Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump this week unleashed a string of racist insults against Asian Americans and Latinos.
Trump pulled a "ching chong" at a rally and earlier called for the deportation of all undocumented immigrants. He then threw out a renowned Latino journalist from a press conference just for asking questions. Bush said "anchor babies" was an immigration problem caused by the "Asian people" and then said today he would "quadruple down" on his position.
We just got a terrific preview of how a President Bush III and President Trump would treat Americans who are not White. In a more perfect Union, these idiots would have been forced to end their candidacies by Americans of all colors who believe that our President should at least be a decent person.
What to do? For one thing, forget about apologies. Genuine contrition by candidates and elected officials can only be proven by actions. In the context of a high stakes political battle, a well-crafted apology is often used simply to counter a news cycle, and not reflect the person's true feelings.
Here's eight suggestions on what Asian Americans can do to hold Bush and Trump accountable.
1. Strengthen alliances with Latinos and other people of color. These candidates don't discriminate when it comes to racism against Americans. They're equal opportunity racists. Asian Americans are in the same boat as Latinos. Bush and Trump see us as The Other, not as Americans. Let's stand up for our Brown and Black brothers and sisters, because we're all in this together. Don't know where to start? Here you go: latinovictory.us and #BlackLivesMatter.
2. Find pressure points and make them hurt. Asian Americans may not have the largest numbers, but we have buying power. Let's identify a Trump business that depends on Asian Americans and boycott the hell out of it. With Bush, we can comb through his FEC records and identify his Asian American donors to contact and ask them to hold their candidate accountable.
3. Ask our organizations to step up. Many Asian American groups quickly responded to the racist insults. Other organizations have yet to respond. Understandably, many 501(c)(3) organizations are leery about weighing in to political situations because of IRS restrictions. But certain groups, like the Asian American Journalists Association, have watchdog roles that would be helpful in this situation. Let's nudge them into action.
4. Join in ongoing actions. The most notable response to this situation has been a hashtag campaign by Jason Fong, a 15-year-old student in the Los Angeles area. #MyAsianAmericanStory was started on Monday evening and has been used more than 6,500 times.
5. Share your voice in the media. Write a letter to the editor, or an opinion piece. Write a blog post. Throw something up on social media. Staying silent is the worst thing we can do. Search for your favorite ethnic media or mainstream media outlet; most have easily accessible information on how to submit letters or opinion pieces.
6. Ask the political parties and other candidates to weigh in. The Republican and Democratic parties seem to be watching this from the sidelines. If they oppose racist rhetoric in campaigns, we need to hear from them. We need the other candidates to demonstrate their opposition as well. Here's contact info for the Democratic and Republican parties and a website listing the various presidential campaigns.
7. Share this blog post. This one is pretty easy, right? The share buttons are below!
8. Do the one real and tangible action to influence this election. If you're not registered to vote or if you don't vote, you're giving up the one essential tool you have to ensure that we elect a President who can advance this country by caring about all Americans, not just some. Register today.
Let's elect a President who is, well, not racist.
We'd love to hear your ideas on how we can respond to these racist candidates. Share your comments on Facebook or email keith@capa21.com.
CAPA21 (capa21.com) is an Asian American Pacific Islander political action committee that invests in progressive candidates, AAPI field operations, and projects to improve AAPI participation in the political process.