United States vs. Ramesh Balwani: the More Things Change

Attorney Coopersmith waiting outside while Balwani checks in

Unperturbed and outnumbered. That's the best way to describe Ramesh Balwani in court. Wearing his usual charcoal-colored suit and black-and-white dotted tie, Balwani's emotionless but dignified persona would be perfect for poker, but I--and every other immigrant--know that look. It's the look of a man surrounded by native-born government employees ready to lynch him for daring to dream. 

I use the term "lynch" intentionally. I attended middle and high school in San José, California, so I know two white men were lynched outside the county courthouse on November 26, 1933--about half a mile from the federal courthouse where Balwani sits. The failure to prevent the lynching--and others--was so outrageous, President FDR condemned "lynch law"  soon afterwards: 

This new generation, for example, is not content with preachings against that vile form of collective murder--lynch law--which has broken out in our midst anew. We know that it is murder, and a deliberate and definite disobedience of the Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." We do not excuse those in high places or in low who condone lynch law. [December 6, 1933] 

The following year, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt joined the NAACP and lobbied for federal anti-lynching legislation--which her husband opposed. To most people, California and the Bay Area represent openness and diversity, but closer study reveals the opposite. The founder of Stanford University--full name, Leland Stanford Junior University--was Amasa Leland Stanford, one-time governor. Read his 1862 inaugural address: 

Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. Large numbers of this class are already here; and, unless we do something early to check their immigration, the question, which of the two tides of immigration, meeting upon the shores of the Pacific, shall be turned back, will be forced upon our consideration, when far more difficult than now of disposal. There can be no doubt but that the presence of numbers among us of a degraded and distinct people must exercise a deleterious influence upon the superior race, and, to a certain extent, repel desirable immigration. It will afford me great pleasure to concur with the Legislature in any constitutional action, having for its object the repression of the immigration of the Asiatic races.

Five years later, not much had changed. See 1867's inaugural address by Henry Haight, a Democrat, post-Civil-War: 

The opposition to giving the Negro and Asiatic the ballot is not based upon prejudice or ill will against those races, but upon a conviction of the evils which would result to the whole country from corrupting the source of political power with elements so impure... These inferior races have their civil rights, as all good men desire they should have. They can sue and defend in the courts; acquire and possess property; they have entire freedom of person, and can pursue any lawful occupation for a livelihood; but they will never, with the consent of the people of this State, either vote or hold office... it would not be wise statesmanship, in my judgment, to invite an immigration of Chinese or any other Asiatic race. Those races are confessedly inferior in all high and noble qualities to the American and European. It is the dictate of wisdom to seek the best material to populate a country. This course is for the highest good of the present and future generations. No man is worthy of the name of patriot or statesman who countenances a policy which is opposed to the interests of the free white laboring and industrial classes. They constitute the body of the people; they sustain our free institutions; they carry forward our great public enterprises; they dig our canals, they build our railroads... An additional influx of Chinese to compete with white laboring men in all industrial departments, ought to be discouraged by all lawful means. For the sake of some supposed advantage of cheap labor, such influx would inflict a curse upon posterity for all time. [Emphasis added]

Did you notice "Asiatic" used differently than "Chinese," suggesting a broader scope? Regardless of the era or political party, racism and xenophobia have always been at-the-ready. Balwani knows this. It's why he, a brown man with a noticeable accent, declined the spotlight. It's why he doesn't color-coordinate suits with his lawyers like Elizabeth Holmes. It's why he knows this case, after the government's own witness already testified Holmes was "in charge," is a betrayal of the American Dream, if that term was ever more than a marketing slogan. 

When I evaluate the federal government prosecuting Balwani, I'm reminded of the past, not the future. Seeing the government--good Christians, all--prosecute a non-Christian immigrant who involved himself in Theranos to prove himself to a woman he once loved--indicates America's narrative has changed. Or has it? Only in America can a successful SE Asiatic loan 13 million dollars to his cross-wearing girlfriend, give her top billing, and still get lynched. 

© Matthew Mehdi Rafat (2022)

ISSN 2770-002X 

Update: On July 7, 2022, twelve jurors found Balwani guilty on all twelve felony counts. According to reporter Dorothy Atkins, one of the jurors kept falling asleep during trial: "Really would have liked to ask that one guy who kept falling asleep for tips on combatting [sic] insomnia." (July 8, 2022, Twitter)