Letters to the Editor
November 26, 2004
Tragedy of Iris Chang
DEAR EDITOR: Iris Chang was one of the very few who cared. I tried to have my limited work published on the subjects, but the interest and market niche were too limited. I’m glad she succeeded, but this is a real tragedy.
Fred Yuen Lee
via e-mail
Push the Envelope, Judge
DEAR EDITOR: As a consistent reader of your publication and not in any way related to Judge Kevin McCarthy, I want to applaud your Oct. 28 coverage of the youth beating in “White Justice?”.
Too many times people and their accomplices get away with lashing out upon our race simply because we look different.
I disagree with those who wrote to you to say they were unsure whether it was in the judge’s sphere of responsibility to pressure the assailant into revealing his cohorts. Early civil rights cases are replete with examples of courageous judges who knew they might be overturned but still ruled in favor of black hate-crime victims.
Either McCarthy was reluctant to push the envelope for his own personal reasons or he was simply insensitive to the true plight of our community who has endured over a century of discrimination and hardship at the hands of mainstream society.
I applaud you for your coverage. Keep the pressure on.
Belinda Ramos
via e-mail
The Asian Bloc Vote
DEAR EDITOR: 80-20’s premise is: Create a bloc vote. Thereafter, Asian Americans will have our share of political clout. The good news is that all polls indicate that Asian Americans are voting as a bloc after a six-year effort by 80-20.
The CNN and Los Angeles Times polls both indicated that Asian American voters bucked the national voting trend and voted more for President Bush’s opponent than in 2000.
Now, the results of a national, multilingual exit poll of 11,000 Asian American voters have been released, revealing that we voted 74 percent for Sen. John Kerry and 24 percent for Bush. The nonpartisan poll by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund verified 80-20’s unusual public prediction: that once we had endorsed Kerry “with reservation,” he would enjoy at least a 30-point advantage on election day.
Two large exit polls of Asian American voters were done in Southern and Northern California. In 10 days, the results will be released. 80-20 anticipates the final aggregate result to fall somewhere between the Los Angles Times’ and the AALDEF’s results. It means that we will have a political voice from here on in.
S.B. Woo
80-20 Initiative
Dover, Del.
Mabel, You Go Girl
DEAR EDITOR: Mabel Teng (“Teng Keeps S.F. Out of the Red,” Nov. 12) is an excellent role model not just for young Asian Americans but for any youth. It is rare in society and commendable to find someone who is willing to go out there and truly fight for what she believes is right. Teng does work that few could do or would dare to. She is truly a modern hero.
Tina Tsai
via e-mail
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