Dari milis lain :
*Donate to 80-20 PAC
<http://maillist.80-20naapac.net/lists/lt.php?tid=fR4HB1VSAlIDVxoGU1JWGlEDV1RIUgcGUUsCWgJQAgUMUF0EAF8YAgNfVVNVUAcaBANUDUgEDABRSwFVVgIeVldaBwNRB1UCBlYCSlEHBFNTBlJWSAcMWwBLVwNSCh4EAlpdHwxSUAICAw8GVllSUg>*
Let’s Not Make America Hate Again
Perspective of an Asian Indian Immigrant
Ved P. Chaudhary, Ph.D.
I share my personal political observations and experience over the last 32
years in USA
and express my concern for the welfare of Indian/South Asian Americans, and
all people of color.
I started my political involvement in NJ state politics in 1987 because a
hate group of youth calling themselves Dotbusters were hurling abuses at
the newly arriving Indian immigrants, shouting “Go Back to Where you came
From” in the main streets of Jersey City. Their name Dotbusters referred to
the red “dot” Indian women wear on their forehead as a sacred mark of their
tradition. These hate-mongering High School youth were beating up Indian
men, women and children in broad daylight to scare them to sell their
properties and leave Jersey City and to discourage new immigrants from
coming to their city. A couple of innocent Indian men were beaten to death.
The police did nothing. Later we found out that the Police Chief himself
was instigating this youth gang to attack Indian immigrants. His son was
the gang leader and the all-white police force was in cahoots. White people
did not want dirty brown uncultured Indians, and women in traditional
Indian sarees, to settle in their city and buy properties. Indians were an
eye sore for the white establishment. I still remember how I felt at the
time. My son was in High School and I heard that the wave of youth calling
themselves Dotbusters was spreading to other High Schools in New Jersey. We
all know how High School kids are attracted to bad acts like cigarette
smoking, drugs and gangs. I felt I cannot live and raise my family in a
place where we cannot live with safety and dignity. I considered leaving my
job with Bell labs and going back to India. But I thought it would be
cowardly, against the principles of Mahatma Gandhi, for me to retreat in
the face of injustice, to pack up and go back to India.
But, by and large, Indian people were afraid of contacting the police even
when their families were being harassed. So, I started the NJ Chapter of
Indian American Forum for Political Education (founded by Dr. Joy Cherian
who was later appointed EEOC Commissioner by president Regan) and formed a
group of like-minded people to raise political awareness in our community.
We contacted NJ Assemblyman from Jersey City area, Bob Menendez – who is
now the US Senator from New Jersey – for help.
Bob Menendez came forward to help our community. He was instrumental in
getting the first Hate Crimes Bill passed in NJ Assembly and Senate and
signed by Governor Florio. We were invited to the bill signing ceremony. It
was called the Indian Bill as it was taken up at the behest of the Indian
community. It was gratifying to see that the Dotbusters gang did not spread
in NJ. When investigation of the role of Police department started, the
police chief committed suicide. After that, I saw race relations improved,
barring some exceptions, over the years under both democrats and republican
administrations in NJ and in the US.
But, after 9/11, hate against Indians flared up again because ALL brown
skinned people are mistaken for middle eastern men who were the culprits in
the 9/11 massacre. Indian Sikh men were especially targeted for hate crimes
because they wear turbans and keep long flowing beards, so the hate gangs
think Sikhs belong to Osama Bin Laden’s clan. However, diligent efforts by
the Home Security department helped maintain peace over the years.
Now, after 30 years of progress in race relations in US, I see a resurgence
of hate all across America directed towards non-white people. The enemy
this time are ALL immigrants and the
chief perpetrator is not a Police Chief, but the Commander-in-Chief of USA.
The hate is not limited to a city but spread all across America.
Trump took office on January 20, 2017. Emboldened by his rhetoric, a month
later, on February 22, 2017, a white man in Kansas Adam Purinton yelled
"Get out of my country," before fatally shooting Srinivas Kuchibhotla, and
injuring another man, on February 22, 2017. Six months later, members of
Alt-right: neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, neo-Nazis, white nationalists,
and anti-Muslim/antisemitic militias descended on Charlottesville, VA on
Aug 1112, 2017 where a self-identified white supremacist James Alex Fields,
Jr. deliberately rammed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters killing
Heather Heyer and injuring 19 other people. Trump’s first statement was
that there were "very fine people on both sides" making it clear to all
hate groups that they have his unwavering support, no matter what they did!
More recently, 22 people were killed and 24 injured in El Paso, TX, in a
mass shooting on August 3, 2019. Police found an anti-immigrant document
written by the suspect espousing white nationalist and racist views,
mimicking the views of his hero Donald Trump. A day later, another nine
people were killed and 27 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
The virus of hate spreads in the society like cancer cells metastasizing in
the body, or fire spreading in California; you do not know when and where
and with what ferocity it might flare up. It is like the proverbial genie
out of the bottle; very hard to control and very difficult, if not
impossible, to put back in the bottle, where it came from.
I feel the pain and frustration of the immigrants and citizens in El Paso
as I felt the pain of Indian immigrants 32 years ago. The hate mongering
white supremacists, emboldened with one of their ilk in the White House, do
not discriminate whether they are recent Mexican Immigrants, Mexicans who
migrated here many generations ago, or any other people of color no matter
how many years or generations ago, they or their ancestors migrated to US.
By the way, Indian people look a lot like Mexicans in the eyes of these
white supremacists. Brown people will never be American no matter how long
they have lived in the US. But, a white man or woman - for example, First
Lady, Melania, and her family, and other recent white immigrants are as
American as those whose settled generations ago. They do not suffer the
indignities and injustices heaped on brown people in Trumpdom.
Days after the shooting incidents in El Paso,TX, and Dayton, OH, a Hindu
priest was brutally attacked in Queens, NY by a white man shouting “Go Back
to Where you came From”. I was reminded of the Hindus who voted for Trump
and invited him to temples to get blessings from the priests. Did they know
what they were doing? That they were putting ghee in the fire of hatred
that does not discriminate between Hindus and Muslims and Christians and
Jews.
I looked up the crime statistics for the New York city. Since Trump took
office, overall crime is DOWN 6.2% while hate crime is UP 90% in NYC. This
hits home, as my daughter, nieces, nephews, and children of all my friends
live in New York City. There is a lesson here for all South Asian community
leaders: Read the history of Jews in Hitler’s Germany and Indians in South
Africa at the time of Mahatma Gandhi’s resistance movement against the
British.
Its time to unite all Asian Americans, build coalitions with other people
of color and support those Congressmen, Senators and POTUS candidates who
stand for sensible gun control and treating as equals all those who came
here before, those who are new immigrants, and with compassion to those
families and children who want to migrate here now, irrespective of their
race, religion, ethnicity, skin color, or country of origin.
*P.S. 80-20 e-Newsletter Editor's Addendum: *
As you might recall our common goal is to win equal opportunity and justice
for all Asian Americans through
a SWING bloc vote, ideally directing 80% of our community’s votes and
monies to the presidential candidate
endorsed by us, who better represents the interests of all APAs.
To accomplish this goal, we need to cast a bloc vote in 2020 and whenever
elections come to us.
To accomplish the bloc vote we need you to vote for the candidate we would
endorse.
We also need to fill up our coffer before the final battle comes on our
hands next November.
As you know, only a PAC can financially support candidates. Since our
membership is the lifeline of our activities,
it is very important for you to join 80-20 NAAPAC. Please do so at your
earliest convenience by visiting this page:
*http://www.80-20pac.org/join-80-20-pac/
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.80-2D20pac.org_join-2D80-2D20-2Dpac_&d=DwMFaQ&c=3buyMx9JlH1z22L_G5pM28wz_Ru6WjhVHwo-vpeS0Gk&r=phCHWq7iFpti1PjJ3qfQTZXE0FtC3_TBq31Z0Pw2RTs&m=LYjLXWVR0pZslzY0nTzcgjTcGE0NTDlSlee-WaB9yuY&s=oKwqW-sd6Ky9-3ULlOmJ2b4YlhD4EKEYC26_lyfBYns&e=>*
or donate to 80-20 PAC
<http://maillist.80-20naapac.net/lists/lt.php?tid=fR4HB1VSAlIDVxoGU1JWGlEDV1RIUgcGUUsCWgJQAgUMUF0EAF8YAgNfVVNVUAcaBANUDUgEDABRSwFVVgIeVldaBwNRB1UCBlYCSlEHBFNTBlJWSAcMWwBLVwNSCh4EAlpdHwxSUAICAw8GVllSUg>
