#StopAsianHate Resolution Divides Irvine Instead of Uniting It

The City of Irvine recently passed a resolution condemning anti-Asian hate.  And that’s good because there is a significant amount of anti-Asian hate in the wake of COVID-19 and references to “the China Virus” and “Kung Flu” from Republicans who support Donald Trump. And there’s seems to be an incident of Asian Hate in OC regularly since the shooting deaths of Asian women in Atlanta-area Massage Parlors.

The resolution was introduced by Vice Mayor Tammy Kim in collaboration with the Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) community and it passed the Irvine City Council 4-1 with Councilmember Larry Agran voting no because, – frankly – the resolution isn’t inclusive enough.  And he’s right.  It’s not.

Kim’s resolution reads: “WHEREAS, addressing anti-Asian sentiment requires collaboration with Black, Indigenous, LatinX, Muslim, Arab and Pacific Islander communities to find long term solutions to stop systemic racism, xenophobia and violence in all our communities and any act of hate against one person is an act against the community as a whole.”  Nice. And I agree with all of it but its not nearly inclusive enough.

Council member Larry Agran offered the following change to the 9^th clause:

“WHEREAS, addressing anti-Asian sentiment requires collaboration between and among all communities of goodwill to find long-term solutions to stop systemic racism, xenophobia, and violence in all our communities.”

And proving a broken clock is right twice a day, we actually endorse this comment from Council member Anthony Kuo who is Asian:

Stopping Asian hate : “Requires collaboration with all communities.”  Short.  Sweet.  To the point.  Inclusive.  Effective.

The full resolution is available here: https://irvine.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?event_id=1779…. The section he refers to reads:

But Kim rejected both suggested edits saying she’d need approval from outside groups that helped craft the first resolution even though resolutions can be routinely edited and passed by council members.  Agran stayed true to his principles to vote no because the resolution wasn’t inclusion enough.

Here’s Agran’s statement:

At the City Council Meeting, Councilmember Kim presented a resolution to reaffirm Irvine’s opposition to anti-Asian hate, and to bring residents together to support the establishment of a “radically inclusive and tolerant environment.”

Councilmember Agran shares this aspiration and the underlying concerns. As he said last night: “We have experienced in this country at the highest levels of government, among the highest of elected officials, the kind of anti-Asian hate speech that has led to, in many cases, hate crimes.”

Though the Councilmember deeply supports the spirit of the resolution and had every intention of supporting it, after discussion, he was not able to vote in favor.

 “I fully expected to be voting for this resolution, however, I believe a key section put undue onus on a select group of persecuted people without also calling on the broader community — persecuted and otherwise — to take up the important work of addressing hate crimes against Asian Americans and, more broadly, recognizing and dismantling white supremacy in and beyond our City.”

I’m a white male.  I’m against racism.  But under Kim’s resolution,“addressing anti-Asian sentiment requires collaboration with” only the ones referenced in the clause, leaving out our Hindu, LGBTQ, Jewish, Christian, Senior (yes, ageism is a thing here) Caucasian citizens, and so many others out.  She removed a bunch of us who’d support her effort without question, and now her resolution is actually dividing the community instead of bringing it together.

OCYD and College Democrats at UCI on Friday issued a joint press release calling on Agran to be censured and for Democrats of Greater Irvine President Kev Abazajian to be removed as club chair.  That’s the news and the release is filled with lots of claims and few actual examples of young Democrats attacked or ignored (call me…I can help your press releases; they need serious work).

The best thing about Irvine’s anti-Asian hate resolution is that it empowers local police to aggressively enforce hate crimes against Asians, making this resolution one with actual teeth behind it. Other OC cities should follow Irvine’s lead.  So should the County.

But any resolution to stop Asian hate is empty without provisions to halt human trafficking of Asians in massage parlors, nail salons, nursing homes or as private nannies where they are basically prisoners.  But per Vice Mayor Kim, this is sexualizing, fetishizing, or stereotyping Asian women.  Just go to Google and type in “Irvine CA+Asian massage+happy endings” and see what pops up.  Or, enter your city’s name and use the same search terms (don’t click the links, these sites are loaded with malware and viruses).  I’d like to hear her actual plan to combat this type of Asian hate but there is none offered by Kim.

Former Irvine Mayor Beth Krom weighed in on this resolution and Agran’s vote on Facebook.  Here’s what she posted:

There are people questioning whether Councilmember Larry Agran is racist or anti-Asian and suggesting his perspective should be seen as #whitesplaining. Perhaps I will be accused of the same for offering this perspective. That would be unfortunate, but apparently our city, which is unique among ALL American cities for being both extraordinarily diverse and thoroughly integrated is now being divided and distracted by discord and disrespect among our three elected democrats and that will do nothing to help advance our interests as a community.

What makes me sad is that I endorsed, supported and actively worked to get all three democrats elected and I respect all three.

We are living in challenging times, and sadly we are seeing incidents of hate and racism around the country that are horrifying. No city is immune, and I am glad we have a City Council and a Mayor that have made it clear that hate and disrespect will not be tolerated here.

Larry Agran does not need my defense, but having watched Larry fight developers and stand with the public from the time we moved here in 1985, successfully secure the protection of 16,000 acres of Open Space in perpetuity, get chlorofluorocarbons banned in Irvine before the world followed suit, be recognized by Women For: Orange County for his advocacy for equality, inclusion and education (the only man to my knowledge to receive their Suffrage Day award), fight to pass the Human Rights Ordinance in Irvine to ensure NO group was discriminated against, initiate the Global Village Festival and expand civic participation across all cultural communities, the notion that Larry does not respect or seek the protection of any group is absurd.

I was mentored by Larry when I ran in 2000, and when I flipped the City Council we worked side by side to stop the El Toro airport and advance the Great Park. The Republicans and the developers smeared him, but he never stopped fighting for the Veterans Cemetery — even after he lost his seat.

Larry and I served together for fourteen years. We encouraged and supported Sukhee Kang when he expressed interest in running and we were proud to see Sukhee serve as the first Korean American Mayor of a Major American City.

I have always said that nobody gets through this life alone. Had there been no Larry Agran there would’ve been no Beth Krom. Had I not served on the City Council and as Mayor, I would not have had the opportunity to appoint Farrah Khan as my Community Services Commissioner. I supported Farah in every race that she has run and in turn, Farrah was instrumental in supporting Tammy Kim. For those of us who have seen what is possible when you have three visionary members of the City Council, the outcome of the election was a hopeful sign.

 Everyone should be looking for ways to leverage what they uniquely bring to the table — not attempting to undermine or marginalize one another. As the city prepares to celebrate our 50th anniversary, there is much value in having somebody on the City Council with a hands-on perspective about how we have evolved as a city. Farrah and Tammy may represent the future, but we should never forget those who helped make Irvine a city we can all be proud of — and feel safe in.

 I do not regret endorsing or supporting Farrah Khan, Tammy Kim or Larry Agran. We needed a change on the City Council. Each one of these leaders earned their seats. Their issues should not be with each other, and none of them should be squandering one ounce of energy challenging each other’s credibility.

Beth’s right.  We are better than this.  Time for our three council members to start acting as a team.

Systemic racism is a problem for everyone.  And anyone can be racist towards any racial group.  It’s wrong period.  If you want to solve this problem, it needs everyone in the village – not a select group of people.  Kim’s resolution is actually creating division where it should be creating unity.

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Mayor Farrah Khan issued a statement on the verdict in the George Floyd murder case on April 20.  She writes: