Why don't Asian Americans have as much political clout as Jewish Americans?

[mainer]

I recently came across the fact that 2.1% of the US population is Jewish. And all our politicians are terrified of losing the Jewish vote, so they bend over backwards to claim they're friends of israel.

4.7% of the US population is Asian American. Asian Americans have the highest per-capita income of any racial group. Yet politicians feel free to run racist ads like Hoekstra's, and no one bothers to cater to Asian American voters.

Why is that? Isn't it time for Asian Americans to mobilize their political power the way Jewish Americans have?

[AsahinaKimi]

1. I may have an answer to this...

Most Asians come from countries where many never trusted any politician. To vote for one, is to vote for all, who are corrupt. When many of my friends went into Chinatown to get people to sign up to vote, many Chinese elders refused to sign up to vote, because to them, all politicians were crooked!...Its slowly changing and people are slowly beginning to gain trust again.


Also most of the Asians in America are on the coasts, and mostly on the West coast. Those who have chosen to move to the center of the country have done so, but have found themselves on their own. California is the only state to have the only three Japan towns (nihonmachi) in the country. Chinatowns (Zhonggou Cheng) are mostly on the coasts.. largest being in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. Koreans have a large population in California, as do Vietnamese, Filipinos, and other kinds of Asians..

[ellisonz]

2. Disparate population centers...

...but I would also note you underestimate Asian American political power. Take the State of Hawaii for example, both Senators and both Congresscritters are Asian-Americans. Likewise, there are a number of Asian Congresscritters from California: Doris Matsui, Mike Honda, and Judy Chu.

Don't mistake a tolerant, multicultural America for a perception of a lack of equal distribution of political power. If you want to talk about political inequality in this country, I think you have to start with women. I think you also misunderstand the American alliance with Israel, but I won't get into the details or history of that.

Asian-American encompasses a number of different identities, nationalities and ethnic groups!

[grantcart]

3. To start with in Asian countries there is no organic word for 'asian', it is a completely western

construct.

They on the other hand all have a word like Kwielo, or Farang that applies to all Westerners, Russians, Greeks, Brazilians, Americans and Puerto Ricans, which we would not normally use.

There is less linguistic sharing between Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia than there is between Russia, Spain, Italy and England even though CTBM all either touch each other or are one country away from each other.

[mainer]

4. I meant this in terms of Asian Americans

Despite the fact they're certainly varied ethnically, in the political sense, I think that Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans feel, as a group, the same collective pressures here in the US.

In Hawaii, where I used to live, Asians certainly exerted political power just because they had the majority. But on the mainland, if they could just speak with one voice (and with united pocket books), maybe there'd be a lot less of that Hoekstra bullshit. And politicians would stop picking on them as an easy target.

For those who doubt that Asian Americans are easy targets for ridicule, I'd point to the short-lasting ESPN headline about Jeremy Lin, "Chink in the Armor." The fact the headline writer didn't even pause to consider how insensitive that sounded was pretty surprising. Could anyone imagine a similar headline like "Spic-tacular!" or "Jew-tiful!" even being considered?

To ESPN's credit, they apologized profusely.

[grantcart]

5. I would disagree that there is any cross identity between various asian-american groups outside HI

Hawaii has its own Asian subculture and is not repeated anywhere else in the US.

In San Diego County Japanese, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Philippine and Indian communities have zero interaction.

Even the interaction between Thais and Lao communities, who are ethnic and linguistic the same group and share the exact same religious discipline, there is virtually no interaction.

The only interaction is on high Buddha holidays there will be some visits to other Buddhist temples as a merit making day but no personal relationships are developed.

In Southern California there is one very serious Therevada Forest Monestary where American monks have developed a cross ethnic group of Thai, Lao and Sri Lankan fellowship, but it is very very rare.

[mainer]

6. So how should Asians combat anti-Asian attacks?

unless they find a way to unite, the Hoekstra-type ads, the "Chink in the armor" or "gook-tastic" remarks will persist into eternity. For a minority that's growing in percentage of the US population, and a minority with strong incomes, there has to be a way to exert more political influence.

[grantcart]

7. by trying not to laugh too hard

'Asians' have by far the highest standard of living in the US


http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0695.pdf


In the year 2009

Asian 75,000
White 62,000
Hispanic 39,000
Black 38,000

University of California enrollment statistics 2007

White 20,370 35%
Asian 20,250 35%

all other races 30%

Given that only about 13% of the state's population is Asian its hard to make the case that Asians suffer from systemic 'anti-Asian' attacks.

An occassional stupid headline or bad joke doesn't actually mean that a group is being oppressed.

What makes the statistics above even more impressive is that a very large percentage of those numbers cited above include over a hundred thousand refugees from South East Asia that were first generation English speakers and with a large percent, especially from Cambodia and Laos, of people whose parents were not literate in their own languages.

"there has to be a way to exert more political influence"

All they have to do is get involved.

Your premise is that this is somehow a (a)homogenous group that has a (b) strong group identity and a (c) discreet political agenda to overcome a commonly held (d) perception that they are objectives of systemic patterns of (e) racial descrimination and (f) class oppression.

I disagree with all of that, namely,

a) not homogenous as described up thread and confirmed by your observation that they need something to bring them together
b) do not have a strong group identity. People who qualify as 'Asian-Americans' always refer to themselves as either Americans or Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans, etc. but only 'Asian-American when responding to a bureacratic request for identification that is not more specific
c) don't believe that 'Asian-Americans' share a common discreet political agenda
d)don't believe that 'Asian-Americans' perceive their status here in a similar way. For example I don't think that Thai-Americans and Filipino-Americans share a common perception of their status here
e) hard to make a case for racial descrimination when your group has the highest per capita income and your are the most over represented group in state supported higher education
f) hard to make a case for class oppression when you are the top class.

[mainer]

9. That's my point -- Asian Americans wield considerable economic power

but have not yet exerted much political influence.

The occasional stupid joke or bad pun can be ignored. But when politicians like Hoekstra don't even think twice about running an ad that ridicules Asians, it's clear that THEY don't perceive Asians to have the wherewithal to fight back. And they're surprised when Asians do respond. As they did to that ad.
Can you imagine any politician in the US running a similar ad during the Superbowl, mocking Jews?

>>your (sic) are the most over represented group in state supported higher education <<

So Asians just got high numbers because the system likes them? It has nothing whatsoever to do with any extra effort on their part?

In fact, there is data that major universities do have an "Asian ceiling," beyond which -- yes -- there is discrimination.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/02/08/do_colleges_redline_asian_americans/

And interesting that you refer to Asians as "You", as if "You people" don't know how good you've got it. I guess it's pretty clear that you see Asians as "other."

[ellisonz]

8. "In Hawaii, where I used to live, Asians certainly exerted political power"

Having lived in Hawaii too and been an observer of its politics, I would say you are correct in that there is a sense of "local" culture that is primarily defined by multiracial/ethnic identity. However, in terms of political interest groups, there are some very stark ethnic divisions. In fact, there is really an elaborate racial hierarchy in which alliances form across ethnic barriers. The basic racial/ethnic hierarchy in Hawaii basically goes in order of power: Haole, Japanese, Hawaiian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Samoan, Micronesian/other Polys except for Tahitians, Maori. This hierarchy exists in myriad business, worker, political, cultural, and community organizations across economic lines.

[Bradical79]

10. Religion and money are two big reasons. Also banking?

Many white Christians, particularly evangelicals, view jews as God's "chosen people". As a result, Israel was created to return the Jewish people to their religious homeland, and a massive amount of money is spent on Israel by both private citizens and our government (as we established the country and many feel responsibility towards protecting them). Lots of money in turn comes back here and is spent on politicians through the very powerful pro-Israel lobby. Unlike Asians, this gives right wing Jewish groups and politicians a disproportionate amount of economic power and at least another 25% or so of the U.S. population (my rough guess) of fiercely loyal support from evangelical Christian Americans who have a strong sense of solidarity with their right wing nationalist jewish counterparts (zionism) and significant economic power in their own right.

Also, I'm not sure if this is a stereotype or has basis in fact, but I've heard the idea that a lot of jewish economic power comes from banking which would give a disproportionate amount of economic power far beyond any individual's salary or spending power. I don't know if this is based on fact or just the anti-semitic jew banking conspiracies being repeated so often that many believe it to be true.

[ellisonz]

11. Really wrong post.

Please go to the library and check out a standard history of Israel, or use the Wikipedia. - The Jewish people created Israel on their own and without the assistance of any foreign power against the military's of several Arab states. Your entire argument about "economic power" is gibberish as is your repetition of the idea that "a lot of jewish economic power comes from banking." Please abstain from further comments on this subject until you are prepared to do more than make vague arguments about "economic power," how Israel is being propped up by evangelical Christians and the repetition of anti-Semitic stereotypes. Knowledge is power!

Massive and