Excuse me? Hi. Are you registered to vote? No? Well it’s easy. Here, let me register you right now. All you have to do is click on that picture. Right there on the right, see? Easy. Oh, I see that you are hesitating. You don’t think that the South Asian American vote has any power in America because last you checked there were only 2 million desis? You didn’t hear? 
[B]y 2010 Indian-Americans will reach the 4.5 million mark, while South Asians will cross the 5.5 million mark. In other words Desis are expected to constitute 1.5 % of the total American population of 2010.If one is to extrapolate from these latest U.S. Census figures, the Asian Indian population in America is expected to reveal its steepest rise ever during the 2010 census…The Census also ranked Asian Indians as the third largest Asian American group after Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans. Indian Americans also had the largest percentage increase of the six major Asian groups in the U.S. [link]
No kidding, right? I double checked those numbers at work too. Legit. What, you still don’t believe that we can have a collective political voice if that 5.5 million is spread across the nation? Well how about this…?
Top Metropolitan Areas of South Asian Americans [link]
- NYC (sa pop =251,121)
- Chicago (sa pop=132,811)
- Washington DC tri-state area (sa pop=90,705)
- Los Angeles/Long Beach (sa pop=73,489)
- Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ (sa pop=71,116)
Top Counties of High Concentrations of South Asian Americans [link]
- Sutter, CA (sa pop=7,914 percent=10.03)
- Middlesex, NJ (sa pop=61,485 percent=8.2)
- Queens, NY (sa pop=164,636 percent=7.84)
- Fort Bend, TX (sa pop=16,941 percent=4.78)
- Santa Clara,CA (sa pop=73,840 percent=4.39)
You see, if we can increase desi voter registration, as well as voter turnout across the nation and especially in these areas, we can increase the potential political voice of the South Asian American Vote. Voting Bloc? I’m not sure about that yet — as is often mentioned we are dealing with a diverse community with many issues, plus, I don’t feel that we are at the point of a voting bloc yet because of lack of that power. But we can do everything to build that power for our community; by votes, by running for office, by organizing. By building this potential political power, when we do unite on issues that affect our South Asian community as a whole, we will have the power to influence change.
But you say you don’t want to vote unless you are educated on the issues? I’m with you, voter education is key. In addition to macaca related election news of the moment, as well as coverage of desis running for office, I will attempt election coverage especially in those key areas mentioned. If you can’t wait for coverage, you can go to Project Vote Smart which has all the non-partisan voting information you will ever need to know for your area. I could spend hours on this site.
I say ‘attempt’ because there are those of you that are desi political bloggers living in those cities and counties mentioned above. I especially would like to hear from you- let me know if you are planning on covering the election on your blog, I’ll add your blog to my feed and the SM will be sure to cover you in our on the ground election coverage. Are you a desi running for office, or know of one running for office this November? We’d love to profile you, Raj Bakhta style. Are you some desi kid running around with voter registration forms getting your community to vote? We’d love to profile you too, Macaca style. Look at this as a special Sepia Mutiny election coverage tipster line, if you will.
Almost convinced? Good. Well, all you need to do is take the first step, by registering to vote. The deadline to vote in most states is only a month away, and in other states 6 weeks away. That’s right, we are exactly 2 months away from the November 7th elections. Ready? Good. You can register to vote right here.
Thanks Taz. I recently became a naturalized citizen and registered using the link you provided.
Now I need to decide who to support. I will vote for any republican candidate who has a strategy for Iraq other than stay the course and can reduce my property taxes.
how come sf bay area is not in the top 5 metros for s.asians…? w/ santa clara w/ a sa pop of 73K
Click on the Project Vote Smart link- it is ridiculous how much information they gathered on the site- include candidate issue stances.
Thanks for registering!
I just wanted to address a reason many people have for not voting: “my vote won’t count, it’s meaningless.” Totally false. While your’s is unlikely to be the deciding vote in an election, there are many other ways your vote makes an impact.
1) Voting histories are carefully scrutinized by all candidates. You may not realize this but your complete voting history (whether you voted, not who you voted for) and demographic info is publicly available. This info is used to determine whether desis are registered (and for which party), how often they vote and if they vote in the primary. The more desis vote, the more candidates will cater to their needs. Simply being registered increases desi clout.
2) Every vote counts because winning and losing margins matter a lot. Sure, it’s unlikely that George “macaca” Allen will lose his senate election, but if desis can help make it a close race, it makes his prospects as a presidential candidate much dimmer. Margins also help decide where candidates stand on the issues and what kind of candidates run.
3) The closer the race, the more money that the party needs to spend on the race. So, if Virginia is no longer a “gimme” for the republicans, they need to spend more time and money on winning races there, diverting resources from other elections.
So, yes, every vote does count…for a lot!
Great and informative post, Taz, and insightful comment Umang.
When I registered people to vote and they expressed helplessness or apathy tied to some Political Identity Hat they happened to be wearing at the time, I sometimes tried to find out what their other Political Identity Hats were, get them to put it on, and then show them how much they had to be involved for. Are you a Dad? Are you retired? What’s your occupation? What are your parents’ concerns? Are you really passionate about parks? That frequently worked. In college most of my political agitation was science-centric, and I probably feel that aspect of my interests and priorities is much, much more underrepresented in our current government than most of the others. I probably have that more in mind this morning because Chris Mooney is on tour with the new, updated paperback edition of The Republican War on Science. If you don’t know about Mooney, I highly recommend you look into his work and his book–he’s a quiet but eloquent, concise speaker.
Damn, did I leave a href tag open?
chris is not brown.
That’s what I do in my trainings, too! It’s all about making politics accessible. and cool.
Nope. 😉
(missed you at the SF meetup!)
Why should any party cater to desis. Whether an Election is gimme or not, desis generally register and vote as Democractic. If more Desis register as Independents or Republicans and become swing voters, there will be interest in us.
Is it really true that most Desis are Democrats? My (admittedly anecdotal) experience is that the community is pretty evenly split between liberal and conservative…
Is it really true that most Desis are Democrats? My (admittedly anecdotal) experience is that the community is pretty evenly split between liberal and conservative…
yes, it seems true. (though most does not imply 90% as the SAALT survey from last year suggested)
In the North East there are a lot more fund-raisers for Democrats than Republicans. My unscientific survey indicates that Desis in the North East are mostly Democratic.
my conjecture is that propensity toward being democratic/liberal is proportional to assimilation/political awareness. also, ‘natural republican’ browns who are religious are, i suspect, driven away by the sectarianism of the social conservative wing of the party because they tend to be non-christian. libertarians and moderates are (like me) turned off at this point because of the nature of bush ‘conservatism.’
Every vote counts is a myth. e.g; In New York, If you are planing to vote Republican in the Senate or Presidential election – don’t bother.
Pragmatic: Unfortunate that Presidential Elections are based on votes in OH, PA & FL, the rest are pre-determined or inconsequential.
(some day I will figure out how to quote you on this blog)
From my anecdotal evidence:
H-1B Warriors: Most likely to be Republican 1/1.5 Grad students: Most likely to be Democrats.
H-1B Warriors: Most likely to be Republican
that would be pragmatic 😎
H-1B Warriors: Most likely to be Republican
that would be pragmatic 😎
ThatÂ’s actually very true especially considering the fact their job security is more threatened by the Dems than by the Reps. Also the whole laborious process of gettin labor certification etc. is the handiwork of union supporting democrats. Now family re-unification is something where the Dems have a better record than the Reps. Of course we are here presuming that immigration is the most important issue to an H-1B which is probably not true in a lot of cases.
H1B => support republicans? undocumented worker => support democrats?
ah, now i recall why i have not lapsed in my registration as a republican….
Not true at all. While it may seem like “NY is the most liberal place imaginable. It could not possibly be more liberal,” believe you me, it’s people who vote republican or for moderate liberals who keep NYC from becoming a socialist/communist state. Hilary and Schumer are far from the most liberal senators in America and their level of moderation is partly driven by the fact that NYers will actually vote for a Republican if the democrats make the mistake of positioning themselves as crazy, radical leftists.
Part of the reason why NY doesn’t have politicians who are even more liberal is that Wall Street carries a lot of clout and they keep the dems in check (even w/o getting a repub elected).
However, I should point out that in some instances, the way to maximize your voting impact is to register as a dem (say, if you’re a repub in NY) and vote for the most moderate liberal in the primary. Sometimes, the entire election is based on the primary.
voting is not a sufficient condition to affect political change, but unless you are a billionaire it is a necessary condition.
Not true. While there may have been a handful of states in which $0 got spent by the presidential campaigns, candidates did spend precious campaign resources in the vast majority of states. Every dollar Kerry had to spend in CA was a dollar he couldn’t spend in OH, PA or FL.
Furthermore, the voting margin establishes the kind of mandate the winner has. Bush won by the slimmest of margins but acted like he had a solid mandate, hence the drop in his popularity. Smarter politicians pay closer attention to how people voted. You might say that Bush doesn’t care about popularity because he’s not running again or he doesn’t mind being unpopular in places like CA and NY, and while this may be true, it’s very dumb. Bush’s lack of popularity is dragging down both Repubs in liberal states, as well as moderate liberals in the upcoming mid-terms (see Lieberman).
Are Desis Democrats?
In LA County, the answer is yes. I was going to wait till the report I’m working on went to press- but if interested you can pick up a prelim of the report at http://www.demographics.apalc.org – It’s a report called Asian Americans at the Ballot Box. I’ve been working all summer on the Asian American Youth Vote supplemental report. Our analysis is based on the voter file (back to Umang’s point of why it’s important to register- for data’s sake) and we pulled names based on an intricate names analysis (which is really, really cool for any wonks out there) and weighted accordingly.
Anyways, I don’t have the report in front of me, nor do I think the online version has the desi numbers (final version will) – but, if memory serves correctly… (I had been working on 18-24 age group desis, and 25-34 age group, and was doind a gender analysis, on this particular day)
For LA County, 13% of desi males 18-25 are registered republicans compared to 10% of 18-25 females that are Republican. For 25-34 age – 16% of desi males are Republican and 11% of desi females are Republican. 48% of all desis 18-25 are dems. 49% of all desis 25-34 are dems.
While we’re at it- though across all groups I’ve worked with, “youth” “all ages” “pan asian” “individual ethnic asian i.e. chinese, Filipino, etc…”– well, in all these groups, females register more, and vote more than males. All except, in the desi category. what’s up with that?
We will be having our press event for the launch of the reports on Septenber 26th here in LA. All are welcome.
But I am not a visitor in this country. I was born and raised here, and I’m a citizen
your previous comments led me to believe you would hold that south asians will always be ‘racial aliens,’ much as some white nationalists do. and so you aspire to move back to your “natural” homeland.
Did they lose their right to have a say in India when they decided they would be moving to America or the UK later on in life?
some would say they did, some would say they did not. at least that’s what i’ve heard.
This is not true in reality, but in theory, desis would have less influence if they all voted the same way all the time. This is true of the African American vote which is somewhat taken for granted by the Dems and ignored by the Repubs. Desis are far from as reliably Dem as AAs but even if they were, at least you’d see candidates spending the time to listen to their issues and try to better represent them.
For example, a friend of mine who’s running for office (www.kleinformaryland.com) has made it a point to visit with the Indian-American community in his district and make our issues a priority. He’s appeared on an Indian-American TV program (Darshan TV) and met with leaders in the community to understand our issues far better than anyone else has bothered. Perhaps next time our community needs regulatory help with building a temple or with stopping racist policemen, we’ll have someone with political power representing our viewpoint.
Umang,
You don’t need votes to determine if a State is left or right, the polls take care of all that. Thus, Pragmatic’s statement is correct, votes do not matter in many states.
I don’t think Bush’s slim 3% mandate has affected the GOP agenda.
Personally I think US has gone too far right and India is still far too left. Thus supporting Democrats in US and BJP in India makes sense to me.
Generally my point is, white people own and run this country for themselves, and if you can’t get used to it, you should leave.
i disagree with the force and simplicity of your first point, though there is obviously a lot of truth in this. but, i agree for pragmatic reasons with you on the second, though i won’t lie and say that i think you are wrong to give up on america and assume that it is unchangeable as it is.
My point is always, if you are sensitive to racial stereotyping and subtle prejudices (which I am) then you are probably better off moving to a more tolerant environment
just to clear, more tolerant if you are of the majority, right? \
But who knows, something like 9/11 could happen or the economy could tank, and I might end up in Peru or China or South Africa
1) i have a cousin who lives in venezuela. if you don’t want to experience prejudice because you are brown skinned you might want to bring a lot of $$$ (or marry into money, as my cousin did). yes, i know venezuela is pinko and ruled by a brown dude, doesn’t mean that the white “latino” elite isn’t racist.
2) china? you gotta be kidding. there was a race riot against african students in the 1980s because of rumors of raping chinese women.
My point is always, if you are sensitive to racial stereotyping and subtle prejudices (which I am) then you are probably better off moving to a more tolerant environment
Your post has too much irony for a Thursday evening. You believe in majoritarianism, are bothered by subtle prejudices, yet want it for yourself but only when you are in the majority with no regard whatsoever for the minority. What about the people who dont have the ability to move or the people who are not a majority anywhere in the world?
“And yes, obviously if you are the majority, people will be more tolerant. That’s precisely my point; if you’re one of those people that can’t stand being a persecuted minority, then go somewhere where you aren’t a minority.”
Actually, being in the majority removes the entire question of whether you are “tolerated” or not. By definition, those in the majority are tolerated. White people stand to transform from a majority to a plurality within the next decade or so, but not amongst the corporate and financial leadership leadership.
By definition, those in the majority are tolerated
blacks in south africa were tolerated? the indigenous in peru are tolerated? vodun worshippers in haiti are tolerated? the dark skinned in india are tolerated?
it’s easy to be lazy and unreflective when the zeitgeist is always patting you on the back huh?
“blacks in south africa were tolerated?”
Until the Dutch came, yes.
“the indigenous in peru are tolerated? vodun worshippers in haiti are tolerated? the dark skinned in india are tolerated?”
Are these truly majority? And your “dark skinned” example is a bit too difficult to discern, there’s no scientific method to establishing one’s dark skin-ness. There’s no CMYK profile for the dark skinned threshold, neither is there for white and black, but I think the distinction is far more pronounced in the white-black case.
I meant patriotic Indian-american,
I am firstly an American, but like you and several others here I also consider myself an India supporter, and would probably compromise my generally left of center viewpoint if I felt doing so would help India greatly.
Until the Dutch came, yes.
by definition doesn’t imply contingency. perhaps you should add that to the model.
there’s no scientific method to establishing one’s dark skin-ness.
yes there is. skin reflectance. if you want me to be precise, the “ideal” skin color in most south asian cultures is deviated away from the median toward the light side, ergo, the minority is the dominant aesthetic ideal (if you want me to be more precise, i would say that it is at least 1 standard deviation lighter than the median, and assuming gaussian that means 85% are darker than this ideal that i am contending).
the point of my comment is that you often argue like a scholastic, from a priori definitions from which you can infer the world. but not everyone shares your axioms. it so happens that the central tendency here of late has been toward your axioms, so i don’t think you are very reflective about the fact that not everyone believes that your priors are particular relevant or accurate.
“the indigenous in peru are tolerated? vodun worshippers in haiti are tolerated?
CIA factbook says that indigenous are 45%. so not strictly, but the 15% that is white traditionally dominates the country and there are nasty instances of discrimination against dark-skinned people (blacks and mestizos are on this group) in lima in public accommodations on the assumption they won’t be affluent enough to make the establishment happy. as for vodun, it is to my understanding the normative worldview of most haitians in concert with nominal roman catholicism. a “pure” form of roman catholicism is practiced by the elite (disproportionately mullato), and this tradition has often persecuted the practice of vodun which is adhered by the lower classes.
yes there is. skin reflectance. if you want me to be precise, the “ideal” skin color in most south asian cultures is deviated away from the median toward the light side, ergo, the minority is the dominant aesthetic ideal (if you want me to be more precise, i would say that it is at least 1 standard deviation lighter than the median, and assuming gaussian that means 85% are darker than this ideal that i am contending).
That’s an aesthetic bias. But I don’t think the same bias would be reflected in politics (like looking at the Indian cabinet — center or states), or in industry (like looking at workers from mid-management and up), though it may vary with region, but I may be wrong. And colorism is a dangerous topic here 🙂
And colorism is a dangerous topic here 🙂
yeah, my bad…i haven’t been reading the site much lately. just checked some threadz….
Yes and many south asians, particularly sri lankans, got caught up in that race riot. The chinese couldn’t tell the africans and south asians apart apparently…
i have NEVER met a republican desi in my life. Most desis in edison are democrats
First of all, if you have the opportunity to participate in a poll, you should absolutely do that. Your vote in a poll is far more powerful than your vote in an election (because the universe of participants is smaller). However, polls don’t carry as much weight with politicians as actual elections. Elections have far more validity than polls — to get statistical on you, an election is a “census” while a poll is merely a “sample.”
So, Pragmatic’s statement is not correct but I would agree that someone who participates in a poll AND votes exerts more influence than someone who merely votes. That said, someone who participates in a poll AND votes AND writes a letter to their representative (AND donates money, AND so on, etc.), exerts even more influence.
A note on writing letters to reps: while all you get back is a form letter, don’t think that your letter is ignored. Letters on each topic are carefully counted and ratios such as 1 letter = 1000 votes are often used to help guide officials. For example, the NRA’s highly organized letter/postcard writing campaigns account for much of their influence.
Why the “Desi Vote.” Pakistanis and Indians don’t have the same interests at all, and lumping them together in the belief that desis must stand united is misguided and detrimental to both sides. And lets be honest here, the establishment of a “South Asian voting bloc” is more strongly promoted by Pakistanis then by Indians, being they are the smaller and weaker party. Will Pakistani-Americans stand with Indian-Americans on the nuclear deal? Its difficult enough for me to see why some Pakistanis I know are so obssesed with Israel, so now Indians have to get dragged into this? Do I want to get dragged into groups like CAIR and others who seem to be stonewalling anything that wants to look into terrorism in the Muslim community? If I was a Pakistani I would feel the same way on a bloc with Indians – what interest would it have for me?
There are very few issues that affect South Asians as a whole. On issues like terrorism, relations with China, Middle East relations, Indian Americans and Pakistani Americans are fundamentally opposed to each other. What other issues are there? Racial profiling? Maybe, although you will actually find a good number in the Indian crowd that would take it a step further than anything people on Frontpage say.
Pakistanis and Indians don’t have the same interests at all is different from Pakistani-Americans stand with Indian-Americans 🙂
it’s easy to be lazy and unreflective when the zeitgeist is always patting you on the back huh?
I like this image, razib.
On another note, I’m wondering what people think about the “no point in voting” attitude that some people have. Sepiamutiny readers seem to skew in a particular direction, but I’ve always felt that some people don’t just vote because of their perceptions of odds, but rather because they don’t feel like any of the options before them are very good.
Razib:
desitude jumped me to the point. It’s an aesthetic ideal, because it’s always in someones mind what’s considered “too dark” and irrespective if the median skin reflectance is 28% or whatever. Either way, no statement is absolute I agree, congrats you pulled the 2 or 3 instances where a majority happened to be oppressed by an invading group, which then consisted a minority.
My statement pretty much still stands though, although I can alter the wording to say, a person who is in the majority, when the majority is in power, never has to deal with the issue of being “tolerated” or not. Because by definiition. he is.
My statements are my opinion unless otherwise stated, just like everyone else here. I think it becomes tedious to state “IMO, or IMHO” or “I believe” or “I think that” for every sentence. Sorry if it bothers you, but I plan to push forward anyway.
That’s straight BS. Most of us who put the “American” before the Indian or the Pakistani (as we ALL should if we have the right to vote) see many more issues in which we have a fundamental agreement.
My statements are my opinion unless otherwise stated, just like everyone else here. I think it becomes tedious to state “IMO, or IMHO” or “I believe” or “I think that” for every sentence. Sorry if it bothers you, but I plan to push forward anyway.
you missed my point here though: i would contend that your opinions are almost a perfect reflection of a particular stream of thought. e.g., “by definition” etc. etc. etc. it isn’t like you are making up definitions and asserting them as true. my point is that your mode of discourse works best when you share more common assumptions with others than you sometimes do. as it happens it might work on SM since i think many more than not do share your assumptions, but convincing those with whom you already agree with is somewhat like running in place. instead of attempting to validate and support your axioms you often take them as truths from which to derive “obvious” conclusions.
That’s straight BS
Abhi, You are an American. Let me ask you a simple question: “What is your view with regards to the US strategic relationship with Pakistan presently and in past (going back to 50s, cold war, Nixon-Kissinger era, Afghanistan, 9/11, etc)?”
If you are critical of it as an American, Aok Jose. You might be very supportive of it in the entire context. Who knows? Maybe, in your view Kissinger’s support for Pakistan was the most important thing for USA with regards to USSR, China, India then. Maybe, Kissinger is your real politick hero. Who knows again?
Now find me an American of Pakistani origin/ descent who is deeply critical of US-Pakistan special relationship, I will eat my hair. They maybe critical of General Musharraf mildly but all of them see a special relationship between them, Hint: Pakistan’s role in Ping Pong Diplomacy. There is nothing wrong with that. I have close Pakistani American friends. I would be the same if I was a Pakistani American. Also, find me a Pakistani American who supports Indo-US Nuclear deal. Maybe, maybe, 10 in entire US.
Head in the sand my man, maybe it makees you feel goood. In country like US, foriegn policy means a lot, especially with respect to China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Sometimes, we all live in a lalaland. Agreement, Shgreement
But Kush,
does your opinion on those particular issues mean that you think uniting to build the power of a potential desi voting bloc is moot?
-t
taz,
a point of note, 2/3 of south asians in south asia are indian. but 9/10ths of south asians in the USA are of indian origin). the block is mostly an indian american chunk of cheese….