As Asian-Americans, the charge that is often lobbed against us is sort of the least original: the idea that somehow we're perpetual foreigners, that we can't be trusted, and that even my father, who was patriotic to the point that it was kind of a joke among his children, would be accused of being disloyal to America.
Interpretation
The quote addresses the stereotype of Asian-Americans as perpetual foreigners, highlighting issues of trust and loyalty in their identity.
David Henry Hwang's quote speaks to the experience of Asian-Americans confronting the stereotype of being viewed as outsiders, regardless of their loyalty or contributions to society. He reflects on the painful irony of his father, a deeply patriotic man, being perceived as disloyal simply due to his ethnicity, showcasing the harmful effects of racial assumptions and the struggle for acceptance within a nation that often fails to recognize their belonging.
In practice
In a speech addressing diversity, one might use this quote to highlight the challenges faced by Asian-Americans in seeking recognition.
There was all this talk when Obama got elected about how we were living in a postracial world. But we're not. Until we get to the point where James Earl Jones can play, say, George Washington, race matters. You wouldn't put a white actor in blackface to play Othello. You shouldn't have a white actor in what amounts to yellowface to play Asian.
My first plays were amazingly bad, but I had a teacher who thought I had promise, and he kept working with me. I finally went to a summer workshop before my senior year with people like Sam Shepard and Maria Irene Fornes who encouraged me to write from my subconscious, and suddenly all this material about culture clash came out.
You can't be a playwright without believing there's an audience for adventurous work.
My work has always been controversial within certain segments of the Asian-American community. This is a community that is generally not represented well at all on the stage, in the media, etc. So on those few occasions when something comes along, everybody feels obligated to make sure that it represents his own point of view.
This is the ultimate cruelty, isn't it? That I can talk and talk and to anyone listening, it's only air--too rich a diet to be swallowed by a mundane world.
It is easier to tell a story of how people wound one another than of what binds them together.
We're born alone. We do need each other. It's lonely to really effectively live your life, and anyone you can get help from or give help to; that's part of your obligation.
The qualities I most admire in women are confidence and kindness.
No one is much pleased with a companion who does not increase, in some respect, their fondness for themselves.
Intimate, loving, and enduring relationships with our family and close friends will be among the sources of the deepest joy in our lives.
If we are to prosper together in our increasingly small world, we must listen to -- and learn from each other's stories
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