FuturePAF
THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
That was the approach for the past 40-50 years of the community, and the community had limited political efforts. Also, many in the community became divided on which party they sided with in Pakistan. We need work in the reality of our lives here in the US.
IMHO, we should have strong associations to gather and focus our efforts here, but also know we need to work with other groups to be able to get our needs met. The Pakistani American population in the US is around 800,000 if I remember my research on the population projection correctly. That is far too small to be able to do things on our own. It we can still leverage this size and voting ability to have our concerns heard, if we work with like minded (ethnic or conservative leaning) communities.
Most people are pragmatic, and while we (in general) disagree with the efforts of some on the progressive left, we have to remain respectful to allow them to live their lives so we can best live our lives. So while we are members of an ethnic minority, we can also be members of other identifies that span the progressive left spectrum; we are not a monolith.
Having gone through the last few years, and 30% of the country being MAGA or solidly right wing, many in America seem to have pushed back against “identity politics” and just want to have a live and let live approach. Focusing on economic issues and general equality is the best way to get equal rights, in my opinion.
Our Pakistani associations have to be cognizant of how the culture is shifting, and learn to advocate for our beliefs, by and large, in a careful but solid manner.
So bringing this back to Zohran; he asked us to focus on our common ground and still recognized, as in his victory speech, the many ethnic backgrounds in the city.
P.s. to understand how Zohran won, we have to understand the enthusiasm and dedication of his canvassers. Zohran’s ground game was world class; flawless.
Last edited:
