Demonstrators’ strategy not most effective path

Tuesday, May 26, 1998

Demonstrators’ strategy not most effective path

COLUMN: Voting initiative could effect change better than
current tactic of blaming administration

Let’s talk about race for a moment, shall we? First, allow me to
introduce myself to all of you readers who’ve never laid eyes on
one of my columns. Hi, my name is Jesse. I’m an American citizen,
born and raised here in sunny California. My parents are from
Mexico, born and raised in a small border town you’ve probably
never heard of. They are also both American citizens, by the
way.

In the United States, I am considered a full-fledged minority.
Exciting, isn’t it? Bet you’ve never seen one of us so up close and
personal before. And you thought I was just another pretty
face!

I have a few different labels: Chicano, Latino, Mexican American
and Hispanic. None of them really mean anything. They’re all pretty
limiting and in no way do they really reflect exactly who I am, the
diverse cultures of my ancestors or what I perceive as my place in
society. Still, it’s nice to be able to fill in a bubble besides
"other" on those scantron forms. I tend to fill in "Mexican
American" on those little scantron bubbles because I figure, hey,
I’m American with a Mexican background. ‘Nuff said.

Once, a Chicano studies student tried to convince me that I was
misled, ignorant and wrong for calling myself a Mexican
American.

"You’re only showing your confusion over your sense of identity
and your oppression by white America," he told me. "Stand tall and
call yourself a Chicano."

He was pretty full of crap. The only thing I’ve ever been
confused about is: how come just because people have the same color
skin as me, they feel they have the right to label me? Here, take
your "Chicano" and shove it up your ass, my brother.

But I digress.

Like I said before, in the United States, I am considered a
minority. Now, this means a few things:

1. Fire departments love me. They’re always looking for a dope
minority like myself to join their ranks. They’re on a quota
system, you know.

2. You aren’t likely to see a whole lot of media representation
of my peoples. Unless Brandon decides to get ethnic on another
episode of "Beverly Hills 90210" and date a Latina from East Los
Angeles again. Not that I watch that show. (Hey, Kelly’s pretty
fine, OK?)

3. I have my own club(s) on campus. Ever tried searching for the
Caucasian Student Union on campus? Ain’t gonna find it!

4. I tan much more easily than most people. It’s all about the
SPF 2, baby.

5. I am more susceptible to disease, violence, depression, drug
addiction, alcoholism and general frustration. Yes, sir, membership
has its privileges and its plagues.

As a member of a minority race in the United States, I’ve had
the rather unfortunate pleasure of seeing and experiencing racism
and discrimination firsthand. Like the time when I asked a white
high school guidance counselor if I could have the applications to
UCLA and Stanford, and she told me that maybe it would be better if
I just took some applications to some junior colleges instead. She
didn’t know my SAT scores, my GPA or even my name.

It’s also my sad duty to tell you, however, that some of the
bitterest forms of prejudice, bigotry and discrimination has come
from members of my own ethnicity.

Would you believe that over the years I’ve received many an
unpleasant comment and been excluded because of the fact that I
don’t know how to speak Spanish very well and because most of my
friends are Asian? As if that makes me any less Mexican or
something. Talk about a no-win situation. I may not be able to
conjugate some of my verbs on Spanish, but I bet you don’t know how
to make a perfect batch of steamed rice, where to find the best
Chinese food in all of Monterey Park, how to say "I love you" in
Chinese or how to tell a really lame joke, and know what "Putang
ina mo" really means in Tagalog.

I’ve been thinking about affirmative action and Proposition 209
a lot lately, and not just because people keep blocking my path to
Murphy. Don’t you guys know I have classes to drop and financial
aid loan officers to piss off in there? Jeez, go block the path to
Governor Wilson’s house or something. Here, and take Kandea with
you; together maybe you can go storm a K-Mart. Damn, it takes USAC
all year to finally get off of its ass about something and all we
get is a lousy speech at somebody’s inauguration and some fist
waving? What the hell are you people doing with my money?

Sorry. Like I said, I’ve been thinking about affirmative action
and this whole Proposition 209 business. To be perfectly honest, I
personally like the concept behind Proposition 209. You know, that
the "state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential
treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex,
color, ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public
employment, public education or public contracting." What a great
idea! Make everything a level playing ground. No special privileges
for nobody. Not for me, not for you, not for anybody. Just put us
into one big pit and let us all battle it out, tooth and nail, mano
a mano, until the best person survives! Grr, bring it on sucka!

However, there’s just one problem. A really big problem,
actually. A nice concept does not equal reality. In the United
States, there is no such thing as a level playing ground. Are you
ignorant enough to think a student in the inner city is getting the
same quality education as a student in the suburbs? Do you really
think that a kid who had to bust his ass with crappy resources in a
school known more for its metal detectors, drive-by shootings and
terrified teachers is getting a fair shake when he or she gets
edged out for enrollment at a UC because they got a few points
lower on their SAT or GPA than some other kid who went to school
with a great AP test program, a fantastic library and a strong
faculty? I don’t think so.

And neither should you.

So what do you do? Do you sacrifice diversity for higher test
scores? Or do you go back to affirmative action and, if you’re like
me, occasionally wonder to yourself: now, did I get into UCLA
because I had good SAT scores and a good GPA or because my last
name is Torres? And say you do decide to fight for a more
pro-diversity law – how do you go about doing it? Do you waste time
attacking your school administrators or do you start up a voter
drive among students that demonstrates the power we have to
influence the ongoing governor race and that shows we can do much
more than make a speech, block traffic and throw away valuable
student money?

I can understand the concern and the frustration that people
feel about losing affirmative action and how scary Proposition 209
seems. I know that a lot of you who have been out there marching,
sitting, chanting and protesting really feel as if you are doing
all that you can to make your voices heard and your sentiments
understood. But lately, I’ve been wondering if some of you who have
been splashed all over the Daily Bruin and television are really
being effective and being taken seriously, or just coming off as a
bunch of rude, wanna-be ’60s demonstrators. I still think that
voting is our best bet and our biggest power, and that maybe it’s
time we all took a moment to stop the noise making and take a look
at those candidates running in the state elections and deciding for
ourselves which one deserves our support. Don’t you?

Good luck on midterms everybody.