Tuesday, April 05, 2011

A heart-felt, no-holds-barred letter from a Chinese-Am

A great letter! It tells it like it is. How many Chinese Am. families
do you know live like this? [The series of emails on "80-20's Top 10
Accomplishments" will continue after this.]

"We, Chinese Americans, often relish ourselves as the smartest and the
most educated ethnic group in the country, but in some aspect, we are
also the most stupid and selfish. We spend $35 per half hour to give our
children a piano lesson, countless hours of after school to let them get
ahead academically, move to good school districts, get group average API
of 997 or above, without asking whether the academic performance will
translate into equal opportunity in school admission. Definitely not. Our
children would need SAT near 800 to get into the best schools whereas
other kids can get in at 650. When they enter the work force after a good
education, they are more likely than others to be perceived as a "model
worker", which will serve them badly (do good technical job, quiet and
obedient, earlier glass ceiling). In daily life, they will be perceived by the
mainstream as perpetual foreigners regardless of their actual citizenship
and upbringing. Is that what a good education is for? Each of us busy
educating our kids while hoping someone else would be doing the heavy
lifting for the greater community.
It is very selfish and have served us
very badly in the past, and will continue to be so for us and our children.

Success is NOT defined as you have to be three times as good to get the
same opportunity
(This is what most Chinese American parents are preparing
their children for). It is defined as when you are equally qualified you get
equal opportunity (This is what most mainstream parents are preparing
their children for). The only way to achieve it in this country,
demonstrated over and over again by other ethnic groups, is through a
bloc vote in the election. 80-20 means achieving a 80% swing-able bloc
vote to support the candidates who pledge their support to our
community and hold them responsible for the delivery of their pledges.
This is what 80-20 is about.

Your 80-20 membership will be the best $35 or $50 you have ever spent
on your children."

Name withheld by S.B. Woo, since the author had intended the
letter for his personal friends only.

FORWARD this email to your friends & ask them to in turn to forward to
their friends. Your effort can help awaken our entire community.

We await
YOUR verdict for 80-20 PAC to
either DOUBLE
or DIE on March 21, 2013.

To join or donate, go http://www.80-20initiative.net or send your check
to 80-20 PAC P.O. Box 603 Osprey, FL 34229.

Respectfully yours,

A volunteer
http://www.80-20initiative.net