Tag Archives: Asian Americans

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More thoughts on the National Asian American Survey

I’m surprised there’s not been  much reported on the new National Asian American Survey released this past week. There’s some really interesting insight on the non-m0nolithic nature of the group.

You can find links to the survey and  read my take on the NAAS on  the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Personally, I am fascinated that a poll finally can drill down and say what specific Asian American communities think, merely because they were asked in large enough sample sizes. But does anyone else care about being able to drill down to plus/minus 7 percent accuracy on how the Hmong feel?

 The value is clear because data still trumps ignorance. In lieu of the pricey and work-intensive  NAAS, all you have is anecdote, guessing and lobbyists trading favors with politicos in order to get things done. 

Then again, maybe we are putting too much value in the data. Could it be Asian Americans could be better off without anyone knowing specifics?

We’re 31 percent undecided, and the politicos still don’t seem to care.

The fact is there are still a relatively small number of Asian Americans in the electorate.

We aren’t quite where the Latinos and blacks are yet. Maybe in another generation.

We’re still a group that has to make things happen in coalition. And that’s what the NAAS does show.

The survey shows we’re independent and changeable. Filipinos have gone from primarily Democratic to now mostly Republican in 4 years. Vietnamese have migrated away from being the GOP’s favorite boat people, to  a more moderate, independent stance.

When Pew did a study on Asian Americans earlier this year, the headline seemed to be how Pew’s data was used to perpetuate and solidify the “Model Minority” idea,  that notion of the stereotypical Asian American success.

For me, the NAAS survey, explodes any sense of a poltical “Model Minority,” the one that presumes  we are all one big happy Asian American community and  political block.  We aren’t. The NAAS documents how the monolithic Asian America is a myth. Asian America  may slightly tilt toward Democrats for now. But witihin the group, the actions of Filipinos and Vietnamese suggest a more tactical sense of how to play politics.

 

blog, diversity, news, politics

Bill Clinton’s whale of a speech, and more ruminations about #DNC2012, Day 2

In the 80s, a young Governor  Bill Clinton gave a speech at a DNC and the biggest  applause line he got was when he said ,”In closing…..”

This week he went over by about 20 minutes and no one would have minded if he took another 200.

Let that be a lesson about political fate and ambition. When you lose or have a bad day, you can come back, and have them all eating out of your hand.

Bill Clinton did that on day 2 of the DNC, making the case for Barack Obama like no other. He brought the Democrats back to a sense of moderation that used to get Clinton and his blue-dog  DLC gang a lot of  grief from “progressives.”

Now when the GOP and the Right have taken on the party of hate and extremism, take-aways and divisiveness,  the Clinton way doesn’t look so conservative.

In fact, when Clinton talked about “constructive cooperation” and admiration for Eisenhower and both Bushes, he expanded the Democrats to the middle right, and it still seemed far left compared to today’s GOP.

In the roll call vote, when Barry Goldwater’s granddaughter spoke for AZ and mentioned how her grandfather wouldn’t recognize the GOP, and she’s right. He wouldn’t. A moderate Republican of old would be right at home with a big broad Democratic Party–the kind Clinton was carving out on Day 2.

If Day 1 was about America’s diversity and Democratic family values,  Day 2 was about expanding the definition of inclusion to encompass the broad middle for all:  Not just minorities and Hispanics, but whites, working class,  capitalists, women, all who believe in liberty and justice for all.

No one else could have pulled it off  but Bill Clinton.

At first, Day 2 of the DNC seemed a bit dull. There was a slow build throughout the night, with platitudes rarely getting a rise.

It certainly was no Day 1, which was perhaps the most energizing and inspirational of all the conventions (RNC/DNC) because of Michelle Obama, Julian Castro, and the overwhelming diversity on display. (What? We didn’t see that at the RNC? Well, no, we didn’t).

Day 2 had moments: The preach speak of Emmanuel Cleaver, Cecile Richards, Cristina’s Si Se Puede reprise, Jessica Sanchez doing Aretha, Sandra Fluke, Elizabeth Warren. Conventions are a politics junkie’s “America’s Got Talent.”  But Wednesday just wasn’t the kind of sustained level of UP, that Day 1 was.
You could take a bathroom break on Day 2.

And then….the Whale showed up.

And that was it,  the water shifted and rose up, and the show began.

(Miss the speech? CSPAN has it here.)

What I liked most about Clinton’s speech is that he did something Obama and the Dems have really failed to do heretofore. No one has really spelled out why the Democrats are worth voting for.

If it’s all about a job creation score card, Clinton provided one: In the last 50 years, it’s Republicans 24 million. Democrats 42 million.

When it comes down to who has a better plan for tomorrow, Clinton had a one word test that the GOP’s plan can’t pass: Arithmetic.

When he talked about the GOP cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, he made the emotional sale. When Clinton asked what families cut off by the GOP plan were going to do, he struck a nerve.

“We can’t afford to give the reigns of government to someone who wants to double down on trickle down.”

Clinton was good on the record, but he also represented a time when Democrats had a good thing going. For those nostalgic of a stimulus that worked, of a country with a surplus, of good times, (the Clinton Days),  Clinton was clear.  No president  could have fixed what was left for Barack Obama in just four years.

Which leads to the ridiculous GOP argument, which Clinton said, was “pretty simple. We left him a total mess, he hasn’t finished cleaning it up yet, so fire him and put us back in.”

The undecideds back home on the couch, could sense the truth in that.

But to close the deal, Clinton needed to sell a vision that people could wrap their heads around and see the critical nature of the choice before them.

“What kind of country do you want to live in?” he asked. “If you want a “you’re-on-your-own, winner-take-all-society, you should support the Republican ticket. If you want a country of shared prosperity and shared responsibility–a we’re-all-in-this-together society– you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.”

Some are saying Bill Clinton’s  was his best speech ever. It was just Clinton, relaxed, confident, with just enough facts to make his point in his folksy style that evokes the elder, the veteran of life, one who knows.

I’d say a speech’s impact has to do with the moment. I was on the floor of the DNC in New York in 1992 and I recall the Clinton acceptance speech to be his finest. After years of Republican governance, Clinton represented real hope, and people were eager for it. ( I just saw bits of it. You’ll find the DNA of last night’s speech in 1992’s).

This time around we are also  at a crossroads, a critical one as well. But Clinton is more loved and revered. He didn’t have to do any heavy lifting this week really.  That’s still Barack Obama’s job.  And we’ll see how he does on Day 3.

ASIAN AMERICANS AT THE PODIUM

I thought it was a rough night for all the Asian Americans on the podium except for Jessica Sanchez who nailed her Aretha cover. And she was 2nd on “American Idol.”

Rep. Judy Chu was fired up, but she could use a little bit of Michelle Obama’s fire. Sec.Shinseki was a general giving a political speech. I saluted, sir.

The image was one of good Asian American public servants. Not one of charismatic political leader.

Atty.General Kamala Harris (half-South Asian)  is always alluring, but seemed nervous up there and did not leave one thinking, “There’s our next Senator.”  She might be. Her placement on the program indicates she is far being in some political dead-end job. She’ll probably remember her moment her as Clinton remembers his moment in the ‘80s. A better day is ahead. She has the look of a real national political star when she finds her Michelle Obama chops.

Asian Americans looking for charismatic leaders? Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and Rep. Maisie Hirono (running for Akaka’s Senate seat vs. ex-gov Linda Lingle) are two who come to mind. I’ve interviewed both. You want someone as Clinton would say, “cool on the outside, who burns for America on the inside”?  These ladies are tough ladies who don’t back down.

SEE MY POST ON MICHELLE OBAMA AND JULIAN CASTRO. IT’S ON THEASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND BLOG

 

blog, diversity, journalism, news, race

My night at the New America Media Awards

I gave these remarks at the New America Media Northern California and Central Valley awards ceremony (July 19, 2012). I was named the winner in the Outstanding Commentary/Editorial Essay (English language publications) for three pieces I did for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Among the judges were Joan Walsh of Salon.com, author Richard Rodriguez, and NAM editor/author Andrew Lam. You can view the three essays on the nomination fight of Goodwin Liu, a defense of Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, and a reflection of the 10th Anniversary of 9-11 on the archives at aaldef.org

Here are links to the individual pieces:

http://aaldef.org/blog/taking-the-leap-the-horror-and-the-love-of-911.html

 http://aaldef.org/blog/a-bias-toward-hate-crimes-in-rutgers-case.html

 http://aaldef.org/blog/why-president-obama-shouldnt-give-up-on-the-liu-nomination.html

 (See all the winners here).

The gala ceremony was held at KQED-TV in San Francisco, and since it was being taped for some future broadcast, we were all limited to a 1-minute thank you speech. Due to that limitation, I promised to post my full, idealized remarks here at www.amok.com. Sort of like the House of Representatives on those one-minute speeches on C-SPAN, where they reserve the right to extend their remarks for the record. So it’s not really a transcript of what I said. It’s what I said or meant to say:

Since we are limited to one minute, I want to say that since I know another winner Ben Pimentel won’t be here, that before tonight, he agreed to give me a few seconds of his minute. Just like they do in Congress. But he said he’d do it only if I would sing my thank you. I said, “Ben, what do you think this is karaoke night?”

I’m taking the extra seconds.

(crowd titters)

Of course, if they cut me off, you can always read my remarks at www.amok.com …

Yes, I am still amok after all these years. But as the politicians like to say, I have “evolved.”  I’m less amok and slightly more “nuanced.” I still report. But I also opine. And  I appreciate the judges’ recognition of my work, my truth-telling, an insistence on a fearlessly honest expression of my views.

Ironically, my first media job was 40 years ago this year. The job was at KQED…when it was on 4th street….. “Newsroom.”

Not HBO’s  “THE Newsroom,” we know that kind of newsroom doesn’t really exist, but “Newsroom,” a show where striking chronicle reporters told their stories on tv.

I was a junior at Lowell High School. I got a buck-sixty to be a gopher…

40 years later, here we are, and adjusted for inflation, I’m probably still making as much money.

I discovered my commentary chops while at NPR, then at Asian Week. Now you can read me at aaldef.org. That’s not “all deaf” as in the hearing disabled. That’s AALDEF as in the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Civil rights, Voting rights, Worker’s rights, and more. AALDEF fights for Asian Americans.

I thank AALDEF for keeping my voice alive. The executive director Margaret Fung has been a great supporter, and I thank her.

Thanks also to my  real editor, my wife Kathy, a senior VP at PETA and inspires me with all the work she does for the animals.

And thanks to Sandy and this organization. It’s a long way from NCM.

Most of all, I want to thank all the ethnic journalists here for doing what you continue to do at a very  high level.

Congratulations to all of you. I  have had some mainstream success, but I didn’t discover my voice, journalism didn’t make sense until the truth was part of who I was. Only in the ethnic media are the stakes allowed to be that personal.

Make no mistake there’s nothing minor league about ethnic journalism.

We do vital work for an underserved audience.

So thank you again. This recognition means a whole lot more. Especially when you do it for love.

Chauncey Bailey, our dear late and lamented friend and colleague, put it in perspective.

He once said after receiving an award from this organization, “These are our Pulitzers.”

He was right then.

He’d be right today.

Thank you very much.

blog, diversity, news, politics

30 years after: My interview with Vincent Chin’s killer, Ronald Ebens

When I first posted the  interview I did with Vincent Chin’s killer,  Ronald Ebens, my purpose was to use talking to the killer as my own personal way to commemorate the 30th anniversary. I am a journalist. I wanted to hear from the killer. If I could get him to talk, it could be news.

But the personal motive was the main driver to this story. Back in 1982,  I was just a young reporter, working my way through journalism having worked in broadcasting in Boston, Houston, St.Louis, San Francisco, Reno, Dallas, then San Francisco again  at KRON-TV (when it was the NBC affiliate). I was as mainstream as it got. I didn’t see myself as an Asian American journalist. 

But Vincent Chin changed all that for me.

(Originally posted on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund site).

After 30 years, the killer of Asian American icon Vincent Chin told me in an exclusive interview that the murder known as a hate crime, wasn’t about race, nor does he ever even remember hitting Chin with a baseball bat.
 
Incredible as that sounds, there is one thing Ronald Ebens is clear about.
 
Ebens, who was convicted of second degree murder but spent no time in prison for the act, is sorry for the beating death of Vincent Chin on June 19, 1982, in Detroit–even though for many Asian Americans, he can’t say sorry enough.
 
For years, Ebens has been allowed to live his life quietly as a free man.
 
With the arrival of the 30th anniversary this month–and after writing about the case for years–I felt the need to hear Ebens express his sorrow with my own ears, so that I could put the case behind me.
 
So I called him up. And he talked to me.
 
On the phone, Ebens, a retired auto worker, said killing Chin was “the only wrong thing I ever done in my life.”

Though he received probation and a fine, and never served any time for the murder, Ebens says he’s prayed many times for forgiveness over the years. His contrition sounded genuine over the phone.

“It’s absolutely true, I’m sorry it happened and if there’s any way to undo it, I’d do it,” said Ebens, 72. “Nobody feels good about somebody’s life being taken, okay? You just never get over it. . .Anybody who hurts somebody else, if you’re a human being, you’re sorry, you know.”

Ebens said he’d take back that night if he could “a thousand times,” and that after all these years, he can’t put the memory out of his mind. “Are you kidding? It changed my whole life,” said Ebens. “It’s something you never get rid of. When something like that happens, if you’re any kind of a person at all, you never get over it. Never.”

Ebens’ life has indeed changed. As a consequence of the Chin murder, Ebens said he lost his job, his family, and has scraped by from one low-wage job to the next to make ends meet. Ultimately, he remarried and sought refuge in Nevada, where he’s been retired eight years, owns a home and lives paycheck to paycheck on Social Security. His current living situation makes recovery of any part of the millions of dollars awarded to Chin’s heirs in civil proceedings highly unlikely.
 
The civil award, with interest, has grown to around $8 million.

“It was ridiculous then, it’s ridiculous now,” Ebens said with defiance.

His life hasn’t been easy the last 30 years. But at least, he’s alive. He watches a lot of TV, he said, like “America’s Got Talent.”

“They’ve got good judges,” he said.

Sort of like the judges he got in his case?  Like Judge Charles Kaufman, the Michigan judge who sentenced him to probation without notifying Chin’s attorneys, virtually assuring Ebens would never serve time for the murder?
 
Ebens didn’t want to comment on that.

For all the time he spends in front of the television, Ebens said he has never seen either of the two documentaries that have been made on the case, and said he made a mistake speaking to one of the filmmakers. Even for this column, Ebens showed his reluctance to be interviewed.

But he finally consented to let me use all his statements because I told him I would be fair. I’m not interested in further demonizing Ronald Ebens. I just wanted to hear how he deals with being the killer of Vincent Chin.
 
For three decades, the Chin case has been a driving force that has informed the passion among activists for Asian American civil rights. Some still feel there was no justice even after the long legal ordeal that included: 1) the state murder prosecution, where Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz, were allowed to plea bargain to second degree murder, given 3 years’ probation and fined $3,720; 2) the first federal prosecution on civil rights charges that ended in a 25-year sentence for Ebens; 3) the subsequent appeal by Ebens to the Sixth Circuit, which was granted; 4) the second federal trial that was moved from Detroit to Cincinnati and ended in Ebens’ acquittal.

Add it all up, and it seems a far cry from justice. One man dead. Perps go free. I thought that maybe Ebens could help me understand how he got justice and not Vincent Chin.

I asked him about his side of the story, which was a key dispute in the court testimony about how it all started at the Fancy Pants strip club.

“It should never have happened,” said Ebens. “[And] it had nothing to do with the auto industry or Asians or anything else. Never did, never will. I could have cared less about that. That’s the biggest fallacy of the whole thing.”

That night at the club, after some harsh words were exchanged, Ebens said Chin stood up and came around to the other side of the stage. “He sucker-punched me and knocked me off my chair. That’s how it started. I didn’t even know he was coming,” Ebens said.

Chin’s friends testified that Ebens made racial remarks, mistaking Chin to be Japanese. And then when Chin got into a shoving match, Ebens threw a chair at him but struck Nitz instead.

But Ebens’ version that there was no racial animosity or epithets is actually supported by testimony from Chin’s friend, Jimmy Choi, who apologized to Ebens for Chin’s behavior that included Chin throwing a chair and injuring Nitz.

What about the baseball bat and how Ebens and Nitz followed Chin to a nearby McDonald’s?

Ebens said when all parties were asked to leave the strip club, they were out in the street. It’s undisputed that Chin egged Ebens to fight on.

“The first thing he said to me is ‘You want to fight some more?'” Ebens recalled. “Five against two is not good odds,” said Ebens, who declined to fight.

Then later, when Chin and his friends left,  Ebens’ stepson went to get a baseball bat from his car.(Ironically, it was a Jackie Robinson model).  Ebens said he took it away from Nitz because he didn’t want anyone taking it from him and using it on them.

But then Ebens said his anger got the best of him and he drove with Nitz to find Chin, finally spotting him at the nearby McDonald’s.

“That’s how it went down,” Ebens said. “If he hadn’t sucker punched me in the bar…nothing would have ever happened. They forced the issue. And from there after the anger built up, that’s where things went to hell.”

Ebens calls it “the gospel truth.”

But he says he’s cautious speaking now because he doesn’t want to be seen as shifting the blame. “I’m as much to blame,” he sadly admitted. “I should’ve been smart enough to just call it a day. After they started to disperse, [it was time to] get in the car and go home.”

At the McDonald’s where the blow that led to Chin’s death actually occurred, Ebens’ memory is more selective. To this day, he even wonders about hitting Chin with the bat. “I went over that a hundred, maybe 1,000 times in my mind the last 30 years. It doesn’t make sense of any kind that I would swing a bat at his head when my stepson is right behind him. That makes no sense at all.”

And then he quickly added, almost wistfully, “I don’t know what happened.”
 
Another time in the interview, he admitted his memory may be deficient. “That was really a traumatic thing, ” he told me about his testimony. “I hardly remember even being on the stand.”

He admitted that everyone had too much to drink that night. But he’s not claiming innocence.

“No,” Ebens said. “I took my shot in court. I pleaded guilty to what I did, regardless of how it occurred or whatever. A kid died, OK. And I feel bad about it. I still do.”

Ebens told me he has Asian friends where he lives, though he didn’t indicate if he shares his past with them. When he thinks about Chin, he said no images come to mind.

“It just makes me sick to my stomach, that’s all,” he said, thinking about all the lives that were wrecked, both Chin’s and his own.

By the end of our conversation, Ebens still wasn’t sure he wanted me to tell his story. “It will only alienate people,” he said. “Why bother? I just want to be left alone and live my life.”

But I told him I wouldn’t judge. I would just listen, and use his words. I told him it was important in the Asian American community’s healing process to hear a little more from him than a one line, “I’m sorry.”

He ultimately agreed. One line doesn’t adequately explain another human being’s feelings and actions. I told him I would paint a fuller picture.

So now that we’ve heard what Ebens has to say 30 years later. I don’t know from a phone conversation if he’s telling me the truth. Nor do I know if I’m ready to forgive him. But I heard from him. And now that I have, I can deal with how the justice system failed Vincent Chin, and continue to help in the fight that it never happens again.

***
For more information, read the pivotal 6th Circuit federal appeals court decision, which sent the case back for a new trial.