Controversial U. of Pennsylvania professor says Blacks and Asians resent white achievements

SCREEN CAPTURE / FOX

University of Pennsylvania Professor Amy Wax, left, on the Fox network's Tucker Carlson show.

University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, already being in hot water for her earlier racist remarks, appeared on the Fox Network's Tucker Carlson's show saying that African Americans and Asian Americans resent Western achievements.

In her comments, Wax said April 14 on Carlson's show that Black people "feel that resentment and shame and envy. I mean it is this unholy brew of sentiments."

Wax then blasted Asian and Indian doctors, claiming they mostly "hate America" and criticizing their support of anti-racism initiatives, noting Asians earn more than other racial groups.

"I think there is just a tremendous amount of resentment and shame of non-western peoples against western peoples for western peoples' outsized achievements and contributions," Wax said.

Continuing her tirade, Wax also targeted Indian Brahmin women for taking advantage of opportunities in the U.S. and then criticizing the country. 

"They climb the ladder, they get the best education, we give them every opportunity and they turn around and lead the charge on 'we're racist,' 'we're an awful country,' 'we need reform,' 'our medical system needs reform,'" Wax said.

"Well, here's the problem, they're taught that they are better than everybody else because they are Brahmin elites," she said. "And yet, on some level their country is a s***hole, excuse my language. It's not providing them with the opportunities 

In a statement tweeted to the PhillyVoice, Penn Law reiterated that Wax's comments "do not reflect our values or practices." It added that Penn is moving forward with with a process to address her "escalating conduct."

That process began in January after Wax said: “As long as most Asians support Democrats and help to advance their positions, I think the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration. There needs to be more focus on people who are already here.”

Following the university's practice of not influencing the investigation, the school  declined to comment further until those proceedings are complete.

Wax has a history of making increasingly bigoted remarks thinly disguised as academic speech, writing in a 2017 op-ed that “all cultures are not equal,” arguing without evidence in 2018 that Black law students “rarely” graduate at the top of their classes, and stating at a 2019 conference that the U.S. would be “better off with more whites and fewer nonwhites.”

For those statements, Wax was relieved of some of her classes and duties.

The school's response did not give an indication when the investigative process would be completed.

“Penn Law has already acknowledged that Amy Wax’s xenophobic, racist views harm its Asian American students, faculty, and staff. Yet the school has offered little transparency around how students are being protected,” said Linda Ng, National President of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates last January. “It is stunning that in 2022, an openly white supremacist professor continues to teach at a prestigious American university, with the school claiming it is powerless to stop her.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.