Well, what can I say. When Andrew Yang says compassionate things about people, I really dig him, and him being Asian, is part of the package, but I couldn’t out and out love him, because other moments in public revealed he truly has not thought deeply about multiple subjects. I honestly don’t understand how you can be in your forties without having well-thought, informed opinions on things that affect the country. Like dude, how much of a bubble are you in?
And under the umbrella of “things Andrew has not thought of deeply” is race, with particular regard to what it means to be an Asian in the U.S. He wrote a piece in the Washington Post (and they accepted it? Did they agree? Did they want him to hang himself?) that basically implied if Asian Americans behaved more American, racism would die. Something to that effect. I confess I did not read it and never will. I am very careful about what I read these days. I have no mental real estate for stupidity.
It is a classic blame-the-victim schpiel and it just points to how little he knows himself. There are so many people hurt and angered by the piece. For the first time, he has united Asians! ha ha ha.
The recent violence against Asians is unfortunate, but that racism has always been there. It’s just come up more on the surface cuz people are angry and fearful, but I believe that’s how they feel the whole time. It’s a really tough thing to change — racism, that is. It’s not up to the individual when the system is against groups. And it doesn’t matter how many wars you fight in (African Americans have learned this lessons. Asian Americans fought in World War I and II, and still lost property and wages when they got back), you will never be considered equal.
It’s not all doom and gloom, and Asians aren’t the only race dealing with racism. And still, I have no regrets on regarding the race I was born in, I don’t cave in inwardly or wish it away when I’m dealing with threatening situations the way I might have when I was growing up.
i’m going to stop here though because I have endless musings related to race and identity that I will stop. The point of this post is Andrew Yang turned out to be a tool, or part tool (I still like when he goes to Flint, Michigan and points out that the people there still don’t have drinkable water).