Something we didn't talk about in our discussion of Wilshire Bus was the role of the girl sitting next to the drunk man, so I thought it would be interesting to look at her part in the story. At the end, when the older man tells her that she "deserve[s] a purple heart or something" for putting up with her seatmate, I think that upon first reading I took this to just be another sign that he was a good person, even if he hadn't stood up to the drunk man. However, upon rereading, I'm now wondering if perhaps this line shows that he, too, still unthinkingly maintains some of the racism he claims to be against. (Oh gosh, that was an awkwardly worded sentence.)
I'm fairly certain the girl is not Asian or Asian American, or else the drunken man would not have been having a normal, albeit one-sided, conversation with her early in the story. For sitting next to the drunk and not saying anything in response to his racist comments, she deserves a purple heart? I think that if it had been a man sitting next to the drunk, the elder man would not have given this same praise; because she was a woman and didn't respond or stand up for herself or anyone else, she was brave and deserving of merit. So, while he tries to show himself as anti-racist, he still maintains gender stereotypes.
In addition, he doesn't offer the same praise to the couple or Esther that he gives the girl - and she doesn't even take the brunt of the verbal barrage. The purple heart is an American military award - does it not seem fit to give that same praise to the Asian Americans sitting there? In fact, ironically, both groups (the couple and Esther) are visiting relations at the hospital who did earn purple hearts (being killed or injured in battle is awarded a purple heart, so Esther's husband would have one as would the couple's son who dies).
I'm wondering if I'm perhaps analyzing the man's simple statement about purple hearts too deeply. Did anyone else find it to be slightly in opposition to his stated morals, or was it interpreted differently by anyone else?
I completely agree with you. I really did not understand how when while all he could say to comfort the Asian Americans/Asians on the bus was how he was not racist, the girl who did not receive any of the drunk man's hostility was the one who seemingly deserved the greatest honor among the people. Although his intentions are good, his actions prove otherwise at closer analysis. The man let his unconscious feelings show through his "clumsy" speech regarding his response to the drunk man's rant. This portrays an example of a society stuck in an awkward phase of transitioning toward accepting the increasing diversity of ethnicities In my opinion, the man definitely has no hostile feelings toward the Asians/Asian Americans, but is still stuck in a dilemma of trying to fulling accustoming and accommodating to the increasing racial diversity happening in the LA region known as a "melting pot".
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