Request for TWO MINUTES of your help

I'll deeply appreciate your help in two matters requiring 2 minutes.

1. Place AsianAmericanUnity@80-20.us in your address book.
Why? From here on 80-20 will be emailing you from that e-address. With it in your address book, you are guaranteed to receive future 80-20 emails, even when you accidentally "junk" one of our emails. The above does NOT prevent you from un-subscribing from 80-20's list.


2. Send us all the email addresses in your address book.
   
   Why? The size of our political clout depends on the number of Asian Ams. we can reach to achieve a common end. With this drive, 80-20 aims to create an email list of one million AsAms to increase YOUR political clout. We'll delete all the apparent non-AsAm e-addresses.

Just reply to this email, and put the e-addresses in your reply.

I solemnly promise you that these email addresses will NOT be placed on 80-20's email list if the individuals approached REFUSE to be on our list. In addition, 80-20 NEVER sells its email list. THANK YOU. Together, we shall overcome. Please do YOUR share to make your children equal citizens of America.

Respectfully,
S. B. Woo
President, 80-20 PAC, Inc.

The Most Insidious Effect of Discrimination

The most insidious effect of discrimination is making the discriminated believe in the negative stereotyped images created for them by the bigots for the purpose of justifying bigots' prejudice.

Here is a well-known historic example. Before suffrage (i.e letting women vote) was established, plenty of women believed in the negative stereotyped image created for them by men: "Women are too soft-hearted and soft-headed to make the hard political decisions." Today, with examples of Condi Rice, Sandra O'Connor, Hillary Clinton and Dianne Feinstein, no one believes in that any more. However, a lot of women in earlier years believed in such an image created by men to justify the male prejudice.

For the Asian Americans, the stereotyped images created for us are that we are (1) good work horses but not capable of being race horses, (2) too timid to be aggressive even when a situation calls for it -- a requirement for managing in America and (3) less naturally endowed to be engaging and humorous in cocktail parties, the breeding ground of high executives, and (4) show a disproportionate lack of interest in getting into management. The insidious effect is that many Asian Americans are induced to believe in those images created for us.

Some Asian Americans also believe that since we are sometimes referred to as the "model minority," we are therefore not likely to be discrimination against.

Here is a historic counter example. Men stood up whenever a woman came into or was leaving a room. Nevertheless, men didn't allow women to vote, didn't afford them the same educational and job opportunities.

If you think "model minority" is a big deal, think who were the women who were given the stereotyped image of being too soft-hearted to vote. They were no less than the mothers, wives, sisters and daughters of the male who wanted an advantage in life.

I have an Asian American friend in Delaware who worked for a big company. One day he went out of his way to tell me that he was not interested in being in the management in his company. However, I have always observed that he fought fiercely for the top leadership position in ANY of the Asian American organizations that he belonged. He obviously has huge leadership appetite. Was he one of many Asian Americans finding the odds to become a manager too stiff and decided to practice self-deception or believed in the stereotyped images created for us?

Is there anything sadder or more insidious than coercing a normal or perhaps even smart individual to deny to him/ herself what he/she really wants and begin practicing self deception?

DON'T LET THAT HAPPEN TO OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN

Asian Americans have the lowest odds to get into management, the slowest rate of progress toward equal opportunity, despite having the highest educational attainment. The following people put their mighty shoulders to the wheel to push for equal opportunity. We also want the thank many who gave generously &/or paid membership dues.

$1,000 to 80-20 PAC: C. S. Yang; Paul Chan and Partners

$1,000 to 80-20 Educational Foundation: Lily Wang; Alex Weiming New; Wilbert Y. Wo

We also thank all who joined 80-20 as members. To join:
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html (easy to use) or
http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html(Paypal)

PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu 80-20 special Assistant
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the check.Basic membership is $35; Family (2 voters) is $50, Life Membership is $1,000. Student membership is $15.

From Lobsters to the Declaration of Independence

Subject: From Lobsters to the Declaration of Independence
By Amy Wong Mok, Board Member, 80-20 Initiative

It happened a few weeks ago. My Dragon Boat Race coach and I were celebrating the success of our 8th Annual event in a Chinese restaurant in Austin, Texas. We are both Asian women (she is from Singapore and I am from Hong Kong) who love seafood and on that occasion we decided to have a lobster feast. We ordered two dishes,clams with black bean sauce and lobsters with ginger & scallion sauce. The dishes were quite big and filled up a table that was big enough for four.

We were enjoying the delicious flavor of the crustaceans while reflecting on the excitement of the event and the team spirit that brought out our Austin community and we were enthusiastically planning to organize an international competition next year. All of a sudden, a middle-age Anglo man walked past our table and made a remark that was too loud to be missed:"It is a lot of food." I truly believe that he had no ill intent but nevertheless, he took the liberty to express his observation to our face.At that moment, I had to think very quickly to respond and not to react. I replied simply with a smile, "Do we look like we cannot handle it?" He responded with embarrassment, "Oh, it is I who could not handle it." In response, I offered to explain, "There is not only meat but a lot of shells in these dishes." He nodded and walked away.

A few days later, I sat down with my sister/confidante, an Anglo American from whom I have learnt a lot about activism in the woman's movement. I told her the incident at the Chinese restaurant and I asked her, "I felt a sense of intrusion when that man came to our space and made that uninvited comment to us. Did I overreact?" She gave me a pensive smile and asked me, "Amy, would you go up to two white men, in a French restaurant and tell them your observation about their unusual culinary habit to their face even though it is an honest observation?"

Her answer was a reassurance to me. My Anglo sister affirmed my awareness of condescending mistreatment, no matter how subtle. She taught me that it is the insidiousness of racism and class that fosters an environment where abuse and mistreatment are taken to be normal, even if unthinkingly by the offender. She validated my feelings, taught me to trust it and defend it. It is my grounding to fight for and protect equality and justice for all, including us Asian Americans.

There have been a lot of wrongs done to Asian Americans, as far back as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the internment of the Japanese American during the Second World War and as recent as the gross mistreatment of Wen-Ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist who received an apology for his mistreatment from a conservative judge and James Yee, a Chinese American Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay who was accused of treason but got his charges dropped when the government could not substantiate the case. My own enlightenment of the ugliness of racism was the Vincent Chin case. In 1982,Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Charles Kaufman sentenced Ron Ebens, a supervisor at Chrysler Motors and his stepson, Mike Nitz to a three-year probation and a fine of $3,000 for the crime of bludgeoning Vincent Chin to death with a baseball bat, after Ebens and Nitz mistook Chin for a Japanese American whom they blamed for the loss of auto industry jobs in the US! At the sentencing, Judge Charles Kaufman was quoted as saying, "These weren't the kind of men you send to jail ... You don't make the punishment fit the crime; you make the punishment fit the criminal."

As Americans, we have inherited a great tradition. As we celebrated July 4th recently, I reread the Declaration of Independence and it struck me again when I read,

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

These are simple words that define the heart and soul of our great nation. Yet, our nation is a work in progress. Every generation of Americans, including you and me must strive to perfect and safeguard the attainment of the noble goal expressed in those simple words.

We must ACT to ensure and protect equality for all. In February this year, the Board of 80-20 passed two resolutions:

1. Increase the number of Asian American federal justice appointments. To represent adequately the Asian American population in our country, we should have 39 federal court justices. We have only 6, a big gap to narrow down.


2. Increase the number of Asian American executives in public and private establishments. Executive Order 11246 was signed by President Johnson in 1965 to ensure the number of minority and women in executive positions in colleges/universities, government agencies and private businesses. Asian Americans are left out in the enforcement of EO11246.

We must step up to the plate and do our parts for ourselves and for future generations. We will not always be there to protect the rights and assure the safety of our children or grandchildren. We can start today to creating a more just and fair society for them by holding our government accountable. It is time to walk the walk. We need you more than ever to press on with our fight. Your commitment of $10, $100, $500 or $1,000 is an affirmation to the hard work and many voluntary hours of service of the board and the volunteers.

Please visit our website at www.80-20initiative.net to view the facts about the mistreatment of Asian Americans and join us
in our fight for justice for all. Act now.

Join 80-20. Don't let us fight alone. Using a credit card, visit

http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html(easy to use) or

http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html

PERSONAL checks are
payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:

Jing-Li Yu Director of Projects

P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the check. Life membership is $1,000; Family (2 voters) is $50; Basic Membership is $35;Student membership is $15.

Wall St. Journal on 80-20 & Lt. Col. Yee

6/30 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) shines lights on 80-20 and
Lt. Col. Garret Yee of Fremont, CA, a member.

In a full page and half article with 6 pictures, WSJ reports "Torn on the Fourth of July." It sensibly accounts how immigrants from Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa relate to 4th of July.

It also talks about 80-20's 700,000 email list, the meaning of its namesake, its "Flag Project," its bloc vote, and its effort to "erase Asians' image as 'perpetual foreigner.'"

The real spot-light is on Lt. Col. Garret Yee, who will head to Iraq next month. To see a picture of Lt. Col. Yee and a touching account of his family members, who are described as "the American melting-pot in microcosm," go https://online.wsj.com/article/SB115162269791494761.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal , if you subscribe to WSJ. or http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06181/702440-84.stm , but unfortunately is without a picture of Lt. Col. Yee and his family.

Who are 80-20 members?

80-20 is a grassroots organization. Its members come from every walk of life, including very prominent members. It has national academicians, company CEOs, university presidents, and many members of the "Committee of 100." Many 80-20 Life Members are also C-100 members.

What do 80-20 members do?

Prominent or not, we all strive to serve the AsAm community. That is why our members are often in the news. Besides Lt. Col Yee, another example is Dr, Kuang Teh Jeang. He was featured in the Scientist Magazine recently for his effort to break the management glass ceiling for AsAm scientists. http://www.80-20initiative.net/glassceilingscientists.html He was later awarded NIH Asian American Scientist of the Year, 2005.

Our members act to make a difference! This is what distinguishes 80-20. Lt. Col Yee helps push 80-20's Flag Project in Fremont, CA. Dr. Jeang propagates 80-20's attempt to break the glass ceiling at NIH. Their actions are featured in prominent mainstream media! Consequently, the noble goals of 80-20 are achieved while BENEFITING YOU.

Announcement:

1. Hoist a flag on July 4th.
   
2. 80-20 is looking for a full-time Special Assistant. We invite the best and the brightest to apply. If you identify with the Asian American community and want to serve it, this is the perfect job for you. For a job description, visit http://www.80-20initiative.net/job.html

Join 80-20. Using a credit card, visit

http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html(easy to use) or

http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html

PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:

Jing-Li Yu Director of Projects

P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. Life membership is $1,000; Family (2 voters) is $50; Basic
Membership is $35; Student membership is $15.