The success of so many Asians here in America is indeed a problem for those who say this country is hopelessly racist. The attempt to limit Asian-American access to colleges (which, I think, is the #1 issue for those who support racial quotas) is a terrible idea. How do they explain the overall success of Asians in this country, especially when many of the latter face hurdles that most African Americans do not? Are Asian-Americans to be punished for their success?
Let's not forget that many Asian-Americans came here not speaking a Western language. (E.g., the Boat People from Vietnam.) As one who learned both Spanish and German (thanks largely to Fullerton Junior College & SDSU
), I can attest to the fact that for an English speaker, learning almost any Indo-European language is relatively easy. Learning Chinese, Japanese, etc. is very tough (though not impossible) for us. On the other hand, native speakers of the last two languages mentioned are at a big disadvantage learning English.
Asians were treated badly in the 19th Century, when many were brought to California to work on the railroads. They were not slaves, but their status was very low. (As late at the 1950s, Dr. Sammy Lee, an Olympic champion, was opposed by citizens of Garden Grove when he wanted to buy a home there.) So many Asians have done so well because, despite the real hurdles they faced, they worked hard and persevered. Now some want to, in effect, punish them for doing what Americans are supposed to do.
The real problem with Prop 16 is, in my opinion, that the Left believes that African-Americans cannot do well on their own in this country without the help of the government. It fits into their narrative that White (how I hate to use that term) Americans hate other "racial" groups and hope to prevent them from succeeding in life. The success of Asian-Americans destroys that concept. The Left is not open to the possibility that the lack of success achieved by so many African-Americans could be due to something other than "racial prejudice" on the part of European-Americans.
Why do Asian-Americans do so much better in so many area than African-Americans? Or, for that better than many European-Americans? The Left has to do mental gymnastics to reconcile their anti-African-American theory with the success of Asian-Americans? Are Asian-Americans somehow not a minority? Here are some ideas for how the Left might deal with the paradox.
* How about just ignoring it?
* How about deciding that Whites, for some strange reason, have decided to accept Asians but to hurt African-Americans?
* I can't think of a third one, and in any case the first two are ridiculous.
The truth is that, to some degree, the effects of slavery and the Jim-Crow era do linger. I would certainly not deny that. But slavery has been gone for 155 years. That's about six or seven generations. Jim Crow, and here I refer to the laws that defined segregation, were eliminated officially by the 1965
Civil Rights Act,
Board of Education, etc. That's over two generations.
Is it the Left's view that Whites are MORE racist now that several decades ago? Only someone totally ignorant of today's America, or someone who, for whatever reason, hates this country can accept that view. I should add that, in addition to the success of so many Asian-Americans, millions of African-Americans have also succeeded. The number of U.S. African Americans who are billionaires is short enough to list her.
Tyler Perry
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Michael Jackson
David Steward
Oprah Winfrey
Robert F. Smith
(Somehow, all those racists White Americans failed to keep these African-Americans down.
)
There are many, many very successful African Americans I could list, and probably most of them did not come from privileged backgrounds. Yet we have a huge number of African-Americans who have very little. I reason I resist the concept that it's all the fault of While racists is that there are also millions and millions of European Americans who are in the same boat. It's not called the Rust Belt for nothing. The reasons for this are too complicated to discuss here.
In short, what Prop 16 wants is terrible for California and for America as a whole. Those who support it do not understand that racial quotas will make our problems worse, not better.
AzWm
), I can attest to the fact that for an English speaker, learning almost any Indo-European language is relatively easy. Learning Chinese, Japanese, etc. is very tough (though not impossible) for us. On the other hand, native speakers of the last two languages mentioned are at a big disadvantage learning English. 
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