Complex documents some other anti-asian racism
Posted in News, Politics on August 14th, 2008 by HyphenPerhaps the blog is getting a little serious lately, but it’s important. As I’ve watched the Olympics every night this past week, it’s been great to see athletes from all over the world come together and put our petty differences aside. Unfortunately, these moments are really just brief respites from the daily onslaught of ignorance and animosity that normally pervades societies all over the globe. Inspired by the controversy over the Spanish basketball teams, Complex Magazine (the fine folks who brought you the fine Cassie photoshoot) ranked a few other recent anti-asian examples. Check ’em out right here.
In a related topic, I recently read a great piece by Matt Bai in the New York Times, where he asked if Obama represented “the end of Black Politics.” Peep it here.
The uneducated will see Obama’s ascension to the highest rank in the United States as a sign that racism has disappeared in our country, but that’s obviously not the case. Intelligent people will surely agree that it’s a step in the right direction, but I worry that our society, and especially our media, will focus solely on white/black interaction. If we do that, we’ll continue to overlook the shockingly prevalent racism towards Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc.-Americans that exists all around us. If it’s not ok to use racist images and terminology attacking black people in our media, why do we let it pass when it’s aimed at other groups? It’s unacceptable, and we all need to start calling attention to it when we see it. If someone says something ignorant, call them on it. If you see an offensive commercial, complain and spread the word. We have the power and obligation to demand better from ourselves.
Shout to Yang Wei for killing it in the all around gymnastics competition last night, and shout to Info for the Complex post.