Welcome to Biden's America, where you are no longer an individual but rather a member of a group, and the people serving in government no longer represent the country, but represent their "community."
The Biden Administration, wait, I'm sorry, the Biden-Harris Administration, threw them a bone in the form of a "liaison."
This began Tuesday when Senator Duckworth, who is Thai-American, and Senator Hirono,
...pledged to vote no on any White House nominees who aren't diverse candidates.
What makes a candidate "diverse?"
According to Duckworth,
She told reporters she planned to still vote for racial minorities and LGBTQ nominees.
In other words, a sitting United States Senator explicitly threatened to vote against white, straight nominees regardless of their qualifications, until her demand that an AAPI (Asian-American and Pacific Islander) quota be filled.
When the Administration pointed to Kamala Harris noting they had already ticked off that diversity box, Duckworth was unimpressed.
Duckworth said her frustration hit a breaking point after a call Monday evening with Biden aides during which she said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon pointed to Vice President Harris' South Asian heritage.
"Last night, that was the trigger for me," Duckworth said. "To be told that 'well, you have Kamala Harris, we're very proud of her, you don't need anybody else' is insulting." Duckworth noted she has heard that sentiment from the administration "multiple times."
You live by the identity politics sword, you die by the identity politics sword.
I think it's really important that we don't start viewing this as normal, never mind as something desirable. Choosing people regardless of race or ethnicity or any other group identifier is desirable, and making an effort to not overlook such candidates is also desirable. Those are things we can and should do. We want the best.
But that's not this. According to a spokesman for Duckworth,
"Senator Duckworth appreciates the Biden administration's assurances that it will do much more to elevate AAPI voices and perspectives at the highest levels of government, including appointing an AAPI senior White House official to represent the community, secure the confirmation of AAPI appointments and advance policy proposals that are relevant and important to the community."
"The community."
Not all Americans, "the community." The identity group.
She is explicitly saying that.
That alone is an insult, not only to the notion of treating people as individuals, but treating people as having their own rich cultural heritage beyond sharing a few common physical features (and barely that, really).
Are Vietnamese the same as Japanese? (Spoiler warning: No.) Do Thai people share the same cultural traditions as American-Samoans? Are we supposed to just lump Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans, and Indian-Americans into one giant cultural casserole?
It's as if we've replaced the slur "they all look alike" with the far more offensive slur, "they all think alike."
I am perfectly comfortable having a member of the AAPI "community" represent my interests if we share a general understanding of what those interests are. I don't assume a white guy is part of my community. Does Eric Swalwell represent my community because he's white? Maybe more the Chinese Communist Party's interests, but certainly not mine.
This divisive, race-based kind of thinking is the most pernicious form of racism because it is cloaked in good intentions.
