Covering By Kenji Yoshino

Covering, to cover is to hide something about yourself that is generally looked down up, to only fit better into mainstream society. In the New Civil rights by Kenji Yoshino imforms us on the concept of covering. Wesely Yang in paper tigers through differrent topics inderectly backs up Kenjis beliefs. Kenji explains why, even how we cover. Going as far as saying that everyone covers. Yang on the otherhand talks about the opression and life itself as a Asian American. Providing us many other people whom have had similar expieriances. The two back each others claims up. WEsely YAng agreees with Kenji Yoshino that everyone covers.

Through the personal stories of his hair, love life, and behavior, Liu is able to show the effects of his assimilation. The second section deals with Liu’s struggles to conform to white stereotypes as an Asian American. With his personal anecdotes, he establishes himself as a more credible source to speak on the subject of assimilation. The second section uses narration to provide evidence about Liu’s definition of assimilation.

When it comes to court cases, every case that is heard in court is heard for one reason or another.

Ironically, today it is almost the opposite. Covering is enforced not by federal law, but by one’s own inhibition. This makes it seem like its in one’s own head, like it’s his or her fault and not societal expectations for being to scared to be his or her true self. People still feel the need to cover from our higher-ups and peers, despite the law protecting their civil rights. The need to cover has become more social than legislative, and therefore, more dangerous. Because it seems covering is imposed only by oneself, it acts invisible to the uncritical eye, and separates oneself from societal responsibility. About this, Yoshino says, “The real solution lies in all of us as citizens… These reason-forcing conversations should happen outside courtrooms - in workplaces and restaurants, schools and playgrounds, chat rooms and living rooms, public squares and bars. They should occur informally and intimately, where tolerance is made and unmade.”

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

It is expected that ultimately there will be a loss of ethnic distinctiveness for immigrants in the U.S., meaning the lack of attachment to the country of origin. (Golash-Boza, 2006) It is argued that all ethnic distinctiveness will no longer exist by the seventh or eighth generations. Before exploring the influence of foreign born vs. U.S. born parents on their children’s cultural assimilation; the different theories of assimilation will be explored. The idea of Assimilation came about in the early 20th century. (Golash-Boza, 2006) Assimilation is surrounded by two theories, the first that all immigrants will assimilate sooner or later and that the generational status of the individual is one of the main factors in determining the

There will always be a few things that a person does not feel comfortable with about their own body that leads them to hide it. These things could be aspects of their identity or their physical features that they feel must be hidden away in order to fit better into the mainstream. In his essay, “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights” Kenji Yoshino discusses the effects “covering” has on marginalized groups in the United States. He defines “covering” as the ability “to tone down a disfavored identity to better fit into the mainstream” (Yoshino 294). In her essay, “Alone Together” Sherry Turkle discusses how the pervasive use of technology like “online communities” is detrimental to people. She worries that with frequent use of technology that people will begin to become indifferent to authenticity in their everyday lives. Both authors worry about whether individuals will unite regardless of their covering or their excessive use of online communities or not. Individuals are pulled further apart from each other due to their excessive use of virtual worlds and covering of their identities.

The struggle to achieve freedom during the Civil Rights Movement was slowed and stifled due to governmental agenda and white political discomfort. America cared more about the civil liberties in other regions of the World, while maintaining a hypocrisy against African Americans here in the states.

“Since 9/11, the Bush administration has used that tragic event as a justification to rip up our constitution and our civil liberties. And I honestly believe that one or two 9/11s, and martial law will be declared in our country and we're inching towards a police state” -Michael Moore. This quote is the fine definition to describe the film “Unconstitutional: The War on Civil Liberties.” In this short little summary and potential analysis(mostly opinion) will be about how this film describes the after effects 9/11 and the rushed passing of the Patriot Act.

Yoshino describes covering as the new threat to civil rights in the country; in regards that it negates the possibility of authenticity. Though he sees the positive aspects of assimilation in regards that it enhances fluidity in social interactions, he begrudges covering which is borne out of the assimilation process. His article “Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights” discusses his struggles with maintaining authentic Japanese and American culture, and shifting between the two cultures depending on his social physical environment. Yoshino attempts to play two identities by remain at the center of his social interaction but expresses the key challenges that are associated with preservation of authenticity in the midst of prevailing cultural stereotypes. This raises key questions about authenticity and its value in the society. In her article “Alone Together,” Turkel observes that authenticity is increasingly losing its significance in the contemporary world driven by the progress made through technology. She describes the introduction of machines that can be able to fake authenticity is blurring the lines between performance and identity, with most children finding it hard to differentiate between the real animal and the machine. In fact, she points out that the machines have become convenient in mimicking the authentic that they are preferred over the real. Yoshino brings out a key concern about the potential impact of an attempt to maintain authenticity in a

Many second generation minorities from immigrant parents are driven subconsciously to conform to new culture and social norms. For foreign born parents and native born children integrating the two cultures they inhabit brings about different obstacles and experiences. In Jhumpa’s “The Namesake” the protagonist Gogol is a native born American with foreign born parents. The difference with birth location plays an important role in assimilating to a new society in a new geography. The difficulty for parents is the fact that they’ve spent a decent amount of time accustomed to a new geography, language, culture and society which makes it difficult to feel comfortable when all of that changes. For Gogol the difficulty only lies with the cultural norms imposed by his parent’s and the culture and social norms that are constantly presented in the new society.

When the framers decided to create the Constitution, it was meant to be made for the people by the people. The difficult part about it was, as time went by, people were given more rights and were unjustly discriminated because of the past. This has happened in many cases throughout our countries history. Civil rights are a big part of our society and the past shows many ways that the civil rights of the citizens were taken from. In Unit 2 of the course, we learned three different ways the government can discriminate the people of the United States and the meticulous process it takes the government to discriminate. The different ways to discriminate are separated into three different classifications which are, Suspect classification, Quasi-Suspect classification, and Nonsuspect classification. Even though everyone has civil rights the government can sometimes discriminates to ensure the safety of the society. Which rarely happens. Discrimination is a big part of our government and well never be solved, but there are many reasons behind the most complicated subject in our society.

Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights, a book by a Professor of Constitutional Law at the NYU School of Law, Kenji Yoshino details a specific version of assimilation called covering. Yoshino defines covering as “[toning] down a disfavored identity to fit into the main stream” (Yoshino ix). As a gay man of Japanese descent living in the United States, Yoshino feels both internal and societal pressure to assimilate into “typical” American culture by covering himself along four primary axes: appearance, affiliation, activism and association. This societal expectation to cover one’s homosexuality

The American Civil Rights Movement is personified through several prominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. One such figure was Bayard Rustin, a lifelong Civil Rights activist in the African American and LGBTQ communities whose experiences exemplified the hardships faced by American minorities. His career was defined by perpetual conflict and confrontation as both sides of the Civil Rights Movement attempted to demonize and discredit him. Despite this obstacle, Bayard Rustin’s controversial decision-making and sheer tenacity made him an influential force in the ongoing fight for equality in the United States of America.

Chen Jenli made the selfless decision to move to New York for a few years to scope out a better life for both herself and her family. Good intentions do not always have good results. In her mind, Chen Jenli thought that this decision existed as a grand and noble one but, she fell into the trap of assumption. When she moved back home, she figured everything remained the same and all proved well again in her life. She stood blindsided and did not exercise mindfulness. She embodied acculturation and how it exists as “a process through which cultural patterns (e.g., values, beliefs, behaviors) change as a result of sustained