East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

It seemed like just a blip on the national news radar, perhaps considered a mere faux pas by most, and not worthy of much media analysis, but in the halls of East West, it was much more. It was an incident that exposed a glitch in our national dialogue.

In February, reporters from some Chinese American publications were denied access at a San Francisco fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign after they missed a security deadline for entry. While the reporters noted that they were never informed of the security procedures, they were still denied entry, told the event was only for local press and not “foreign press.” The journalists allegedly contended that their outlets were local press, serving the local Chinese community and based in the city of San Francisco, but to no avail. They were still deemed “foreign press,” and prohibited from entering.

Senator Clinton later met with Chinese media in the Bay Area and expressed “deep regret” over the incident.

While I applaud Clinton’s efforts to address the problem, what struck me most about this news story was not that it involved Asian media and a presidential campaign. No, what left me asking questions was the interpretation of the word “foreign” in this instance.

I wondered, in our professed “melting pot” who really is foreign? What does that word mean to people of different backgrounds and to immigrants versus American-born citizens? What makes a U.S.-based newspaper “foreign press?” And, do things need to change?

At a time of war, with a presidential election cycle underway and with an immigration debate weighing heavily on the national conscience, maybe we should be more careful with the words we use. Perhaps the word “foreign” no longer fits our society’s goals, only encouraging negative associations, stereotyping and discrimination rather than promoting acceptance and bridging gaps.

Fixing this problem is a tall order and will take years, but East West hopes to start the discussion. So we asked  individuals from diverse backgrounds to share their definitions and thoughts on the word “foreign.” Some responses might surprise you, some may not, but either way, they are nothing like the Webster’s definition.

RESPONSES 

To me personally, the word “foreign” has a sense of temporariness to it, i.e. someone is visiting a country so he is a foreigner (carries a camera, can’t speak the local language). But in the immigration context, whenever the word is used, the author/speaker probably has a bent of mind that these people do not belong here yet they are encroaching on our country’s resources and stealing our jobs.

I personally don’t mind being considered foreign. But I think it has a negative association for those Indians who have permanently immigrated to the United States and consider this as their home now.

 Shardul, 26, software engineer
Mountain View, Calif.
Living in the United States for 4.5 years.

For some reason, I associate the word with cars, like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, etc. Often, “foreign-language” media or press to me means that it is in Spanish. Involves Mexico, Latin America, etc.   

Joy, marketing manager
Mountain View, Calif.
Emigrated from China 20 years ago.

It is so difficult not to think of the Middle Eastern countries. When I hear “foreign,” I always see the infamous videos of terrorist camp training that CNN kept playing after Sept. 11 in my mind. I was watching the movie Babel recently wherein they show American tourists getting into trouble in a “foreign” country. It will be an easy guess for anyone living in the United States to imagine that foreign country even without seeing the movie.

In the United States, “foreign” can mean a lot of things, mostly negative…I have been to several countries and the United States has the most immigrants by far. But unfortunately the immigrants tend to stay on the coasts and don’t move inwards. Partly because they don’t want to feel like foreigners. This leaves the people living in middle America absolutely ignorant. They never get to see and benefit from other cultures like the people living in New York and California do. If media is the only source of learning about others, foreign will always stay a bad word in this country.

 Srikanth, 33, electrical engineer
Austin, Texas
Born in India, in the United States for 12 years.

In this country, being American is synonymous with being a W.A.S.P. All groups of immigrants have taken their turn as the target of discrimination. But historically, it’s those of European descent who are able to take their permanent place in the American melting pot without further recrimination. All others, excluding African Americans, are forever scrutinized and must continue to prove their loyalty generations after their ancestors immigrated to this country. Asians are automatically expected to have been born abroad and speak the language of their heritage as their first. Chinese Americans have been in this country since the 1800s. Japanese Americans, such as my grandparents’ generation, came to the United States at the turn of the century!

I consider those who did not grow up in the United States to be "foreign." For example, someone born in the UK, but grew up in New York since they were 2 would NOT be foreign. It also depends on the individual and how they associate themselves. If they really identify themselves as a foreigner (non-US), then it doesn’t really matter where they were born or where they grew up. I don’t consider myself a foreigner in the United States, but I do everywhere else in the world including Vietnam.

 Minh, 30, application consultant
Austin, Texas
U.S. born, of Vietnamese descent

In my mind, when I hear the word “foreign” I usually see Chinese, Japanese or Middle Eastern individuals who reside in their respective countries. If there’s a visual image, it’s that of Japanese business people scurrying about (which is always on TV). I also see images of people I met on my trips to Egypt or China. When I hear “foreign-language press,” I think of media abroad. The foreign-language media here in the United States, I tend to think of as non-English media.

I don’t think of myself as foreign. On the contrary, I think I’m very American. My story and who I am is really what America is about. God Bless the US of A!

Anoma, 35, attorney
Phoenix, Ariz.
Refugee from Laos at 3–years old

 Tell us your thoughts on the word "Foreign" in the comments section below.