Progressives discriminate against people of color
It all depends on what color you are.
Progressives react immediately to the slightest hint of discrimination against blacks and Hispanics. But Asians? That’s different. Hindering Asian-American success is justified in progressive eyes since they see that success coming at the expense of their preferred identity groups.
Asian-Americans are an American immigration success story. Twenty thousand Chinese were brought to California in the 1860s as construction workers on the Central Pacific railroad. They were treated abominably and targeted by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Large numbers of Japanese farm workers immigrated to Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast after Chinese immigration was prohibited. Broader discrimination against both nationalities followed with the 1924 Asian Exclusion Act.
Worse yet, the U.S. interned Japanese-American citizens during the Second World War because, well, they were different.
Despite this animosity, both groups flourished. Asian-Americans have on average higher IQs, educational attainment, and wealth than the rest of us. They are a living embodiment of what used to be the liberal ideal: a colorblind society.
In recent years, progressives in both California and Washington State attempted to overturn their states’ prohibitions on racial preference. Both failed in large part because Asian-Americans recognized that the measures were aimed at them and rallied opposition.
New York City’s hyper-progressive mayor, Bill de Blasio, wants to increase the number of African-American and Hispanic kids in the city’s specialized high schools. The schools are shining stars amidst an otherwise dismal educational landscape. Admission is based on standardized test score results.
Common sense and fair play would suggest that the mayor find ways to bolster under-represented minority children by improving elementary and middle schools and providing supplemental mentoring.
But de Blasio prefers blatant racial discrimination, arbitrarily accepting the top seven percent of students from every city middle school. The result? Asian-American student numbers would be cut in half with lower-scoring African-American and Hispanics taking their places.
Harvard University is no better than de Blasio but goes about its racial discrimination with more subtlety. Taking advantage of Obama administration guidance allowing consideration of an applicant’s race, Harvard added traits such as “likability” and “kindness” to its admission criteria.
In other words, the scales can be tilted toward anyone the university wants to admit. Unsurprisingly, blacks and Hispanics with significantly lower test scores and grades than Asian-American applicants now tread the hallowed halls in Cambridge.
Asian-American parents in New York and applicants denied admission to Harvard are suing, as well they should. Progressive reaction to these lawsuits is as disgusting as it is predictable.
Netflix host Hasan Minhaj called Asian-Americans “the worst kind” of Americans. Playwright Young Jean Lee called the Harvard lawsuit “a cynical manipulation that urges Asian-Americans to sell out other people of color.” Claire Jean Kim conflated “nascent, conservative Chinese immigrant nationalism” with “an older, conservative white nationalism.”
Instead, I see Asian-Americans recognizing that progressive paeans to “inclusion and diversity” are nothing more than window dressing for racial discrimination. Progressive attacks on “the worst kind” of Americans are ugly manifestations of extreme-left identity politics dogma.
Asian-Americans bootstrapped themselves upward by overcoming blatant, official discrimination for the better part of a century. Their success should be an inspiration to all of us regardless of race or ethnic background.
Denying equal opportunity to Asian-Americans based solely on race flies in the face of any rational definition of our country’s hard-won civil rights for all.
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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Dear Howard,
You, sir, are a liar.
Sincerely,
A. Progressive
Thank you for completely discrediting yourself by repeatedly quoting a comedian’s obviously sarcastic statement about Asian-Americans, Howard. You couldn’t even call him what he is, a comedian, because you know just how disingenuous you’re being.
Also, your sources for many of your claims of Asian-American discrimination are from nearly a century ago and lack any historical context… And the sources regarding the discrimination lawsuits against Harvard are conveniently outdated… as Harvard was cleared of intentional discrimination.
Howard, sometimes policies have unintended consequences. Sometimes accusations in lawsuits are complete and utter bullshit. The existence of a lawsuit is hardly compelling evidence of wrong-doing — double-y so when Federal judges have already cleared the accused of intentional wrong-doing.
Is this the best case you could build for your idiotic premise? I’m unimpressed.