2020 California Ballot Propositions Megathread

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Just going to drop by and say: Everyone voting against 16 should be ashamed of themselves

Yes being racist against working class asians is good!

Woe, pity, sadness.

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Just going to drop by and say: Everyone voting against 16 should be ashamed of themselves

Yes being racist against working class asians is good!

Woe, pity, sadness.

In case you are not aware, "race" is a broad category that in the United States is used to encompass a variety of different subgroups. The "black" category, for instance, includes Nigerian-Americans, who on average earn more than whites; the "Asian" category includes Southeast Asians, who on average make well below the average for whites, as well as Indians, who are the highest-earning ethnic group in the country.

It is not clear to me what discriminating against the poorer subgroups in the white and Asian categories in favor of the richer subgroups in the other two categories is supposed to accomplish, as a matter of public policy, apart from improving some surface-level diversity numbers. It's certainly not a targeted proposal to "give disadvantaged minorities a chance to get ahead in life".

Do you honestly believe that, Donerail?

Do you honestly believe, in your heart of hearts, that affirmative action programs often benefit wealthy Nigerians at the expense of impoverished Thai Americans? In a country where Asians make four times as much as African Americans? And that's what you're going with as your opposing stance? Because that ignores all logic and reason. Statistical anomalies are just that.

Affirmative action is designed to be the opposite of negative action which is what black Americans and Hispanics have received for centuries. To say these institutions in California aren't able to consider the unique challenges one might have faced because of race, which are still an issue and certainly were a clear and present issue in 1996, with people who had lived through Jim Crow and California's deeply racist recent past as evidenced by legislation such as Proposition 187, is not coming from any coherent ideology which you couch in theoretical  ivory tower language. Not to mention the wide difference between funding for wealthy suburban schools and inner city schools.

It's a very base fear that people of a lower caste may one day muscle their way into the privileged experiences wealthy whites and Asians have enjoyed in this country for decades. Yes, not all of them have, and obviously there are exceptions to every rule,  but the numbers don't lie. There is a significant and systemic disparity of opportunity in America that leads to worse outcomes for the groups in question.