re: Comment on 80-20

I was excited to get my first comment on the blog and would like to make a reply. Thank you very much anonymous reader for taking the time to make a response.

While I agree that 80-20 has laudable goals and achievements, I'm speaking to the fact that the membership base is not representative of all asian communities. The reason I feel this is a problem is because without the diversity of membership I fear that not all the opinions of these different communities are on the table. Perhaps other communities wouldn't focus on having federal judges first or targeting that particular executive order. This is not to say that those objectives are not worthwhile; simply that they might not be the targets of those other asian communities.

So, I ask if 80-20 is trying to bring these other communities to the table and not whether they believe their goals are representative without consultation.

Asians as a Political Action Group

As I've mentioned before, there is a glass ceiling for asians. Part of this problem stems from a lack of cohesion within the community. There are east asians who like being splintered into their various country groups, southeast asians who also enjoy splintering, and south asians who are often not included when east/southeast asians refer to asians. Often, we socialize in our groups based on the country of affiliation. Thus, there isn't as much chance to form the kind of relationship which invites mutual political struggle; rather, I find lots of splinter groups.

One of the groups which got a small bit of media attention in the last presidential election was the group 80-20 PAC. It strives to get equality in the government and in the workplace for asians, but if you look at the member rolls, they are overwhelmingly East Asian and mostly Chinese. How can a group claim to have the interest of all asians in mind when the member base just doesn't show that kind of diversity?

Groups like 80-20 need to extend beyond the East Asian subgroups in order to achieve a wider base of support for the opinions expressed and the political clout wielded. Only with this wider community can objectives truly be said to have been obtained for all Asian Americans.

Supporting Asian Artists

Perhaps it's because I live in a weird bubble, but I don't see much advertising for Asian artists (authors, painters, stars) specifically those who work in the US. There just aren't that many names which come to mind. Obviously, for books there is Amy Tan and maybe Iris Chang and Lisa See. For films, there's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Bend it Like Beckham, Slumdog Millionaire, and a vast assortment of Kung-Fu movies. The problem with many of these works is that they aren't very compelling, but are acclaimed because of the lack of selection.

I believe the Asian American community should do more to promote works and encourage their kids to pursue creative works even though they are seen as less stable. If we as a community supported these artists, there would naturally be more works. The example that comes to mind is how the black community overwhelmingly supported the newest Disney movie princess because she was black. They bought out the merchandise at a lot of Disney stores and effectively sent a message to the executives of Disney that this was a move in the right direction. The asian community has this kind of buying power too. Thus, we should show some solidarity.

As part of this, I will try to promote asian artists that I find, and I will later post reviews of whatever I can get around to seeing/reading/hearing/viewing. These types of posts will be called Eastern Canvas from now on (of which Formosa Betrayed was the first), and I look forward to bringing lots of stuff to your attention.

Also, if you're talented in writing and are an Asian-American be sure to enter the 2010 Asian American Short Story Contest.