Asians in the Library and Alexandra Wallace

I feel like this video has gone around a million times already, so most of you have probably seen it, but for those of you who haven't here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLLEZlpUxk

In the video, Alexandra Wallace, a UCLA student, complains about the Asian students at UCLA. I feel that this video is worth discussing because of all the issues that have arisen because of it.

There have been various responses to this racist rant; because of death threats and racist rants, Alexandra has withdrawn from UCLA. I understand that people are offended, hurt, or angry by her words, but I feel that this isn't the correct response to what she did. Many people have created response videos on YouTube making fun of her and bullying her, but many others have expressed disappointment, and highlight the fact that instead of insulting her, people should find time to educate her.

There are so many people in the world who have the same beliefs as Alexandra, but she was the one UCLA student who decided to put her thoughts online. It just goes to show how many ignorant people are in the world, who don't understand other cultures - she talks about how the parents of Asian families fill the hallways at UCLA, bringing their kids home cooked meals and preventing them from learning to fend for themselves. But in reality, many Asian families do this because of our culture - when we graduate, many Asian/Asian American adults live at home with their extended families because that's a part of the culture Asian or Asian Americans have grown up with.

I think this misunderstanding of the Asian culture which many Asian American families are built upon plays a major role in the discrimination we have faced: the Eating Welfare film emphasized that the welfare system didn't understand that Asian American women needed to stay home to take care of their families, and instead forced many to take part in workfare. The Union which initially opposed childcare services for working Chinese immigrants failed to understand that these women needed childcare services so that they could make money to support their families. I know that in these cases, misunderstanding isn't the only issue which causes people to discriminate against other races, but I think it's a major factor that people should be fighting to fix. UCLA decided not to take action against this student, but I've heard suggestions from others that instead of punishing one person, why not change the system so that these incidences do not happen again? She mentioned that perhaps UCLA should have an ethnic studies requirement so that in the future, students could be educated about other races. Although this wouldn't completely solve the problem, I feel that this might one small step that we take towards fighting discrimination.

Has anyone else seen this video? Are there any other issues that come along with this video that you feel need to be addressed?

I also just wanted to note that I found it interesting that although the ideas were similar, Eating Welfare contrasted with the Chinese immigrant women's fight for childcare. In Eating Welfare, some women were fighting for welfare rights in order to stay at home to support their families. However the Chinese immigrant women who fought for childcare seemed to fight for the opposite - the Chinese immigrant women fought for childcare so that they themselves could be better providers for their families.