Jess, Filip and Teen continue their conversation on race and class. Does class ascension require letting go of our ethnic identity? Why does not being seen as Asian, but rather just a person, seem neither fully right, nor fully wrong?

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The following are edited excerpts from “The Race to Be White”, the 19th episode of Plan A’s podcast, Escape From Plan A.

What is the term ‘Asian American?’ It has no basis in Asia. It’s more American than Asian to have this conception, really. How badly do we want to cling to that?

— Jess

If you take both of those paths, the alt-right path on one hand, the Jordan Peterson youth movement path on the other hand, and drew them to their logical conclusion, would you get to the same spot?

— Filip

There’s a great Eddie Murphy skit that really illustrated this. He put on whiteface and went around town as a white guy. He’d be on the bus and when the one other black guy got off, they just had a white party, they play music, they break out the champagne… It was really interesting beacuse it set up this feeling of, well I know what it’s like to be of the black people, where’s the white equivalent of our stuff? It mst be out of view, it must be hidden, because I can’t see it. I just see people walking around like they don’t know each other.

— Teen