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For Asian Pacific Islanders (APIs), the 2000 census is of vital importance. Despite the economic success experienced by many in the community, APIs are still a minority who face obstacles because of their ethnicity.

That complacency is uncalled for has been brought home hard this year by the string of racist acts involving Asian Pacific Americans as victims. The violence perpetrated against APIs, while isolated, is symptomatic of thinking that, unfortunately, permeates every layer of society. Even if we admit that such hateful thinking belongs only to the minority, which we do, the problem is still one that can't be ignored.

When you have oil company executives, TV personalities and even some presidential candidates spouting stuff not too far removed from the proceedings at Klan meetings, you can't hide your head in the sand. Why the census is important comes in the allocation of government benefits to various ethnic groups. You might not realize that you receive any such benefits but the fact is that either you or someone you know does.

If APIs are undercounted, they won't get their fair share of the pie. And present sampling done by the Census Bureau shows that APIs are still among the most problematic of any groups in getting good numbers. We must rally together and cooperate to insure that we are indeed represented correctly in the figures.

Somehow we must help those who fear giving out such information to the government in understanding the situation as it truly stands. And we all must stand up and be counted.