Some Reflections on the Feb 06 Special

I thought I needed some time for reflection and perhaps observe other’s ideas. Then, I decided to stick with my initial thought: The recount is coming up so things might change again, so here goes:

Tuesday, Feb 6 was a victory for the Vietnamese American Community period.
With no candidate to be excited about, the Latino Community stayed home.

Godfather Van Tran may want to crow, and although winning ugly is still winning, I think his lock on Little Saigon politics may be slipping a bit. For all intensive purposes, over half of the Vietnamese American Community did not support the Van Tran machine and a 7-vote victory is hardly any kind of mandate.

I want to backtrack a bit in noting the diversity of the candidates who pulled papers and decided to run. The OC Register commented on it and I had hoped a nasty American Institution would not reappear. Regrettably, I think both Janet and Trung took a chapter out of the Republican Playbook called “Lets Bash Latinos to get Elected” building upon the already negative sentiments from last year’s letter to Democrats with Hispanic surnames from Tan Nguyen… or whoever.

Trung Nguyen photo shopped (?) next to a barbed wire fence was pretty bad, but Janet took it further, hence my need to speak out, remind, and probably take some hits.

Quang has an excellent history of the Vietnamese Diaspora which is much better than any of my schoolgirl recollections from television news; were it not for the compassion of the nations that first took these people in, followed by the compassion of the American people (Quang – you did leave out President Jimmy Carter’s role in opening our shores) where would any of us be now? I am sick and tired of ‘illegal alien’ used as a term for our Latino neighbors, many who were here before the Gringos came. Like our families and forebears, they come here for a better life and the ‘right way’ does not seem to be an option for many Latino’s attempting to immigrate.

Janet’s mailing to just the Vietnamese Community in Vietnamese referring to self – Vietnamese American, white male – American and Latino American – Mexican implied that all Latinos in the district were not citizens, and all from Mexico. Janet, you have some major bridges to build in the Latino Community. Trung does as well. There seems to be one nasty aspect of our shared American Experience that continues to be passed on.

I would have preferred a Democrat, but still congratulate the Vietnamese Community coming into their own. It is my sincere wish that EVERYONE residing in the 1st Supervisorial Disrict will be well and fairly represented.