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July 4, 2020 (first published on SGV Examiner – July 9, 2020)

OP-ED: PROP 16 IS RACIST & KILLS MERIT BASED ACHIEVEMENT

by Marc Ang, President/Founder of AIB2B

Admissions and promotions based on race/gender (instead of merit) have the potential to destroy society.

I challenge everyone to not look at this as a left-right issue, which oversimplifies and prevents us from exploring the nuances of an issue.

I also challenge everyone not to look at this as a race issue, though I will certainly explore effects on subgroups in this article. While Prop 16 disproportionately affects Asians in college admissions, it would have an equally detrimental effect on Black Americans, currently “overrepresented” in public sector jobs.

We are honored to work with a multicultural team, including African American University of California Regent, Ward Connerly and key social media influencers like Indian American Vijay Chokalingam, who in 2015, exposed the flaws of affirmative action by getting admitted as an African American to college. Our team also includes principled and passionate community leaders in the Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic and Black communities, who offer fresh perspectives and creative solutions on a Proposition that could potentially divide us further, or unite us in ways never before. We recognize this unique moment in the national mood and hope to spark a nuanced discussion on what “equality” truy means. Spoiler: It should not just be a shallow slogan that ushers in poorly thought-out legislation that actually creates *less* fairness.

Whether or not the Proposition passes, my goal is community education and we will fight all the way to the Supreme Court if needed, to stand against systemic racism (macro), and to share the real stories of the effects on specific individuals and in turn, diverse subgroups (micro).

Equal opportunity does not mean equal outcomes

The biggest myth in today’s society is that if everyone were given equal outcomes, all society’s ills would be absolved. Freebies bring entitlement and disgruntlement. Instead, I encourage equal opportunities, where hard work is the prerequisite for certain outcomes, allowing anyone regardless of gender or race, to do the work and achieve success. Prop 209, passed in 1996, created today’s environment, a generation of high quality scholars and professionals. In 2020, bureaucrats are actually taking these outcomes for granted, to “fix” something that isn’t broken, with a “solution” that is actually a problem.

Wouldn’t you want your doctor who is operating on your body to be the best and most vetted, regardless of race or gender?  Interestingly enough, one of the real-world outcomes for Prop 209 was increased percentages of minorities and women in colleges and in professional fields. And an added bonus is no one would look at a UCLA or UC Berkeley graduate and question if they got in because of some shortcut or a flawed point system. It is incredibly insensitive and dangerous to put someone in a group where they are clearly behind their peers. This would cause a slowdown in the group’s advancement if the class teaches to the person farthest behind, or it would ignore that child, breeding stigma and resentment.

Filipinos are now seen as affluent and “privileged”, when hard work and perseverance (not shortcuts) have brought them up the ladder from humble beginnings.

Eastvale has one of the highest per capita incomes in Southern California’s Inland Empire because the city itself is home to many Filipino American nurses working double shifts for 3 days of the week and then taking on a *second* job or starting a side business to supplement their income. Many have come from poor families but are now strong contributors to society and are able to afford luxuries once seen as unattainable. In fact, there is a dynamic of resentment that many Fil-Ams feel, that people back in the mother country don’t appreciate the hard work required in America. This is what makes America special: the ability to achieve. Chinese have had a similar story, experiencing the worst discrimination in the past but have now moved up thanks to a stellar work ethic.

Who would be the bureaucrat in charge of determining demographic breakdowns?

Remember our state legislature and government positions are in flux, with elections every 2 or 4 years for key positions. Who would have the power to decide what the percentages of whites, blacks, Latinos and Asians are? Who would decide point systems such as “likability” for certain races that would influence final decisions, as we seen in Harvard? This is a dangerous slippery slope if we give a government bureaucrat such power for social engineering. One may start with good intentions, but how about the successor? Can we count on them to be truly fair with no bias?

Outdated Designations

What if you were of mixed race, say half black and Latino (common in our multicultural melting pot)? Which race do you identify with? Which race would be worth more likability or intersectionality points? Which race is most favorable at a given time, for the best outcome to get into college or a job?  I sympathize with the young adult who grows up thinking their race is inferior and would undermine their future opportunities. What a terrible message to send to a child, causing emotional issues that would distract them from achievement.

Simplicity will actually foster higher quality and less racism.

I’m not just Asian. I’m Chinese and Filipino, but that nuance is missed by shallow surveys. As a society, we were already moving in a direction of color-blindness, but this now regresses us from that progress, while simultaneously suffering the effects of diminished quality of professionals in key industries because we didn’t choose the best of the best. We instead picked top professionals based on race or gender and maybe in the process, lost the cure for cancer? Merit is the only true equalizer.

Marc Ang is a Southern California community leader, currently serving as the President of community organizations Asian Industry B2B, People Encouraging People and Chinese American Citizens Alliance (Orange County), He is also Director of Outreach for Californians For Equal Rights, dedicated to the fight against systemic racism, specifically, ACA5, now Proposition 16 on November’s ballot.  His events have drawn thousands of attendees from all walks of life, in the areas of promoting veterans, the autism community, anti-human trafficking, health and wellness and business advocacy.  Marc’s op-eds have been featured extensively in Chinese and mainstream media, such as The Epoch Times, EDI, World Journal, and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.