# Cathy Park Hong - Quotes: 24 - Author page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong ## Books - [Minor Feelings](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings.md) — 24 quotes ## Recently added quotes > I’d rather be indebted than be the kind of white man who thinks the world owes him, because to live an ethical life is to be held accountable to history. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/id-rather-be-indebted.md) > Because I didn't learn the language until I started school, I associated English with everything hard: the chalkboard with diagrammed sentences, the syllables in my mouth like hard slippery marbles. English was not an expression of me but a language that was out to get me, threaded with invisible trip wires that could expose me at the slightest misstep. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/because-i-didnt.md) > When I hear the phrase “Asians are next in line to be white,” I replace the word “white” with “disappear.” Asians are next in line to disappear. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/when-i-hear.md) > Two thousand and sixteen was the year of white tears...And white tears are why 63 percent of white men and 53 percent of white women elected a malignant man-child as their leader. For to be aware of history, they would be forced to be held accountable, and rather than face that shame, they'd rather, by any means necessary, maintain their innocence. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/two-thousand-and.md) > Whether our families come from Guatemala, Afghanistan, or South Korea, the immigrants since 1965 have shared histories that extend beyond this nation, to our countries of origin, where our lineage has been decimated by Western imperialism, war, and dictatorships orchestrated or supported by the United States. In our efforts to belong in America, we act grateful, as if we've been given a second chance at life. But our shared root is not the opportunity this nation has given us but how the capitalist accumulation of white supremacy has enriched itself off the blood of our countries. We cannot forget this. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/whether-our-families.md) > The indignity of being Asian in this country has been underreported. We have been cowed by the lie that we have it good. We keep our heads down and work hard, believing that our diligence will reward us with our dignity, but our diligence will only make us disappear. By not speaking up, we perpetuate the myth that our shame is caused by our repressive culture and the country we fled, whereas America has given us nothing but opportunity. The lie that Asians have it good is so insidious that even now as I write, I'm shadowed by doubt that I didn't have it bad compared to others. But racial trauma is not a competitive sport. The problem is not that my childhood was exceptionally traumatic but that it was in fact rather typical. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/the-indignity-of-being.md) > One characteristic of racism is that children are treated like adults and adults are treated like children. Watching a parent being debased like a child is the deepest shame. I cannot count the number of times I have seen my parents condescended to or mocked by white adults. This was so customary that when my mother had any encounter with a white adult, I was always hypervigilant, ready to mediate or pull her away. To grow up Asian in America is to witness the humiliation of authority figures like your parents and to learn not to depend on them: they cannot protect you. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/one-characteristic-of-racism.md) > My term “minor feelings” is deeply indebted to theorist Sianne Ngai, who wrote extensively on the affective qualities of ugly feelings, negative emotions—like envy, irritation, and boredom—symptomatic of today’s late-capitalist gig economy. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/my-term-minor.md) > Nothing gets dated faster than a joke. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/nothing-gets-dated.md) > The flip side of innocence is shame. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/the-flip-side.md) > Racial self-hatred is seeing yourself the way the whites see you, which turns you into your own worst [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/racial-self-hatred-is-seeing.md) > The most damaging legacy of the West has been its power to decide who our enemies are, turning us not only against our own people, like North and South Korea, but turning me against myself. [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/cathy-park-hong/minor-feelings/the-most-damaging.md)