John Derbyshire's "Arctic Alliance" proposal came out over half a decade ago. If you have not read it, stop reading this and read it instead. For such a fascinating idea it has been written about far too little; I suppose it touches on a few too many taboos. It seems no thinker aside from Derbyshire has written on it. Even Derbyshire himself rarely revisits the theory; last December was an exception when he wrote, "Preserving the Arctic Alliance." He makes passing mentions of it on occasion in his other articles and radio program, and I have found some chattering about it on internet message boards. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be a thing. I am here to change that, and to explore the Arctic Alliance's practical potential, which Derbyshire has woefully ignored.
The first example of Republicans gearing towards a domestic version of the Arctic Alliance (albeit perhaps unknowingly) in contemporary American politics was Pat Buchanan's so called "Culture War" speech. At the 1992 Republican National Convention, he talked of the vicious race riots in LA just a few months earlier – and pointedly noted that one of the neighborhoods hardest hit was Koreatown.
Buchanan was very much correct, and a strange historical footnote on the matter is that Jewish owned shops had characterized the neighborhood until the 1965 race riots, after which the Jews left and the Koreans moved in. An odd way of demonstrating the severity of what happen is realizing that Koreans in the area even have their own name for the riots, "Sa-I-Gu," meaning "4 2 9," or, "April 29th," the day the rioting began.
The facts on the matter are staggering, it is well understood that Korean businesses were purposefully targeted, so much so that shop owners hung signs in their doors that read, "this is a black-owned business" to try and stay safe. On the first anniversary of the riot, even The New York Times wrote that, "Korean businesses were the primary target of looters and arsonists, suffering more than $350 million in damage, or nearly half the city's total." Continuing, the article states, "Of 2,100 Korean businesses burned or looted last year, fewer than one in four have reopened."
Korean families went so far as to ask relatives back home to send them desperately needed money, "self-defense patrols" were started, firearms as powerful as AK-47s were purchased en masse. One plainspoken man who was interview stated flatly, "I don't know why Koreans are always a special target for African-Americans, but if they are going to attack our community then [sic] we are going to pay them back." Another honest appraisal of the situation came from Carl Rhyu when he was interview by the Times in 1992, saying that, "I think the black people are jealous of the Koreans. They're lazy; we are working hard. They're not making money; we are making money." When polled in the spring of 1993, 40 percent of Koreans in LA said they would like to leave.
A list of examples citing American Black mistreatment of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, both during the '92 riots and otherwise could go on for quite a while. A more famous example would be infamous race hustler Marion Barry's comment, “We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops.”
A strong bout of Asian-Black tensions rolled through the Bay Area two and a half years after a particularly vicious series of crimes involving blacks targeting Asians. The matter got so bad that it even managed national headlines. Footage can even be found of Blacks openly admitting to purposefully targeting Asians. Even respected Asian organizations will admit that violence committed by blacks against them is a problem. Black on Asian crime is even bad enough that when Colin Flaherty wrote his book (White Girl Bleed A Lot) on contemporary street violence perpetrated by Blacks on Whites, he even included an often-overlooked chapter concerning Asian victimization.
What makes this trend more interesting, when keeping the Arctic Alliance in mind, is that Asians rarely fight back – perhaps Derbyshire should rethink his, "Whites are pussies, Asians aren't" stance. Blacks regularly target Hispanics as well, but the inverse is quite true as well. That racial tension trend looks quite different, more like a war. Countless articles can be found on the battles Hispanic and Black gangs have throughout the US and particularly in LA: here is one, here is another, and another, etc. It's a topic for another time. The point is this: Hispanics, Asians and Whites are all regular targets of Black violence. Hispanics, unlike Asians and Whites, respond to this with large-scale violence. Furthermore, as any "race realist" will tell you, Asians and Whites are considerably less criminal than Hispanics and Blacks.
If Blacks mistreat Asians and Whites in similar ways, and neither group is willing to employ equal levels of criminality in turn the way Hispanics do, than the solution must be political. A domestic political Arctic Alliance could very well be the solution, imagine a more or less united White-Asian voting block ushering in a government in California with a Giuliani style platform of law and order. Derbyshire's original concept certainly pertained more to international affairs, but starting small would be the obvious way to get it rolling.
Imagine an Arctic Alliance reaching across party lines in Chicago to elect their own Rudy? They could end the constant chaos and violence with tough laws, more cops, and less apologies. No more blaming pilgrims for black violence or asking the Nation of Islam for help. As Derbyshire has pointed out, Asians already have more conservative voting records than Hispanics or Blacks. I doubt it was a coincidence that in 1992 Bush received 55 percent of the Asian vote; perhaps Asians liked Buchanan's speech a great deal more than the left told them to...
The first example of Republicans gearing towards a domestic version of the Arctic Alliance (albeit perhaps unknowingly) in contemporary American politics was Pat Buchanan's so called "Culture War" speech. At the 1992 Republican National Convention, he talked of the vicious race riots in LA just a few months earlier – and pointedly noted that one of the neighborhoods hardest hit was Koreatown.
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| Roof Koreans, 1992 |
The facts on the matter are staggering, it is well understood that Korean businesses were purposefully targeted, so much so that shop owners hung signs in their doors that read, "this is a black-owned business" to try and stay safe. On the first anniversary of the riot, even The New York Times wrote that, "Korean businesses were the primary target of looters and arsonists, suffering more than $350 million in damage, or nearly half the city's total." Continuing, the article states, "Of 2,100 Korean businesses burned or looted last year, fewer than one in four have reopened."
Korean families went so far as to ask relatives back home to send them desperately needed money, "self-defense patrols" were started, firearms as powerful as AK-47s were purchased en masse. One plainspoken man who was interview stated flatly, "I don't know why Koreans are always a special target for African-Americans, but if they are going to attack our community then [sic] we are going to pay them back." Another honest appraisal of the situation came from Carl Rhyu when he was interview by the Times in 1992, saying that, "I think the black people are jealous of the Koreans. They're lazy; we are working hard. They're not making money; we are making money." When polled in the spring of 1993, 40 percent of Koreans in LA said they would like to leave.
A list of examples citing American Black mistreatment of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, both during the '92 riots and otherwise could go on for quite a while. A more famous example would be infamous race hustler Marion Barry's comment, “We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops.”
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| Hate facts. |
What makes this trend more interesting, when keeping the Arctic Alliance in mind, is that Asians rarely fight back – perhaps Derbyshire should rethink his, "Whites are pussies, Asians aren't" stance. Blacks regularly target Hispanics as well, but the inverse is quite true as well. That racial tension trend looks quite different, more like a war. Countless articles can be found on the battles Hispanic and Black gangs have throughout the US and particularly in LA: here is one, here is another, and another, etc. It's a topic for another time. The point is this: Hispanics, Asians and Whites are all regular targets of Black violence. Hispanics, unlike Asians and Whites, respond to this with large-scale violence. Furthermore, as any "race realist" will tell you, Asians and Whites are considerably less criminal than Hispanics and Blacks.
If Blacks mistreat Asians and Whites in similar ways, and neither group is willing to employ equal levels of criminality in turn the way Hispanics do, than the solution must be political. A domestic political Arctic Alliance could very well be the solution, imagine a more or less united White-Asian voting block ushering in a government in California with a Giuliani style platform of law and order. Derbyshire's original concept certainly pertained more to international affairs, but starting small would be the obvious way to get it rolling.
Imagine an Arctic Alliance reaching across party lines in Chicago to elect their own Rudy? They could end the constant chaos and violence with tough laws, more cops, and less apologies. No more blaming pilgrims for black violence or asking the Nation of Islam for help. As Derbyshire has pointed out, Asians already have more conservative voting records than Hispanics or Blacks. I doubt it was a coincidence that in 1992 Bush received 55 percent of the Asian vote; perhaps Asians liked Buchanan's speech a great deal more than the left told them to...
