The Murder of Vincent Chin

This past week's video on Vincent Chin was an eye-opening experience for me as the murder was one that predated my birth. To begin with, I suppose I could say that I am really surprised that I had never once heard of this murder case at all. With me being born very shortly after the murder, it struck me very odd that I lived so closed to a point in time where Asian-American movement was starting and that all through-out my childhood, I had never been educated this issue and what it represented: the lack of recognition for Asians to be recognized as Americans. I suppose that this could be then forwarded as a question as to why I had never been educated on this? I come from Orange County, a very diverse community with a high percentage of Asians. How did this not once reach me? Did the strength of the Asian-American movement never reach over here from where Vincent Chin was murdered? African-American history is noted in our textbooks and even has a month dedicated to it, yet Asian-Americans receive no recognition in that matter at all. It just doesn't make much sense, nor does it paint a very good picture in many aspects.

I believe the thing that really bothered me the most about the murder case was that these men did not receive life-long imprisonment. They were ordered to make payments of large amounts for a large portion of their lives to that of Lily Chin, however that will never make it quite like justice... they essentially bought themselves out of murder. It is ironic how they live with the ideal freedom expected of every American while the young Asian man never got his true rights to freedom let alone equal representation.