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.
Mall Sunrise
Home of AA Conservatism?

     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?

(Updated )

Is the DC/VA/Baltimore area really as anti-Asian as Metropolitan Aware suggests? I am sure that there are racists of every color in the area, but having lived here on and off for the last 14 years, I have yet to encounter any particular incidence of racism. Itās curious that Metro Aware points out to the driving records as an indiccator to the presence of racism. Being a young Asian American, I know of many, and I mean, MANY young Asians who have a tendency to drive recklessly. They have a predisposition to think that they are Formula 1 race drivers, out on I495, or even on the back streets of NOVA. How often too, have I been tailgated by a ćrice carä which eventually flies by at excess speeds of 90mph on the beltway or I95. And how often the case is that the drivers in these annoying tailgaiters are young Asian males. So with that in mind, I am not suprised that Asian American males in particular, are singled out in incident reports or trafic violations. (Itās all too tempting to brake suddenly and let them ram into the Suburban...)

Maybe I am too young to realize the depth of Metro Awareās sense of racial tension within the area. However, you can bet that NOVA today is much more racially diverse and tolerant that it was a decade ago. When I first moved into McLean, a predominantly upper class, white neighborhood, I didnāt come here with the mind set that ćIām the only Asian guy in a 10 mile radius.ä Which may have been true. I went to grade school where I only knew one other Asian. Did people call me chink or jap or yellow? No. There was the usual banter of school bullying, but thatās something that one cannot blame on racism. Bullying applied to all kids, no matter what your ethnic or racial background.

As I grew up over the years, I noticed that the area was becoming more diverse. Only then did I start thinking along the lines of, ćIām Asian, that guy thereās white, that girl thereās black.. etc.ä Throughout my childhood, none the less, I grew up feeling like any other kid, having the same problems as any other kid, and feeling the pressures as any other kid. Grades, popularity, and all the teenage angst. As I look towards my college graduation, and to my fellow classmates here in Baltimore, I sense that the level of racial acceptance has grown significantly. There are the few bigots that run around like headless chickens on crack, but thatās a phenomenon I see even in members of the Asian community. In fact, the most racist students I know happen to be Asian, who are either suffering from an inferiority complex. Their instinctual reaction to any outside race is to belittle them. I donāt think that one should make their children too aware of the racial tension that may or MAY NOT exist. To imbed them with thoughts such as ćlook out for the White Devil! would be to contribute to the racial biggotry that exists.

On a lighter note, I actually stumbled onto this forum in a search for bubble tea in the Baltimore area. Does anyone know any, besides having to haul all the way down to Eden? Bubble tea is good, driving on 95/495 is bad. Matter in fact, driving through those death traps in rush hour almost negates any sense of enjoyment that bubble tea can afford.. so if thereās one closer, Iāld be more than happy to hop into my car and drive over. As for Baltimore, there a great little (LITTLE) Korea town by 20th and Maryland Streets. Up and down that whole area, actually. If youāre into other cuisines, try the Peabody area around Charles, you can even find Afgani cuisine there. (The restaurants around Peabody, though, do have a strong bite to them, especially to your wallet...) So thatās that, must go on to look for bubble tea.
Ken
knagao@hotmail.com    Friday, June 07, 2002 at 08:42:57 (PDT)
Just a thought, but with all the complaints about NOVA, why don't people move north of the border? Montgomery County's where it's at. There are a lot of liberals about for people into that, and it's quite convenient and safe. I think NOVA has some nice areas, but some are a bit shady.

To the person who said Caucasians cannot understand how it feels to be a minority, I say hogwash. I lived in Japan for 5 years, where I was very much in the minority.
Desslar
   Thursday, June 06, 2002 at 14:45:13 (PDT)
Proud Terp,
Maybe your neighbors are weird, hehe. Just kidding you :)Although some people are not familiar with alot of differences, such as Dim Sum. Some of her ignorance may be from lack of exposure to certain things. I had heard of it before marrying my husband, but had never experienced it. And I say experience it because I had never been to a restaurant where you have a la carte carts pushed through aisles with steamed food on it. It sounds kind of silly, but I was really surprised when I first went and loved it. Now it is old hat to me, but I still love it. I guess it is similar to a Caucasian person going out for breakfast on weekends to buffet, the same as our Asian family goes out for Weekend Dim Sum. Maybe she needs comparison just to understand things. And Mark Duck House has alot of Caucasian people at Dim Sum when we go on weeekends. And mixed couples. Maybe you should invite them sometimes so she can see what it is?

Alot of Caucasian families I know also do not have alot of extended family concentrated in one area. I think maybe it could be amazement and jealousy to a point from your neighbors wife, to see an Asian person with so many loved ones so close to visit. Unfortunately in our mostly Caucasian society, the family unit has become less close and less important in many cases, so maybe she is surprised how much family lives so close? Just speculation on my behalf.
LaParis bakery is SO yummy! That is where our housewarming cake came from!
And my husband says the same as you did about Eden. He told me not to take it personally, that it is sometimes definitely prejudice, but sometimes a matter of just having manners.. and not everyone does.
Man of Lha-sa,
thank you, :)I meant no harm. I agree with your assesment of the areas that make up NOVA .
Hannybunbun
   Tuesday, June 04, 2002 at 15:04:44 (PDT)
Metropolitan Aware,

I'm sorry to hear about your experiences here in NOVA. Certainly none of deserves to deal with that BS. All the same I think you could give a little more consideration to Hannybun, as I don't think she was trying to say that racism doesn't exist, merely that she hasn't seen it. And to be honest neither have I really (which probably speaks as much to my limited interactions with the outside world as it does to the state of NOVA race relations).

When you say that the "Old Guard" is everywhere, do you mean that every white person is part of the "Old Guard" in NOVA? Or that this "Old Guard" influences every institution? What is the present manifestation of this anti-Asian hate system? I certainly sympathize with your experiences as a student, but I'd be more interested in hearing what happened to you as an adult. Were you pulled over by racist cops? Were you denied translators by the court?

Here's another question, exactly what counties are you refering to when you use the term "NOVA?" Generally, I think of NOVA as (1)Arlington; (2) Alexandria; (3) Fairfax; (4) Loudon; and (5) Herndon (and the last two are maybes). Everything else to me is off the edge of the map.
Man of Lha-sa(mancha)
   Tuesday, June 04, 2002 at 10:37:46 (PDT)
Hannybunbun,

Your posts are mostly very interesting and enjoyable to read. My neighbor, I guess is similar to you and your husband, he is asian and she is white. They have 5 kids and live in a nice house. Anyways, whenever we talk, me and my wife are both asians, he seems to always categorize activities which are asians or non-asians for us. And had to frequently explained to his wife why me and my wife would go out to dim-sum or attend frequent family get-together. What really annoys me is that I don't really look at these things are asian specific, all my white neighbors have friends and family over all the time. May be they are just wierd. I don't know.

As for Eden Center, I think they catered to the Vietnamese crowd. I am Chinese, and sometimes I feel a bit foreign there. So, don't feel bad. Annandale on the other hand, caters to mostly Koreans, and shops are more spread out. My wife is Korean, her favorite place is that LeParis Bakery place.
Proud Terp
   Tuesday, June 04, 2002 at 08:50:05 (PDT)

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