From: brian@quake.sylmar.ca.us (Brian K. Yoder)
Subject: Re: Political Power--Please start crossposting
Organization: Quake Public Access
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 06:30:40 GMT

In article <1gg9qcINN2rk@tamsun.tamu.edu> achin@math.tamu.edu (Andrew Chin) writes:
>I believe that AAs make up 3.0 percent of the US population, although there
>is evidence to suggest that AAs were substantially undercounted in the 1990
>Census.  There are 14 Cabinet and 12 additional top-level Executive Office
>of the President posts.  We should expect an AA to fill a Cabinet post about
>once every three presidential administrations, instead of, say, none yet.

That's only if you expect Mr. Clinton to be a racist who thinks a person's
race makes him best qualified.  Of course, that's exactly what I expect out 
of Mr. Clinton, but it is still wrong.

>It's true that if there are no AAs in Clinton's cabinet this does not indicate
>racism.  On the other hand, it will perpetuate the misperception at the heart
>of most discrimination against Asian-Americans throughout history -- that we
>are foreigners, and that a genetically Asian face is not the picture of an
>American.

What it means to be an American is to have a certain set of ideas.  The idea
that one's ancestry is important is NOT an American idea, but it is one 
promoted by the left.

>I won't disapprove of Clinton simply because he doesn't appoint an AA to
>the cabinet.  But I hope you'll excuse me if I take his claim that his
>cabinet "looks like America" with a hefty grain of salt.

Gee, if it were supposed to "look like America", maybe it should include a
few people who are not professional adademicians/bureaucrats/lawyers, and who
don't believe that an omnipotent-yet-benevolent government is what we ought
to have.  If you really want "diversity", why not have the kind that counts:
diversity of ideas.  Diversity of genetic make-up is nothing but pandering to
prejudices, diversity of ideas (which have nothing to do with ancestry)
seems to be what Clinton is implying he's getting.  If that is a goal in and
of itself though, why not include some REAL diversity?  He could include a few
murderers, thieves, and child molestors, wouldn't that be "diverse"?  

In the "summit" today, I was really angry every time they repeated that
the group was "representative"...that it has big and small businesses,
women and men, blacks and whites.  What they DIDN'T have was anyone who 
wants to get the government out of the role of running our lives.  NOBODY
in that meeting is even CLOSE to representing MY point of view.  It is a bunch
of people who look different and have different jobs, but who have essentially
the same ideas.  That's not "diversity", it's brutal uniformity.

>Possible nominees:

>Elaine Chao, Deputy Secretary of Transportation (Transportation)

>The president of the United Way is also Asian-American (HUD)

Are they really better qualified than the other potential nominees?  If so then
why bother pointing out their race?  If not, why bother trying to push
the quality of the system down by putting worse people in place?

>Other offices where Asian-American candidates could easily come to mind
>are Surgeon General and Office of Science and Technology; this last office
>has already been discussed in some length in the "Political Power" thread.

>                * Fighting racism is not a special interest *

Indeed...too bad you are on the wrong side.

--Brian
Newsgroups: soc.culture.asian.american