War Stories 4 - Protecting AsAm candidates from racist attacks
Time and Issue: Prior to 2002, attacking AsAm political candidates for their race background was commonplace. In 2002, 80-20 received 2 such complaints. One was from Alice Lai-Bitker, a Chinese Am candidate, running for a County Supervisor seat in Alameda, CA. Another was from Christopher Gabaldon, a Filipino-Am candidate, running for Assemblyman in the 18th District of CA. Click here to verify by reading the Footnote.
80-20's unique way of stopping such racist attacks: 80-20 knows that such attacks against AsAm political candidates are normally suggested and designed by their opponent's paid political consultants. Hence, 80-20 passed a resolution to use 80-20's own resources to track down and drive out both the offending candidate and his/her political consultants.
Complete Success: No AsAm candidate has encountered an open racist attack by their opponents after 2002. (Anonymous attacks still exist, but they are not effective.)
Analysis- Why was 80-20's resolution such a complete success?
1) 80-20's political know-how: 80-20 knows election campaigns. It knows that in most low level political contests, the candidates are the figureheads while their paid consultants are the real brains and decision makers. Paid consultants are pros who have chosen politics as their career. Hence, when 80-20 aimed its gun at the pros and threatened to dog them until they would be driven out of their chosen profession, they stopped designing racist attacks against AsAm candidates.
2) 80-20's effectiveness in speeding the news to political consultants: 80-20 advised AsAm candidates to make a copy of 80-20's resolution and send it to their opponents & consultants. Click here to verify. Read the message in the second rectangular box. Since that fitted the self-interests of our candidates, the news spread quickly at the time, although nowadays most AsAm political candidates probably don't even worry about facing such racist attacks anymore. :-) 80-20 is pleased that its resolution resulted in such a complete empowerment.
Empowerment: Could you or your offspring run for a political office one day? Aren't you glad that 80-20 put a halt to racist attacks on AsAm candidates? This was a contribution AsAms for all time.
Want to do YOUR share to empower ourselves?
1. Donate to SELF (
Self
Empowerment
Long-term
Fund): Click
here.
Sending a check? Send to Stephen Lin, 969 Acalanes Rd, Lafayette CA 94549.
2. Sign the petition to stop the discrimination against AsAm students,
click here. Thank you.
S. B. Woo
