The term "Oriental" seemed to be a very common word among those who disliked Asians during the immigration period. This word, found insulting by the Asian, refers to goods from Asia and not just the race itself. But some of this discrimination changed when historian, Yuji Ichioka, used a new term to associate with Asians, the word Asian Americans. Two Asian groups that seem to have experienced much of this discrimination are the Chinese and Japanese; mainly the second generation.
The second generation Chinese and Japanese have many things in common as to how they were raised and their experiences as children. Both were told as children that education was a key point of life. That was the way to climb up the ladder and reach the top. But it wasn't easy. As Asian Americans, they were outcasts in their American schools. A place where they wanted to belong, but were rejected. Both Chinese and Japanese were made fun of at school. Being called "Japs" or "Chinks" were one of the many discriminatory hardships they faced everyday. They were segregated wherever they went. The movie theatre, barber shops, restaurants, and many other public places refused them service or segregated them from the whites. After their "American school" both the Chinese and Japanese had more studies to attend to. They both had to attend Chinese or Japanese language school. At these schools, both groups were taught the language, culture, values, and history of their homeland. But as children, they didn't enjoy going to two schools, mainly the Chinese or Japanese school. These second generation children enjoyed going to their American schools, even if they were being made fun of or taunted. They wanted to be just like the American children. They thought of the schools about their culture as burdensome. They wanted a challenge, the challenge they got trying to get ahead and excel more then their discriminators. Because of their resentment towards the Chinese and Japanese schools, the second generation was seen as ignorant towards their culture.
