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VOTING: A MULTIGENERATIONAL FAMILY TRADITION

Some of my fondest childhood memories are related to voting.

Every election night, the minute my mom returned home from work, she would jump back in the car with my dad, sister and me to head to our nearest polling location, the elementary school just outside our neighborhood. Once inside, my sister and I would split up to accompany one of our parents inside the voting booths and watch them fill out their ballots. (Back in the days of hole-punch ballots, my dad even tried to let my sister punch a hole for him, before a poll worker quickly stopped him.) The four of us would then watch the ballots be fed into the machines and walk out of the school gymnasium proudly wearing “I VOTED” stickers. (My sister and I would receive honorary ones).

Recently, I realized that for our family, this was a multigenerational tradition. My mom grew up visiting the polls every election with her parents, naturalized American citizens who’d immigrated here from the Philippines. My grandparents’ insistence that voting was a family event was so ingrained in her mind, she made sure to take my sister and me to the polls decades later.

As a third-generation Filipino American, I didn’t realize the rose-colored glasses through which I viewed voting—assuming it was something all other American families did together—until I studied Asian American history in college. There, I learned that Asian American voter turnout has remained low for decades, despite our community becoming the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S. in the 50 years since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Only 42% of Asian American eligible voters voted in the 2018 midterms and only 49% voted in the 2016 general election.

Of the many reasons Asians immigrate to the United States, the promise of American democracy can be a big one. After experiencing growing corruption within the Philippine government, my grandparents chose to move here in 1967, and they eventually became naturalized citizens, just like most of the Asian American eligible voters today. Even the other reasons people choose to immigrate here—such as job and education opportunities and family reunification—are all greatly affected by our elected officials. And yet, Asian Americans still don’t show up to the polls.

Several barriers contribute to our low voter turnout, such as a lack of access to ballots in Asian languages, unfamiliarity with the American electoral process, and political campaigns failing to invest the time or money to reach out to Asian American voters. Additionally, Asian Americans are expected to assimilate and keep our heads down, never speaking out about social and political issues, thanks to decades of the model minority myth’s influence on our culture. Unfortunately, many Asian Americans adhere to these expectations, believing it’s the only way to succeed here.

So, it is up to us—the second, third, fourth generation Asian Americans and beyond—to commit to convincing all eligible members of our families to vote (and to vote ourselves when we’re old enough). Now, more than ever, the opportunities and security for which our families immigrated are at stake, along with our democracy.

Today, I live with my grandma. Decades ago, she brought my mom to the polls; this year, she was uncertain about voting because of her age, the dangers of voting in-person during the pandemic, and unfamiliarity with the vote-by-mail process. Because I’m here with her, I’ve persuaded her to vote again and am helping her fill out her ballot. Though voting may look different now, we are continuing the family tradition. n

Madison Foote is a team leader intern with Students for Justice and a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where she minored in Asian-Pacific American studies.

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DEBATING THE MERIT OF DEBATES WE ALL NEED OUR OWN MUTE BUTTONS

Iwatched the final presidential debate on October 22 because I knew most people would skip it. And, according to the ratings, many people did just that. I learned that listening to Drumpf’s bellowing and then bellowing back at my TV had no impact whatsoever other than to increase my already irritated throat.

“We have the greatest economy, thanks to me!” “If Joe gets in, he’s going to pack the court!” “Rioters and looters!” “The virus is almost gone!” “Mute him! For Pete’s sake mute him now!” (That last one was mine.) Thankfully, the mute button was used this time during each candidate’s primary 2-minute section, and it worked.

Unfortunately, I could still hear Drumpf’s nonstop stream of lies. As a matter of fact, the nonpartisan groups PolitiFact and FactCheck.org both rated Drumpf’s Lie Quotient “off the charts.”

I’m pretty sure not one voter changed their mind. In truth, these “debates” are neither presidential nor debates. Anyway, other than braying and Lie-A-Palooza, here are the other takeaways I got: • Every time the Orange Stain on America mentions “socialism,” that rightwing bogey man of governance, I yell, “Norway! Norway! Norway!” Why do cowardly Democrats get so squeamish at the mere mention of “socialism?” Along with Drumpf, many U.S. politicians of both parties hold Norway up as a beacon of national perfection. They don’t know that Norway uses a hybrid socialist/ capitalist model of gender equity, basic decency, and universal healthcare. Good grief, we wouldn’t want that. • Although the Supreme Court-packing issue got scant air time in this last “debate,” what the hell do people think the Republicans have been doing? For years, they have been packing both the Supreme Court and lower courts with judges who reflect the fringe elements of our society. They are entirely out of step with what the American people want regarding immigrant rights, gun rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights and more. Obama’s pick, Merrick Garland, never even got a hearing, yet he was a beacon of moderation and judicial temperament.

For a deeper dive into Republican judicial strategy, head on over to Amazon Prime or the free service TubiTV and watch “Hot Coffee.” This was a brilliantly made yet underseen documentary that will “unpack” for you what the extreme right has been doing for decades now. Packing the courts at every level. • As far as muting goes, so many of us women have felt muted during this regime that it’s astonishing we’re able to even function. Our feminism is insulted and assaulted at every turn. We’re such a meme-oriented group now that the following meme from Eva the Diva on social media expresses our gender angst beautifully: “Women are told not to post photos that show too much skin because it might limit our future career options. Men who are rapists are elected to the highest office.” • The Commission on Presidential Debates needs to either disband or rebrand. Commission on Blather Bouts? Commission STFU Fests? Commission on Verbal Vomit? • There was a shift in Drumpf’s demeanor. He was on a tighter leash, although he was still growling, straining, and lunging. I was reminded of the venerable maxim: “Never wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and the pig likes it.” • Here was another great meme on Facebook this week: “While my husband was queued up to vote, someone pulled up to the line outside the church in their car and asked, ‘how long have you been waiting?’ Some guy in the middle of the line yells, ‘Four years!’ and the crowd cheered.” • While we’ve been mesmerized by the “malarkey” and gross debate shenanigans of the Orange Face Poo-Poo Undies (a nod to Madeline Kahn), this administration has gutted hard-won environmental and conservation wins. A partial list includes: The National Environmental Policy Act; The Endangered Species Act; The Clean Water Act; The Safe Drinking Water Act; The Farmland Protection Policy; The Coastal Zone Management Act, ad nauseum. This regime is bent on destroying our country and the planet for all but the extremely wealthy.

Finally, and more locally: in case you’re wondering about Proposition 24—an initiative that the League of Women Voters has urged a “No” vote on—it needs a very loud yes! (See? All women do not vote the same just because they are women! We are not a monolith.) Full disclosure: I have been a board member of Consumer Watchdog for 30 years. We are lawyers and activists committed to consumers’ well-being. Voting yes on Prop. 24 will force the ginormous tech companies to enable privacy protections that benefit regular gals and guys. Let’s have California be a leader in preventing the mining of our personal information.

I’ll close again with the chant, Norway, Norway, Norway! California is the Norway of the U.S. Hey, let’s secede—debate that. n

Ellen Snortland has written “Consider This…” for a heckuva long time, and she also coaches first-time book authors! Contact her at ellen@beautybitesbeast.com.

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