Moms and Kids ‘Occupy’ Oakland Wells Fargo Branch, Close Accounts
Angry that Wells Fargo took federal bailout money and is now posting record profits, a group of moms and their children rallied at an Oakland, Calif. branch Nov. 4 and closed their accounts, reported the Oakland Tribune. The “Colorful Mamas of the 99 Percent” group of 40 marched with about 10 strollers and kids in their arms and carried a banner that read: “Teach Big Banks to Share: We’re Moving Our Money.”
At least three moms closed their accounts before the bank locked its doors. Wells Fargo, which took federal bailout money during the economic crisis, posted a profit of $15.18 billion for the 12 months ending in September, its highest number for any one-year period.
Prishni Murillo of Oakland brought her children to teach them that the principals of sharing should apply to big banks. She wants Wells Fargo to pay more taxes and contribute more to the community.
“Taxes go to schools and in Oakland we’re closing five schools and 25 are on the chopping block,” said Murillo. “We want to contribute the voices of moms of color and present to the public the people who are carrying the brunt of a failed economy, which is our children.”
A Wells Fargo spokesman said the San Francisco-based bank does donate money to charity and pays taxes.
San Francisco’s first appointed Asian American mayor will also be the city’s first elected Asian American mayor. As of Nov. 10, incumbent Ed Lee, San Francisco’s city administrator at the time of his appointment, led the pack of 16 candidates with 61.2 percent of votes. Lee was appointed acting mayor after former Mayor Gavin Newsom won an election last November as California’s lieutenant governor.
Lee said recently, “I worked so hard to make sure that we continue with the success this city knows so well. I’m going to work tomorrow, tired or not, because this city is worth the sacrifice.” The mayor declared victory on Nov. 9 after seeing the latest returns.
Among the numerous candidates vying to be the first Asian American mayor of San Francisco were: Public Defender Jeff Adachi, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, State Sen. Leland Yee, City Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and college professor Wilma Pang.
Hmong American St. Paul Council Candidate Records Racist Rant
Hmong American, Bee Kevin Xiong, ran a close race for City Council, Ward 6, in St. Paul, Minn.—a fact that bothers some people. Left on Xiong’s voicemail was a racist rant from a concerned St. Paul resident. The man received a campaign flyer and was incensed that a Hmong American was campaigning for office.
In his rant, which concludes with “f*cking Hmongs,” is the man’s confusion over why “you people think you can take over the state of Minnesota like this.” He goes on to share that Hmong own their own businesses but only buy products from other Hmong businesses.
“Don’t send your sh*t over here,” the man exclaims. He rounds out his barrage with a note of warning: “No one will vote for you except Hmongs.” Although it was a close race, Xiong lost to incumbent Dan Bostrom.
If you’d like, listen to the rant at www.youtube.com. Search for “A racist rants on the Hmong.”
Asian Americans Most Bullied in US Schools, Says Study
Asian Americans endure far more bulling at U.S. schools than members of any other ethnic group. When it comes to Asian Americans targeted for racial abuse and harassment, compared to other teens, the numbers aren’t even close.
According to new survey data for the Bullying Prevention Summit, 54 percent of Asian American teenagers said they were bullied in the classroom, compared to 31.3 percent of whites who reported being picked on. And Asian American teens are apparently three times as likely to face bulling on the Internet. The figure was 38.4 percent for African Americans and 34.3 percent for Hispanics, a government researcher involved in the data analysis told AFP. The disparity was even more striking for cyber-bullying. Some 62 percent of Asian Americans reported online harassment once or twice a month, compared with 18.1 percent of whites. The researcher said more research was needed on why the problem is so severe among Asian Americans.
The data comes from a 2009 survey supported by the US Justice Department and Education Department which interviewed some 6,500 students from ages 12 to 18.
