Actress
Madeline Kahn was yelling at me to take action, but I was too blinded by my own
anger to listen.
“Speak!
Speak! Why don’t you speak?” Kahn screamed in a scene from “Young
Frankenstein.” The clip is spliced into the now infamous “O’Reilly Factor”
segment after Fox News correspondent Jesse Watters asks an elderly Asian woman,
who clearly doesn’t understand English, how she feels about Donald Trump. She
stands silently as the Mel Brooks classic is defiled by being in this piece.
The clip is played for laughs, but it’s really just played out.
The
Video That Forged an Awakening
By
now you may have heard or seen the video that GQ tweeted is probably “the most
racist Fox News segment ever.” The rough assignment was for Watters to head to
Chinatown to get Chinese opinions on Donald Trump. As Watters faced an
onslaught of backlash, he tweeted a flippant non-apology that his segment is
meant to be “tongue-in-cheek.” Unfortunately, the foot-in-mouth piece misses
its target like Dick Cheney hunting with Harry Whittington. Watters manages to
check off a litany of lazy Asian stereotypes, including broken accents, foot
massages, and Mr. Miyagi. The latter a timely reference that “The Daily Show”
comedian Ronny Chieng compared to “making fun of Americans for ‘Saturday Night
Fever’ and Mr. T.” In fairness, ridiculing Mr. T is never acceptable.
A
particularly ignorant touch in this story about the Chinese involved Watters
asking a man if he knows karate (Japanese), then sparring with him in a
taekwondo studio with a South Korean flag in the background. As it were, that
karate man, Qanta Shimizu, said on Facebook the experience left him uncomfortable
and ashamed. This is how it transpired:
He asked me about "What do Chinese
people feel about Donald Trump?" and of course I replied to him like
"Oh I'm Japanese, not the right person to reply to that question?".
Ridiculously, he didn't ask what I feel
about Trump as Japanese, instead of that, he asked me "Do you know
Karate?"
Non-Apologies
and the Attempted Politicizing of Racism
The
criticism of the Watters segment has been strong and steadfast, culminating
thus far in a protest outside of Fox News headquarters in Manhattan, led by
several elected officials and different minority organizations, not just from
the Asian community. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: “the vile,
racist behavior of Fox’s Jesse Watters in Chinatown has no place in our city.
@FoxNews – keep this guy off TV.” Watching public outcry has been heartening,
but Watters’ own non-apology tweet was equally disheartening. His defense: “As
a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece,
as all Watters World segments are.” In a second tweet: “My man-on-the-street
interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone
found offense.”
How
insulting. This is the worst non-apology since Ryan Lochte lied about getting robbed in Brazil during the Rio Olympics. Watters
is telling the offended that it’s their fault for not understanding the segment
was intended to be funny. Obviously, we know that the piece was meant to be fun.
The piece failed when all it did was mock Asian people in Chinatown, most of
whom did not understand what Watters was saying. Bill O’Reilly threw fuel on
the fire when he defended Watters to Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday”:
I would have edited it a
little bit differently than it was edited. But, no, it wasn't over the line. We
ran that piece on Monday of last week. 5 million people, plus, saw it
live-time. You know how many negative letters we got? Less than ten. You know
how many phone calls came in to Fox News? Zero, as far as I know. We checked.
It was 36 hours later that this outrage appeared. And where did it appear?
Far-left websites, far-left precincts. I read every single one. They're all the
same.
So
this is an attack on Fox News. That's what it is. It's happened before. I
thought it was a gentle piece. There were a few things in there I felt were
over the line. The old lady, I would have taken that out. I should have seen it
before, but I'm so busy with the election that I didn't. But, [Jesse] Waters is
a gentle satirist. He's worked very well for us. We're proud of him. This is an
organized campaign. This is what they do. They've done it before.
You
can make an argument that politics plays a role in this outrage. Then again,
you can make an argument that socks look good with Birkenstocks. My point is,
you can argue anything. For me, politics has nothing to do with my indignation
and it’s infuriating to see O’Reilly attempt to politicize the response.
There’s nothing Republican or Democrat when someone uses the N-word or loops
all Asian cultures into one karate-knowing group. That’s just ignorance. O’Reilly
uses the term “gentle satirist.” Humor is always the easiest defense. Watters
defenders are hiding behind the cloak of comedy. Can’t you take a joke? Stop
being so sensitive.
The
Silence of Asian Culture
Therein
lies the problem that’s long faced the Asian community. Silence. The Asian
culture has always emphasized being quiet and steadfast. Work hard, be
rewarded. Ask any Asian you know how their parents raised them, and the odds
are the answer will be to work diligently, ignore the noise, and be respectful
of others. That’s not a stereotype, that’s a cultural priority. It’s why Asians
are referred to as the “model minority,” a myth that emphasizes Asians’ focus
on educational and financial success, all as passive and “model” citizens. Compared
to stereotypes that affect blacks and Hispanics, it sounds like Asians have won
the racism lottery. But it’s not all affirmatively awesome. The myth makes
Asians appear less threatening and more susceptible to inconsequential racism. That
silence has allowed for derogatory language and stereotypes to persist over the
years that other minority groups would never stand for.
Can
you imagine Jesse Watters waltzing into Harlem and asking black residents: “Do
they call African food in Africa, just food?” “Can you guys stop terrorism in
Somalia?” “Are you good at basketball?” The answer is no. I’m firmly aware of
this because I subjected myself to watching two more Watters Fox segments in
which he went to Harlem to do man-on-the-street interviews, and he didn’t
attempt any of those offensive moves at “humor.” Yet, those are essentially the
questions Watters asks the people of Chinatown: “Do they call Chinese food in
China just food?” “Can you guys take care of North Korea for us?” “Do you know
karate?” Watters asked these questions because he was unconcerned about the
repercussions. Even Bill O’Reilly knew the bit was “probably going to get some
letters,” so he brushed it off as “gentle fun.” Crying Jordans memes are gentle
fun, this was a gross misuse of journalistic influence.
When
Jeremy Lin and Linsanity shook up the NBA (I’m being modest, really the
country) in 2012, the word “chink” was still cavalierly used. ESPN was even
guilty of using it as a pun. I was recently at the LA Rams preseason camp when
the spouse of a player used the phrase “chinky eyes” right in front of me. She
didn’t do it maliciously, it came naturally. The point being that many people
don’t realize that word is the Chinese equivalent of the N-word. How has the
Asian community not created enough backlash to make it clear that vernacular is
not acceptable? Because speaking out is not embedded in our culture. Name a
black civil right activist. Easy. Name one who’s Hispanic. Cesar Chavez. Name
an Asian civil rights leader. Honestly, I can’t either.
The
Long Duk Dong Effect
The
identity problems in the Asian-American community run deeper than decibels. That’s
where media portrayals enter the scene. I lived in Alabama and Wyoming, both of
which have miniscule Asian populations, and I’d receive many seemingly ignorant
questions about my ethnicity; but the questions were rarely ever based in
malice, instead it was general curiosity from residents who’ve never had an
extended conversation with a Chinese man. In rural America, the Asian
population is so sparse, how besides media do people learn of Asian culture?
That’s
where Watters’ racist caricature carries so much power. Take the late John
Hughes, creator of iconic ‘80s films; beloved filmmaker of films like “Ferris
Bueller” and “The Breakfast Club.” For many Asian males, he’s deeply resented
for creating a socially awkward, emasculated nerd that was a walking punch line,
Long Duk Dong in “Sixteen Candles.” There were so few Asians in popular media,
that Long Duk Dong became the prototype for the Asian-American man.
One
might point out Asians have Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan as cultural role models. Lee
is certainly an icon, but he died in 1973. Chan’s first US movie wasn’t until
1995 (“Rumble in the Bronx” which was originally filmed in Cantonese and dubbed
in English). Plus, these guys are both martial artists, which only perpetuates
the stereotype that all Asians know karate, ultimately leading to Watters’
question.
Don’t
get it twisted, these tired portrayals (or lack thereof) take their toll on the
Asian identity. Name some Asian stereotypes: bad driver, broken accents,
anatomic shortcomings, etc. When you’re young and don’t look like others, don’t
eat the same food, and that’s all you see of your culture on TV growing up –
who wants to be Asian? African-Americans must deal with far more racial strife
than Asians, but from a strictly pop culture standpoint: black culture is cool
(as witnessed from its constant appropriation); Asian culture is not. Mainstream
TV shows like “Fresh Off the Boat,” “Master of None,” and “Dr. Ken” are
changing that, but that’s a recent revolution.
I
don’t speak for all Asians here, but I know I don’t just speak for myself
either. The Watters segment triggered memories of identity suppression, self-doubt,
and ridicule. I grew up in conservative, affluent, white Orange County, CA, in
the ‘80-90s, which was pre-Asian boom. My friends were predominantly white and I
loved being the “cool” Asian kid that was accepted to hang with the white kids.
There were times I mocked the handful of other Asians who spoke with a broken
accent and packed mapo tofu dishes for lunch. There was also a time when a group
of Asians even bullied me. The problem, so evident now, was that I was ashamed
of my identity. I didn’t want to be Chinese. I wanted to be white so I could
fit in. My father once told me he tried to set me up with all white friends as
a child to make it easier on me. I can only imagine the merciless racism
immigrants like my dad faced when he first moved to the US in 1959. He didn’t
want his only son to face the same plight and I understand that, but it came at
the expense of cultural pride. I purposely did not learn kung fu because I
didn’t want to be a stereotypical Asian. That same stubbornness led to my
refusal to learn Mandarin, a decision that continues to haunt me and has
prevented me from having more meaningful relationships with family members who
don’t speak English. That is the cost of complete cultural assimilation, but it
need not be so drastic. To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Only a Sith deals in
absolutes.” There is no shame now. I’m woke.
Watters
took advantage of a race he thought would not fight back, because historically,
Asians have not. He bullied those who had no idea they were being bullied. He’s
no stranger to controversy, either. He once followed, ambushed, and harassed a
blogger on vacation who was critical of Bill O’Reilly’s comments about a woman
who was raped and murdered (according to her article in the Huffinton Post,
O’Reilly implied the victim was partially at fault because of what she wore).
Now
Watters’ racist story woke a sleeping tiger, as Nielsen research estimates the Asian-American
buying power will be more than a trillion dollars by 2018. A month ago, NBC was
set to develop a TV show about a mail-order bride from the Philippines, but it
was canceled immediately after the AAPI community criticized the premise for
making light of human trafficking and racial stereotyping of Asian women. Under
pressure from the Asian American Journalist Association, an “O’Reilly Factor”
executive producer has agreed to meet with AAJA and several community leaders
to discuss the Oct. 3 segment of “Watters’ World.” A New York Times op ed about
everyday racism further invigorated Asian-Americans to tell their stories. It
has taken the AAPI community a long time to be more vocal, but it’s happening.
Speak,
you say? Done. But will you listen?
Postscript:
I
leave you with this exchange that gave me so much hope, from Twitter no less:
