Racism against Asian Americans is alive and well all over and it is something that our family as well as many of our friends need to be particularly mindful about.
I think most of us read and or heard about Danny Chen, a young soldier who died as the result of racial bullying by his fellow soldiers—you know, the guys who were suppose to have his back while fighting the war on terrorism.
NICE!
There are other less overt signs that racism against Asian Americans is brewing hot:
Casual to Deadly: Anti-Asian American Racism: http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2012/01/09/casual-to-deadly-anti-asian-american-racism/
How about that political ad during the Super Bowl? I somehow managed to miss it. Anyone else get to see it in full action playing for how many millions of viewers? If you missed it like I did—a re-cap is below (and note that the 'rice paddies' are actually a cranberry bog).
This is the kind of racist crap our kids are growing-up with. It is real and it is all around us. Gabrielle and Xavier bring home “comments” all the time- not just from their peers—but also from their TEACHERS AND COACHES. But hey, what is wrong with referring to our family like “another United Nations?”
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A Michigan GOP Senate hopeful is drawing criticism for running a Super Bowl ad showing a young Asian woman speaking in broken English and thanking his opponent for propping up China's economy.
The 30-second ad, created by the campaign of former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, opens with a gong sound and shows a young Asian woman riding a bike on a path through a field of rice paddies.
"Thank you Michigan Senator Debbie Spend-it-Now," the woman says, referring to Hoekstra's opponent, Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
"Debbie spend so much American money, you borrow more and more from us. Your economy get very weak, ours get very good. We take your jobs."
"Thank you Debbie Spend-it-now," the woman says with a smile, before pedaling off.
The ad then cuts to Hoekstra, who refers to himself as Pete "Spend-it-not" Hoekstra and asks viewers to visit his website, debbiespenditnow.com, which is festooned with Chinese characters, flags, paper lanterns, parade dragons and shows Stabenow's face plastered on a hand fan.
One Michigan Republican consultant called the ad "appalling."
"Stabenow has got to go. But shame on Pete Hoekstra for that appalling new advertisement," GOP Nick De Leeuw wrote on Facebook, according to The Associated Press.
"Racism and xenophobia aren't any way to get things done."
GOP consultant Mike Murphy, a former adviser to John McCain, tweeted that the ad was "really really dumb. I mean really."
The Michigan chapter of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote group slammed the ad as "disturbing," telling the AP it used "harmful negative stereotypes" that encourage "anti-Asian sentiment."
Hoekstra's campaign said the ad was satirical and meant as a warning shot at the American education system.
"You have a Chinese girl speaking English, I want to hit on the education system, essentially," Hoekstra spokesman Paul Ciaramitaro told Politico.
"The fact that a Chinese girl is speaking English is a testament to how they can compete with us, when an American boy of the same age speaking Mandarin is absolutely insane, or unthinkable right now."
"I think the viewer of an ad is going to recognize satire," he said.
The ad was shot in California, and Hoekstra, who was once the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, spent $75,000 to run it during the Super Bowl.
It's scheduled to run state-wide for the next two weeks.
2 comments:
OMG!I may have seen this ad, but not "seen" it, so to speak. I appreciate and share your well penned disgust, Reena. We all need
our vision sharpened ...thankyou.
Grandma/Nei Nei....blessed by the rich culture of my family!OXOXOXOX
That is terrible!!!!! Absolutley terrible. Your exactly right about racism. My daughter was referred to by another student (and I'm not sure if it was exactly intentional or that is how he described how she looked to another student) that she was a "black asian" I told her that he was wrong because she was actually Filipino (although it is Asian) Now she doesn't want to go to the beach this summer as she is afraid her skin is getting darker and doesn't want to be darker . She gets very dark in the summer (and has darker skin to begin with)It is terrible what people say but we have to continue educating our children
Wendy
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