Readers React: A new divide on affirmative action

Ah, if people of a certain race all think alike, they are like sheep. If the members differ, there’s a wedge, and an attempt is immediately made to reclassify them into two groups. (“Affirmative action amendment divides state’s Asian Americans,” May 18)

And so the Asians who are against affirmative action are labeled recent immigrants, conservatives and, worse yet, Republicans. How convenient to arrive at a new, simple way to understand complex human dynamics.

Well, I am Asian and a liberal Democrat and I am against affirmative action. And I wasn’t swayed by the “misinformation” mentioned in the article. I didn’t even hear about it.

In case you haven’t heard, there are many other valid reasons one can be against affirmative action.

Hector Santos

Los Angeles

Asians have blindly sided with other racial minorities in the past on social and political issues because of the putative benefits they would reap. However, the notion has always been suspect at best.

Having witnessed over the years the prestigious private colleges stealthily installing yet another glass ceiling — namely, quotas on Asians — California’s SCA 5, which would ask voters to repeal part of the state’s affirmative action ban, was the last straw.

There is no “divided” electorate here. SCA 5 will be viewed as a game-changer in Asians’ involvement in California politics.

Kee Kim

La Habra