The Man in the Middle: The Rock' won't endorse Trump or Biden

Dwayne "The Rock' Johnson steps back from politics and into the wrestling ring.

 

ANALYSIS

The Rock, AKA superstar Dwayne Johnson, said he won’t endorse anyone for president this year.

One of the most popular and busiest actors in Hollywood, Samoan American Johnson went on the conservative Fox network April 5 to announce that he won't be endorsing anybody in 2024. That's an about-face from 2020 when he backed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for President and Vice President respectively.

 “Am I going to do that again, this year? That answer’s no. I’m not going to do that,” Johnson said on Fox's Fox and Friends.  “Because what I realized, what that caused back then, was something that tears me up in my guts back then and now, which is division. And that got me.”

Johnson, who is registered as a Repubican, continued, “The takeaway after that, after months and months and months, I started to realize, like, ‘Oh man, that caused an incredible amount of division in our country.’ So I realize now going into this election, I’m not going to do that,” he continued. “I wouldn’t do that, because my goal is to bring our country together. I believe in that, in my DNA. So in the spirit of that, there’s going to be no endorsement.”

Worried that his popularity would take a hit again, the Samoan merican actor thinks that a mmiddle road would be a better strategy this time around.

By choosing to announced his non-endorsement on the conservative Fox network which has consistently acted as a megaphone for the radical right, instead of holding a normal press conference attended by multiple media, Johnson imust know that he is speaking to the network's MAGA audience, followers of Trump.

Though he avoided stating a preference for President, n the hour-long interview he used the Trump's buzz words of "cancel culture," woke culture," in expressing his dissatisfaction with the mood of the country.

“Today’s cancel culture, woke culture, division, etcetera — that really bugs me." instead of the major issues of climate change, gun violence, abortion, income inequalirty or the activist conservative Supreme Court t trying to bring the country to the pre-civil rights era of the 1950s.

No doubt the action star was surprised at the vitriol he received from the radical right after he endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020.

The Samoan American's so-called non-endorsement still sharpens the division driven largely by the MAGA Republicans, Fox's base audience.

Despite the alturistic trappings of Johnson's announceent, the motivation for his non-endorsement may be more basic and rooted the conservative leanings of the wrestling fandom. He merely wants to shore upt his popularity with the  professional wrestling fans.

Critics point out that the Fox viewers include a large segment of professional wrestling fans. Perhaps, not coincidentally, he returned to the wrestling world. The Rock teamed up with Roman Reigns to defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match at WrestleMania XL, marking his return to the ring after an eight-year absence. He then tried to help Reigns defend his Undisputed Universal World Championship against Rhodes on Night 2 of WrestleMania but was unsuccessful.

The Rock revealed in his post-WrestleMania check-in on Instagram that he'll be returning to the ring to challenge Cody Rhodes, the new Universal champion before adding: "When the Final Boss returns, he's coming after you."

The 51-year old Rock, who in the movie world portrays himself as a nice guy in contrast to his "villlain" persona in the ring, added that his sights are now "set on the next WrestleMania."

A video of Johnson getting booed during a WWrestlemania press conference was all part of the show. Johnson was playing the part of a "heel," inwrestling terminology, the a bad guy. He was not being bood for his non-endorsement but for being a villain.

He also recently inducted his grandmother, Lia Maivia, into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024. "She was a trail blazer. She was a protector of our family. She was the real Final Boss," Johnson said on Instagram.

Predicatably, his non-endorsement is being played up in conservative media sa a rebuke of Biden and his policies but in no point in the Fox interview did Johnson say he regretted endorsing Biden in 2020, nor, biy assumption, did he say he endorsed Donald Trump.

Celebrities have a right to their political opinions. However, with so many fans following their every move and statement,celebrities who make a living off of his or her popularity with the public bear some responsibility how they use their influence. With nearly 400 million followers worldwide, Johnson’s Instagram account is one of the most widely followed on the platform, according to Forbes India.

The Rock should heed the words of another wrestler-turned actor, Filipino American Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Dune), who sas the WWE champio when he left the ring.

“We talk about the difference of being tough and someone who portrays himself as a tough guy,” said Bausta in a 2020 video .. “It’s easy to lie to people. It’s easy to bully people. That does not make you a tough guy. It’s easy to tell someone what they want to hear. It’s not easy to tell someone what they need to hear. We’re not in good shape, but this is how we’re going to get out of it. That is being tough.

“This country more than anything right now needs someone who’s going to have a plan, so we can get back on track,” continues Bautista, wearing a T-shirt with the word “Freedom” stamped across it. “A leader is someone who can unite people, who takes responsibility. That’s toughness," Bautista concludes, "That is Joe Biden."

Johnson claims that he doesn't want to divide the country. It's too tate. Through no fault of his own, he country is deeply divided because the stakes are so high. As a good citizen in a country that allowed the Samoan American to reach the heights of fame and fortune, Johnson should care deeply about the direction of the nation.

Johnson is entitled to his opinion and his vote is private. But making his announcement on a media platform catering to the lies and hate of the radical right may be a calculated statement in itself.

You can't be a hero on the silver screen and a heel in the ring and expect voters to believe you one way or the other. 

As much as the Johnson wants everybody to love him, this November, in the real world, the tough guy is going to have to make a choice. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

New Miss Aloha carries on family tradition at Merrie Monarch festival

MERRRIE MONARCH

Kaʻōnohikaumakaakeawe Kananiokeakua Holokai Lopes

You can say winning the Miss Aloha Hula title at the  61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival was almost inevitable for Ka'onohikaumakaakeawe Kanani okeakua Holokai Lopes.

Lopes  earned the Miss Aloha Hula title and Hawaiian language award at the 61st annual Merrie Monarch Festival held in Hilo, Hawaii last April 4.. 

The 2024 Miss Aloha is the third member of the Lopes ohana to win the title. Her sister won the title in 2022 and her mother won the same honor 30 years ago.

“I grew up watching her (mother) dance so it was so special to be dancing on that same stage as she did 30 years ago, and my sister two years ago,”  said Lopes. Her sister, Piʻikea Kekihenelehuawewehiikekauʻonohi, won the title in 2022.

The 2024 Miss Aloha performs a hula at the Merrie Monarch festival.

It was also the fourth year in a row that Miss Aloha came from the same hālau,  Ka Lā ʻŌnohi Mai O Haʻehaʻe, directed by her parents, Tracie and R. Keawe Lopes.

“One of the goals in Kawaihuelani is for our predominantly Hawaiian population of students to acquire their language and realize a sense of self through ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi,” said C. M. Kaliko Baker, a Kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi at UH Mānoa. “That sense of self was evident in the way that Kaʻōnohi carried herself ... She absolutely knew who she was.”

The Merrie Monarch festival is an annual week-long cdance ompetition and celebration for the preservation of Hawaiian culture. Not only must the  Miss Aloha contestant perform a traditional and modern hula, she also must demonstrate her proficiency in the Hawaiian language. 

FYI: For more results of the 61st Merrie Monarch festival.

Contestants are judged on a variety of criteria, everything from posture, expression, costume authenticity and mele (song) interpretation. Each contestant is required to dance both hula kahiko (ancient) and ʻauana (modern).

• In second place was Amedée Kauakohemālamalama Conley-Kapoi of Hālau Kekuaokalāʻauʻalaʻiliahi.
• Third place: Nāhakuʻelua ʻĀpuakēhau Kekauoha of Hula Hālau ʻO Kamuela.
• Fourth place: Heleolanimaināmakaohāʻena Hailee Jo Yokotake of Hālau Ka Lei Mokihana o Leinā'ala; 
• Fifth place: Caly Ann Kamōʻīwahineokaimana Ragonton Domingo of Hālau Nā Mamo O Puʻuanahulu.

It was a big week for the Lopes hula dance school. The Oʻahu hālau, also took the overall title at the 61st annual hula festival. The hālau placed No. 1 in the overall wahine and wahine ʻauana divisions, as well as third in the wahine kahiko, and fourth place in the kāne ʻauana and kahiko divisions.

Oʻahu hālau also won the Wahini competition.

FYI: Watch more performances from the 61st Merrie Monarch Festival.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Federal agencies will do a better job surveying Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders

While it might be politically convenient to be seen as a collective group under the umbrella of "Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, (AANHPI)," in almost all other cases, the differences between the 70-or-so subgroups of people from Asia and the Pacific region are great enough to require separating those communities from each other.

Last week, tthe US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a set of revisions, the first since 1997, to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15)— aiming to ensure that federal data on race and ethnicity is more detailed, accurate, and useful, and that the information collected is standardized across federal agencies.

“Today’s OMB announcement is no minor bureaucratic change or maneuver; it’s a once-in-a-generation breakthrough," said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. "This update to federal race and ethnicity data standards—earned after years of campaigning by advocates and CAPAC—marks a historic milestone for AANHPI communities."

"Asian American" which was born out of political empowerment of the 1960s, is not helpful when collecting data for the wide-ranging health, economic status, educational needs of the more than70 ethnicities and national origens that make up the so-called AANHPI community.

The disaggregation of the race,  and ethnicity category options across federal agencies ensures that the federal government can more effectively tailor programs and policies to reach underserved populations and serve all of our communities.

The US Census Bureau stated that it will study the OMB directive as it will affect the way the bureau conducts the next Census in 2030 that will include the additional racial and ethnic categories.

Grouping AANHPI communities into a single category often masks the disparities that certain racial or ethnic groups face, including on economic prosperity, health outcomes, home ownership, or educational attainment, and make government programs and services less responsive and effective.

For example, the household wealth gap is greatest within the AANHPI communities. Among Asian American subgroups, Indian Americans have the highest median income ($119,000), followed by Filipino Americans ($90,000), Japanese Americans ($83,000) and Chinese Americans ($82,000). Asian Americans are experiencing faster income inequality growth than other demographic groups, according to the Pew Research Center, as Burmese Americans make a median income of $44,000.

It is safe to assume that the needs and concerns of the upper-income Indian Americans are different from Burmese Americans.

“Race and ethnicity are important factors to understanding patients’ risk factors for disease, their patient experience in the complex health care system, and how providers can provide compassionate and effective care.," said Thu Quach, PhD, AAPCHO board president and president of Asian Health Services, a federally qualified health center in Alameda County, California.

The "issuance of the revisions is merely the first step in the long-awaited modernization of our nation’s race and ethnicity standards. Together with OMB, other agencies, and our partners, we look forward to beginning the substantive work of implementing these revisions,” said Terry Ao Minnis, Vice President of Census and Voting Programs.

“Additionally, further research is needed to better inform the standards, including ensuring the detailed groups used will in fact elicit the best responses across all racial and ethnic groups, such as through proper signaling to the diverse set of detailed subgroups in each category," said John C. Yang, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice – AAJC.  

"OMB and other agencies must continue meaningful engagement with community groups as they begin to implement these revised standards; continued coordination with advocacy groups will ensure that data are accessible and usable for the broader public—not just federal agencies and experts.”

Community advocates, including Advancing Justice – AAJC, considers data collection and reporting to be the backbone of its mission. The revised standards will help better document the diversity of the Asian American community, who are among our nation’s fastest growing and most diverse racial groups. Often viewed as homogenous, these communities include more than 30 detailed subgroups that can differ dramatically across key social and economic indicators.

Data collected by the federal agencies will caategorized under more racial and ethnic categories, including: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese or another group (for example, Pakistani, Hmong, Afghan). The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander category will broken down as well: Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese or another group (for example, Chuukese, Palauan, Tahitian).

"Requiring the collection of data on Asian American subgroups will contribute to a fuller understanding of our communities, including how to best serve the most marginalized subgroups," saidYang. "This is something we have been advocating for extensively for more than a decade.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Asian American women find a niche in Bachelor/Bachlorette dating series

BACHELOR & BACHELORETTE

Jenn Tran is making history as the first Asian American Bachlorette.

During Women's History Month, a bit of Asian American history is being made in an unlikely source: the dating reality series The Bachelorette. 

After 22 seasons, the producers of the popular Bachelor and Bachlorette television dating franchise will finally have an Asian American bachelorette find the man of her dreams. People of color, particularly Asian American, have been under-represented in the series.

Jenn Tran, a 26-year-old from Miami who is currently studying to be physician assistant, will be center of attention in next season's Bacholorette.

Tran, who was eliminated in week seven, in this just-concluded season of The Bachelor where Joey Graziadei had to make a selection from 32 women vying for attention.

“I’m looking for someone who has a really big personality,” Tran told host Jesse Palmer in a televised interview after the season's end. “I’m all about having fun, all about having that cheeky banter.”

Tran added that in her journey she hopes that aside from getting a ring on her finger, “I hope that I find my person, someone that I truly feel is 100% my perfect match... I think I will know when I find him.”

In a social media post, Tran wrote: "FIRST ASIAN BACHELORETTE?! You have no idea how much this moment means to me. Growing up I never got to see anyone who looked like me lead their own love story on TV. To be able to inspire a generation of people to be proud of their culture is something I’m so grateful for. This opportunity to find love as the Bachelorette is so much bigger than myself and I am embracing that whole heartedly.

"I am so incredibly excited for this crazy adventure to find my person and I can’t wait for all of us to laugh and cry together."

It is not the first time that an Asian American has taken part in the realitiy show. In 2013, Filipino American Catherine Giudici became the first Asian woman to win the heart of Sean Lowe, The Bachelor, of the 17th season. The couple did find true love with each other and eventually married after the show. They are raising their three children. They recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary.

There have been a couple of Asian American men vying for the heart of the Bachlorette, only to be eliminated early in the series.

BACHLORETTE

Rachel Nance was one of the final three women for The Bachelor.

Tran also wasn't the only Asian American in this season. In an embarassing social media post, reflecting the White-oriented casting, Tran was misidentified as Lea Cayanan, who is a Filipino from Hawaii. The error has been corrected but that mistake didn't help the franchise's efforts to be more representative of America.

Rachel Nance, who is Filipino and Black, finished in the toop three, higher than Tran.

The social media hate flared following an episode in which her family shared their Filipino traditions. But the Hawaii resident, 26, told NBC News that none of it has lessened the pride she feels about her dual cultures.

“Being a woman, you’re really put in a box and being a woman of color, you’re put in a smaller box and we just can’t win,” Nance said. “It was either I honor my family and I show what I was raised with, or do I not and hold back, and then I’m sad, and I’m not honoring my family.”

She picked her family, “and I think that’s all you can do — you just show who you are.”

“To continuously be silent, it was just going to perpetuate the same toxic cycle,” Nance continued. “I’m hoping by from what I shared, that people of color, Asian women, all of us — we won’t use discrimination and racism as a crutch, but as a catapult to push us in a direction, to chase our dreams, to take up space.”

Nance said Tran's selection as the next Bachlorette, will be a critical moment forAsian American women and the franchise, which has had a lackluster record with people of color.

“We have now this huge platform. From me sharing my story and her being the Bachelorette, it’s opening more doors and people can just kind of break through those barriers in Hollywood and reality TV,” Nance said. “People will have no choice but to accept.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Meta’s AI image generator can’t imagine an Asian man with a white woman

Image by Verge

Bias against Asian men is so deeply ingrained that it has leaked into the new technology provided by AI.

Apparently, Meta's AI-powered image generator is unable to imagine a acouple with an Asian man and a white woman.

Mia Sato writes in Verge: "I tried dozens of times to create an image using prompts like 'Asian man and Caucasian friend,' 'Asian man and white wife,' and 'Asian woman and Caucasian husband.' Only once was Meta’s image generator able to return an accurate image featuring the races I specified."

        FYI: Read the original Verge article.

When  asked to oproduce a picture of an Asian man with a "caucasian" woman, the generator stumbled. What kept coming up was a picture of an Asian man with an Asian woman.

Ignorance and racial bias seems to have been built-in. AI had trouble with other races, too when coupled with an Asian partner. For decades, Asian men have been saddled with the unattractive stereotype. In a recent survey by a dating service, Asian men and Black women were deemed to be the least desirable as potential partners.

        RELATED: The roots of the Asian male stereotype

The image generator apparently had no problem creating an image of a caucasian man and Asian woman. To AI, that image was deemed normal. That shouldn't be too surprising. since Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is married to Priscilla Chan.

"AI systems reflect the biases of their creators, trainers, and the data set they use," writes Verge.

Meta didn't have an immediate response when questioned by Sato.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

Biden Presidential campaign targets Asian American community

The family of Odeen Domingo and Jenny Poon is featured in President Biden's campaign ad.

 

After the strong State of the Union address earlier this month, President Biden's reelection campaign was officially launched and the influential Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are getting special attention.

Among the $30 million ad campaign  is a television commercial targetting the AAPI voters. The TV ad, “Family Business” features the Asian American family of Odeen Domingo and Jenny Poon of Phoenix, Arizona.

“We are excited to announce our early investment into AAPI media, building on our campaign’s intentional, aggressive outreach to the voters that sent President Biden and Vice President Harris to the White House in historic numbers in 2020,” said Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez in a sttement

“Our first ad, ‘Family Business,’ communicates the clear choice facing the AAPI community next November – between President Biden’s commitment to investing in our small businesses and our families, or MAGA Republicans solely focused on tax breaks for the wealthy and powerful corporations.”

The commercial brings attention to the AAPI penchant for startups and small businesses and their impact in the US economy.

Filipino American Odeen Domingo and Jenny Poon, who run a small business in Phoenix, Arizona. Domingo praises Biden for directing his attention to smaller businesses instead of corporations since “it wasn’t like that before.”

In 2020, there were 612,194 Asian-owned businesses employing about 5.2 million in the United States, the highest among all minority groups, according to the US Census.

Even though AANHPI make up only 7% of the US population, their economic impact as consumers and entrepreneurs far surpasses their relatively small numbers, says the US Census.

In the 30-second TV ad, Poon talks about her experience as a daughter of Vietnamese immigrants who built a small business and how that shaped her into who she is today. Poon and Domingo ssay the Biden administration's  shift s from large corporations to investments in small business was instrumental in helping launch small businesses like theirs.

Beyond the television ad, the Democrats' media program will include print ads in national and local outlets in the battleground states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The print ads will be in-language in media outlets targeting Indian, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese and other South Asian communities.

The Democrats' campaign to woo AAPI voters may be in response to mainstream media's stories of shift towards the Republicans by the AAPI electorate.

In the 2020 presidential election and the 2022 midterm, almost three-quarters of Asian American voters  sided with the Democrats. The overwhelming support for the Dems helped decide  helped election outcomes in key districts and states even though the AAPI electorate was a small component of the total number of voters.

However, numerous stories, polls and pudits have pointed out that AANHPI voters may be pulling back from the Democrats. Mainly, Asian Americans believe that the authorities are not taking the hate-fueled attacks against AANHPI seriouisly enough and the voters have made their displeasure known.

In he San Francisco Bay Area, progressive political leaders have felt the brunt of AANHPI anger. Voters have recalled a San Francisco District Attorney and has the Alameda County District Attorney fighting for her political life. The two progressive DA's were seen as being soft on crime by living liight sentences or probation for criminals who have killed Asian Americans, including a five-year old boy and an elderly grandmother.

“They care about policies that don’t really help someone who just lives in the city and just want to be safe, who wants their kids to be educated well,” said one Asian American San Francisco resident who is a Democrat and normally votes along party lines. “They forgot the core problems for regular people. I wanted to do something to try to change and take that power back. It was fear and frustration, a lot of frustration, that I turned into action.”

There is a perception among some members of the AANHPI community that New York leaders are not doing enough to address the unprovoked attacks against Asians. That perception, say media outlets, led to surprise GOP victories in the midterms. 

A lifelong Queens Democrat, Karen Wang, 48, who is Chinese American New Yorker, said she had never felt as unsafe as she did these days. “Being Asian, I felt I had a bigger target on my back,” she said. “My vote was purely a message to Democrats: Don’t take my vote for granted.”

Despite their concern for their personal safety, AANHPI voters voted for a candidate's policy positions that includes economics, education, immigration, and health were as, or more, important that judicial reform according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Biden has paid particular attention to the AANHPI communities' concerns since he took office in 2021 signing several Executive Orders addressing  anti-Asian hate, business opportunities and disaggregation of data collection by fedral agencies and reinvigorated the White House Initiative on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

'Kain na!" April is Filipino Food Month

Filipino cuisine is having a moment. Actually, an entire month. April is Filipino Food Month.

That's a far cry from 10 years ago when I first wrote "Filipino Food: The Rodney Dangerfield of ethnic cuisine" which decried the lack of respect or appreciation of Filipino food in the US despite the fact that Filipino Americans make up the third largest Asian ethnicity in the nation while other cuisines have gained in popularity.

Filiipinos have had a hand in so-called American culinary history from the fisheerfolk working out of Manila Village and Saint Malo  establishing the Louisiana shrimp industry, the sugar cane and pineapple fied  workers of Hawaii, the fishermen and cannery workers of Alaska and the farm workers of the West Coast from California's Coachella, Monterey and Stockton to Wapato in Washington.

Since television food luminaries such as Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmerm dubbed Filipino food as "The next big thing," the cusinese has been slowly making inroads in the American food scene. From the emotional, comfort food of  traditional fare like lola used to make to the infusion of Filipino flavors in tacos and burritos by the food truck entrepreneurs to the high-end offerings of Kasama in Chicago, Abaca in San Francisco, Archipelego in Seattle, Spoon & Pork in Los Angles, foodies in search of new and exciting flavors and experiences are discovering the new sweet and sour dishes the Philippines.

The unique flavors of the Philippine palate is making significant progress in the world's food consciousness, but even in the urban centers where there are strong Filipino communities, the cuisine still struggles for recognition and appreciation.

First declared by the Philippines government in 2018, Filipino Food Month has become a global celebration in light of the wide-spread of communities of the Filipin disaspora.  Most Philippines Consulates and Embassies are staging events promoting the month. Check local listings for time and place.

The creation of this food month ignited conversation and interest among members of the food industry: from scholars to restaurateurs to chefs and food producers. 

Although officially observed in the Philippines, the idea of promoting the unique cuisine is gaining steam throughout the world. Filipino Food Month is not only about Filipino food. It is about connecting with one's culture, family and one another using food as the instrument of commonality.

For more information about Filipino cuisine, here are some links that might lead you to the informationi or recipie you are seeking.

• The Filipino Food Movement is dedicated to promoting Philippine cuisine in the United States and Canada.

• Looking for a restaurant near you?  Link to filipinofoodfinder.com.

• Betty Querino is offering 1,000 home cooking Pinoy recipes at her website, thequerinokitchen.com
• A documentary, Ulam, can still be viewed on PBS.

 FYI: Through the years, Views From the Edge has written extensively about     Filipino cuisine. Here's a few to whet your appetite:

• So you want to cook Filipino adobo? Here's an easy recipe.
• Padma Lakshmi loves Filipino food
• Kasama earns a Michelin star
• Selena Gomez cooks adobo
• Filipino flavors finding a way into food shows
• How to make Gordon Ramsey's Filipino-inspired hamburger
• Toronto hosts North America's largest Filipino food festival
• 'TopChef' DaleTalde muses on Filipino cuisine in the US
• Anthony Bourdain: Sisig will open doors to Filipino cuisine
• Filipino food finding fans on both coasts
• Filipino food the Rodney Dangerfield of ethnic cuisines
• Adobo and lumpia at the Obama White House

So time to cook up some adobo, sinigang;lechon and lumpia or go patronize a Filino restaurant or turo turo. Don't forget to ask your parents how to prepare your favorite Filipino recipes. Kain na!

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Contrary to the model minority stereotype, 1 in 10 Asian Americans live in poverty

Can we please finally put this "model minority" nonsense to rest? 

The term 'model minority' was coined in 1966 by sociologist William Petersen in an article he wrote for the The New York Times Magazine entitled "Successful story: Japanese American style." The term has haunted Asian Americans ever since.

The trouble with stereotypes is that there is usually an element of truth to them. Some Asian Americans have achieved financial and educational success. But that ignores the wide-ranging diversity of the Asian American community. Indeed, more than 2.3 million Asian Americans – about one-in-ten – live below the poverty line in 2022, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of US Census Bureau data.

Of the 24 million Asian Americans, about 2.3 million live in poverty. Many are working to overcome the economic hardships they encounter and achieve their American dream. Some have lost hope of achieving that dream.

        FYI: Read more about the Pew Analysis about Asian American poverty

While Filipinos and Indian Asians generally enjoyed financial security in contrast to  about 17% of Hmong Americans and 16% of Mongolian Americans, who live at or below the poverty line, according to a Pew analysis.

The wide diversity of the Asians coming from over two-dozen countries, is further splintered by when they immigrated to the US or if they are US-born; proficiency in English. Most of the poor tend to be more recent immigrants who still are unfamiliar with the options open to them or are more comfortable staying within their own community bubbles.

“After coming [to the U.S.], there were many problems to face, first … the language problem. We have read English … but we are not used to speaking. … We also had education … but since we can’t explain ourselves in English – what we can do, what we know … we are getting rejected [from jobs] as we cannot speak," said a rBengalis-speaker Pakistani.

"Another problem was that I had a child," she continued. "My child was small. I could not go to work leaving him. At that time, my husband was working. He also had the same thing – he had education, but he could not get a good job because of the language... we had to work below the minimum wage.”

One of the surprising findings was that among Asian Americans ages 25 and older who are poor, one-third have a bachelor’s degree or higher contradicting the general belief that a college degree would almost guarantee a good-paying job. At least that's what Asian parents always tell their children. 

Not so surprising is that the survey found that most of those living in poverty lived in the metro centers of New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Each of these urban centers have about 100,000 Asians living under the poverty line. With their large Asian American populations, it makes sense that there are more poor in those metropolitan centers.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

AANHPI Higher Education Leadership Summit will be held at UC Berkeley on April 2

With students of Asian descent making up about 42% of its undergraduate studnt body, it is fitting that the University of California, Berkeley host an April 2 summit of higher education leaders from colleges serving AANHPI students.

The University of California, Berkeley is hosting a summit for institutions serving large
numbers of AANHPI students.

AANHPI leaders, education experts and officials from the current administration will convene to discuss the challenges facing the AANHPI communities in the field of education, and spotlight institutions that have been successful in catering to their needs.

The summit will also spotlight innovative institutions of higher education – including Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions(AANAPISIs) and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (NHSIs) – that have made strides to build inclusive campus communities, create culturally responsive academic support services, and promote student success.

 

“Minority-Serving Institutions often serve as empowering and helpful resources for students and recent graduates interested in public service, including those from Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities,” said US Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja. 

“As the federal government’s chief human resources agency, OPM is deeply committed to developing policies and services that advance equity across federal agencies and remove barriers to serve for underserved communities.”

The event, which will be co-hosted by OPM, will bring together Biden-Harris Administration officials with higher education leaders, faculty, administrators, and staff to share best practices and address urgent challenges facing Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPI) in higher education.

Over the past two years, the White House Initiative of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) has hosted numerous virtual and in-person events to engage with AA and NHPI communities across the nation. This includes efforts to highlight federal internship and fellowship opportunities, demystify the federal jobs application process, and raise awareness about critical federal resources available for Minority-Serving Institutions. 

Following the April 2 summit, the White House Initiative plans to continue to deepen its engagement with higher education leaders, students, and faculty to empower AA and NHPI communities and bolster pathways to public service.

The UC Berkeley summit is the first to be held on the West Coast where a majority of AANHPI reside. It marks a major step in WHIAANHPI’s efforts to put the promise of higher education in reach for more Americans – and builds on several key actions taken by the Biden-Harris Administration, including:

• Celebrating AANAPISI Week: In September 2023, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever White House proclamation to recognize National Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) Week.

• Launching a higher education listening tour: In late 2023, WHIAANHPI kicked off a national listening tour to deepen community collaborations and strengthen the infrastructure of both AANAPISIs and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions as they prepare students to thrive in the workforce. To date, WHIAANHPI has made initial stops at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, with additional visits to AANAPISI and AANHSI campuses being planned later this year.

• Tackling barriers to educational attainment: With the release of the Administration’s first-ever national strategy to advance equity, justice, and opportunity for AA and NHPI communities in January 2023, WHIAANHPI and the U.S. Department of Education are working to create a higher education system that is more inclusive, equitable, and affordable for all Americans.

“Our White House Initiative is laser focused on building on President Biden’s commitment to strengthen the capacity of Minority-Serving Institutions that have long served as engines of opportunity and empowerment for millions of Americans,” said WHIAANHPI Executive Director Krystal Ka‘ai. 

“With our higher education leadership development summit, we look forward to continuing to strengthen our engagement with students and higher education leaders to advance educational equity for our diverse AA and NHPI communities.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

'The Cleaning Lady' Season 3 Episode 2 ' For My Son' is special

REVIEW

Twenty-five minutes in, The Cleaning Lady's Season 3, episode 2 took a historic turn when the characters of the drama series began discussing aspects of Filipino culture.

With Fiona (Martha Millan) and her son Chris (Sean Lew) in Manila, it gave the drama series' writers an opportunity to remind audiences of the Filipino roots of the De La Rosa family.

The locale also introduced a new character, Paolo Bellea, played by JB Tadena, a Fililpino American actor from the unfortunately cancelled Kung Fu.

Belleza, a fun-loving and charming guy with a breezy sense of humor and sexy confidence. Paolo owns and operates a “Turo Turo” food stall in Manila where he is loved by his community and i (surprise, surprise) as it turns out,  is Chris's biological father. 

Martha Millan and Sean Lew are mother and son in 'The Cleaning Lady' sTV eries.

(Just an FYI: Turo turo, translates into "point, point," wherein he customer orders by pointing at the dish in the steamer or on the grill.)

Paolo eases Chris' anger aimed at his mother for taking him away from his father by leaving the Philippines to the US. He explains the Filipino value of "malasakit," in the cself-sacrifice for the benefit of others.In this context:Fiona, he explains, gave up her family and everything she loved in the Philippines so that Chris can have better opportunities in the US. Hence, the episode's title: "For My Son."

During the spisode, on the way to Paolo's turo-turo, Fiona and Chris wander through a street market where the writers again used the locale to introduced Ruby Ibarra, the Filipino American rapper whose music is often played in the background of the gritty atmosphere of Las Vegas' underworld.

SCREEN CAPTURE

Rapper and song-writer Ruby Ibarra is featured in an 'The Cleaning Lady.'

Pay close attntion to Ibarra's lyrics  because they fit perfectly into the secondary storyline of Chris discovering his past and Filipino heritage.

FYI: Watch The Cleaning Lady — Season 3 with a subscription on Hulu, or buy it on Vudu, Prime Video, Apple TV.

The Cleaning Lady follows a Cambodian doctor from the Philippines, Thony De La Rosa portrayed by Elodie Yung, who comes to the US for medical treatment for her son. She is forced to become an undocumented immigrant making a living as a cleaning lady. She gets involved with the of criminal underworld rabbit hole and finds herself unable to get out. 

The Cleaning Lady's Paolo Belleza is a rare character in US television. Tadena's Bellaza is a positive image of the Asian man who is not (so far) not involved in crime, or an overbearing husband or a sexless wimp providing comic relief. He is also not a computer techie, or a "best friend" relegated to the background or a martial artist (at least, so far). Hopefully, the writers will find a way to bring him back into the story.

The storyline also reintroduces Fiona's parents, lola and lolo, respectively played by Princess Punzalan and Alberto Isaac, and their complicated relationship with their wayward daughter, a mixture of love and disapproval.

The series must have a writer or cultural adviser on salary to make sure to include and not  mess up the cultural references throughout the stories because someone not knowing the nuances of Filipinoness would take the time to explain some of the decisions made by of the characters. 

Credit must go to the series producers, including Miranda Kwok who conceived the series by taking the original Argentine series and trgiving it an Asian twist (The Philippines, specifically) reminding audiences  at the diversity that makes up this country and a a glimpse at a community rarely depicted on US television beyond the usual stereotypes.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.