Affirmative Action and Proposition 209

 Affirmative Action and Proposition 209

by Fazeel Aziz Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link  ~  10-28-96)

Is there a conspiracy against non-white immigrants? In California the same people who brought us proposition 187 a couple of years ago, are now bringing us proposition 209. It assumes that racism does not exist anymore and that Affirmative Action programs should be terminated. If the two dots are connected, I wonder what the projected ultimate goal is. If we as part of the "minority" don't vote against 209, then we are on our way to legalized racism.

Proposition 187 targeted "Illegal" aliens, denying their children education and medical care. As Dr. Hathout mentioned, "Even if a person doesn't have proper papers, I will still treat him like a human being and give him the medical care he needs." Proposition 187 attempted to legalize immoral treatment of undocumented aliens and it passed. Proposition 209 is the next step, which takes certain rights away from "legal" aliens. What's next? Separate passports based on which country a person immigrated from? Legalized racism based on your color? Currently, people with "European" features are not likely to be asked to prove whether they are legal or whether they are "American." Nobody even talks about the thousands of illegal Italians in New York. In fact, immigration from European countries is encouraged. Governor Wilson and his supporters are targeting the non-white people.

Some students have been on hunger strikes and demonstrating at the Federal Building on Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood. This is a tradition that Mahatma Gandhi popularized. But Jackie who is an activist says that appealing to an oppressor's morality only works when he has morality. So what can we do? Believe it or not, your vote is extremely powerful. Elected officials do care about your vote. Even if you are not a citizen and not eligible to vote, you have every right to call or write to them and state how you feel. Even President Clinton responds to letters within a month. Many government officials are on the Internet and can be contacted easily if you have a computer. You can contact your local library to obtain names, addresses and phone numbers of all your representatives.

Many people, especially "Americans" say that they don't want to get involved in politics. Even though politics is a dirty business, still, we cannot escape the effect it has on our personal lives. For example, proposition 209, will affect all of us because we are a subset of non-white immigrants. Although a lot of energy is required these days to earn a good living, we should not be blind to the big picture. In politics, there is a lot of misinformation. For example, proposition 209, which takes away rights from minorities and women, is labeled as the "Civil Rights" initiative. This kind of "double-speak" can confuse even a sensible person.

Affirmative Action programs which were designed to combat racism are now being called reverse discrimination. The truth is, Affirmative Action is a sensible remedy for addressing current discrimination against people of color and women. It is a means of giving equal opportunities to people of color and women for hiring, promotion, public contracting and public school enrollment. Currently, 86% of jobs are not advertised, and are filled through word of mouth. Affirmative Action is a door opener for people who would otherwise be shut out of good schools, government contracts, and public jobs. It is not a system for hiring unqualified people. No program requires anyone to accept substandard or unqualified applicants. It is not a quota system and it is not a remedy for past discrimination. Unfortunately, discrimination continues to be widespread today. Just ask a conscious non-white person. According to Californians for Justice, Caucasian men make up 96% of CEO's, 85% of tenured professors, 89% of US Senators and 100% of all U.S. Presidents. On the other hand, people of color and women get the lowest paying and least desirable jobs. They also have much higher poverty and unemployment rates. Radio station KPFK 90.7 FM is also a good source of un-biased news and information.

Don't be fooled by Proposition 209, which they are wrongly calling the "Civil Rights" initiative. It eliminates all public equal opportunity affirmative action programs. This "Civil Wrongs" initiative offers only racial division, gender exclusion and open discrimination. The dangerously vague language also legalizes discrimination against women and girls. Does it sound like Apartheid as in South Africa? The initiative falsely assumes that the effects of past and present discrimination don't exist. It takes us back at least thirty years. Fortunately, there are groups like "Angry White Men Against Prop 209" a beautiful bunch of guys from Oakland. Please, vote against Prop. 209 on November 5th and write your elected officials to discourage them from putting such a bill on the ballot in the future

Are You a Fish or a Frog

Are You A Frog Or A Fish?

by Fazeel Azeez Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link ~ 10-11-96)

Hey, where are you from? This question is asked of us because we are viewed as different; Frogs among Fish. Maybe the issue is not Frogs and Fish but Cowboys and Indians. Yea but what's this Fishy Froggy business anyway.......
Well, I'll quote my Amphibious friend from Ottawa, Canada "I believe it was Imam Abdullah Hakim who told me about fish and frogs. He used these two animal types to describe the two basic kinds of Muslims: "fish" and "frogs". Fish, being water-dwellers, rely on their special environment to carry out all of their activities of life; on the other hand, frogs, which are amphibious creatures, can thrive both in water and on land. "Fish" require ever-present, supportive and homogeneous environments to function successfully. But "frogs" can make it ANYWHERE. Do you seek to spread yourself beyond the scope of your comfort zone? Are you a frog? How far are you willing to venture? If you have thick, slimy, green skin then come along with me!".
Hybrids like us live in the U.S. but are linked to other countries, through an invisible umbilical cord. Those of us who've lived in the "old countries", swam and played among the local schools of fish. There we were fish and not viewed as frogs. The millions of beautiful and colorful fish were of all shapes and sizes. To a large extent, we understood our people and our surroundings, and enjoyed a certain amount of comfortable belongingness there.
Now we've come out to a new land, a different world. Some of us hybrids were born here yet don't feel we belong solely to this land. We long for a swim in the deep ocean and sometimes we venture out there with our friends, fish and frogs alike. As frogs, we are likely to float on top of the water, near the shore, with our vision reaching into the heavens. Through the clouds and the pollution, we try to ponder who we are, where we are and where we belong. And how many years more will we have to live here to be not considered "Foreigners". We may experience that today, fish in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans view us as strange green aliens. So it makes us speculate where can we fit in.
Young people like us often wonder "Who the hell am I? Am I American, Pakistani, or Muslim"? We wonder which group we belong with, Caucasian, African, or Hispanics. Sometimes application forms force us to be incorrectly classified as "Asian" by which they mean Pacific Asian only. Other times we're stereotyped as Arabs or Middle-eastern people. As we ponder these questions and form our self-identity, we beg, borrow and steal pieces of ourselves from various sources. An African American friend recently educated me about the idea of the "Looking Glass Self". It states that we look at ourselves through other peoples' eyes. Us Frogs don't often have the luxury of looking at ourselves through our own people's eyes. So we often see ourselves through American eyes. And sadly, the American eye usually captures us at our worst, and presents negative images about us through the media.
My friend ZZ from Washington D.C. says "I think an important issue that we, as the "first generation", face is culture. What are we? We are hybrids, that is a pertinent term. But where do we draw the line? As an American born citizen, I think I should consider myself an American. The only life I've known is being in America. But I also value my parents' roots, Pakistan. But their parents were Indian. It's really confusing, living in a "hybrid-culture". During the day, we work and hang out with Americans, talking to them, eating their food, experiencing their values. Yet, when we come home to our families, we are eating curries and rice, speaking Urdu and listening to Indian music. At least my parents usually do. I enjoy that too, but, jeez I gotta turn on MTV and watch Alternative Nation to get a grip. And adults wonder why so many of us are so messed up. We have no idea who or what we are. At least, I feel that way sometimes."
How can we ease this situation of duality? That will come from supporting each other. To help each other deal with our common predicament, we need to share our tools. We need to really talk and listen to each other. We need older people to be open to their children and also to mentors youngsters. We may not be able to solve all our problems, but sometimes it helps greatly just to express our feelings and to know that we're not alone in feeling like a fish out of water. Our people lack a survival manual, a history and power in this land. But gradually, our Pakistani community is getting more established here and our broader, amphibious views are benefitting other communities as well. We can also learn valuable adaptation techniques from other communities. Achieving a healthy balance within ourselves is not easy, but none the less, it's a great adventure