OP/ED: Few news stories are packed with as much going on as the latest incident in Carmine’s. It’s kind of like a medley of greatest hits of the issues du jour: Like a Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” or Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” or deciphering Mariah Carey’s heritage. Or for the foodies out there, a 150 item mega buffet with everything from hibachi grill to spaghetti to tacos. In the news world, it checks every box. Race war? Check. Vaccine mandates? Check. Texas vs. New York? Check. BLM and Stop Asian hate? Check. Restaurants subject to government mandates? Check

As usual, right on cue, every interest group is now trying to make their spin out of it, from the parties affected to everyone in the periphery. The black customers that are now defendants are crying foul because according to them it was racially motivated. The restaurant had to backtrack their vaccine regulation story, saying they did let the initial 3 women in, but not their 2 friends later on because they lacked vaccination proof.  Now, Black Lives Matter has boldly come out with a statement against mandatory vaccines – are they backing Nicki Minaj? Unique times we live in. Here are some of my observations from the Carmine’s incident, starting with taking my own race to task.

Priorities should be a thing again.  However, in a modern day peaceful world, affluenza continues to run rampant.  When true danger occurs, like the Taliban takeover of Kabul, some wake up but unless it hits home like 9-11 did twenty years ago, many will stay asleep despite the documented videos and accounts of beheadings and women instantly put into sex slavery by a Taliban regime that has taken over every major Afghan city.

The Americans who feel the imminent danger, such as Afghan Americans who understand the true danger of the Taliban regime, and front-line deployed military and their families are now starting to audit the bad governance and rethink their priorities. Buyer’s remorse is causing them to finally question the media outlets for not covering this over the long term. Does it take blood to finally wake up?

A recent  poll came out from Emerson on the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, showing a statistically tied race among registered voters, 48 no, 46 yes. While this is a terrible sign for Newsom and the Democrats, this does not shock me, as I have seen a gradual but real shift in the community and the numbers make sense. The most shocking internal in this poll was that Hispanics were the only racial group to overwhelmingly support the recall, and they do by a landslide, 54-41. Black and Asian majorities, in contrast, are supportive of keeping Newsom in office.

Just as Karl Marx interpreted all of human history as a fight between the “proletariat” (oppressed) and the “capitalists” (oppressors) using a method I can only call “Illogical Abstractionism,” so also do the “critical race theorists” use a rigid abstraction to divide all of mankind into one of two groups.

Karl Marx had no understanding of history or the time course in human affairs. He never set foot in the situations he wrote about with such certainty. Stupid. The “revolt of the proletariat” never happened, because the people whose strengths did not include invention of machinery, or founding of factories, (the proletariat) became much more comfortable and wealthier as a result of the existence and work of those whose strengths did include those things (the capitalists). The capitalists provided useful work, and it was an enormous benefit to the workers (proletariat).

On this Independence Day 2021, I reflect on the America I love so much and how it looks very different from the one I knew as a child in the 80s and 90s. How, once upon a time, we celebrated our nationalism and patriotism, and today, there is a very vocal minority that resents the USA, and I believe if they knew the realities behind China, they may rethink their position. As an American of Chinese ancestry and a community organizer on the ground, I felt an important need to discuss this topic.

Perhaps one of the most bizarre news stories of yesteryear was when Chinese spy Fang Fang was revealed to be a purposeful spy with handlers from the Chinese government. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, she targeted up and coming local politicians and even engaged in romantic trysts with at least two Midwestern mayors. She was heavily involved with Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who eventually became a candidate for President in 2020.