Do you Vote For a “Bad” Politician Just Because They are Asian American?

by Jason

While voting in California’s election process, I had a unique sense of “who-should-I-vote for?” To me, I was intrigue by the question: since there is a great absence of Asian American in politics, would it be more beneficial to vote for Asian Americans in office regardless of if you agree to their ideologies just so that their presence alone allows for the introduction of a new generation of API leaders in politics? In other words, would allowing “bad” API leaders (“bad” and “good” is entirely up to anyone’s personal opinion) be a stigma to these new leaders, or would their presence outweigh the greater good?

Historically, the lack of minority political leaders, and therefore the majority of heavily biased White politics, had led to the oppression of the API community and other minority groups. Just to name a small few for those unfamiliar with the topic:

1. The Alien Land Law in 1913: Aimed to harass the success of Japanese farmers in CA and prevented the vast number of non-citizens from owning land.
2. Immigration Act of 1924: Greatly limited the number of Asian immigrants into the country due to hatred against the growing API community.
3. Destruction of the I-Hotel in the 1960’s: A low-cost residential building for Filipino senior citizens in San Francisco was destroyed under the notice of SF public officials although there was high disagreement from the API community.
4. The contemporary effect of the Model Minority Theory: In one example, it has led to lack of support for the many low-income Asian American communities because of the belief that Asian Americans are already self-supporting and “rich.”

So while sitting at the counter, I was both admiring the presence of Asian American candidates, but also wondering if my vote for them is a matter of just because they are Asian American. There are definitely benefits for having an Asian American candidate regardless of their political affiliation:

1. They would be able to greater understand the API community and therefore make decisions with the API community in mind.
2. Similar to (1), they would be able to better represent the API community just because of their unique experience as being Asian American.

Much of these themes run parallel to the Third World Movement in the San Francisco State College Strike (I take great pride and influence from this movement) where the goal was the creation of an ethnic studies program run exclusively by “Third World,” minority teachers. API professors would best be able to relate and teach Asian American studies just like API political leaders would be best able to relate and make informed decisions on topics that affect the Asian American community.

The same San Francisco State College Strike provides a counter-argument as well. The introduction of Samuel Hayakawa, who is of Japanese descent, as the new president of the college during the strike would appear to help the Third World Movement; however, ironically it did the exact opposite. Hayakawa was greatly opposed to the strike and took great pride in the fact. Therefore, although he is of API descent, his political ideology and actions do not automatically better represent the API community. In current times where racial equality is a societal norm, I personally believe that most API leaders do take in consideration their unique API background in their decisions unlike Hayakawa.

In many contemporary Asian American headlines and news sources, simply the election or naming of an Asian American leader is highly supported regardless of their ideological stance. Their ability, is often praised, but is also expected and, in addition, being the first of some ethnicity is highly focused upon more so than anything else. For example, Tani Cantil-Sakauye will be the first Filipina-American for Chief Justice in California. Should we support this API leader just because she is Asian American? I believe that most would agree because it provides a way for other more Asian Americans to enter the same political scene. Will this person necessarily contribute to the Asian American community? Not exactly.

The goal is to increase the number of API politicians; however, will it provide better representation in the Asian American community? Politics can be compared to the media in film and music. In film, stereotypical roles are a consequence of being an Asian American actor. If the number of Asian Americans in film increases, will it necessarily be a good thing? If all the roles are stereotypical, then it will only work against the Asian American community. In the early Hollywood days between the 1920’s and 1960’s, Chinese Americans in the Los Angeles Chinatown were often recruited in masses to take part in Hollywood films. These roles would often be stereotypical background characters or villains, and although there were many API’s in film, it would only negatively affect the Asian American community. Therefore, if the performance of the Asian American leaders is poor, even though there are more, then it may negatively affect the Asian American community.

During WWII and the internment of people of Japanese descent, the JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) was created specifically to help Japanese Americans. This new rise of API leaders only lead to a division in the Japanese community because of the poor leadership of Nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) in relation to the Issei (first generation Japanese Americans). Although there were Japanese Americans in stronger political power, there was not necessarily better representation. Therefore, as long as there are resources to complement and support the next generation of API leaders, it would only benefit the Asian American community and provide better representation.

In music, there is a similar negative disposition against rising Asian American stars that there is in politics and almost everywhere else. Due to this opposing force, there lacks a single Asian American artist in pop music and therefore no representation at all in the field. This is equivalent to the lack of API leaders at certain levels of politics. A break or growth in the field or by an entity regardless of their stance would only help provide a route for more API leaders into the same field. In the present, because of the impact of the band, Far East Movement, regardless of if you like them or not, Asian Americans may be finally able to impact the American music scene. In politics, the introduction of an Asian American influenced President, President Obama, has led to Pete Rouse being appointed the first Asian American Chief of Staff. Regardless of his effect on the Asian American community, he paves a way for future API Chiefs of Staff. Therefore, by supporting Asian American leaders, especially “firsts,” regardless of their stance, it provides an outlook of better representation in the future.

At the November 2nd California ballot, the Asian American candidates such as John Chiang for controller, Ming Chin and Tani Cantil-Sakauye for Supreme Court Justice, and Steven Suzukawa for Division Four Justice, are pioneers in the Californian and American political scene. Although their ideologies may differ from the diverse Asian American community, their very presence has a significant impact on the future representation of the Asian American community. Therefore this, too, has validity when voting for Asian American candidates and not just their stances on current issues.

ABOUT JASON: I’d like to grow up to be an activist and a catalyst for change. Presently, I am located in Los Angeles busily studying Asian American topics and living the student life.

(Flickr photo credit: Christine Chan)