country of such a diverse background and population, there exists misconceptions and judgmental expectations for just what exactly every “American citizen” should know about “America.” But I see this, on a less major but still significant level, as the American assimilationist policy at work here, perpetuated by the American people. What does it actually mean to be American, anyway? We boast of our “melting pot” or perhaps the “salad bowl” population, but this assimilationist attitude is really calling for all of us to be “melted” into the pot instead of accepting the “salad bowl” that exists instead. There is no “the distinct American identity”; there are only versions of it. Until we as a population decide to acknowledge the indistinct American identity, I think that we will continue to hold the assimilationist attitudes instead of adopting an accepting attitude towards individuals residing in America.

And, at the end of the day, we will all still grapple with the question of “cultural authenticity.” What a marvelous world it is!

This blog post is part of Akhila’s “Be the change” series and is also posted on her website here. Much thanks to Akhila for hosting this awesome series – I suggest you check out all the other entries! All have great insight
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I’ve been attempting to find time and contribute to this awesome blog series “Be the change” thanks to Akhila, and of course, I am writing this instead of working on a paper that’s due in a few days.

Prior to attending school at UC Berkeley, all I knew was that I was interested in “business” and “changing the world” (or more specifically, I used to say “starting a revolution”). Little did I know that individuals such as Muhammad Yunus were already doing so! My friend introduced me to the concept of “social business” and “social entrepreneurship” around second semester of my freshman year, and that was when it all began.

I embarked on a Google-ing, internet-searching quest to learn more about this concept, and ended up first reading Yunus’ book, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. From then on, I’d continue to read articles, books, and scour the Internet for more about social entrepreneurship and social business.

I often stop and reflect on why it is I seem to have this insatiable need and want to help others and improve the lives of the less fortunate. For the most part, I think it’s because I have grown up with so much opportunity laid in front of me, the privilege of living in a nice community and have the comfort and support of my parents. Maybe I was too comfortable that I became uncomfortable with my comfort. Does that make sense?

Perhaps it’s why I want to pursue a career in poverty alleviation through the power of social business and entrepreneurship. I happened to be born into a family that gave me the opportunity to obtain a good education. It was chance that I was born in Taiwan to parents who wanted to pursue a better life in the United States and brought my sister and I here. What about others who live in poverty and are not presented with the opportunity of obtaining an education, of living a privileged life? How is it their fault?

It’s not, and it’s a thought that resounds in me and propels me forward. I joined a student grassroots organization CalPIRG my freshman year, and by the second semester my friend and I started the Hunger and Homelessness Campaign, where we tried to tackle food insecurity in West Oakland. I then proceeded to help plan, in collaboration with two other student groups on campus, a conference on hunger and homelessness in the Bay Area. On the side, I worked with a local homeless shelter to establish and implement recycling and composting programs through another student organization BEACN. These experiences have helped me improve my skills and have provided me more insight in ways of addressing poverty. However, the models and methods of social business and social entrepreneurship are what really motivate me.

I’ve found it difficult to advance much in attempting to be more “in” the field (I am so inspired by social businesses such as the one I interned with this past summer World of Good, and projects such as the Allyu Initiative), because I often find myself constrained in my schoolwork and the fact that I am still in school. I’m often impatient in my demands, and too much of the time I’d rather be out there and immerse myself in a community and area to learn about the issues and critically evaluate ways to tackle them. I have to stop and remind myself that my getting an education is an important aspect: I need to focus on learning as much as I can in school so that I can apply it later on.

In the meantime, I have found the Twitterverse and the blogosphere to be of great company. It’s been absolutely inspiring and just plain awesome to be connected to other Gen Y-ers such as Akhila, Dwight, and Leslie and know that there are so many who are interested in similar topics and care about issues other than the best way to maximize profits and how to make the most money. So, I’d like to conclude by thanking Akhila once again for encouraging others to engage in social change and bringing together awesome individuals in this blog series!

I’m excited to be participating in Blog Action Day 2009!

Climate change and global warming are terms we are all familiar with and have heard a million times by now. While most of us know that climate change will affect all of us, what we don’t always talk about is how climate change will hit hardest those who are poorest.

The Millenium Development Goal #7 is addressing environmental sustainability, and makes a connection between global warming and poverty reduction:

Reducing poverty and achieving sustained development must be done in conjunction with a healthy planet. The Millennium Goals recognize that environmental sustainability is part of global economic and social well-being. Unfortunately exploitation of natural resources such as forests, land, water, and fisheries-often by the powerful few-have caused alarming changes in our natural world in recent decades, often harming the most vulnerable people in the world who depend on natural resources for their livelihood. [Source: End Poverty 2015]

It’s not surprising to me that climate change will affect the most those at the bottom of the pyramid. Not only will price increases (in the case of drought –> less grains / food –> increase in food prices, etc.) impact the most those with lower incomes, climate events such as droughts, heat waves, and storms will hit — literally — those who are the poorest. Those that live in areas that lack the infrastructure that could withstand severe weather conditions will undoubtedly face the impacts of storms and hurricanes. Farmers whose crops fail due to drought will have to find another way to sustain themselves and their families. The list goes on.

But instead of highlighting all the problems that climate change causes, it’s even more important to think about solutions — more specifically, the role social entrepreneurship could play in addressing global warming.  In reading C.K. Prahalad’s The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, I came across a case study about a company that does just that.

Prahalad sheds light on the work of a rural energy finance company E+C0. E+Co found the connection between energy and poverty: one reason people cannot escape poverty is due to the lack of access to modern energy (mostly electricity) that allows them to be more productive. E+Co conducted a study and realized that the demand for electricity at the bottom of the pyramid exists, and that there is “potential for widescale adoption of renewable energy technologies” because the majority of costs for renewable energy is up front, while “fuel” costs (wind, solar, etc.) are essentially free (Prahalad 140).

E+Co’s mission was:

the provision of clean, modern energy to the world’s poor via locally developed, market-based solutions

E+Co emphasizes “energy through enterprise”; they seek entrepreneurs in developing markets to develop products and services that will meet the energy needs in the local communities. E+Co invests in these entrepreneurs or companies, one of them being Tecnosol, a company that “sells and installs distributed solar PV, wind, and hydroelectric power systems to mostly rural unelectrified populations throughout [Nicaragua]” (Prahalad 144) and has installed over 3,500 PV systems, 20 wind systems, and also some hydroelectric systems (145).

Here, we see a pretty interesting partnership being forged between a company (E+Co) that is the investor and local entrepreneurs and companies that serve its communities and target a need (energy – clean energy).

Another example of a successful partnership working towards sustainability is one I’ve highlighted in my research paper on social entrepreneurship I wrote over the summer.

A successful three-way alliance between entrepreneurial BOP business WasteConcern, large fertilizer company Map Agro, and the Bangladeshi government solved a waste buildup problem in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In short, WasteConcern identified the market opportunity to convert the majority of the waste generated – food – into compost for rural agriculture businesses to use as organic fertilizer to produce more food, generating a mutually beneficial and sustainable cycle. In order to implement the project, Waste Concern approached Map Agro, the largest fertilizer company in Bangladesh that had the resources and capital to transform and produce the organic compost.

In both of these examples, we see a partnership being forged through a market-based approach that BOP businesses to address a particular need within the communities.

I am personally really excited by success stories such as these, and I think it’s really important to remember that while global warming statistics and the situation in general is dire and sometimes seems hopeless, that is just more reason we cannot give up. Taking a social entrepreneurial approach to climate change is one that I am particularly interested in, although it is most definitely not the only solution!

Personally, I often feel like I don’t do enough in attempting to address climate change. I have made adjustments in my lifestyle to be more sustainable, and am (and have been) involved in student organizations that work towards sustainability. But I never feel like it’s enough. And while it is true that “something is better than nothing,” that’s not good enough for me. We should all be looking to be more sustainable in our lives and be more aware of the impact we have on our planet. Wherever we are now in individual progress now, it’s awesome, but that should not be the stopping point. I am going to make more of an effort to be more environmentally-friendly in my lifestyle, and strive even more towards sustainability in whatever I do.

Today, I’m starting off by this Blog Action ‘09 post on climate change. Tomorrow, it will be something else–OK, I’ll be on my way to LA for the weekend..but carpooling with two other friends!

What are you going to do to make your lifestyle more sustainable? How are you going to address global warming today? Comment and let’s share ideas!

I never thought I’d be writing something like this, and from the title already it sounds as if I were contradicting myself: Am I here, really defending the town I so much detested?!

Yes, in a way, I am. This is something that’s been on my mind for quite a while now, and probably an opinion I have that I feel most outspoken about… To get to it, I guess I could generalize it as “the wealthy” of Orange County. Now, it’s not like everyone here are extremely wealthy. Although the costs of living in Orange County are obviously not low, not everyone who live in Orange County are “rich.” This entry, however, is about the so-called “rich” or “wealthy.”

Generally, there seems to be a negative stigma and perception people have of those from Orange County. And while some of those perceptions are ones that I agree with, there are others that I don’t. It’s actually more of a general perception people have of those who are wealthy/rich, that they are selfish, that they step on others to get to the top, etc. etc.

Yes, some of these perceptions are probably true. Let’s face it: who isn’t selfish nowadays, and we all step on someone to “get to the top,” whether or not we like to admit or realize it. But really, to get to the point, my problem is with people who believe that those who have the money can afford to spend it on extra things “because they are rich,” as if their money didn’t really matter to them.

I’d like to take a moment here and state that my own accusations (as some may take it) I’m making may be generalized, and even a bit harsh, but what I’m saying is the sentiment that I feel and get from many people I’ve been around who have made these comments.

What makes me angry about those who assume the above or those who believe that just because someone is rich/wealthy and therefore can spare the extra money is that those who make these assumptions don’t seem to really think about where that money came from. And I think that I have a skewed perspective, because I have seen first-hand people who build, literally, from the bottom up. From nothing to something. (Bear in mind that I’m talking about money-wise.) And, as we all know, that ain’t easy.

It’s so easy to assume for those who are labeled “rich” or “wealthy” that they are snobs, that they are “rich bitches,” and that they spend their money extravagantly etc. etc. And while that is true – and seems to be quite the case – especially for the “rich parents’” children, when we look at their family’s wealth from those who actually make the money, it’s unfair to hold these negative judgments.

It may be true that my family and I happen to live in some “premiere” community in Orange County. And, to be honest, when we first moved into my community and my parents started to be-friend many of the other Chinese/Taiwanese families in this community, I had the same negative judgments about them: that they were these conservative, close-minded Republicans. I, too, regarded them as snobby and wrote them off even before I met them. I made rude comments about how they all have too much money, and they aren’t contributing much to our society, blah blah blah.

However, after my parents got to know them, and after they told me, I found out that all of their new friends’ wealth was self-made. There is a family who came to America with no more than $1,000. There is another family that went from rags to riches, back to rags, and, once again, came to riches.

Our society nowadays reacts so quickly to the label “rich” and “wealthy” that I think sometimes we don’t give enough credit to those self-made men/women out there. For them, their workdays are nonstop. Their stress levels are constantly high, because not only did they have to and continue to have to worry about everyday life and all that comes with it, but they also have to worry about managing their small businesses, which can be anywhere from 5 employees to 50 employees. That’s a hell lot of people and weight on their shoulders.

And perhaps here is where my own personal conflict comes – when it comes to fiscal policy. Personally, I whole-heartedly and firmly support what we could say is “liberal Democratic fiscal policy”: distribution of wealth, increasing taxes for those with higher incomes, better welfare; however, I can’t say I could disagree with “conservative fiscal policy.” In my own opinion, no, I would not support conservative fiscal economic policy. But at the same time, I also see and (try to) understand the other side of the argument: that for those who took the risks and worked 15-hour work days, they should have the right to use their money as they please, because they earned it.

This is when another personal conflict comes in: that I also realize that our society and institutions were and still are “made for the rich,” whether or not people like to admit that. So, at the same time, can we continue to “reward” those who have become “successful” in an environment that was made for them, and can we continue to “punish” those who are disadvantaged to begin with?

But then I think: for those who “made it” in society – and in my point of view, more specifically my parents and their “Asian rich friends” – they, too, may not have been “advantaged” to start out with, either. In fact, most of them faced just as many barriers. Not only did they face financial difficulties, they also faced cultural barriers, language barriers, and social barriers (including the ever-present racism). Can we say that it’s mere luck that they “made it?” Or should I remind myself that these stories I’ve heard are those “cream-of-the-crop” stories? Perhaps they are, but regardless, they still serve as an example that while conditions in our society are “made for the rich,” it’s not impossible for those who are at a disadvantage to make it, too. So when they do, do they deserve the negative comments and the stigma that come along with it?

Quite a majority of the “rich people” in Orange County are small business owners. And okay, maybe the majority of them are “WASPs” and maybe we can label them as those who are “advantaged to begin with.” But still, being small business owners (it’s not like they are CEOs of corporations..) means that they are entrepreneurs. Most of the wealthy in Orange County is considered “new money”, meaning they made the money for themselves, that it’s not from their “rich families.” These small business owners took probably the biggest risks of their lives and started something new. And they made it. Is this something we should characterize negatively? Isn’t the entrepreneurial spirit, the mindset that we should and could set our own destinies, what America is supposedly about?

Sometimes I think that it’s all the TV shows and the media that talk about the kids of those who are rich in Orange County who spend like no there’s no tomorrow, who are snobby, who are “rich bitches” that give Orange County the bad rap. But it’s important to make the distinction between those who are making the money – the small business owners, the entrepreneurs – and those who just spend money they don’t earn on their own.

At the end of the day, yes, I realize that all of these negative perceptions and judgments will still exist. Stigma, prejudice, and preconceived notions will always exist as long as we are human. So, perhaps this was a pointless rant afterall.