Check out this racist political ad airing right now in Arkansas:
The ad was created, and is being aired, by Americans for Job Security, a group that claims as its focus issue the problem of American unemployment and outsourcing. This ad criticizes Democrat Bill Halter, the current Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, who is running against incumbent Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln in the Democratic primary to represent the state’s 1st District.
Now, I don’t blog about this ad because I’m supporting any particular candidate in this race. To be honest, neither Halter nor Lincoln were on my radar before today. As I wrote this post, I turned to the more savvy politcos that I’m currently hanging out with (one being electroman, and another being one of the bloggers of Blog for Arizona) and asked them the following question: “Do you have any particular opinion of Blanche Lincoln?” The unanimous, if relatively non-committal, answer was: “Well, she’s pretty conservative.”
Clearly, all of us in this room have virtually nothing invested in this particular race in Arkansas.
But, what I do have an issue with is this ad, which parrots one of the talking points coming out of the Lincoln campaign. Five years ago or so, Halter sat on the Board of Directors of a company called WebMethods Inc. This attack website charges that during Halter’s time on the board of directors, the company opened an office in Bangalore, India. Lincoln’s campaign is also using this issue to attack Halter; here’s an ad that she is paying to put up on Arkansas air waves:
So, what does all this have to do with race?
Well, first of all, the very idea that outsourcing is negative is steeped in race. While it is arguable that companies opening offices overseas limits American economic growth, the outsourcing hysteria is not based on this point. Instead, fearmongerers who talk about outsourcing in a negative tone draw upon an “Us vs. Them” mentality that falls directly along racial lines. They evoke images of White Americans who are jobless while people of colour find jobs: it’s the same kind of mentality I see here in Arizona when it comes to claims that illegal immigrants are taking jobs from legal citizens. The anger stems from the racist notion that White people are entitled to jobs over people of colour, wherever they may live.
While that idea is veiled in the official Lincoln ad, it is made blatant and obvious in the Americans for Job Security ad. Here, images of South Asians are coupled with stereotypical Asian mandolin music and stereotypical backdrops of India, all to emphasize the foreign-ness of South Asians. This Us vs. Them structure is further established by the juxtaposition of the South Asians thanking Bill Halter in haevily-accented English, while the narrator retorts an accent-free “thanks for nothing”.
The whole ad screams of racist caricature of South Asians, that blames not only Bill Halter, but Asian Indians for Americans’ joblessness. It amounts to a political hate crime against the Asian Indian community.
And beyond the racism, this Daily Kos blog discusses why the charge of outsourcing against Bill Halter may be disingenous and misleading. The long and short of it is that Hater’s company, WebMethods, expanded an international office. And in the same year, they made some money. As Daily Kos points out, WebMethods did not cut any American jobs when they expanded their Bangalore branch, so the charge of outsourcing is based on the notion that potential, not actual, American jobs were lost.
This is the dirty side of the outsourcing debate: the argument that any form of globalization and international business is somehow treasonous towards America. This isn’t based on worry for the American economy, it’s based on sheer xenophobia; further, it myopically ignores the fact that many American-based companies are turning towards foreign markets to expand their businesses. For a country that touts capitalism above all else, this fear of international markets is remarkably non-capitalistic; abject rejection of potential consumers by deliberately avoiding international business only hurts the bottom line.
That being said, my pal who runs Blog for Arizona remarks: “That ad is remarkably racist. But it’s going to work, because it targets fears that Americans (particularly those in Arkansas) have because of the rampang unemployment rate. If you’re going to be a racist Democrat, that ad is the way to do it.”
It’s sad but true that this ad will probably work to attack Bill Halter. If you don’t want it to, you can donate to Halter’s campaign here.
You are racializing something that isn’t about race. It is merely about dollars and cents…and sense.
Politics is dirty. I know Koreans who are upset about Korea outsourcing jobs to China. Are they racist against Chinese?
I find your mindset somewhat interesting and creative to say the least. So, the company, in the ad, “outsourced” jobs to Bangalore, India.
So they run a ad that shows a guy thanking for the jobs that Bangalore needs jobs too. You criticize the stage…the music, the dress, the props.
So, if the company “outsourced” to, say, Scotland….and they showed them wearing kilts and playing bagpipes…would show the same rage?
I think not.
You are a one trick pony.
Steveb, outsourcing has everything to do with race in this ad. As reappropriate mentions, this ad is a blatant caricature of South Asians and their culture. The music played in the ad isn’t even South Asian and is more heavily Middle Eastern influenced. The costumes are simply ridiculous; it’s as if the people of Bangalore have never heard of the cotton t-shirt (which they most certainly have and in some cases prefer to wear to their traditional clothing).
Perhaps reappropriate wouldn’t show the same ‘rage’ (to me it seems more like a reasonable concern) if the ad focused on outsourced jobs to Scotland, but that’s only because she focuses on asian socio-political issues in America. Scots would undoubtedly be angry, and I’m sure reappropriate would share their concern.
Also, you seem to be unaware about the social issues between East Asian countries. As a Taiwanese American, I can assure you that Chinese and Koreans are racist against each other– even discrimination amongst the many Chinese provinces and cultural identities is strong. Heaven knows that Taiwanese and Chinese people have their prejudices against each other. Just because everyone in East Asia is etnically Asian doesn’t entail that they get along.
People use racism to justify arguments against outsourcing– “why should these foreign, inferior people be earning jobs when our people don’t?” is what they never say, but always mean.
This is troubling politicians are tapping into fear and throwing in some xenophobia in order to get votes. The Republican Party is quickly being taken over by a small number of wing nuts (Tea Party). Democrats and others need to start making their voices heard before its too late. Mike Moore needs another movie or someone needs to do something to wake people up.
steveb, you’re missing the point. This ad is classic race baiting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_baiting This ad against Bill Halter falls in the same pathetic and disgusting category as the Willie Horton political ad, as well as a score of others, where the ad plays on stereotypes (in this ad – folks allegedly from Bangalore) who are “stealing” jobs from folks in Arkansas.
Also steveb, you are ignoring a few things here – the ad DID NOT feature people from Scotland, nor did the ad feature people of the *same* race. Your offering these alternatives do not actually prove your point.
I’m going to quote again what the poster originally said:
“fearmongerers who talk about outsourcing in a negative tone draw upon an “Us vs. Them” mentality that falls directly along racial lines. They evoke images of White Americans who are jobless while people of colour find jobs”.
THAT’s the point. And as a Asian American living in the South, I can tell you – this ad is upsetting to me not because it will help one candidate over the other, but that it might incite a situation where someone who is prone to violence sees this ad, and then takes it out on a South Asian on the street.
To the original poster, thank you for posting about this topic.
[...] I wrote last week about a political attack ad airing in Arkansas (link contains video), criticizing senatorial hopeful Bill Halter who is running against incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln in this year’s Democratic primary. The ad, created and paid for by Americans for Job Security, picks up on one of the Lincoln campaign’s talking points and uses stereotypical caricatures of Asian Indians to accuse Bill Halter of supporting outsourcing to India. [...]
Steveb,
The problem is that the outsourcing debate is incredibly racialized here in the States. You don’t hear about outcry regarding opening up European offices, because people don’t see Scottish branches as a problem. Yet, open an office in India, and people denounce the act as outsourcing. White America seems to have a problem seeing jobs go to international people of colour, but have no similar problem when White Europeans (or Australians, or Canadians) receive jobs thanks to American companies expanding into international markets.
And if you think I’m a one-trick pony, why do you keep coming back to see the show?
I come back because I find you to be interesting to a degree…but yes, you are a one trick pony. I find your writings can be thought provoking but very, very predictable at the same time.
Your mantra is not dedicated to the good of the whole but you are essentially very ethnocentric. Are you dangerous? Nah. Someday you will grow up. Are you idealistic…yes…which is normal for a person like you.
America “seems” to have a problem with jobs going to people of color. Hardly…color has nothing to do with it but lets be honest…labor, environmental, and tax laws in developing countries are cheap, lax, and subsidized. It makes dollar sense to locate there. EU countries hold no advantage in these areas. Japan, Singapore, S. Korea no longer hold any advantage either. So everyone is locating (including Japan, Singapore, and S. Korea) to countries like China (a environmental disaster of magnitude), S.E. Asian countries (VN, Thai, Philippines, Malay, etc), and S. Asian (India, Bangladesh, and even Pak) due to the economic advantages these provide. If Europe possessed the same advantages…countries would be outsourcing there to a larger extent.
But this isn’t the case. I do believe you are racializing something that really isn’t about race at all.
Politics is dirty business and getting dirtier by the moment. Everyone is in a corner and humans by nature are very tribal. My wife and I endured angry looks and crude remarks by Koreans when we visited Korea. We have friends who teach in Korea…she is Korean-American and he is caucasian Ameican. The sent their daughter to stay with us until they returned because Korean kids treated their daughter so horribly. I never lived in Korea so I cannot relate to this but there are also cases of these types of behaviors EVERYWHERE…Japan included.
Race is a hotbed subject all around the world….and it is getting hotter. A close friend of mine is Ethiopian and came to America by way of being a refugee to Nairobi. She is a student at the local university. She happens to be Christian and thus suffered immeasurable hate and violence directed at her by Muslims and Arabs simply because she is black and Christian. She considers the U.S. to be a paradise compared to where she has come from. But what I find interesting is that she does not connect with African-Americans at all.
I believe it would be to your advantage to take a more world view of the subject in both a historical and a present context. I think it would provide a bit of a reality check for you and may even open your eyes to some things.
American nationalism and racist xenophobia are certainly on the rise as evidenced by the increasing anti-immigrant sentiment throughout the USA (not just in Arizona), the Tea Party movement, and rise of White nationalist “populism” in general.
In general, America wants to look for scapegoats for its economic problems. Immigrants and foreign countries are prime US targets and will increasingly become so.
Lxy…we are in a world wide recession. EVERYONE is looking for scapegoats.
obama has singlehandedly done more to inflame racial distrust and hatred in this country than anyone else with his stupid comments and antics i.e. the pathetically amateurish “beer summit” and his racist comments i.e. “typical white person”.
Then he comes out where he wants to reconnect with young people, african-americans, latinos, and women for 2010. Nothing about reconnecting with the rest of the American people including Asians, Caucasians, Native Americans…or anyone else.
obama uses race baiters such as al sharpton to be his “ears” to the “street”. Now, that is a real unbiased “ear”. Tell me, what has sharpton done to help address blacks assaulting and murdering Asians in the bay area? Has he organized any marches or summits to address this issues in oakland and philly…which are just two examples. Nope, not at all. This is the obama you administration you all adore so much when in fact obama is a racist of the lowest caliber. obama even lied on his census form….no integrity at all.
Nothing has changed but in fact the ugliness is intensifying:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/753041/posts
Jenn…does that Asian female caricature at the top of the page accurately represent you in a physical sense going beyond race?
@steveb,
What a tired argument. It’s absolutely true that racism occurs around the world; but that is no excuse for ignoring racism in America. Your argument suggests that because folks face racial discrimination in places like Korea, that we shouldn’t be wrapped up in talking about race in America. Well, despite global racism, race in America is worth talking about, and unique compared to other forms of racism based on American culture and history.
Note that I didn’t say better or worse — that is playing Oppression Olympics — but it’s certainly different than racism in that occurs in other parts of the world.
But, folks who have an overly-simplistic view of race think that race writers focus on racism as perpetrated solely by Whites, and only occurring in America, which race writers simply do not argue. In other words, you’ve built an elaborate strawman that precludes your ability to understand and debate race in a reasonable fashion; you have closed your mind to the notion that race is indeed an institutionalized problem here in the States, because you can’t imagine being a part of that hegemony.
As for your problem with Obama: how could that not be a better example of your own racism and myopia? You believe that the mere mention of race is racist, hence you accuse Obama of racism for the phrase “typical white person”, yet you don’t even pay attention to what he was talking about; which is the very real spectre of race and racial stereotyping.
And again, you accuse Al Sharpton for “race-baiting” because he advocates about issues of race, as if bringing the topic to the forefront is, itself, racist. You are willfully distracted by the people who advocate and act to end racism, as if they are the problem instead of the racism they are trying to end. In other words, you are more offended that someone actually raises the topic of race, because you don’t think there’s anything wrong with the status quo.
And as for whether or not Al Sharpton is dealing with violence in Cali: Rev. Al is kind of leading the charge against SB 1070 right now.
Oh, and one more thing: Obama has made significant outreach to the APIA community. He has nominated more APIAs to federal judicial positions than any other president, he reversed the Bush decision that placed APIA community issues under the purvue of the Dept. of Commerce, and he has many people within his administration working with APIA leaders to improve APIA access to federal programs.
So this statement of yours that “[Obama has done] Nothing about reconnecting with the rest of the American people including Asians, Caucasians, Native Americans…or anyone else.” is completely misinformed.
Try again.
No, I’m not misinformed at all. I simply realize obama is a racist of the lowest caliber and does little to truly connect with Americans in general. I fully understand your blind loyalty to him…but that is all it is…blind loyalty.
Sharpton does not attempt to end racism but rather reinforces it at every level through exploitation. It is his business…his bread and butter…so he has a stake in doing what he can to continue the victim game. Again, given your mantra, you are blind to the truth behind him.
Race is worth talking about…in a balanced approach. Something that eludes you. You could easily be described as a race huckster and it is pretty transparent that you call anyone who disagrees with your mantra the usual “r” word (racist) is quickly leveled. That in itself is the same old tired tag of a losing argument.
I haven’t called you a racist but you fully and blindly support racists …obama, sharpton, jackson, etc….which makes you openly embracing them. You explain why obama would hold a “beer summit” for gates’ hissy fit with a cop….but be completely silent about blacks assaulting and murdering Asians…and whites…and hispanics…and everyone else?
You can’t. You can only hold blind allegience.
That he put some judges in who happen to be Asian is merely playing race politics and nothing more. If you think he gives a hoot about the Asian-American population you are sadly mistaken….or else he would be addressing the race problems Asians face from his teleprompter. It hasn’t happened…isn’t happening…and isn’t going to happen. But he’ll involve himself if a black is the “victim” on a moment’s notice. Has he mentioned Mr. Yu? Nope…but that black student in Chicago that was murdered by…black students…got his comments.
I don’t need to try again…but you really need to take inventory of yourself.
Is your Asian female character at the top of this page a accurate caricature of yourself?
[...] Racist Political Ad from Arkansas Targets South Asians (Reappropriate – w/VIDEO) [...]
@ steveb
You are citing Freak Republic now?
You must be some kind of American nationalist.
Keep on waving that flag and singing God Bless America.
But even the Department of Fatherland Security issued a report about the resurgence of various Right Wing groups including White supremacists in the USA.
http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf
As for Barack Obama, you sound like one of those people that believe that Obama is a radical Black nationalist muslim revolutionary with sympathies to “al-Queda.” LoL.
But Obama largely represents a *continuation* of the Bush Regime’s policies. Obama has continued the bailout of Wall Street begun under Bush. And he has continued American wars against Iraq, Afghanistan begun by Bush (not to mention Pakistan and Yemen).
@steveb
steveb you are misinformed brutally so. It’s so funny to watch you throw around accusations of being racist. But cry and complain when it’s aimed at you. The fact is, I think you are a racist and you like some of those crazies in the tea party who are. Like them, you used to old tactic of saying, everyone knows is a racist to cast the light off of your racist notion and ideas. Because in this day and age, who is going to listen to racist.
You crack me up. You’re so quick to paint yourself as someone who cares so deeply for the Asian community. But you flip out when Jenn points out how people White people like mistreat that community.
The character at the top of the page is Jubilee. Of Marvel’s X-men. Last I checked, I couldn’t make fireworks come out of my fingertips at will.
You on here are actually the racists…you are all about yourself. I am not “republic” whatever that means….I assume you mean republican?
Well, I’m not. But neither am I democrat. Both are inherently evil. I detested Bush and I detest obama….they are one in the same except that Bush at least had a few more scruples. Obama possesses none.
I am not a birther, I am not a teapartier, I am not a white nationalist and I don’t identify with any of these groups. I have no notion that obama is a black nationalist or a muslim or anything else except that he is definitely acutely ethnocentric and racist.
Unlike you, I don’t blindly follow a latest flavor…which at this juncture is obama…but he is spoiling quickly.
Dei wong…you can accuse me of being racist all day long but it won’t make it true. I lived in Japan for a total of 10 years and let me assure you I do have a clue. Almost invariably crimes….meaning rapes, assaults, murders, thefts, etc, etc….committed by Americans are committed by American blacks who are in the military, usually marines and sailors. Simple truth…and while they are a minority in the military they are the majority when it comes to criminal violence. Fact.
The most vile and racist comments about Asians that I ever heard came from blacks…in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. They far eclipse everyone else in disrespecting the host culture. Fact.
Facts that you cannot refute.
Who is going to listen to a racist? Apparently you since you listen to obama and he is definitely a racist.
Jenn…why would you put a caricature from x-men on here? Why not a caricature of yourself? How old are you that you would resort to some comic book character to represent your “feminist” self?
Jenn…do you know who John Wood is?
I am such a white racist nationalist that the one org. (outside of church) we donate to is
http://www.roomtoread.org/Page.aspx?pid=183
and that I am so hatefully racist that a I pay for the education of a Hmar female child in India.
If you really want to affect change….cultivate a more worldview and quit playing race politics and playing the race card.
@ steveb
“Dei wong…you can accuse me of being racist all day long but it won’t make it true. I lived in Japan for a total of 10 years and let me assure you I do have a clue. Almost invariably crimes….meaning rapes, assaults, murders, thefts, etc, etc….committed by Americans are committed by American blacks who are in the military, usually marines and sailors. Simple truth…and while they are a minority in the military they are the majority when it comes to criminal violence. Fact.
The most vile and racist comments about Asians that I ever heard came from blacks…in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand. They far eclipse everyone else in disrespecting the host culture. Fact.
Facts that you cannot refute.”
I say you are a racist because you are one
LOL What facts? You haven’t said anything on here but your racist opinion. You haven’t provided one thing to back up your point. Just because you say it doesn’t make it true.
You’ve been to Japan so what. I’ve been to Tokyo and Osaka and no one went running screaming for the cops when they saw me. If Black people are so evil to asians why wouldn’t they attack me on sight for fear of me killing them?
I bet I could go to Koga where my friend Masa is from. He and maybe two other people there have seen a real Black person. I highly doubt they would go running for the hills when they see me.
Vile comments? You would know you pretty go about using them to attack and label people.
Another thing I gotta ask why the hell do you care if Jenn has a picture of Wolverine’s second favorite X-Man. Do you ask a white guy why he has a picture of Superman on his blog?
//Jenn…why would you put a caricature from x-men on here? Why not a caricature of yourself? How old are you that you would resort to some comic book character to represent your “feminist” self?
illustration != caricature. Do you even know what the word “caricature” means? I mean, really, how old are *you*?
Also, throughout this blog’s (eight-year) history, I have used images of Asian American female comic book characters incorporated into the blog’s artwork. I’m currently working on a theme that features Psylocke. It’s partly because drawing my own illustration would take way too much time, partly because these artists are better, and partly because I am celebrating the few characters that represent my demographic in the comic book medium.
Also, I find it funny how you raise the point as if, somehow, I’m less subversive because I don’t draw my own art. You are truly insane, dude — but wildly entertaining in your inanity.
//I donate to brown people, therefore I’m not racist.
REALLY?!? LOL!
//Almost invariably crimes….meaning rapes, assaults, murders, thefts, etc, etc….committed by Americans are committed by American blacks who are in the military, usually marines and sailors. Simple truth…and while they are a minority in the military they are the majority when it comes to criminal violence. Fact.
Source, please? And I don’t mean your ass.
@steveb
“and that I am so hatefully racist that a I pay for the education of a Hmar female child in India.”
How the hell do we know what you’re saying is true? It could have easily come out your ass like your stats.
And if it is true? How does that make the crap you say on here any less racist?
//And if it is true? How does that make the crap you say on here any less racist?
I know. It’s like saying “I donated $5 to a Black dude who was homeless this one time, so I clearly cannot be racist.”
Doesn’t that sound stupid to him when he types it? It basically amounts to “I interacted with a person of colour this one time, and I didn’t lynch him, so you must think I’m totally down for the cause”.
Why do racists think they can buy their way out of racism?
@ Jenn
“Doesn’t that sound stupid to him when he types it? It basically amounts to “I interacted with a person of colour this one time, and I didn’t lynch him, so you must think I’m totally down for the cause”.”
You are so right there are tons of nuts out there who think they’re not racist because they haven’t killed anyone. No matter how racist or insane their comments are. Bad thing is these are the idiots who create glass ceilings in he work place. They also talk against diversity in government and even on TV shows.
I chuckle at your pathetic little meaningless jabs. Interact with a brown person? I married a yellow person, you twits. You are in fact the racists which is exactly why you align yourselves with obama… a political racist pimp of the lowest caliber.
My stats:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689815/posts
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JC05Dh01.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340591,00.html
I have no doubt interacted with more diverse “people of color” than you’ll ever dream of interacting with.
I post some facts….and you call me a liar. How do you know I pay for school for a Hmar girl? Because it is true and I told you.
How do you know the most vile and racist comments leveled at Asians that I ever heard were done by blacks? Because it is true and I told you.
What are YOU doing besides whining and being a racist?
My comments are not racist in the least but rather are simple truths. You just “can’t stand the truth” because the truth runs counter to your agenda. In other words…you are just like sharpton…race hustlers.
And yes, Jenn, your amateurish use of cartoon characters to project yourself is rather sad. It is pretty obvious you want to project a visual facade of yourself at the top of this page when in fact your girth would be less than appealing. You are no feminist.
Again, I recommend you sit back and take inventory of yourselves and then strive to attain a more worldview. Once you have done this…apply it to your agenda. I think you will find your eyes will be opened. Or you can continue to wallow in your little…and I mean little….mud holes.
http://www.answerbag.com/video/Why+Pigs+Wallow/25c5cf58-a48e-a864-e21c-fbcd694f052e/insects%20and%20bugs
//I married a yellow person, you twits
First of all, ad hominem attacks are not allowed on this blog. This is your one and only warning. But, I don’t want to ban you because you are hilarious and entertaining.
Secondly, again, you fail to recognize the inanity of defending yourself by stating that you married “a yellow person”. It is tantamount to “I have a Black friend, so I can’t be racist”. Your argument asserts that any person who dates interracially cannot be racist — and we all know how false that sentiment is.
Tell me, does your wife know that you are trying to use her skin colour as your “I can be racist for free” card? Because, to me, your excessive reference to her skin colour for your own gain seems fairly dehumanizing and… well… racist. If you don’t think you are racist, maybe you should not be… well… racist.
//My stats:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689815/posts
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JC05Dh01.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340591,00.html
No, those aren’t statistics, those are anecdotes. Get a dictionary and look it up. You stated :
//Almost invariably crimes….meaning rapes, assaults, murders, thefts, etc, etc….committed by Americans are committed by American blacks who are in the military, usually marines and sailors. Simple truth…and while they are a minority in the military they are the majority when it comes to criminal violence. Fact.
So, let’s see the statistics. How many crimes are committed by American servicemen against Okinawans (I’ll give you a hint, it’s approximately 5,394)? How many of those crimes are committed by Black servicemen? If you can’t give me a percentage, showing that more than 50% of crimes involve a Black aggressor (and cite sources), than you are talking out of your ass. Fact.
//I post some facts….and you call me a liar. How do you know I pay for school for a Hmar girl? Because it is true and I told you.
I don’t dispute that you paying for school for a girl of colour. Frankly, I don’t care if you are telling the truth or lying about that. I question why you use that act (real or imagined) as a defense when accused of spouting racism.
//How do you know the most vile and racist comments leveled at Asians that I ever heard were done by blacks? Because it is true and I told you.
See above.
//My comments are not racist in the least but rather are simple truths.
No, they are meaningless statements. They neither refute nor extend the conversation on race. Much of what you have written is, in fact, racial stereotyping of Blacks based on unscientific, anecdotal “evidence”. You presume that all Blacks are criminal based on your limited experiences. It is, in fact, racist to take “simple truths” (like, “I know a story of three Black servicemen who raped an Okinawan girl”) and extend that to an entire community based on race (like, “they are the majority when it comes to criminal violence”).
Your “simple truths” aren’t racist. Your stereotyping using those “simple truths” is.
Oh, and what’s my agenda?
//And yes, Jenn, your amateurish use of cartoon characters to project yourself is rather sad. It is pretty obvious you want to project a visual facade of yourself at the top of this page when in fact your girth would be less than appealing. You are no feminist.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!? You can’t handle the discussion so you try to make personal attacks about me based on presuppositions about me based on my chosen *blog theme*????
Are you so woefully outclassed in this debate that you feel the need to resort to veiled references to my “girth”? What do you think I’m gonna do, cry out — “Oh my god, you think I’m fat! I guess you must be right in everything that you’ve said! I concede everything I’ve said because you think I’m ugly!!”
‘Cuz men who *respect* women *always* mock their physical appearance when they’re on the defense.
I am so sad for you. No, wait, actually, I’m so sad for your wife — that she’s married to a guy who acts in such a ridiculous, immature, and sexist manner when challenged.
(Although, I will have to take this moment right now to say that your behaviour in this thread is grounds for banning from this blog based on your comment policy. Ad hominem attacks are not tolerated on this blog. If you can’t shape up, you can’t play here.)
jenn…you rely on personal attacks and initiated personal attacks long before I did. Your holier than thou mentality is unbecoming…and pathetic.
You are the immature one…the one who puts cartoon characters of Asian women….can’t you find any REAL Asian women to headline? You have to hype some imaginary Asian woman to headline your blog? Most people would put themselves up…but not you. One can only imagine why. Who said you are ugly? I didn’t. Are you saying all fat people are ugly? Fact is they aren’t but lets be honest here….self esteem issues do deepen as girths widen…it all fits as to why you would rely on imaginary Asian women…and not yourself….to headline the “writings of a Asian-American feminist”. Look at it this way…it would be like Madeleine Albright putting up a picture (photo or artwork) of a model….say Tyson Beckford…at the top of her blog to somehow give the illusion that she looks like that.
Stereotypes are heaped in truth and you know it. Even Jesse Jackson said he would be relieved to discover that two males walking behind him on a street…weren’t black. Apparently even Jesse Jackson was stereotyping? Think, Jenn, think!
You folks started the “ad hominen” attacks first so I merely replied in kind. Go back through the postings and it is very obvious. You called me a liar…then come back and say you don’t care if it is true…that somehow putting a Hmar girl through school is meaningless. What are YOU personally doing? If if was immaterial…it would have been immaterial from the start and you wouldn’t have called me a liar. If I were racist, why would I pay to put a “brown” girl (per you and your ilk) through school? Think, Jenn, think.
You attacked me by talking about “one brown person” so I replied by reminding you I married a “yellow” person….or in other words, a person of color. Think you could marry a person “not of color”? Doubtful because you are racist against people “not of color”.
Oh, those are stats. I defy you to find any other group…non-Asian…. with the same “anecdotes” as you say…which are really stats….against Japanese women. No other group has the same “anecdotes” and thus no other group has the same “stats”. Do you think you can figure that out? The fact is the pattern is there…and is real no matter how you try to bury it. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.
I am not outclassed in debates at all. The problem with you is that I am not a lemming to your agenda which is wholly based upon your lack of real world…in a truly global sense…experience. You are, by the strictest definition, a one trick pony.
Interesting you bring up a article about crimes in Okinawa. Don’t you find it interesting that the article mentioned the rape of a 12 year old girl in Okinawa in 1995? Guess who did that? Yep…blacks. Fact is, none of this is “out of my ass” but I witnessed the pattern throughout the many years I lived in Asia…and violent crimes against host citizens by blacks far eclipsed anyone else…despite blacks being in the minority. Fact. Prove me wrong. Bring up recent rapes in Japan by American military personnel….overwhelmingly it is blacks.
http://rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=225598&D=2008-02-12&HC=5
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1898004.stm
People in the know….know. You aren’t in the know.
Maybe you aren’t aware of this…but marriage is not tantamount to having a friend. If you believe that it is…then you are a very long way from growing up.
You are telling me to shape up “or I can’t play here”. You set the tone…I only reply in kind. Your loser poster dei wong or whatever…gets a free pass. I suggest that you practice consistency in applying your “rules”.
dei wong…because you visited osaka…you have deep experience? That is rich.
And finally, Jenn, your statement that I heard a “story” about three blacks raping a 12 year old girl in Okinawa being meaningless. Lets get one thing straight…it isn’t just a “story”…it is a international incident. A real incident… a real rape of a 12 year old that ruined her for life…and it was done by blacks. This wasn’t wartime Okinawa so there is absolutely no excuse….war can create craziness…but Okinawa is far removed. But, then, maybe you feel rape isn’t necessarily evil…maybe the 12 year old girl asked for it in your eyes. But the behaviors and attitudes I have witnessed by so many blacks while living there…and Thailand…and the Philippines…and elsewhere…is consistent with what these guys did. Not exclusively…but consistent in a broader sense. You explain why. Fact is it is far deeper than mere coincidence.
@steveb
“My stats:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1689815/posts
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/JC05Dh01.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340591,00.html”
LOL those are not stats dude. Those are a few crimes you’re trying to use to paint your non-excitant point about Black people being the worst criminals in Japan. What about that White guy who held those two girls captive and sexually assaulted them. How about the countless White westerners who are arrested for drug smuggling. Even though both those statements are true they don’t mean anything. I can name tons more situations of White foreigner doing crazy and criminal stuff in Japan and all over Asia. These comments like yours are not a compiled group of information calculated and audited to form STATS.
You haven’t shown compiled stats of any kind. Do you understand what stats are? You just proved to everyone what I have said been saying. You’re full of SH*T. You are just a racist on here trying to pass your opinion off as fact.
“I post some facts….and you call me a liar. How do you know I pay for school for a Hmar girl? Because it is true and I told you.
How do you know the most vile and racist comments leveled at Asians that I ever heard were done by blacks? Because it is true and I told you.”
No you posted a few crimes committed by Black people. If I post articles of the evil things White westerners do to Japanese does that prove White people are the worse in Japan? Try posting some stats to back up your silly opinion.
“What are YOU doing besides whining and being a racist?”
You whine more than anyone else here, why don’t you just cry already.
“My comments are not racist in the least but rather are simple truths. You just “can’t stand the truth” because the truth runs counter to your agenda. In other words…you are just like sharpton…race hustlers.”
Are you crazy? What agenda are you talking about? You’re the only one out here generalizing people and saying racist crap.
“And yes, Jenn, your amateurish use of cartoon characters to project yourself is rather sad. It is pretty obvious you want to project a visual facade of yourself at the top of this page when in fact your girth would be less than appealing. You are no feminist.”
What is your problem with her having a picture of Wolverine’s second favorite X-Man? You are sick. She is not fat and I highly doubt she or anyone on here cares what you think of them. Why don’t you put a picture of yourself on here. We can all use a good laugh.
Remember this comment you made?
“And I also understand, Keith,…that you being the fringe person that you are would resort to profanity and crudeness to somehow defend yourself. This is basically the only tool you have.
Which does absolutely nothing to help your case.”
Maybe you should take your own advice. A guy like you should be stepped on, because you have no class what so ever. You’re just mad because you have been exposed for the racist loser you are. What the hell man? You can’t win an argument so you attack people. So sad. At least Jenn can rest assured she looks better than you or anyone you know.
“Again, I recommend you sit back and take inventory of yourselves and then strive to attain a more worldview. Once you have done this…apply it to your agenda. I think you will find your eyes will be opened. Or you can continue to wallow in your little…and I mean little….mud holes.”
Hahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahah Holy SH*T DOGG WHAT ARE YOU ON. You should sell it. You would make a killing. What world view? You sound like someone who took a world tour on his computer and goes online to say his made up facts.
@steveb
Sadly, you have been banned for your latest comment, wherein you call Dei Wong a “loser”. Ad hominem attack = can’t play here.
will respond more later.
@steveb
//Blah blah blah Jenn is immature blah blah blah
Immaturity comes from the one who launches personal attacks in a serious debate. Even just in this thread, you are the one who starts with the personal attacks, calling me “a one trick pony”. Responses to you focus on your arguments, but repeatedly, you resort to ad hominem attacks. Those are the tactics of schoolchildren — if you have a valid argument, than make those points. Don’t call your opponents “losers” and “twits”. No one else has done any name-calling against you.
//You are the immature one…the one who puts cartoon characters of Asian women….can’t you find any REAL Asian women to headline? You have to hype some imaginary Asian woman to headline your blog?
No. This blog was created to promote reappropriation of Asian Americans in American popular and political culture. Anyone who has followed this blog since its inception has known that part of this blog has been to highlight examples of APIAs (particularly women) in pop culture. Given the dearth of APIA female superheroes, one thing I have done is develop blog themes specifically focused on those characters. As I have written above, part of that is my choice to spotlight those characters (and pay homage to my fangirlness), part of it is because comic book artists are better than me, and part of it is because it would take too much time (and be really narcisstic) to post a picture of myself in my blog theme.
You, on the other hand, are the one who made this a fat acceptance issue.
//Most people would put themselves up…but not you. One can only imagine why.
Actually, if you look at the vast majority of popular blogs, feminist or otherwise, you will find very few people who post a picture of themselves as their blog theme. Here are just a few examples of popular blogs:
Alas — a picture of a two-headed person.
Pandagon.net — a picture of a panda
Racialicious — a picture of gummi bears
Angry Asian Man — a picture of a G.I. Joe
Daily Kos — a picture of orange swirlies
Eschaton — no pictures
In fact, I conducted a little study, wherein I went to Google and typed in “Asian American” (for lack of a better keyword) and hit Blogs. Then, I assessed how many of the first 30 hits led me to a blog that used a picture of the blogger as part of their blog theme. Only 1 (Hyphen Blog, and there I wasn’t sure if that was a picture of the blogger or of their latest feature celebrity) had a picture of a person in their blog theme — that’s 3.4%.
So, when you say “Most people would put themselves up…but not you”… you are talking out of your ass. Apparently, only about 1 in 30 blogs actually use pictures of themselves as part of their theme — I am part of the vast majority of bloggers who use generated artwork of something they feel symbolizes the focus of their blog for their themes.
more later.
//Who said you are ugly? I didn’t. Are you saying all fat people are ugly?
You are the one who is projecting the notion that I don’t have a picture of myself in my blog theme because I think my “girth” is “unappealing”. Since I don’t think any part of that sentence is true, you are the one who has linked “girth” with “unappealing”, ergo you are the one presupposing that fat people are ugly.
//Fact is they aren’t but lets be honest here….self esteem issues do deepen as girths widen…it all fits as to why you would rely on imaginary Asian women…and not yourself….to headline the “writings of a Asian-American feminist”. Look at it this way…it would be like Madeleine Albright putting up a picture (photo or artwork) of a model….say Tyson Beckford…at the top of her blog to somehow give the illusion that she looks like that.
You are the only one who did not know that the header image is Jubilee, so you made up some crazy ideas about me based on your own comic book ignorance. Frankly, this whole thing reeks of strawman — you can’t win the actual argument so you’re making up a self-esteem issue over my blog theme.
It’s all beyond ridiculous.
//Stereotypes are heaped in truth and you know it. Even Jesse Jackson said he would be relieved to discover that two males walking behind him on a street…weren’t black. Apparently even Jesse Jackson was stereotyping? Think, Jenn, think!
Stereotypes are based on a kernel of truth, but it is irresponsibly simplistic to argue that stereotypes reflect the truth. We can point to instances of Black criminality, but the problem of stereotypes comes when we assume that our isolated incidents are an accurate reflection of a whole people. There are Black criminals, but criminal violence is not exclusively a problem of the Black community.
In addition, Jesse Jackson said “There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved…. After all we have been through. Just to think we can’t walk down our own streets, how humiliating.” In this quote, he is acknowledging the pervasiveness of the Black criminal stereotype and the White non-criminal stereotype — and at the same time, condemning the fact that the culture buys into the stereotype. Just because Jackson admits to having bought into the stereotype doesn’t mean that it is a correct way to operate. It is flat out racist — Jackson admits in the same quote how deleterious and humiliating it is for the community that members of the community believe the stereotype.
//You folks started the “ad hominen” attacks first so I merely replied in kind. Go back through the postings and it is very obvious. You called me a liar…then come back and say you don’t care if it is true…that somehow putting a Hmar girl through school is meaningless. What are YOU personally doing?
I did go back through the posts, and you are the ONLY person to resort to ad hominem attacks, using words like “twit”, “idiot” and “loser”. When your supposed paying of a Hmar girl through school is raised, Dei Wong questions your honesty (he says “how do we know you are telling the truth?”) but does not call you a liar. I say it is an irrelevant point — again, not an ad hominem attack but pointing out the logical fallacy when you argue that one act of philanthropy negates an act of racism.
Just because you don’t LIKE the argument doesn’t make it ad hominem. You’re the one who resorted to name-calling.
//If if was immaterial…it would have been immaterial from the start and you wouldn’t have called me a liar. If I were racist, why would I pay to put a “brown” girl (per you and your ilk) through school?
It WAS immaterial. As soon as you write about it, both Dei Wong and I say it is immaterial.
And plenty of racists think they can justify or buy their way out of racism. Hell, slaveowners thought that they were saving African slaves from a barbaric, heathen life in Africa. You might be paying for school for a Hmar girl (I never categorically called that person as a “brown girl” — I referred to your argument as “I donate money to brown people” — which is exactly context within which you raised the point) for philanthropic reasons — then again, you might also subscribe to notions of brown and black inferiority requiring White charity in order to survive. Or you might be donating your money precisely because you think doing so will allow you to say racist things on the Internet with a clean conscience (because “If [you] were racist, why would [you] pay to put a “brown” girl… through school?”). Who knows? And furthermore, who really cares?
//You attacked me by talking about “one brown person” so I replied by reminding you I married a “yellow” person….or in other words, a person of color. Think you could marry a person “not of color”? Doubtful because you are racist against people “not of color”.
What’s more racist: marrying a person of colour, and having that have nothing to do with your discussions on the Internet? or, marrying a person of colour and than going on the Internet to use her skin colour to defend yourself against charges of racism? She’s a person, not an anti-racist trophy.
//Oh, those are stats. I defy you to find any other group…non-Asian…. with the same “anecdotes” as you say…which are really stats….against Japanese women. No other group has the same “anecdotes” and thus no other group has the same “stats”. Do you think you can figure that out? The fact is the pattern is there…and is real no matter how you try to bury it. Those are just the tip of the iceberg.
You have NO idea how statistics work, do you? Like, you don’t even know the definition of the word, do you?
I looked up hate crime statistics in America, and the following statistics were given for offenders who commit hate crimes:
A significant majority of people who commit hate crimes are White. That is not to say every White person is racist, but it is to say that hate crimes are not limited to the Black community. (And no, I will not crunch the raw data to find out what percentage of anti-Asian violence is perpetrated by Blacks — that would require more time than I am willing to devote to this).
“But, Jenn,” you might argue, “Blacks make up the vast majority of violent criminals!” Again, you haven’t looked up the stats. In 2004, 33.5% of people who committed a murder were White, compared to 35% who were Black. While Blacks are overrepresented compared to their national demographics, they definitely do not make up the vast majority of violent criminals.
If, as Jesse Jackson said, you heard footsteps behind you, you should be as concerned to see a White person as you would to see a Black person, since you have about equal probabilities of having encountered a murderer.
//Interesting you bring up a article about crimes in Okinawa. Don’t you find it interesting that the article mentioned the rape of a 12 year old girl in Okinawa in 1995? Guess who did that? Yep…blacks. Fact is, none of this is “out of my ass” but I witnessed the pattern throughout the many years I lived in Asia…and violent crimes against host citizens by blacks far eclipsed anyone else…despite blacks being in the minority. Fact.
I already told you what you need to do. I even found one of the two numbers you need. It’s pretty straightforward once you do it: divide (the number of crimes against Okinawans perpetrated by Black servicemen) / (the total number of crimes against Okinawans perpetrated by servicemen regardless of race) = % of crimes perpetrated by Black servicemen in Okinawa. If you can demonstrate by statistics that Blacks commit the majority of crimes, as you currently claim based only anecdotally biased “evidence”, than you win.
If you can’t present those numbers, than you are talking out of your ass. Fact.
//Prove me wrong. Bring up recent rapes in Japan by American military personnel….overwhelmingly it is blacks.
I did not claim that the majority of violent crimes in Okinawa are committed by Black servicemen. Ergo, it is not my responsibility to prove you wrong.
I could claim that the moon was made of green cheese. It would be my responsibility to show you a cheese moon rock, not your responsibility to fly a rocket up to the moon to collect a non-cheese moon rock. By the same token, you are responsible to back up your claims with statistics and sources. That’s how grown-ups have a debate.
//Maybe you aren’t aware of this…but marriage is not tantamount to having a friend. If you believe that it is…then you are a very long way from growing up.
Sorry? Were we talking about the definition of marriage here?
//maybe the 12 year old girl asked for it in your eyes.
Wow. You are just making wild accusations now. As I said, that is an anecdote. I didn’t say it was fictional — hell, I was the one who brought up the incident, not you. I did say that anecdotes are not statistics. You can say that this one incident is fucked up, but you can’t say that it means that most servicemen who commit crimes in Okinawa are Black. To say that, you need statistics.
//But the behaviors and attitudes I have witnessed by so many blacks while living there…and Thailand…and the Philippines…and elsewhere…is consistent with what these guys did. Not exclusively…but consistent in a broader sense. You explain why. Fact is it is far deeper than mere coincidence.
It is incredibly narcisstic for ANYONE to assume that their anecdotal evidence is equivalent to statiscal sampling. It assumes that you are unbiased, and that your experiences are sufficiently broad to have produced a random sampling of experiences. It suggests that you have made meticulous notes of every example in your head and have run the necessary statistics to distinguish chance from a genuine trend.
The fact is that NO ONE is capable of doing this. We walk into situations with preconceived notions. For you, that is the idea that Blacks are criminals. Than, we collect evidence that fits our ideas, and discard those that challenge them — for you, you remember every incident that involved Black offenders, and forgot incidents that involved non-Black offenders. This strengthens your stereotype of Black criminality because you believe that the world reflects your bias, when in fact you have collected a biased sampling of the world.
That’s why statistics exists in the first place — people are biased and we see what we want to see. You are no different — except that your preconceived notion is flat-out racist, made more racist because you are desperately spinning your wheels to try and support your stereotype as truth.
And frankly, steveb, you are out-classed. You make wild accusations. You rely exclusvely on anecdotal evidence. You spout nonesense popularized by Tea Partiers and birthers without bothering to find the base facts out for yourself. You demonstrate little ability to carry yourself with respect and dignity, and to disagree with others without being disagreeable. And you seem to have NO idea what observer bias, anecdotal evidence, or statistics are. Meanwhile, other readers on this blog are respectful, intelligent and rational (even while they disagree with you); many of them deal with race and statistics for a living. You are the dictionary definition of out-classed.
Frankly, you were entertaining, and I wish you had been more willing to have a grown-up conversation. But, since you seemed insistent on name-calling and immaturity, I only have one thing to say: buh-bye. you will not be missed.
I have heard much more individuals discussing that the law is Unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause. The Supremacy Clause forbids state and local laws that contradict federal laws in matters exactly where the federal government has authority to act.
Once again it only applies in situations where the law contradicts the current law. Arizona’s law requires that State/Local authorities hand over suspect illegals to the proper federal authorities. Maybe you have forgetten (since we haven’t enforced these laws) but it’s still a crime to enter our country illegally.
But as long as we are talking about Constitutionality let’s talk about the Commerce Clause with the Constitution (Article I, Section 8). This clause prohibits states and localities from passing laws that burden interstate or foreign commerce by, among other things, creating “discriminations favorable or adverse to commerce with specific foreign nations.”
Boycotting Arizona is UNCONSTITUTIONAL so knock it off already. Also to the Arizona government, how about we step up and actually file suit against these cities?