Senator from California in Historic US Election

Volume 2, Issue No. 9

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

 Our latest as of Wednesday, August 12, 2020 

~ With a president more adept at lying, and an administration that demonizes peoples of color, the time has come for change, for a transformation of the political landscape. It's taking place right now in the United States. Yesterday (Tuesday, August 11, 2020), a woman of remarkable competence - US Senator Kamala Harris of California - has been selected to be the running mate of presumptive presidential candidate Joe Biden in the November 3 election. Harris embodies the hitherto unrecognized peoples of color that Donald Trump so meanly demonizes.

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2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Kamala Harris Breaks Through the Racial Barrier

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.” ― Carlos Fuentes

TORONTO - Every person of color, every community of color, every visible minority, every Californian - all of us who believe in diversity - should feel proud and happy that United States Senator Kamala Harris has been chosen by US presidential candidate Joe Biden to be his running mate in the November 3 US election.

The choice injects a new dimension in the contest to replace the racist incumbent President Donald Trump, mocked as The Lyin' King, and Vice President Mike Pence, who, together, have marginalized people of color throughout their term. (Related story at: https://filwebchannelmagazine.blogspot.com/2020/08/mary-l-trump-i-cant-let-donald-trump.html).

Of a Jamaican economics professor father and an Indian scientist mother, Harris is a native Californian, born 55 years ago in Oakland, the largest city in Alameda County, and the third-largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Having worked and lived in Southern California for 16 years, I can identify more with her than the Hawaii-born first African American president, Barack Obama, number 44, and the former US and State senator from Illinois.

Obama won over John McCain in the election of November 2008 and assumed the presidency in January 2009. Both events were celebrated nationwide. In San Diego, my former hometown, Obama was widely commemorated for what he symbolized and stood for. 

(Related stories at: https://news.abs-cbn.com/pinoy-migration/12/09/09/pinay-baker-names-3-breads-honor-pacquiao and https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/content/146926/obamania-pinoy-cooks-up-obama-pandesal-in-california/story/ . Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gJUd7EQ2pA).

If elected, Harris could potentially be president, which could mean a big boost to persons and communities of color, especially in California, the most populous US state with nearly 40 million residents. If it were a country, California would be the fifth-largest economy in the world with a gross state product of $3.0 trillion.

Harris as attorney general of California was the state's top law-enforcement official, and prior to that, as the district attorney of San Francisco. Those experiences make her a tough cookie in areas where Trump's enforcement of laws is selective and favorable to friends.

It should be a cause for concern for Trump, a reason to worry, for the very real possibility that he would be prosecuted for a number of alleged violations of law, among them, his dealings that benefitted the Trump organization.

Harris' mixed African and Asian heritage - she's essentially black and brown at the same time - evokes this feeling of affinity with her as any black or brown person like myself can have. Our vibes are attuned, our cultural identity is almost similar.

My own community exposure in California had been substantially larger with Latinos and African Americans than with Filipinos. Perhaps, it's the affliction called "crab mentality" prevalent among Filipino Americans that was responsible for that personal attitude. 

To this day, I find Blacks passionate, aggressive, and articulate in fighting for their rights. Same thing with Latinos. Not to disparage my racial origin, but Filipinos are unassertive, too meek and submissive to the point of being abused and impotent.

It came as no surprise then that in San Diego, I had volunteered to help in the election campaigns of Black and Latino candidates. In fact, I had more friends and neighbors in those demographics than in my own kind. It's hard to admit, but it's true.

At this early and just before she could be elected in November, Harris is already inspirational. Her fearlessness is admirable. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bkUWZH4Wo8).

Though I am in Canada and have no participation in the US election process, I personally feel uplifted knowing somebody of my skin color, and perhaps thought, is standing up for what is right. She understands what it is to be a minority.

To me, Harris embodies the hitherto unrecognized peoples of color that Trump so meanly demonizes. Accomplished, highly-educated, competent, and with parents equally gifted, Harris deserves universal backing. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).