Published in · 5 min read · Nov 5, 2014
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This piece does not necessarily reflect the opinions of PublicAsian or its staff.
I swear I didn’t start it. Jhene Aiko — whom you might know from her radio hit “The Worst” or her feature on Drake’s track “From Time” — was actually mid-argument with someone else. Twitter user @Apten0dytes had her previously engaged in an argument about the validity of scientific fact. It’s an age-old debate: science or intuition? Head or heart? The tweet that really got me was this:
If there was ever a dictionary entry for “fake deep,” I want it to include “I believe everything should be questioned, even the question” forty times. Like, yes, we should subject everything to critical thought, but this sort of empty response (smelling distinctly like the wisdom arising from a few satisfying bong rips) is no substitute for putting forth an argument.
This Twitter tussle found its way to my timeline via my friend Maria (@mariaisab3lla) and I, for no other reasons except that 1) I’m petty and 2) I figured she wouldn’t respond, decided to stake my claim:
I should clarify my position — yes, there are cold, hard facts produced by the sciences. Many have been to the benefit of human development. But, a lot of “knowledge” produced by “sciences” has also been used to the detriment of humanity:
- Racist scientific theory that attempts to prove the superiority of the White race
- Painfully unscientific claims that there are, scientifically, only two sexes, which is then used to justify transphobia and the murders of trans people
- Narratives of cleanliness and biological inferiority used to justify imperialist colonialism
So, I’m actually sort of on Jhene’s side. We should take everything we hear from “scientific sources” with a grain of salt. The work of science can be used as an ideological tool just like anything else. But like I said, I’m petty, and I won’t let somebody with a huge platform (683.4K+ followers) devolve into Hippie Wisdom when they could open up a space for an important discussion.
So I fire off this tweet, thinking nothing’s really going to happen to it besides a few favs. Start folding some laundry. Minutes later, lo and behold:
As you can imagine, the laundry took a backseat and remained sprawled all over my girlfriend’s dorm table. My question was:
Before, I was giving Jhene the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she doesn’t know about American imperialism and the scientific rationales used to justify it. And I don’t really expect most people to — I certainly didn’t learn about that in high school, and I’m lucky to have had professors in college to sidestep it. (Curious.) Oh, but she does know!
She just doesn’t think it’s relevant. She had the chance to open a conversation that we need to be having. But no, it didn’t pertain to the conversation.
Again, I’m petty.
Don’t get me wrong, father/daughter talks about great works of literature can be a great source of learning and growth, but I’m not so sure about this one. No disrespect to her father, of course. I just don’t know if she can really say she’s “well versed in the matter.”
Eventually, this happens:
To which I respond:
After a little while, Jhene finally says something:
Though it should be noted that she didn’t say anything more on the matter. She eventually asked if I had any thoughts on people ruling the world right now….I’m not sure what she meant. Kind of a broad question. I asked her to narrow it down, but she wouldn’t.
I said I have plenty of thoughts on who’s ruling the world. She said, “share.”
Good god. The randoms that found their way into my mentions carried the conversation from there.
But I didn’t write this article to disparage Jhene Aiko. I’m sure she’s a good person, and I’m sure if we ever met we could have rich conversation about American imperialism and white supremacy. My Twitter beef with Jhene Aiko is just an eye-catching and accessible “in” to what I actually wanted to talk about — that’s just how internet journalism works, isn’t it?
What I actually want to talk about is the kinds of ideologies that inform the kinds of arguments Jhene put forth, and that I see so many people put forth. Specifically, it’s this idea that “everything is so subjective that no position can be taken.” It’s a key component of a particular strain of liberalism, mixed with a little bit of nihilism, and is generally thought to be truth after the individual’s first experience with psychedelic drugs.
This ideology sits latent in the minds of so many depoliticized people and keeps them from ever taking a position. Instead, it makes them say things like “everything is relative” or “there are no rights and wrongs” or “I don’t think in black and white (no pun intended)” or “the more you know the more you realize you don’t know.”
They buy John Lennon posters and hail the Beatles as the true revolutionaries. They will tell you their opinions “transcend” politics. They tell you “I don’t see race” in one second and then police people of color into having “respectability” in the next.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
This ideology is not built on any sort of analysis — whether historical, material, scientific, religious, whatever. It’s none of these. It’s purely based in a sort of shallow, individualist wisdom, and for those who are in power, this ideology is great because it offers no challenge, no resistance. And if you push people who are informed by this ideology with any hint of actual research, they fold like a chair and accuse you of being hostile or whatever.
I started this random Twitter beef because there was an opportunity to offer resistance to this ideology. That Jhene Aiko has so many followers is just a plus. It meant that plenty of people saw my tweets. (Something like 25 people followed me in the end.) There’s a chance I got people thinking about white supremacy and imperialism. That chance is all I need.
But what does this have to do with Asian America? Besides the fact that Jhene and I are both mixed Asian Americans, and besides the fact that we, as Asian Americans, are direct products of American imperialism and white supremacy? I find that this depoliticized, apathetic, and defeatist ideology is present in my own Asian American community here at the University of Maryland.
From conversations I’ve had with people in Asian American communities around the US, I hear it’s much the same. And I’m just trying to light some fires under some asses.
Listen — yes, sociopolitical issues are incredibly complex and deeply nuanced. Yes, it’s overwhelming. Yes, taking positions necessarily leads to certain kinds of biases and yes, it’s going to get you into arguments with your friends and family.
Nonetheless, there are positions to be taken. There is a right and wrong side of history. It might take you an extra twenty minutes a day to research the issues and to catch up on the discourse. But think of it as an investment — not an investment in your career, but an investment of standing on the right side of history.
Featured photo by The Come Up Show (via Flickr Creative Commons)
