Civil Rights Activist Disses Asian Americans
By Margaret Snyder (02/26/04)
Recently I attended a talk by Mary Frances Berry, who chairs the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and teaches history at the University of Pennsylvania. She said many astonishing things but none more astonishing than her answer to one question from the audience.
The question was: Why are so few Asian-Americans engaged in the Civil Rights struggle?
Her answer had three parts. First, she named a few Asian-Americans whom she regarded as “involved in the struggle”.
Second, she went on to explain that there were not many because traditionally Asian-Americans were not interested in politics and chose instead the path of keeping their heads down, not making trouble and working hard. Her tone clearly suggested her disdain for this course of action. She seemed to regard it as demeaning.
The fact that the average Asian-American is now more educated than the average American does not suggest to her that perhaps theirs was a fruitful course of action. Nor does the fact that the average Asian-American now earns more money than the average American suggest that not making trouble and working hard was a good plan.
The fact that Asian-Americans are way “over-represented” at all of the country’s most prestigious universities likewise does not suggest to her that there may be some merit in their attitude that hard work is the key to success.
Dumbfounding as it was that that she could fail to see the implications of what she was saying, it got worse, as finally she offered the encouraging news that the trend is toward more Asian-American involvement in “the struggle” and more Asian-Americans going to college to study “fields other than engineering and the sciences”. This, she said, was a good thing.
Dr. Berry is a highly intelligent woman and very informed, particularly about all aspects of civil rights. She has to know that by every measure of success, statistics show Asian-Americans to be more successful than every other group. She also has to know that salaries in the fields of engineering and the sciences are higher than those of the humanities. So why on earth would she say that a) they have taken the wrong path to overcome discrimination and that b) it is good that not so many of them are going into lucrative lines of work any more?
This is where the moral emptiness of the multicultural movement shows itself. Culturally, Asian-Americans are less inclined to be active in politics. Culturally, a reverence for learning has led them along a different path. Any unbiased observer would have to concede that it worked for them.
And yet, here comes a political activist lamenting that Asian-Americans are not more like—her! And of course other black political activists, who may be doing very well for themselves, but can hardly be said to have lifted up “their people” in the last thirty-some years. Thus she shows an utter lack of respect for the culture of Asian-Americans.
Multiculturalism was always a sham. It perpetuates stereotyping. And it advocates respect only for the cultures of the peoples of the world and of this country who are NOT thriving. Someone tell me, what sense does it make to insist that we must honor and preserve the cultural values of peoples whose cultural values have kept them down? While trying to change the values of those who have succeeded.
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