Does Racist Vintage Art Get a Pass?
This is how stereotypes work. Westerners have depicted Asian men as being effeminate since forever.
Tag: racism
Go Away With … Maurene Goo
In Maurene Goo’s novel “Throwback” (Zando Young Readers, $16.99), teenage protagonist Samantha goes back to the ’90s, where she befriends her 17-year-old mother, Priscilla. Satirical, humorous and thoroughly engaging, Goo’s novel also reflects on how what was once accepted as the norm – casual racism played off as a joke – is problematic when viewed through our modern lens.
On BTS, Anti-Asian Racism, and Reliving Trauma
In this essay, writer Jae-Ha Kim examines BTS’s recent statement calling attention to anti-Asian racism. Content warning for discussions of racism and use of a quoted slur.
The Racism BTS Continues to Face Is Part of Larger Anti-Asian Xenophobia
In this op-ed, writer Jae-Ha Kim unpacks the racist comments of German radio host Matthias Matuschik towards Korean band BTS in the larger context of the rise in violence toward Asian people globally. Content warning for discussions of racism and use of a quoted slur.
BTS: Why Can’t You Speak English Better?
I am feeling salty today. So grab a cup of hot tea (and maybe a slice of delicious cake to make this all go down better). There’s no shame in not speaking English perfectly as a foreign language. But it is obnoxious to use a person’s words specifically for the intent of shaming them.
Mirai Nagasu: Did You Know You’re an Immigrant?
Do you think it’s appropriate to refer to a person who was born in the United States as an “immigrant”? Yeah, me neither.
“Fish for Jimmy”
#SonOfJae reviews “Fish for Jimmy.” Katie Yamasaki’s beautiful book is based on her family’s real-life experiences and has been selected to be included in the newest version of McGraw-Hill Education’s anthology textbook for fourth grade students.
Your being white doesn’t make your adopted children white by osmosis
Not too long ago, I fell down and ripped the top layer of skin off my knee. As the wound started to heal, the scab, too, started to fall off. But enough of it was still dangling from my knee to be uncomfortable. To many people who don’t want to hear about white privilege, I am that scab. My experiences, words and I are annoying reminders that life isn’t always what you want it to be.
The Lesson of Logan Paul
White men have been preternaturally obsessed with trying to emasculate Asian men since forever. I want my Asian-American son to know: It is their issue to deal with. Not yours.
Trolls: Gender, Race & Xenophobia
When trolls can’t come up with a decent argument to defend their point of view, this is how they attack. 
First, they attack your gender. Second, they attack your race.
Third, they add xenophobia into the mix.
When “Mean Girls” are men
Thinking about it now, I see so many things that I didn’t as a young reporter. I see their white privilege, which was tinged with racism, sexism and jealousy. How dare an *unqualified* Asian woman whose intelligence obviously was inferior to their own have a more prestigious and higher-paying job than they had? I must’ve gotten my job because I’m a woman. I must’ve been an Affirmative Action hiree. In their minds, I was the reason they didn’t have better jobs.
Sam Smith’s brush with racism
Singer Sam Smith got skewered on social media for a series of tweets. After witnessing his friend being abused due to his race, Smith said he was astounded that something like this could happen in London. His tweets clearly were well intentioned. But some folks wondered how he could be so naive as to not know that these things happened on a somewhat regular basis to people of color — especially since the anti-Muslim, anti-Pakastani, anti-Syrian sentiment in the U.K. has been covered extensively in the media there.
Sorry, Sorry
• At 4, I wondered what a chink bitch was.
• At 5, I came home from kindergarten singing, “Chink-a-chink-a Chinaman, sitting on a fence.”
• At 6, I watched in horror as a blond boy called my father a motherfucking gook.
Racism & sexism: They go together, don’t they?
My bullies were the worst kind of dude bros: educated men who should’ve known better, but who cloaked their misogyny, racism, jealousy and entitlement with words they thought made them appear hip and clever.
And this is how revisionist history happens: Remembering Vincent Chin
Vincent Chin’s murderers served no jail time. They killed him, but the legal system allowed them to literally get away with murder.
Is Korean culture to blame for the Sewol tragedy?
News organizations are making the claim that Korean culture is partially to blame for the Sewol ferry disaster. Some even insist that had these been American children onboard, they would’ve escaped death. Shame on them for blaming the young victims of this tragedy.
The Boy Scouts
Our local Boy Scout troop could’ve had an opportunity to learn that there are repercussions to their actions; and that sometimes, the worst action is in pretending that a wrong never happened. Instead, they learned that if they deny something enough, they can get away with being cruel to youngsters and disrespecting members of their community.
Oprah, the $20 lipstick and me
So, ya’ll have read about Oprah and the salesclerk at some chi-chi Swiss handbag boutique, right? Ms. Winfrey wanted to see a purse that retailed for just under $40,000. The clerk repeatedly told her it was very expensive and wouldn’t show it to her. Have any of you had a similar thing happen? I have, on a much smaller scale.
Why I write about the past
Someone privately messaged me and asked why I wrote so much about things that had happened in the past. Do I write about it so much? I’ve been writing professionally for the past three decades and I’d estimate that my pieces surrounding race issues encompass less than 1% of everything I’ve ever written.
Back to you, KTVU
As someone who worked in broadcast journalism—both on air and behind the scenes writing news to be read by reporters and anchors on the Teleprompter—I call a big B.S. on KTVU’s “mistake.” An anchor announced that the Asiana pilots involved in the tragic crash were “Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk” and “Bang Ding Ow.”