Re: Addressing Anti-racism within immigrant community- Welcome to the REAL OC

From: Theresa Dang <lasoyriza@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:15:19 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: {Disarmed} [tupocc] Re: Addressing Anti-racism within immigrant community- Welcome to the REAL OC

hi Arabelle and everyone,

today the Asian American Justice Center released a
statement condemning the mailer. also below is a
message from someone i have organized with for a long
time, Duane Roberts. he shed some light on who Tan
Nguyen is. in trying to make sense of this latest
debacle, it helps to both understand the person at the
center of this and the history of the vietnamese
people in the US.

while i cannot speak for the entire community in OC, i
did grow up and organize there and hopefully, my
observations may aid your understanding. the bulk of
vietnamese folks now residing in OC (constituting the
largest concentration of vietnamese folks outside of
VN) came in the mid to late 70s and were granted
political asylum. others came when relatives were
able to sponsor them in the 80s. the community's
wealth and prestige grew at an explosive rate and by
means just or unjust, this is a fact they are most
proud of. within the span of roughly 30 years, there
are doctors, lawyers, accountants, university
professors, a gang of kids in college, a gang of small
business owners, and more. at the same time, there
was also gangs and violence - our kids, through the
workings of self-hate, feelings of displacement and
disconnection with their parents and that generation
with all of its experience, language, and flight from
a regime that they did not want to live under, fell
through the gaps and found themselves a psuedo family
in gang culture. while this is happening to some
kids, some others are full speed ahead.

others, probably like Tan Nguyen here, took full
advantage of capitalist amerikkka. his bio is quite
interesting. he was about 8 years old when he and his
family came as boat people in 1981. still, as his
life leads further and further from this moment, he is
now unable unstand the multitude of reasons why people
may be forced to flee their homeland. the following
is from his official website:

"Tan believes that in AMERICA, Nothing is Impossible.

Tan's message is simple and is populist in nature:

"…A congressman must represent the people of his
district and must bring THEIR views to Washington, not
the other way around." "

he, likely for reason that he is actually living "the
american dream," is completely in sync with preserving
the status quo that will allow folks, maybe like
himself, who are endowed with the requisite smarts and
hard work, to rise above their sorry lot in life.
from here, his position on immigration and the borders
appear consistent. while he may be for protecting
amerikkkan jobs and affordable medicine to seniors, he
does not form them from analysis that is critical of
the corporate and racist forces that create such
economic disparity in the first place. in sum, he
just wants to be richer than the next rich man.

now, just a quick word on Loretta Sanchez. she is
responsbile in large part for the placement of an INS
field office in the Anaheim Jail. for that and not
protecting the rights of people to be free from police
hassment and brutality. my friend Naui
Huitzilopochti, a long-time organizer in OC, says it
best: "I am so damn tired of people saying everything
is okay because we have Loretta Sanchez in office
fighting for us, which is not true... Just because
Loretta Sanchez is Mexican or a person of color
doesn’t mean she’s looking out for our people. You can
be a white person and have better politics than
Loretta Sanchez."

if you are getting the feeling that there is a lot of
work that needs to be done in OC, you are right.
(Arabelle, i know you are quickly discovering this
first hand so please get in touch with me.) still,
some of the most firece and down people i have ever
known are fully alive and alert with their eyes wide

open and working to dismantle the power structure in
OC.

with you in this,
as it unfolds,

theresa dang


ADVANCING EQUALITY
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Leonie Campbell
Tel: 202-296-2300 ext 135

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2006


----------------------------------------------------------

Asian American Organizations Condemn Anti-Latino Voter
Intimidation
in Orange County
Washington, D.C. – Asian American and Pacific Islander
organizations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties are
denouncing the recent use of mailers to Latino voters
in Central Orange County, calling such a tactic
intimidating and illegal. The groups—the Los
Angeles-based Asian Pacific American Legal Center of
Southern California (APALC), which also has an office
in Orange County, the Orange County Asian and Pacific
Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), and the
Washington D.C.-based Asian American Justice Center
(AAJC)—also signed on to a letter earlier this week,
along with numerous Latino organizations, requesting
an investigation by the U.S. and California Attorneys
General into the matter.

The Spanish-language mailers were sent last week to
Spanish-surnamed naturalized U.S. citizens born in
Latin American countries who are registered voters in
Orange County. The mailer purportedly warns people
that only U.S. citizens are permitted to vote, that
voting by immigrants is a crime and a deportable
offense, and that a host of immigration restriction
organizations has access to a federal computer
database of properly registered voters.

“The use of such a mailer as an attempt to intimidate
registered voters of Hispanic decent is an attack on
all minority voters, including Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders who are merely exercising their
rights to vote under a democratic system,” said
Stewart Kwoh, executive director of APALC. “Any effort
by any candidate or organization to threaten or
intimidate voters in any fashion is an offense to our
country’s democracy and should not be tolerated,” Kwoh
continued.

“The use of such tactic is an attack on the entire
immigrant community, which has been unfairly targeted,
even scapegoated, in the past year amidst the nation’s
debate on immigration reform,” said Karen Narasaki,
executive director of the AAJC.

“This is a country of immigrants and the letter and
this kind of tactic is not acceptable, and is morally
and spiritually wrong,” said Loc Nam Nguyen, director
of the Immigration and Refugee Department of Catholic
Charities in Los Angeles and a member of APALC's board
of directors. “Voter intimidation is a justice issue
and touches upon human rights, and should not be
employed for political gains,” Nguyen added.

While some media outlets have indicated that the
investigation into the letters is proceeding, the
Asian American and Pacific Islander community is
calling for authorities to fully investigate and
prosecute whoever perpetrated this intimidating tactic
and/or committed any offenses in violation of federal
and state laws. Meanwhile, APALC wants to remind
immigrant voters that so long as they are naturalized
citizens and duly registered to vote, they can and
should vote in the November election.

Groups who have signed on to denounce the use of these
intimidating tactics and call for a full investigation
and prosecution of any and all offenses include the
following:

Asian American Justice Center
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community
Alliance
Search to Involve Pilipino Americans
Southeast Asian Community Alliance
Vietnamese American Community of California
Vietnamese American Public Affairs Committee

# # #

The Asian American Justice Center, formerly known as
NAPALC, is a national organization dedicated to
defending and advancing the civil and human rights of
Asian Americans. It works closely with three
affiliates – the Asian American Institute of Chicago,
the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, and the Asian
Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles – and
over 100 community partners in 47 cities and 24 states
in the country.

**************************

--- Duane Roberts wrote:

> Hello everybody:
>
> In the following link, Tan Nguyen, Republican
> candidate for the 47th Congressional District, can
> be
> seen in photographs mingling with House Speaker
> Dennis
> Hastert and National Republican Congressional
> Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds -- two of the
> biggest
> names in the U.S. Republican Party:
>
> http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/10/184174.php
>
> Nguyen is currently under investigation by the
> California State Attorney General's Office, U.S.
> Department of Justice, FBI, and other law
> enforcement
> agencies for allegedly sending out more than 14,000
> letters to mostly-Mexican familes in the 47th
> Congressional District threatening all "immigrants"
> with jail or deportation if they voted in the
> upcoming
> election.
>
> Tan has been running an incredibly racist campaign
> in
> the 47th Congressional campaign. He's aligned
> himself
> with the Minuteman vigilantes, depicted Muslims as
> terrorists, and has strongly hinted that his
> opponent,
> Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, among
> other
> things, is linked to Hezbollah. The local GOP has
> said
> nary a word about any of these things.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Duane J. Roberts
> duaneroberts92804@yahoo.com

--- Arabelle Malinis <amalinis@gmail.com> wrote:

> Unfortunately, this is nothing new. Similarly in
> the Filipino
> community, we are outraged and ashamed of someone
> like Michelle
> Malkin, a Filipino American who has been an
> outspoken proponent for
> the conservatives. She wrote a book in 2004, In
> Defense of
> Internment, defending Japanese American internment
> by the United
> States Government during World War II and relating
> this theme to the
> contemporary War on Terrorism.
>
> Sadly, these people are the ones that get the most
> publicity from
> the mainstream media.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In tupocc@yahoogroups.com, Christina Alicia
> Varner
> <varnerchristina@...> wrote:
> >
> > I received this over the NLLSA listserve.
> >
> >
> > Luan Huynh <huynhlu@...> wrote: To: Salvador
> Sarmiento Torres
> <sgsarmiento@...>, NLLSA@yahoogroups.com
> > CC: LaRaza@..., MEChA@...,
> LaLSA_WCL@yahoogroups.com
> > From: Luan Huynh <huynhlu@...>
> > Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:43:04 -0700 (PDT)
> > Subject: Re: [NLLSA] Welcome to the REAL OC
> >
> >
> 0Dear All,
> >
> > Sadly enough, the letter came from a Vietnamese
> > Republican in OC who is running for office. I
> wonder
> > if Vietnamese Americans received the same letter
> (but
> > I doubt it). I would think that my people,
> being
> > immigrants ourselves, would not resort to these
> kinds
> > of tactics. It is a very sad state of affairs,
> but in
> > the end, I think it is purely opportunism
> trhough the
> > lens of race.
> >
> > This is all too bad because we could learn so
> much
> > from one another. Two summers ago I was in the
> > Philippines helping some stateless Vietnamese
> people
> > whose lives were very similar to the
> undocumented
> > Latino/a immigrants here in the U.S. I was
> surrounded
> > by other Vietnamese Americans and Australians
> who
> > believed in human rights, but who did not see
> that the
> > struggle we traveled so far to fight was also
> > happening in our very own backyard.
> >
> > Finally, I want to tell you all that I learned
> about
> > this through a Vietnamese list-serve. There are
> > others in my community who are upset that
> someone
> > would do this. We stand with you. Human
> dignity
> > binds better than any racial identity.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Luan Huynh
> >
> > --- Salvador Sarmiento Torres
> > <sgsarmiento@...> wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > State Investigating Intimidating Letter Sent
> to O.C.
> > > Latinos
> > >
> > > Anti-illegal immigrant group disavows the
> letter,
> > > which focuses on voting
> > > issues.
> > > By Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writer

> > > October 17, 2006
> > >
> > > The state attorney general is investigating a
> > > Spanish-language letter
> > > warning some Orange County Latinos that they
> could
> > > be jailed or deported if
> > > they vote in the November election.
> > >
> > > The letter, which purports to be from a
> Huntington
> > > Beach-based group, also
> > > warns that the state has developed a tracking
> system
> > > that will allow the
> > > names of Latino voters to be handed over to
> > > anti-immigrant groups.
> > >
> > > ADVERTISEMENT
> > > "You are advised that if your residence in
> this
> > > country is illegal or you
> > > are an immigrant, voting in a federal election
> is a
> > > crime that could result
> > > in jail time …," the letter says.
> > >
> > > The letterhead resembles that of the
> California
> > > Coalition for Immigration
> > > Reform, a group that advocates tightening the
> > > border, among other things.
> > > But the group's founder, Barbara Coe, said she
> > > believed it was fraudulent.
> > > She said she did not know the person who
> signed the
> > > letter, "Sergio
> > > Ramirez," that she did not authorize it and
> was
> > > unaware of anyone in her
> > > group who did.
> > >
> > > Nonetheless, it has riled Latino leaders and
> voters.
> > >
> > > One person who received the letter is the wife
> of a
> > > Garden Grove City
> > > Council candidate. She said her husband, Benny
> Diaz,
> > > called friends after
> > > the letter arrived and found five others with
> Latino
> > > surnames who had
> > > received the note.
> > >
> > > "It's a very malicious and degrading letter.
> It's to
> > > pull Latinos down and
> > > make them afraid," said Diaz, who is president
> of
> > > the Garden Grove chapter
> > > of the League of United Latin American
> Citizens.
> > >
> > > "Of course it's going to affect me and any
> other
> > > Latino candidate in Orange
> > > County," he added.
> > >
> > > John Trasviña, interim president and general
> counsel
> > > for the Mexican
> > > American Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
> said he
> > > had asked the U.S.
> > > Department of Justice to investigate the
> letter.
> > >
> > > Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who called
> on
> > > California Secretary of
> > > State Bruce McPherson and state Atty. Gen.
> Bill
> > > Lockyer to investigate,
> > > believes the letter is an effort to scare
> Latinos
> > > from voting in Orange County.
> > >
> > > "You can't help but feel disgusted with the
> contents
> > > of this letter…. I'm
> > > not just going to sit silent," said Romero,
> who is
> > > up for reelection in
> > > November.
> > >
> > > Lockyer spokesman Nathan Barankin said the
> letter
>
=== message truncated ===

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