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oreosfly t1_ivrj5b7 wrote

Democrats are losing their grip on the Asian vote

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locheness4 t1_ivrx6am wrote

Asian communities are pretty split with political leanings. Always have been. Younger tend to be more liberal due to being less religious. I personally haven’t met anyone (20s-40s Asian-Americans) who voted for Zeldin but I’m not surrounded by religious people. We’re aware democrats don’t do much for Asian hate crimes but trumpie republicans would definitely do more harm than good for the Asian communities. We’re voting for a bandaid at this point. It’s become very depressing

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eorrer5 t1_ivshkbw wrote

Not that I speak for all Asians, but I have a lot of Asian friends in the city and while they are younger and typically vote blue, their parents are quite often single issue voters that vote Republican/for Zeldin because they feel that Democrats don't care enough about Asians and addressing Asian hate crimes. For example, I know many parents of friends who live in south Brooklyn (bensonhurst, bay ridge, dyker heights) who've voted for Maliotakis because she has been quite vocal regarding being tough on crime, specifically Asian hate. I dont believe Republicans would be better for Asians than Democrats, but I do believe Democratic leaders continuously have shown they just don't really care. I'm just trying to give insight into how Asians in NYC think when it comes to voting, especially the older ones.

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oreosfly t1_ivth03u wrote

> I dont believe Republicans would be better for Asians than Democrats, but I do believe Democratic leaders continuously have shown they just don't really care

Yup. I want to know how you're going to make it safer for my parents to get to work tomorrow. Not 5 years from now, not 10 years from now, not one generation from now. To the uninterested observer, Republicans are campaigning on that issue directly. Lots of liberals just babble about "root causes" and "long term solutions" - that does absolutely nothing for Asians who are in fear stabbed, beat, and shoved in front of trains today.

For some reason it is incredibly hard for Democrats to get that through their thick skulls and they will continue to bleed votes until they understand that. One side is talking about how they willl address crime now, the other side prefers to get into a whole academic discussion about structural issues. The average working class voter does not give a rats ass about the academic BS.

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eorrer5 t1_ivtvr25 wrote

I have not studied or have worked in a position close to politics, but in my opinion, it seems that Democrats take the Asian vote for granted and automatically assume they will have it due to historical turnout. Additionally, Asians are a smaller minority group compared to other minority groups which makes adding Asian issues as a focal point to anyone's campaign not as "sexy" or popular compared to other big issues like abortion or other civil rights pertaining to other groups. Republicans at least virtue signal -- not that this is any better. It's a shame to hear Democratic leaders just continuously not give a shit about Asians. Your story is very common among Asians, especially those in NYC. My parents were and are scared shitless to take the train and have avoided the mta since covid started, luckily they can wfh otherwise they would be rightfully stressed to the moon every day. Same story for many of the older Asians I know too.

Edit: grammar

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HistoryAndScience t1_ivtpc3n wrote

I don’t think it’s because Democrats don’t care. I think that in NYC they are beholden to a small vocal group who are full defund everyday and treat any criticism of that as proof that you’re fascist. I’m not even kidding, I met someone once who left snacks in her car for people who break in to rob her so they weren’t hungry after they broke in. However, they still have to publicly act blasé or talk about “root causes” and not action because otherwise they may lose their primary

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oreosfly t1_ivs6mj0 wrote

> I personally haven’t met anyone (20s-40s Asian-Americans) who voted for Zeldin

I wish I could say the same, but I don't think anyone should be surprised. I definitely got into some heated discussions with friends. The type of crimes Asians have faced over the past two years swung a lot (especially older) Asians towards law-and-order politics. The older Asians who I know went to Zeldin were single issue voters.

> Younger tend to be more liberal due to being less religious

I don't think religion completely explains political leanings - my parents are semi-religious and they're both Democrats - but they are most definitely not AOC Democrats. A lot of Asian cultures (at least East Asian) follow more socially conservative customs that align closer to the GOP than Dems. Younger people across all races and genders are more liberal in general and tend to become more conservative as they age.

> We’re voting for a bandaid at this point. It’s become very depressing

Yup. Pretty much rolled my eyes and held my nose when bubbling Hochul's name in. I probably could've been convinced to vote in a Bloomberg-type Republican but the entire GOP has been taken over by the malignant tumor known a Trumpism.

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locheness4 t1_ivs9e42 wrote

I’m thinking of those ultra religious Korean Christian nutjobs who vote solely because they hate gay people. They’re very much single-issue voters (but not on issues that affect them, just issues like gay marriage 😒) and I know there are several super religious Asian communities who vote red and always have. Obviously it’s not most and it’s not all but they are a loud minority and in Asian communities, they do have lot of influence because of insularity and solidarity. The Asian hate crimes were a big factor this year and very understandable. But I didn’t really see any politician running on that. Hate crimes have to be handled rather differently than general crime but that’s a more nuanced topic.

I’m speaking anecdotally but to me, it really seems like the younger Asians have more political knowledge than our immigrant parents and won’t vote for a Trumper who will end up doing more harm for our community. Of course, it is super frustrating when voting for larger tickets like governer, nyc mayor, etc but I’m seeing a bigger effort to get Asian people in political positions in nearby suburbs that have large Asian communities. I am hopeful of the future that our voices will have more political power. We do need to get more involved as this is where we live and it matters more than ever. There won’t be change for us if theres no one in office who understands us. Damn every election now feels stressful as hell 😂 it’s like voting for brainless shills vs rabid psychopaths.

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nostraws t1_ivt3s5y wrote

I agree with all this, having Korean Catholic parents. Thankfully religion and bigotry died with them. Luckily all of my siblings and I pro choice, for gay rights, etc. I have even more hope for the younger gen.

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kultigsptrizigfrisch t1_ivtibwz wrote

>We’re aware democrats don’t do much for Asian hate crimes but trumpie republicans would definitely do more harm than good for the Asian communities.

I am a liberal and call me ignorant, but historically speaking, it was Republicans who successfully lowered crime in the city after the surges, even if through questionable means? Or am I missing something?

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NashvilleHot t1_ivtj3cy wrote

Crime went down across the country starting in the 90s, so it’s not the case that it was solely due to R policies. Also the lowest crime rates ever in NYC were during DeBlasio. Was it his doing? Probably not (or at least not in large part).

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thatlazybum t1_ivteehz wrote

Alright, as a member of the Chinese community, here’s my two cents.

The young, liberal Asian are definitely extremely left leaning. They’re usually going to vote blue all the way down to see liberal policies enacted. It’s very disappointing to see governments ignore the needs of Asians, but it’s kinda choosing the lesser of two evils (by far) even if one is campaigning lies that appease Asians. Of course, there’s some outliers, but the majority of us/everyone I talked to leans this way, albeit we suffer from the same issue of political apathy of the younger generation that’s slowly being rectified.

For the older generation, here’s why they lean heavily conservative, more than what the media seems to understand:

  1. Taxes are a big issue and lot of people believe republicans = lower taxes. Not sure why, and I argue with my family all of the time.

  2. There’s also crime that’s a concern and the fearmongering/republican campaign strategy definitely might’ve swayed a Chinese dominant South Brooklyn to vote more republican.

  3. Also, SHSAT is another thing republicans has used to get the Chinese vote. They want to keep it there because it’s benefited the community.

  4. Chinese community… is pretty racist and anti-LGBQT. They really just don’t care about the republican’s hate speech.

  5. Rampant fake news throughout the community. Chinese news outlets lean heavily conservative, and the WeChat are constantly circling fake news that are geared to get conservative votes.

edit: formatting

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NashvilleHot t1_ivtjh5r wrote

Wanna bet that the fake news is all coming from the mainland?

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tsgram t1_ivrmbsr wrote

For real or is that a guess?

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chargeorge t1_ivrpwns wrote

Heavily Asian neighborhoods moved more republican, though it’s inconsistent. Chinatown seemed to get more blue, sunset park barely budged, but Bensonhurst and flushing swung the other way.

Def movement though not uniform

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marcsmart t1_ivtz19c wrote

Republicans are tougher on crime and there’s a completely useless asian hate crime part of the nypd who don’t give half a shit about what happens to asian people. You can get picked out in a crowd of other non asian people, swung on without provocation, stand there bruised and bleeding and the nypd officer will ask “what makes you think this is an asian hate crime?” over and over and do whatever they can to downplay the situation so they don’t have to file a report.

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clorox2 t1_ivrof6f wrote

I know lots of Asians. Not a Republican among them.

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oreosfly t1_ivrq427 wrote

Go look at the map. Zeldin managed to carry the Asian enclaves in Queens.

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AffectionateSignal25 t1_ivrwil1 wrote

It wasn’t the Asians in Queens voting for Zeldin. It was all the Eastern Europeans (Polish) voters in Maspeth, Ridgewood, Rego Park…

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Algoresball t1_ivsb3c9 wrote

You don’t win or are even competitive in Flushing without a decent share of the Asian vote

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BiblioPhil t1_ivtgx3h wrote

Yes but a "decent share" wasn't where the goalposts were here

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clorox2 t1_ivrqs81 wrote

I know lots of Asians. Only one of them lives in Queens. And she didn’t vote for Zeldin.

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macaroniking69 t1_ivrrycv wrote

This person speaks for all asians of NYC. Thank you representative for your extremely small anecdotal sample set.

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clorox2 t1_ivrsxqw wrote

You know what? You’re right. Absolutely right. All Asians live in Queens. There are no other races allowed there. Only Asians. Clearly Asians now hate democrats. You’re not trying to polish the turd of a campaign Lee Zeldin ran by pretending he won over the hearts and minds of an entire racial group at all based on a red section of a map. No sir. You’re right. Asians love Republicans now. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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macaroniking69 t1_ivrt945 wrote

Lol fuck both republicans and democrats. Both are pure garbage. I’m not trying to polish anything, just pointing out how your anecdote means nothing. No need to get all weird and dramatic.

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clorox2 t1_ivrtwzq wrote

What do you stand for? Do you really see no difference between the parties? Hell. Vote Green. Or Libertarian. Or be a communist. Because I assure you, there’s a gigantic difference between the parties if you take the time to look into it.

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macaroniking69 t1_ivsze03 wrote

My guy, worry about yourself. I grew up in NY, lived in NYC for 10 years. But also lived in Florida, TX and California. I’ve seen the good and bad on both sides and hate both the politicians and their die hard supporters. Politicians dont give a single fuck about you, regardless of “side.”

Your replies are bizarre are you in like middle school

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clorox2 t1_ivtgxk3 wrote

You’re missing my point. What kind of society do you think we should be? Do you think everyone should have a gun, even teachers? Then vote Republican. Are you concerned about the environment? Then vote Democrat. Stop and frisk? Abortion? Sure politicians are a bunch of self-serving fuckheads. They have to be. It takes that type of personality to get elected. But it does matter who you vote for when you look at the issues.

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macaroniking69 t1_ivti3bu wrote

None of these politicians represent me. Both sides are way too extreme. I don’t care for guns, and I’m sick of getting fucked on high taxes and costs. I am extremely pro lgbtq but also think trans women shouldn’t be competing against regular women in sports. I think most immigrants are some of the nicest, hardworking, and family oriented people I’ve ever met, but I don’t think we should just let in millions of people. Legalize weed and mushrooms, make addiction a mental issue and not a legal one. PRO CHOICE, but after like 15 weeks its a bit much. Go back to hard on crime, but also hold officers 100% accountable for their actions. Cut all the virtue signaling bullshit, and stop censoring people for holding different opinions.

You find me a candidate that aligns with those views and I’m interested. Otherwise the rest are extremist clowns.

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