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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Is the D.C.-Baltimore Area the Center of Asian American Conservatism?
he greater D.C. metro area (including Baltimore and Northeastern Virginia) is not only the seat of the national government but the center of the U.S. defense establishment. The contractors and the large intelligence agencies -- most of which are headquartered there -- are easily the biggest employers of the region's affluent science and engineering professionals. An estimated 22% of these technologists are drawn from the 400,000 AA who make up 8% of the region's 5 million residents. This heavy concentration in the defense sector makes the area's Asian Americans not only the nation's most affluent, but also the most politically and socially conservative.
Home of AA Conservatism?
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The Asian influx into the D.C. area is largely a post-Vietnam
War phenomenon. The capitol's small but comely Chinatown on H Street between 6th and 8th boasts about 20 restaurants and a number of shops but they cater mostly to tourists and the lunch-hour crowd. Currently only about 1,000 Chinese live in Washington D.C. -- and that number has been shrinking steadily. Most live in the suburbs of northern Virginia (46,000) and southern Maryland (52,000). The D.C. area hosts only the 10th largest Chinese American population but a high percentage are degreed science and tech professionals with security clearances.
Similar credentials are found among the 110,000 Corean Americans who make up the area's largest Asian nationality. They enjoy access to 53 Corean restaurants, mostly in Annandale, Arlington, and in Aspen Hill in Maryland's Montgomery County. The vast majority of Coreans here are staunchly Republican -- not surprising since their fortunes turn on the dollars allocated to defense spending.
Vietnamese are another Republic-leaning Asian nationality with a heavy D.C.-area presence. Virginia is home to the nation's third largest Vietnamese population (40,000), mostly in the state's northeastern part. Less than half that number make their home in Maryland and D.C. combined. They do manage to support a nascent Little Saigon in Wheaton.
Indians, who received over half the H-1B visas issued to foreign tech workers beginning in 1992, have been drawn by the area's defense sector. In 2001 the 52,000 Indians living in Virginia surpassed Filipinos as that state's most numberous Asian nationality thanks to a 143% increase since 1990. An equally large number of Indians have immigrated to take advantage of Maryland's abundance of science and tech jobs.
Another good indicator of the D.C. area's political conservatism is the relative scarcity of Japanese Americans who have traditionally skewed strongly in favor of democrats. Neither Maryland nor Virginia ranks among states with the top 10 JA populations.
Is the D.C.-Baltimore area really the home of AA conservatism? Or have the more recent waves of young AA newcomers begun embracing the more liberal values of the Clinton era?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 04:38:55 AM)
Metropolitan Aware
"Virginia in particular has been masking it's innate, deep-rooted racism and anti-Asian hate by stating that it's conservative--don't fall for this smoke in your face."
What anti-Asian hate are you referring to? I live in Virginia now also, and admittedly it's no California or Hawaii when it comes to APA culture and political awareness but I'm not familiar with a tradition of anti-Asian hate. To me it seems more like we just don't register that much with the state government and politicians, but I haven't seen anything that I would really term "anti-Asian."
Which isn't to say there aren't lots of other things I find disagreeable about Virginia at times, like the Richmond centrism of the state government and taxation policies, the low public funding for public transportation and roads in NOVA (while we supply a huge portion of the tax base), and the state constitutionally enshrined right to hunt, fish and forage (I'm not against those kind of activities, I just find it demeaning to put them into the state constitution as rights coequal to things like free speech, and voting). But the government is still much better run than say our neighbors in the District with their bloated civil service.
Man of Lhas-sa(mancha)
Sunday, May 19, 2002 at 10:26:26 (PDT)
Hmmm... Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Southern Maryland Metropolitan area... There was a recent cultural/political upset in Virginia, where a Democrat, Mark Warner, was elected Governor--Virginia is a conservative Republican stronghold. This is not to say that Warner's not a conservative. You see, even the democrats in the metropolitan area are conservative, but slightly less so than the Republicans. It's a win. Maybe it's a sign of change to come in the future--maybe not, since I know the area very well. Asian voters did come in strong during the election.
Asians in the area, however, have a long way to go. They are not rich, they are not affluent, and they have little clue as to what is happening to them. I've seen 20 years of the area; I should know. Until the "OLD" stagnant White guards, consisting of racist, superiority mentalities are defeated, Asians in the areas will remain as toys, shields, and necessities for the White race--no exaggeration.
Conservatism is completely separate from racism. Virginia in particular has been masking it's innate, deep-rooted racism and anti-Asian hate by stating that it's conservative--don't fall for this smoke in your face. And one other thing about the Metropolitan area--it's extremely Christian slanted, meaning that if you are not Christian, you have another wall of bricks stacked against you.
Metropolitan Aware
Friday, May 17, 2002 at 09:28:27 (PDT)
"Everything is for show here, if you flip through the pages of the Washingtonian magazine, you will be lucky to find one page not filled with ads for plastic surgeons or day spas."
Lol, you're right Hannybunbun. I forgot to complain about the plastic surgeon ads. I too, am sick of seeing those ads in the washingtonian magazine.
Sore thumb in NOVA
Friday, May 10, 2002 at 19:00:54 (PDT)
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