I had a Vietnamese roommate in college in 1972. One day we had a terrific storm and a bolt of lightening struck a nearby building causing a huge BOOM. Hui said that it reminded him of home. I said oh you have major storms there too? And Hui said nonono. The bombs. I kinda had to rethink a few things.

He also didn't mention the fact that the model minority stereotype completely discounts any Asian Americans that DO 'fit the stereotype'. When Asian people excel academically, people assume that didn't work as hard, and are just 'naturally' more intelligent. It's a true mind fuck

“There is no nice racism” This right here. I grew up being constantly told by other poc that “at least you have a good stereotype” as they simultaneously made fun of me for not being good at math, and yelling “ching chong” at me. Yeah thanks guys

A client told me that his doctor told him he had jaundice from eating Indian food. I told him to go back to the emergency room ASAP as that was a ridiculous diagnosis. He had pancreatic cancer.

“Keep your head down. Make sure you do your job right. And don’t cause trouble. In their eyes, you’ll always be an outsider.” Those are the words I grew up with.

When you dismiss Vietnamese or Japanese students who do well as if it's part of their heritage, you undermine the hard work they put forth to achieve.

The sentence "Filipinos arent dismissed they are overlooked" is one of the most true statement ive ever heard. Whenever someone asks where my family comes from, they guess china, thailand, or even mexico. As a Filipino American, i love this video.

Overlooking Filipinos is a weird thing. Especially during covid times, Filipinos who populate hospitals as nurses not just in the US but all over the world, have been on the frontlines dying to fight off this pandemic for almost 2 years now. That and your east and south Asian medical professionals who are all doing their best to keep everything together.

I refuse to believe enough people wouldn't answer "Name a Joe" with "Joe Mama".

I really didn't expect John to sum up our experience with racism perfectly: we're told to accept racism because "at least it's the nice version."

As an Asian American, This hits deep and hard. I have worked very hard in order to fit the "model minority" and multiple people have told me that the conditions I find myself is inhumane.

This is why you win all the emmys. Not easy to recognise and then be able to explain nuance so beautifully. Love everything about you JO.

I know that Jollibee bit was supposed to make Filipinos feel seen, but damn, I mainly feel exposed, like "Shit, y'all weren't supposed to see that."

Joe Rogan: "asians don't spend anytime on petty bullshit" Me, leaving a comment on this youtube video to prove joe wrong on a Friday night.

Thank you!! As a Sri Lankan-Malaysian I’ve always identified as Asian, even when my white friends have tried to tell me that I’m wrong about my own heritage 🙄🙄

As a Korean-Vietnamese or Vietnamese-Korean and a huge John Oliver fan, I do appreciate this bit. It's a cultural and ethnic quagmire to feel between and among cultures. The coverage about defining what Asian American means, and the emphasis of model minority is spot on... We are not a monolith. Thank you for sharing! ✌️💕

As a Sri Lankan, I greatly admire John for including Maldivians here since that's the closest he ever came to mentioning Sri Lanka on his show haha

"Some Hems are worth more than other Hems are worth" - underrated line of John in 2021

The guy at 25:14 explains it so damn well. But as Andre Gide said “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

My great grandparents came from japan to make a new life in America after hearing a lot of wonderful things and hearing stories of its grandeur and opportunity. They did this right before Ww2 and my grandfather grew up in those internment camps. He wasn't okay in the head, ended up being more abusive to his loved ones than his siblings were, and I often think of it as being heavily influenced by that experience in those camps

I agree with John that the model minority myth is used to pit minorities against each other. In college, my Mexican roommate stated I cannot understand the struggles of Latinos because I am a model minority. That was the first time I've ever heard of the term model minority and it was not used in a positive sense; rather, used to create a gulf which makes communication and addressing the struggles of our racial identites wider. We all perpetuate racial identites for ourselves and others; it's a shame when those identites draw lines which every stares at before we really look at each other.

My favorite moment in middle school was when a boy (whose dad was the conductor of a major symphonic orchestra) asked our English teacher if he could do his biography project on YoYoMa. Our teacher asked who that was and he told her that YoYo Ma is a famous musician...and she told him he was not allowed to write about a rapper. The joys of 2006....

I'm a Nigerian guy. There's a lot I need to learn from Asian-Americans cos they're a large multicultural group with different amazing things to offer. Now imagine the vastness of mainland Asian Continental itself.🌏

I'm a Korean-American. 26 years old. I've grown up from this. This news means a lot, especially in these times.

America to the world: DO CAPITLISM NOT COMMUNISM DAMMIT Japan: Okay, here's some cheap cars Also America: NO THATS NOT FAIR DAMMIT

I'm Japanese-American (half Filipino and half Japanese). Everytime I visit the Philippines and Japan and reconnect with extended family and my roots, I find it very humbling, but at the same time, very lonely as an Asian-Americans are too American to be Asian and too Asian to be American on both sides. Thank you so much for bringing this issue up and educate others in our struggle.

HBO, please stay on this path. These exposes are necessary! Thank you.

Thank you for telling these stories. I’m a Taiwanese immigrant, have been living in the US for 24 years. I’m showing this video to my daughter because she will not learn this from school. She needs to know that’s how people will treat her and why they do so. I lived in NYC for 20 years. I used to feeling safe walking around in Manhattan, but it felt different after pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, a grocery deliver person pulled up her turtleneck to cover her nose and mouth as soon as she saw me open the door. I said thank you, she didn’t answer. Just staring at me with the look of scare or disgust or a bit of both. My Taiwanese face meant virus in her mind. I’m definitely worried about worse racism against Asian Americans in the future.

"I can't think of a single reason to beat up a car." *Street Fighter music intensifies*

Saying “these weren’t the kind of men you send to jail” in reference to two white murderers is a condemnation of America’s prison justice system that’s far more scathing than anything I could’ve come up with.

I'm honestly in awe for the way he unfolded such a complex theme! Thank you for the hard work!

This is a fantastic segment. It is a very good introduction to the subject of Asian American history. I appreciate the succinct manner is which Oliver delivers the story and the crisp writing. Keep up the good work.

I will say this as a Asian American. Not only is the “model minority” myth bad for Asians ourselves, but also for other people. There are many Asians who embrace this stereotype and unironically think that black and brown people are either lazy or just complain. A lot of older Asians tend to think this way in my experience.

Don't believe the model minority myth. Some of us Americans of Asian descent are working very hard to be mediocre just like everyone else. Two generations in, we're doing worse than our parents!

4:23 origin of the term Asian American 9:04 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act 11:25 Japanese American internment camps in WWII 12:43 1965 Immigration Act 17:19 murder of Vincent Chin 23:14 targets of geopolitical crises

This whole thing just shows the racial stereotypes our society uses. Whether you are Asian American, black, white, or any other color that we are all human beings and need to treat each other with kindness, respect, and love.

U.S: "We love Capitalism!" Japan: *Makes cheap cars* U.S: "Fuck..."

As a Korean American adopted by wonderful parents. The first time I celebrated Christmas at age of three, I wished for Christmas to be white because my family was white and the community around me was white. I was bullied for being Korean and at age of THREE I knew I was treated differently. My mom who taught ethics and religion told her students that story to show inequalities are easy to understand and can happen to people close to you.

I'm not a Maldivian American, but a Maldivian who's been a fan of yours since your Community days. Loved the shoutout ^^

Thank you for doing everything you do, John. You and your team are amazing. I appreciate the education.

He didn’t mention this, but Vincent Chin was actually murdered the night before his wedding, when these two white guys saw him at a bachelor party with his friends.

“Where are you from?” “Here.” “No, where are you really from?” “I was born here.” “Oh.” 😳... “Where are your parents from?” It’s like a persistent and never ending deja-vous loop.

this video HIT oh my god i feel so understood. the model minority myth is so harmful, and i fit it perfectly, which is frustrating in a whole new way. every time i worked my ass off in ap classes and got all 4s and 5s on those exams, the success was dismissed because "you're supposed to be smart anyway." and my ex friend who is hispanic was complaining about hispanic stereotypes and when i brought up the model minority thing, she got angry because "at least your stereotype is good." i get what she means but it sucks that this is the viewpoint so many have. i was terrified to apply to colleges with that race since my mom always warned me that they'll throw me out for being asian. i get asked monthly where i'm REALLY from. i've been called slurs and had kindergarteners scared of me bc they thought i ate dogs. it sucks to see these things get completely ignored and it frustrates me to no end when people claim that asians have it just as easy as white people because no we don't. we're still below them no matter what. i hope this video helped some people realize how frustrating our existences can be as well.

Just started watching & listening to your UKposts videos. Now I understand why you won all your Emmy's! I'm a new fan, Thank You!

This reminded me of conversations I had with friends in high school, way back in the 80s. I'm white, they are Vietnamese and Indian. They told me about how even a "good" stereotype is a stereotype, and just puts you into a category rather than seeing you as an individual.

My biggest problem as an Asian American is basically I’m too Asian to be taken seriously by Americans and too American to be taken seriously by Asians, it’s like I’m stuck in this weird limbo lol

Thank you for doing videos like this and shedding light on this rare topic. I’m more motivated to succeed as an immigrant and live my life as a model-American.

Being Cambodian American I complain about this all my life. Thank you for bring it to the public.

Nothing more therapeutic than a British man explaining systemic racism on a Monday afternoon.

My wife is a Korean adoptee. She was regularly beaten up in the 70's by other kids blaming her for what happened to their dads in Vietnam. Meantime a friend of our's who's also a Korean adoptee was pulled over by a cop who tried to speak Spanish to her.

The best episode I've seen of LWT. Intelligent, sane and relevant deconstruction of the problem of grouping such a huge diverse set of cultures together into one demographic/racial category. This line of reasoning applies more broadly to the term "Asian" by itself, not just "Asian American", but with an American target audience this segment really gets the message across. I wish every person in the USA would watch this video.

This is a wonderful coverage about the Asian American experience. I've said it before, "Last Week Tonight" writers and fact checkers rock! Kudos to John for presenting this subject with passion. Wish there were more discussion about marginalization and erasure of South and South East Asian representation, as Asian Americans. It would have been great to go more in depth about the AAPI term as well. This segment was a bit glossed over. I know there are time limits to the show. Some South East Asian countries like the Philippines, are also part of the Pacific Islands but was packaged, labelled as "South East Asia" and handed off from one colonizer (Spain) to another colonizer (US) in 1898, along with Hawai‘i, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Thus, creating a dichotomy in an already tenuous "national identity" of Pilipinos. There's a lot of discussion about whether Pilipinos are Asians or Pacific Islanders, why can't Pilipinos acknowledge, embrace and celebrate both ancestral lineage as part of their identity? On a brighter note, thanks for highlighting Jollibee. Now you know why the fried chicken is called, "Chicken Joy" :)

When I was a teenager an old lady came up to me and asked if I was oriental, ya know from the east. I didn’t know what she was talking about because I was born in the USA and never heard about the term oriental as a race, but thought of oriental rugs. Ignorant teenager me was like, I’m a rug? 😅😂

"Jollibee can get it" is a quote I never thought I would ever hear, and now that I've heard, it I'd have to say I agree.

thank you, some of this has educated and clarified many of my confusion over, much of the difficulties Asian Americans have.

It’s hard to cover such a difficult subject. It can become a mini series with multiple seasons. Thank you Last Week Tonight for producing the video to bring awareness.

Ah, my favourite show "Half an hour of existential dread at midnight with Zazu" uploaded again. Just in time, I was about to have a good nights sleep.

The answer to "name a well known Joe" should clearly have been "Joe mama"

John as always you’re hitting that nail on its head with your sledgehammer. Great op-ed piece! Thank you...

My boyfriend is Chinese-Panamanian, and he's so apple-pie American he's a stereotype. Stetsons, cars, cowboy culture, etc. His dad's worked on railroads and then became fishermen living in China Camp in the Marin headlands. They've been in California for generations upon generations. His mom's side immigrated to Panama generations ago, as well. I can tell he struggles with his identity a lot, since it's been really white-washed. It's a story descendents of immigrants from all over the world can attest to: immigrant parents pass on very little culture as a way of protecting their kids by making them seem more 'American', but everyone else still sees them as an immigrant so now they aren't welcomed in the only culture they know but they know nothing about their heritage culture, so it's hard for them to find a community. It's probably one of the reasons why his dad's side is so so stereotypically American, as well as their own individual choices to try to 'fit in' more. I have that a little bit on my mom's side where her mom didn't teach her Spanish after the emigrated, so I don't know it, but when people learn of my ancestry, they expect me to be able to speak it. It bothers me, and my family's entirely white/white-passing, so there's not a disconnect between my culture and how I'm perceived. I can only imagine how he feels. We live in Oregon now, and he's one of a handful of Asian people here, even though it's the second largest city in Oregon! (not-fun fact: Portland's like 80% white) We go to a Chinese restaurant a lot, and every time, without fail, the woman running it has the same conversation with him. In a heavy accent, she'll ask "Are you Chinese?" and he'll say "Yes". She'll get a big smile on her face "Do you speak Chinese?" "No." The smile's gone "Oh. Okay." and the conversation ends and she walks away. *Where is he supposed to find a community???*

I legitimately had a conversation with a Med school classmate who said something along the lines of ‘if I’m not a doctor, as an Asian man, I’m not anything in America.’ That wasn’t even coming from his parents who had embraced his previous career as a teacher, but was completely internal, because he felt he needed the prestige to have a place.

As a Filipina, I got emotional just being included in this conversation. The experience under the "Asian American" umbrella is not universal

You are amazing John Oliver! You touched on the major aspects of the Asian American experience.

I've seen many episodes dealing with systemic racism regarding Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and I find all of these refreshing to hear as talking points, and agree with the need to address these issues. I'm just wondering when I will see Native American issues represented in this same way.

Wow, this episode made me feel seen. Even though I’m a white-washed fourth generation Japanese-Korean American, I never truly felt “American.” Growing up and always having others constantly ask where I’m really from, what kind of Asian I am, or people saying Nihau to my face and walking away has been very frustrating, yet I never felt like it was appropriate to outwardly complain about it. Now that AAPI hate has become more apparent to my generation and others through recent events, I hope these conversations continue and don’t fade into just another fad.

I didn't think John would one day talk about Jollibee's mascot, but here we are.

I can’t imagine the pressure Asian Americans who struggle with learning disabilities, or disabilities in general, must feel to be successful. They already have to deal with the road blocks of neurodivergence on top of the “model minority” standards.

Appreciate this piece. He kinda skipped around the issue of Pacific Islanders by just mentioning AAPI, but I think it’s worth calling this out a bit more. Pacific Islander get swallowed up by aggregated Asian American data as well and some of us like Native Hawaiians have the added issue of being colonized. In fact, I would argue that starting the history of Asians in American with early immigration ignores the Hawaiian experience. And before anyone says it’s because he was focused on Asian Americans, the reality is that on so many forms and in so many surveys we are lumped into Asian American category. But much of what is discussed definitely applies.

“A coalition is not a monolith.” -what an important concept.

I had to hold back tears when the 'perfection' thing hit. My parents are from Asia and I nearly killed myself trying to be as perfect as my stereotype. Luckily I broke a circle of not talking about mental health, but so many children of Asian parents are struggeling with this.

What's weird is this video was unavailable where I live (Australia). I'm literally watching it right now, while on vacation in India, and I'm quite surprised by this piece. Kudos to John and the LWT team for covering this important issue. A lot of my cousins moved from India to the US in the late 80s and early 90s because their parents saved up and saw the US as a land of opportunity. Safe to say, they've lived there ever since and now, about half of my family are Americans who've studied at UC systems and Northeastern universities.

not gonna lie, i almost got teary-eyed at the end. I could def relate

Plot Twist: Those Japanese cars are still on the road today.

John Oliver: devoting his life to a comedy show deconstructing the fall out of his ancestors' British Imperialism every Sunday.

I love your content. Smart, funny. It always makes me laugh (great delivery) AND i feel it makes me think and learn. Thank you so much.

Here are three example of famous, consequential Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders people in US History: 1) Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu (the First Lady of Physics). A significant particle & experimental physicist that was instrumental to the Manhattan Project. 2) Fred Korematsu. A legendary civil rights activist and American hero. Fought against discrimination towards Japanese Americans during WW2. 3) Kalpana Chawla. She was the first Indian woman in space. A national hero in India. During its re-entry, her spacecraft disintegrated & she died.

First thought: I feel like more people should’ve said Jackie Chan Second thought: I’m part of the problem

As a Filipino, I'm willing to be called to any court to provide supporting evidence on how Jollibee can get it.

If asked the most popular Asian American I would immediately say my cousin. That dude is super cool

Many, many kudos to John Oliver and his team. This is a well-researched, well-constructed, thoughtfully condensed primer on the complexities of Asian-American history. I hope a lot of non-AsAms (and maybe some AsAms) learned a lot from this.

Pornhub has a better ethnic classification system than the US census.

This segment hits differently when your name is Karim.

I’m Chinese Canadian but I’m glad to see my fellow “niche” AAPI diasporas grow in recent years, specifically our friends in the Filipino community.

Me and Mr Oliver dont agree much when it comes to politics but my respect for him just went up ⬆️ THANK YOU FOR THIS SIR

During the Great Depression, on the southeast side of Detroit along the river, my father and his family lived above a Chinese restaurant, The Chinese Tea Pot on E. Jefferson Ave. The family that owned and ran the restaurant fed my father and his family when they were hungry.

I could've sworn the top joe known currently would be exotic

Top Notch Content.Fantastic Research !!!!! Kudos to John Oliver and his team ...Generations are going to thank you for this.Thank You

not sure if its a racist term but "bumbling pineapple bun" is one of the best insults I've heard in a while

“There is no nice racism” True ‘dat

That whole push of 'model minority' image is gaslighting at its 'finest'

French lad here, in high school an English teacher made us read a great novel, When the Emperor was Divine, I can't remember the author sorry. I was shocked to learn how Japanese people had been treated during WWII... It really is a great insight to what happened in those camps.

bruce lee: be like water. when you pour water in a pot, it becomes a pot. (aka: mimic)

Oh, you're forgetting an important fact: when we do face discrimination, it is sometimes rationalized because we're "privileged"

Need a payraise for the Hemsworth joke’s writer, it was smooth

I noticed that when I lived in Japan, I was like "Don't jay walk. You represent all blonde white females now" :) Other girls were always asking to take pics with me lol

100$ says that car STILL ran after getting lynched by those auto workers 🤣

As a black man, I've grown up with the model minority mindset when looking at my AAPI brothers and sisters. The brainwash of America on its many people's is still prevelant and is still trying to be broken. I pray John and his writing team keeps up the fight to bring some enlightening info to us.

"I can't think of a single good reason to beat up a car" Uh, a street fighting tournament? Get it together John.

I'm Indian American and it wasn't American society or White people who pressured me into going to a top college, it was my mom.

"Name a well known Joe" "Joe Mama" CHANCE MISSED JOHN OLIVER!