The Inequality in Policy Making to Asian American Group - Research Paper Example

The Inequality in Policy Making to Asian American Group Asian Americans unlike other minority groups have little representatives to influence political decisions. They hardly have any representative in policy making and legislative positions to express their interests and recommend favorable policies. The social issues of Asian Americans are not addressed because they are considered as a model minority. Asian Americans are not considered to have social and economic problems due to the model minority image and the group is considered as economically and educationally successful though the success is restricted to a nominal section of the society (Burke & Mattis p.132). Anti-Asian racism has existed in the United States since the first arrival of Asians. Anti-Asian racism is due to acts of discrimination and prejudice. Even after 200 years, Asian Americans are unable to gain equal rights and are subjected to hostility and harrassment. The rights of Asian immigrants were revoked during various occasions and were imprisoned for no reasonable cause, murdered and physically attacked. At present whenever there is a problem in the United States, be it economic, political or society, Asian Americans are targeted with hostility, singled out and unjustifiably blamed. This may be under the notion of the cultural stereotype that Asian Americans are weak, quiet and powerless and are being victimised on the sole basis of their identity(Anti-Asian Racism & Violence). Negative action Race conscious policy like ‘negative action’ denies admission to Asian Americans with the reasonable eligible score but requires them to have a higher admission index score than other ethnic and racial groups and white students to gain a seat in prestigious public schools. Negative action is illegal because it forces a certain minority group to face the burden of unusually high performance than other people in the society in order to avail a public facility. Designing a ceiling for Asian American admission varies from deciding goals to solve discrimination experienced by unrepresented groups. While the ceiling is a problem for a particular racial minority like Asian Americans, the discrimination problems spreads concern among people who are not benefited from affirmative action policies (Ancheta p.164). The Glass Ceiling Glass ceiling hypothesis indicates that Asian Americans are at a racially disadvantaged position in climbing the hierarchical ladder in employment, especially in attaining a managerial position. The glass ceiling hypothesis reveals that white managers are preferred over Asian American under the notion that white managers are more administratively competent and more compatible for white workers. A research by Wong and Hirschman in 1981 found that Asian Americans are permitted to attain some occupational positions that have a higher socioeconomic status when compared to other minority groups however; the advantage has a restriction or ceiling up to which an Asian American can advance in position of institutional power or authority (Min p.69). The main cause of inequality is structural factors like discrimination, institutional barriers and class differences (Min p.80). The most frequently quoted words related to Asian Americans literature is model minority though it is not a popular term among Asian American activists and scholars and the term has come under utmost criticism for being a myth than a reality. The word was coined by the U.S. media to describe that Asian Americans have obtained high socioeconomic mobility through their cultural framework like hard work, family ties, frugality and sacrifice for the education of children. The term is criticized because it neglects the problems of the Asian American minority groups when it comes to governmental policies. Though the term model minority could have been accepted as a positive acceptance, appreciation and success image it was criticized by Asian Americans for its political motivation, negative consequences and inadequacies pointed back at the minority group. The comparison of median income of Asian Americans is not a proper tool for comparative measure of the socioeconomic status with white Americans because immigrants live in concentrate households and every member of the family works hard to contribute to their household income. This is not a right measure because at any time of the year all the members of the Asian American family might not have a job and cannot contribute to the median income (Min p.81). Asian Americans criticize the model minority thesis because they do not obtain equal rewards with their white counterparts for their educational investments (Min p.82). This is evident from the analysis of Asian American groups other than Japanese Americans who earn less income that white Americans when both have equivalent human capital investment (Min p.83). Civil Rights Laws Civil rights laws have addressed the cause of racial discrimination in the federal constitution with anti-discrimination statutes. For example, hate crime law is a distinct crime that occurs as a result of racial violence that attracts punishment when there is intent for racial discrimination. Asian Americans are safeguarded by these laws and various other antidiscrimination laws in the event of racial discrimination. However, similar to other racial manifestations, the antidiscrimination law has defined rights mostly in the black-white framework and the civil rights law has significant restrictions for applications to all the problems faced by the Asian Americans. When civil rights challenges move out of the purview of the black – white framework, rights and remedies usually becomes a problem leaving Asian Americans without complete protection of law. Civil right laws do not recognize the intersection of nativism and race that prevail in anti-Asian discrimination. Asian Americans born in the United States face discrimination when they are perceived to be immigrants and antidiscrimination laws offer relief only if the details of discrimination fall under any of the categories of national origin or race and the law does not offer remedy by considering the victim simply as a foreigner. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 have laws that require employers to check the immigration status of new employees. The law causes discrimination for Asian Americans because it is generally considered that all Asian American immigrants are undocumented and employers are hesitant to offer jobs (Ancheta p.15). Employers are banned from hiring undocumented immigrants. Even if Asian Americans applicants earn a job, they are likely to face more discrimination in the form of requirement of excessive documents or when they have any incorrect documentation about their legal status (Ancheta p.65). The government has not taken strong steps to deal with anti-immigrant discrimination which is a significant weakness in the enforcement of civil rights. Almost all antidiscrimination laws safeguard immigrants on the basis of national origin or race but have inadequate specific law to protect immigrants as immigrants. Initiatives to broaden the civil rights legislation to accommodate immigrants have been reproved in the past. For example, the legislation to safeguard immigrants from hate violence and intimidation was initiated and passed two times by the (Ancheta p.14), state legislature in the mid 1990’s but the legislation was banned by the Governor. Laws like California’s Proposition 187 explicitly discriminates undocumented immigrants. Welfare reform legislation passed in 1996 pose discrimination not only against undocumented immigrants but also against permanent residents and green card holders by eliminating their eligibility from entitlement programs like Supplemental Security Income and Food Stamps that are available to citizens. Anti-immigrant policies have severe negative impacts on Asian Americans due to the numerous immigrants in their communities and due to their association with race and nativism. Certain features inherent for immigrants are usually ignored in the law. Language based discrimination related to accent and the capability to speak second language at workplace are not addressed in the civil rights law and lacks protection for minority groups. Further, the law has no provisions to entitle immigrants to access essential government services like fire and police, emergency health service and public education because the rights pertaining to immigrants are narrow with respect to their ethnicity and language. Even in the broader perspective, Asian Americans are ignored because they stand in a racial middle ground in which civil rights laws are not designed to recognize the differences for discrimination as well as remedies for discrimination for this minority group. The model minority image usually leads Asian Americans to be excluded from corrective programs in the society. This goes to the extent of considering Asian Americans along with whites as victims of affirmative action. The model minority acclaim also leads to rivalry between Asian Americans and other racial groups due to the superior perception for the community that resembles inequality and resentment from this perception. Antidiscrimination law does not address and recognize the issues of Asian American in the case of interethnic relations also (Ancheta p.15). Anti-Asian subordination mainly exists due to the black-white mode of racial jurisprudence when it comes to discrimination. It may be argued that anti-Asian subordination has a qualitative difference when compared to anti-black subordination. Anti-Asian discrimination is not based on color that normally divides the inferior and the superior, but it is the citizenship that is causing problem for Asian Americans because they are considered to be racially foreign outsiders who have to survive without the rights of a true American citizen. A proper solution can be attained for the Asian American minority group only if the civil rights law moves beyond the black versus white pattern (Ancheta p.16). The ‘Asian Donorgate’ controversy in 1996 clearly reveals that Asian Americans are considered foreigners and are prevented from making contributions to political events like presidential campaign. Politicians and media also play a significant role by questioning the legality of Asian Americans in participating in political activities and campaign contributions. Top political leaders also involved to racially segregate Asian immigrants as foreigners. These attempts lead the DNC (Democratic National Committee) to make a unilateral decision in 1997 about contributions for political campaign which said that contributions will not be accepted from non-citizens while contributions are acceptable from permanent residents permitted by law. The DNC also included that background checks be conducted for Asian donors (Ancheta p.65). The legal system and law has played a crucial part in the racialization of Asian Americans as outsiders and foreigners. A California Supreme Court decision said that Chinese cannot testify against whites with a popular sentiment that Chinese immigrants should not have the equal rights with the whites because if they possess the rights they would also be given equal rights of citizenship like opportunities to vote, find a place in jury box, in the bench and later in legislative halls that can pose a threat in the long run (Ancheta p.66) Asian American interest groups require the continuation of affirmative action policies despite reports that portray better living circumstances for Asian Americans. The difference in opinion to avail the benefits of affirmative action is politically motivated on the basis of race. The question that obstructs the implementation of affirmative action for Asian Americans is the color or the race to which they belong. Since they do not belong to either black or white (Aoki & Takeda p.162), Asian American have to bear the brunt of being Asian in origin. Asian Americans living in impoverished households cannot avail the benefits of affirmative action to find a means for upward social mobility and overcome their low levels of educational qualifications and high poverty levels. The dominant actors that prevent the implementation of affirmative action for Asian Americans are other sub groups that consider itself to be losers, if Asian Americans grab their opportunities in the form of admission to universities (Aoki & Takeda p.164). Asian American activists have adopted an approach to indulge in political work, especially individuals involved at grass root struggles with a focus on the relationship between social change and political consciousness and effect a political change through mass education and direct action. The activists also works to improve political consciousness among the unorganized sector comprising small business people, tenants, low income workers, high school youth etc, to helps build new visions for their community through the struggles which in fact confronts institutions of power that does not assist change ( Nakanishi & Lai p.141). The negative impacts of policy making on Asian Americans is the myth called model minority image that exemplifies that the minority group is not affected by civil rights issues and discrimination and that they require no assistance or need not be an equal player in social matters. The L.A. riots is a glaring example that called the attention and involvement of all community members for discussing, healing, rebuilding, planning and preventing further attacks. But Asian Americans were left out when president George Bush called for a meeting with the African American leaders to discuss the issue immediately after the riots. It was to be assumed by Asian Americans that they are outsiders and it is natural that they cannot participate in such discussion related to social issues concerning minority groups. The solution for racial issues related to Asian Americans is to follow the Commissions Civil Rights Issues Facing Asian Americans in the 1990’s report which showcases the problems faced by Asian Americans and the practical realization that Asian Americans are similar to any other American citizen. The implementation of the recommendations in the commission’s report is another step which requires all levels of government to recognize and include Asian Americans in policy programs and discussions. It is the responsibility of political leaders and the government to set an example to deal with the issues of the Asian American minority group through nondiscriminatory and inclusive policies. The reference of model minority image must be dispelled while speaking, writing or thinking the issues of Asian Americans. Most importantly, Asian Americans must be a recognized minority group in addition to Hispanics and African Americans while talking about race relations and must be considered during the decision making process with equal stake in all fields (Frances Berry, Reynoso & Anderson p.57). It may be concluded that the issues surrounding the social exclusion of Asian Americans are many. A small representation in the upper social class has been misinterpreted for the whole mass of Asian American in the United States in terms of model minority. Further, the less political representation of Asian Americans is a disadvantage for their exclusion in social issues. While affirmative action is eligible for other racial groups irrespective of their better financial status, the same is denied to Asian Americans under preconceived notions. These concerns can be answered only if there is a realization from the multiple levels of governance to improve the social circumstance of the minority group. The black-white framework is another topic of concern that restricts Asian Americans from availing reasonable justice for racial and discrimination attacks. The consideration of Asian Americans as foreigners must be overcome by a broad consideration of all immigrants as immigrants to balance social equity and maintain the educational investment made by people around the world to the United States. Works Cited Ancheta, Angelo N.” Race, rights, and the Asian American experience” Toronto: Rutgers University Press, 2006 Anti-Asian Racism & Violence Available: http://www.asian-nation.org/racism.shtml. Retrieved on December 2, 2009 Aoki , Andrew & Takeda, Okiyoshi “Asian American Politics” Cambridege: Polity, 2009 Burke ,Ronald J. & Mattis , Mary C. “Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: upping the numbers” Cheltenham Glos: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007 Frances Berry, Mary. Reynoso, Cruz. & Anderson, Carl A. “Racial And Ethnic Tensions In American Communities: Poverty, Inequality, And Discrimination - A National Perspective” Pennsylvania :DIANE Publishing, 2004 Min, Pyong Gap “Asian Americans: contemporary trends and issues” London: Pine Forge Press, 2006 Nakanishi, Don T. & Lai, James S. “Asian American politics: law, participation, and policy” Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003 Read More