Becoming California

We tend to look at California as a post-racial state.  Less than half the population is white, and the whole state is a rich stew of Asians, Latinos, African-Americans, and whites.  The Asians include Vietnamese, Indians, Chinese, Japanese, and Hmong, among many others.  Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims are all represented.  This population generally lives in harmony, and Trump’s message of nationalistic bombast and prejudice fell on deaf ears.

It wasn’t always like that.  California had probably the worst record of any state when it came to treatment of Native Americans; an early governor talked about exterminating them.  The Workingmen’s Party in San Francisco had as its slogan, “The Chinese Must Go,” and anti-Chinese mobs killed hundreds.  Okies and Arkies were mistreated in the 30s.  Most Californians supported the internment of the Japanese.  You probably remember the Rodney King riots.  As late as 1994 Californians voted for Prop 187, denying health care and education to undocumented residents.

In 2017 that history feels so yesterday.  What we need to remember is that many areas of the country are just now experiencing what California experienced for 150 years.  Many white communities are seeing an influx of Spanish-speaking people.  Towns in Minnesota and Michigan are home to growing Muslim minorities.  While the rest of the country is gaining the diversity Californians take for granted, it is also experiencing some of the same prejudicial behavior and minority bashing California experienced in years past.

Eventually, we should come through it.  It helps if you have lots of minorities rather than a majority and a minority.  It helps if you have a diversity of kids in school sitting in the same classrooms and playing on the same teams.  It helps if you have religious leaders who preach tolerance.  And most of all, it helps if you have political leaders who emphasize common interests and goals as opposed to political leaders who ride to office by whipping up xenophobia and hatred.