The & Reader: Eddie Huang on Jeremy Lin
“He may not realize it, but by not claiming ‘Chineseness’ or embracing his rabid Asian fan base, he is doing more for us than anyone at this moment can. Jeremy Lin might be the first normal Asian America has seen and it’s fucking great. He’s not famous because he ran around with a rice pecker in the Hangover. He’s not famous because Ari treats him like a Eunuch. Nor is he famous for singing ‘She Bangs.’ He doesn’t have to act a fool to get on TV because he balls so hard mother fuckers can’t find him. Lin is saving the Knicks with super-human play, but he’s dispelling myths about Asian America by being otherwise hyper-normal and I thank him. He doesn’t have a duty to embrace Asian America, speak for Asian America, or represent Asian America because right now he IS Asian America. Go to church, drink that blue shit, but don’t you ever, ever, ever, stop being the normal-ass Taiwanese-American you are.”
“Thank You Jeremy Lin,” Fresh Off the Boat (www.thepopchef.blogspot.com)
Eddie Huang is a chef, baller, shot-caller, and the author of a forthcoming memoir from Spiegel & Grau.
