Meet Andrew Yang, the Internet-sensation and Asian-American Democratic candidate
Is he sometimes ignored and not taken seriously by traditional media because of racism?
Trump never was a politician. So, no wonder a Democratic businessman is not getting any traction? Well, Yang is, polling 4th-8th place from a field of 24. Cuomo is a great journalist. Look at his talk with Yang:
In the first TV debate with 10 Democratic candidates, he was only asked two questions, purposely or inadvertently and his mike malfunctioned:
One of the big TV stations seems to ignore him, almost on purpose.
But that station interviewed him — and he knows his stuff and gets across:
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Yet, see him being elbowed aside by a Black candidate while he’s interviewed by a journalist who has trouble taking him any serious:
He has his own plans against anti-Afro-American (“Black”) racism:
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He says that he can beat Trump because he’s good at math. Literate would do it too. He does speak with pride without arrogance – that’s attractive.
He seems to say it as it is, which could save the economy and climate:
He knows how to talk to a real right-winger and not sound crazy:
Like Buttigieg, he doesn’t get angry and he smiles. But Yang doesn’t talk as much about being young as the Gay mayor does. Bernie is an old man with a young soul, Pete a young guy with an old soul but Yang is Young period.
He thinks outside of the box (like Marianne Williamson but then grounded in reality and fact rather than ideas and beliefs), rejecting 20th-century solutions for the 21st. Many argue between Socialism and Capitalism but he says Humanistic Capitalism which seems the best of both worlds (only).
On international politics, we’ll have to wait and see. He does have a razor-sharp mind, a clear-headed understanding, and a humanist outlook. Which sadly, doesn’t automatically mean that he’ll be a Zionist, though. But he doesn’t sound like Obama IIIat all, which gives me hope.
There are many many interesting parallels between the Jewish and the Chinese Diaspora in the US to contemplate.
Not only must racism in the US be fought more than ever in recent history; it might need to be battled before the elections, to take all candidates seriously, not just those of certain racial background(s).
We know that beyond blatant violent racism there is the more subtle pervasive racism of not noticing a nonwhite person. Is US racism against Asians actually worse than anti-Latino and anti-African bigotry? I don’t know. But the above clips suggest keeping this question in mind. Unaware racism will only be beaten when we pay attention to it and call it out.
I love the YangGang’s MATH hats: Make America Think Harder.
In the newest speculation, maybe Hillary will run too (the one so disliked that people preferred Trump). That would be marvelous. She and Joe would share the top spots (with each barely a double-digit percentage, making all the runner-ups much closer to the jackpot. And then the person with the best plans and attitude should win. My advice is: keep your eyes on Yang.
He just qualified for the next Democratic TV debate (with 7 others so far).
About the Author
MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, an almost daily blog contributor to the Times of Israel, and previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is (partly) generated by AI. *
As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. He doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit about what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and education contribute to his visions. *
If you don't know the Dutch, get an American peek behind the scenes here: https://youtu.be/QMPp6h6r72M *
To find less-recent posts on subject XXX among his 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/. *
Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. Yet, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people who don't deserve that. He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. *
Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust, and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. *
His most influential teachers (chronologically) are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. *
One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. *
He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. He loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, anti-elitism, anti-bigotry and supremacy, for Zionism, Intersectionality, and non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. *
He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. *
He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, empowering therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids non-violently. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's being a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. He lives with his library in Jerusalem. Feel free to contact him. *
His writing has been made possible by a (second-generation) Holocaust survivors' allowance from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. *
To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. *
His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1