上個月中，在美國總統大選之前，我收到這麼一封電子郵件。

作者是［發起為亞裔人士出聲］的團體負責人，他發此文乃是針對華盛頓郵報的一篇廣告，有關亞裔在美所遭受的不平等待遇。

我來美國已經超過二十多年，也不是傻瓜，連這點感覺都沒有，其實不平等待遇處處皆是，只是嚴重與否的差別。到別人的土地上來混口飯吃，早年都是忍氣吞聲，自己吃悶虧。

很高興有這樣的團體來替亞裔出聲，團結真的力量比較大。

http://www.80-20initiative.net/

以下是電子郵件的全文內容：

   Some Asian Am. were surprised to realize, after reading 80-20's
Washington Post ad, that

    "Asian Americans have the least opportunity to enter management
    and the slowest rate of progress towards equal employment
    opportunity, despite having the highest educational attainment."

   After realizing those facts, they think: "Glad that 80-20 dug up the data
and publicized them. When my CEO finds out about it, he/she will, out of
a sense of fairness or outrage, be acting to correct it. My career future is
now looking brighter."

   Unfortunately, wrong!

   The American CEOs knew such statistics LONG BEFORE 80-20 dug
them up. They were well aware that "Asian Americans have only 1/2 the
average chance in private industries to rise to the management, 40% the
chance in the universities and 1/3 the chance in Federal government."
Their "Human Resources Managers" kept them well informed of such
national averages. The companies/universities simply follow the national
averages in order to be "out of the trouble with EEOC."

   How did I know about this situation? When I was a trustee at the
Univ. of Delaware I called for such statistics and were so surprised to find
that the U. of D's averages, broken down to races, tracked exactly the
national averages. The same was true in almost all American
institutions as 80-20 supporters began looking into the situation in their
own places of employment, after reading 80-20's Washington Post ad.

   Hence, if you ask for such data in YOUR company, if shown, the data
will be right at the national averages shown in 80-20's Washington Post's
ad below.

   The very low glass ceiling over Asian Ams was NOT an accident. It
was carefully managed by American institutions to be that way. YOU
will continue to face the lowest glass ceiling, unless the national
political system demands a change to equity as it did for women,
Hispanics and blacks.

   When your superior heap praises on you, there could be a knowing
smirk in his head that says, "This guy may be competent in his job
but he is politically ignorant and too timid to ever make waves."

   Object lesson? Don't ever rely on others' sense of fairness or
outrage to help you out. Rely on your own sense of fairness and outrage
to demand equal treatment through the political process that this
presidential election is all about.

   All earlier generations of American immigrants, be they
Irish, Polish, Italians, Jewish, and Hispanics, used the political
process to gain equal treatment. Asian Ams are no different. None
of us, as an individual, is powerful enough to cause that change. But
united as a group, acting during the presidential election, we
do have that power.

   Don't bury your head in the sand. Face the irrefutable
statistics shown below. Think about your children's future and
act!

Respectfully yours.

S. B. Woo
President, 80-20 Educational Foundation