In order to appeal to voters, politicians are often encouraged or expected to participate in local traditions. However, when it comes to communities of color, those traditions usually come off as pandering and culturally insensitive. In case you’re not familiar with this phenomenon, think of all those white politicians attending Black churches to show how much they appreciate us.
In Northern California’s Bay Area, there’s a longstanding tradition of politicians announcing their Chinese name. According to ABC 7 News Bay Area, in Oakland on Tuesday, Pamela Price, a Black district attorney in Alameda County, had an event planned for this purpose. But after an outpouring of public outrage, it was suddenly canceled.
Charles Huang, founder of the local National Asian Pacific Islanders Prosecutors Association, didn’t hold back his feelings on the situation.
“I think it’s ridiculous. It’s cultural appropriation and pandering at the highest level,” he said.
One social media user noted how this event was a bad idea from the start, writing on X, “Someone with sense must have spoken to her or her team saw the comments about it. Either way, good. She had to know the responses to this wouldn’t be positive, as they shouldn’t have been. Performative pandering isn’t what people want to see. Go prosecute someone.”
San Francisco Standard reporter Han Li, translated the Cantonese pronunciation and meaning for the characters in Price’s name, explaining that they are “官(goon): government official, 善(seen): kind, good, 貞(zing): pure, virginity.” He went on to describe it as “a very K-drama name.”
According to MSN, Price has been using this particular name since April 2023, but the announcement coming amid a tense recall battle makes it look like a politically calculated move in that fight. These sort of PR announcements seem crazy when it’s clear the solution is really simple.
“If you want to get closer to our community, talk to us. Not doing this political move,” Save Alameda For Everyone organizer Carl Chan said.
Even if Price had good intentions and just wanted to show her compassion and understanding for the AAPI community in her county, it’s backfired horribly and she may have damaged that relationship even more.
As Chan pointed out, it’s not that hard to try to understand our communities. You don’t need a Chinese name, or have to carry around hot sauce in your bag. All we’re asking is that you talk to us and listen to our concerns.