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Biking While Asian (or, the Most Asinine Story of anti-Asian Racism You’ll Read This Week)

April 8th, 2013

This is the heartwarming story about how a bunch of White, and one Asian American, Portlandians went on a bike ride one weekend, and the White people discovered their racism...

This is the heartwarming story about how a bunch of White Portlandians went on a bike ride with an  Asian American, and discovered they were racist. Picture courtesy of Veloprovo member Nicholas Caleb

As if we needed any evidence that all people, whether Far Right extremists or self-described liberal progressives, can be guilty of racism.

Last week, a local Portland-based cycling ”tactical urbanists” group launched a weekly group ride bicycle-based “fight against auto-centric infrastructure” that they called “Veloprovo“. The ride was designed to tour Portland streets that the organizers deemed “complete” and designed to accommodate bicycles, and to also “challenge the ‘tyranny of pollution‘ that the ‘capitalist automobile’ has wrought upon urban space”, while also planting broccoli shoots and sunflower seeds on the side of the freeway as “an act of rebellion”.

I shit you not.

Whatever happened to just meeting a group of friends at the local bike shop and riding down the shoreline just for the fun of it?

(Aside: I actually agree with the sentiment of Veloprovo. I’m an occasional cyclist who also finds the design of urban streets baffling when it comes to sharing the road between bikes and cars. I just find the left-wing pretension of this “advocacy” really eye-rollingly dumb. Planting seeds is not a rebellious act. It’s gardening.)

Anyways, in Veloprovo’s original write-up about their inaugural ride, ride organizers posted a photo of an Asian man who joined the group. This man was unknown to the organizers, and stood out to them, presumably because he looked different?

How different, you ask? Well, he was wearing a LiveStrong t-shirt, and according to other attendees, “he had all brand new “stereotypical biker gear,” didn’t speak with anyone and was filming everything.” And, oh yeah, he’s Asian.

Clearly, he doesn’t fit in, right?

Organizers went on to wildly speculate that this Asian gentleman was actually a local, prominent police captain named Chris Uehara, who was an undercover infiltrator secretly monitoring the groups activities, which was proof to participants that Portland is a “police state”.

Original side-by-side photo posted by Veloprovo organizer, Jonathan Maus.

Original side-by-side photo posted by Veloprovo organizer, Jonathan Maus.

The same man is pictured in a more head-on image, where it is obvious that he bears little resemblance to Captain Uehara.

The same man is pictured in a more head-on image, where it is obvious that he bears little resemblance to Captain Uehara.

The only resemblance between Uehara and the LiveStrong man? They are both stocky Asian men.

This shit is racist.

Why? Because here are a few incredibly asinine assumptions that have to be made in a person’s mind in order to conclude that this unknown person must be the local police captain:

  1. This Asian man doesn’t belong at your ride.
  2. This Asian man must be up to no good.
  3. All Asian people look the same.
  4. There’s only one stocky Asian man in all of Portland, and he’s the police captain.
  5. Police captains in Portland have the time and/or the desire show up undercover at your local “anarchist” bike ride in order to keep tabs on you and your group.

And seriously, thinking any one of the above five things is enough to get a pretty big “fuck you”. But all five and simultaneously?

Of course, there’s absolutely no way that the LiveStrong man was perhaps some random Asian dude who went out on this local group ride because it was, y’know, a public group ride. Perhaps he was new to the area and looking to make some friends while seeing the sights? Perhaps he had recently just sold his car and purchased a brand-new bike and associated gear in order to get around the relatively bike-friendly city that is Portland, Oregon while being a little more active? Perhaps he didn’t talk to other people because he arrived at the group and immediately realized he wasn’t dressed right? Or perhaps because he didn’t speak English very well and felt like taking time to warm up to the group? Or, perhaps because he felt a little uncomfortable because everyone around him thought he was a fucking undercover cop?

In short, the average person, armed with basic critical thinking skills, and who is not a racist douchebag* (see below) would realize that the Livestrong man was not Captain Chris Uehara.

But, of course, Maus writes:

The man in these photos appears to be the same man wearing a PPB uniform and identified as Cpt. Chris Uehara in a Portland Public Schools video from September 2012. Tracy Mattner was on the Veloprovo ride Sunday. She spoke to the man and is sure it’s Cpt. Uehara. “I spoke to Officer Uehara, who identified himself by his real first name, Chris.” she shared via email today. “He did not identify himself as an officer, but claimed to be a bicycle activist and enthusiast. When I asked how he heard about the event, he simply said he was at the “Tar Sands Ride.” Later, during group introductions, he stated that he had sold his car to buy the brand new bike he was riding.”

Another person on the ride, Nicholas Caleb, says having an undercover officer on the ride is a sign that we live in a “police state.” Caleb says the group has publicized everything they’ve done, held public meetings, videotaped their speeches, and so on. “You’d think when you do that, there’s no way you’d be the target of police surveillance.” “It’s scary,” he added, “But, we’re going to keep going forward with our positive ideas and creative energy.” Caleb said the man he suspects of being Cpt. Uehara was suspicious because he had all brand new “stereotypical biker gear,” didn’t speak with anyone and was filming everything. It’s worth remembering that the Portland Police has a history of secretly monitoring bicycle-based activism.

Headdesk. Head-muthafuckin’-desk.

It turns out that days after Veloprovo posted their original article, local reporters from the Oregonian Janie Har and Helen Jung picked up the story and accused Veloprovo of racism. Jonathan Maus (who tweets at @BikePortland) unleashed a flurry of defensive tweets that first accused journalists of not knowing the context, and that then rationalize his conclusion by saying that people are “evolved to notice ppl that look different. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Yes, people of Veloprovo, there is absolutely something wrong with that. There's something totally wrong about singling a guy out because of his race, and automatically assuming he doesn't belong.

Yes, people of Veloprovo, there is absolutely something wrong with that. There’s something totally wrong about singling a guy out because of his race, and automatically assuming he doesn’t belong.

I know. This is a level of stupid that amazes. But this story has a happy ending. Why? Because, it turns out that the self-important Jonathan Maus was oh-so-very-publicly wrong on this one. It turns out that the LiveStrong man named “Chris” who showed up at Veloprovo ride was not Captain Chris Uehara; he was Krisapon Chaisawat. Having recently moved from Key West, Kris is a 35 year old food server who doesn’t speak English too well (thus why he wasn’t very talkative during the group ride) and had joined the Veloprovo group to “meet people”.

Krisapon Chaisawat is pictured here in a picture from his Facebook page.

Krisapon Chaisawat is pictured here in a picture from his Facebook page.

He also seems randomly hilarious, based on his “About Me” on his Facebook profile:

1. I eat tacos with a fork.

2.I eat gummy bears by tearing them limb from limb and eating their heads last.

3.I cried when Spock died in Star Trek II

4.I like to tape my thumbs to my hands to see what it would be like to be a dinosaur.

5.If you asked me to tell you my favorite movie, I would have a hard time not saying Titanic

6.When I die, I want a steaming hot Reuben sandwich shoved in my mouth during the open-casket part of the funeral.

7.When I was little, I pretended my bike was a horse named Satan.

8.i’m single but it does mean im gay

(Aside: Kris, if you ever read this, I too cried when Spock died in Star Trek II, I too like the movie Titanic even if it’s horribly cliched to love it, I decapitate my gummy bears before I eat them, and I now really want to tape my thumbs to my hands to see what it would like to be a dinosaur.)

Kris’ wife (presumably an indication that #8 has been rectified) saw Maus’ Veloprovo post last week and urged her husband to contact the group and clear up the confusion racism.

Maus issued an embarrassed apology and has since posted an edited version of his original post without the finger-pointing and fear-mongering.

I regret the misunderstanding. I went with my gut because I felt the story was worth publishing with the information I had. However, I published it without 100% confirmation about the man’s identity. That was a mistake. When I published it, I didn’t fully respect or appreciate how it might make people feel if I was wrong. For that I am deeply sorry.

Maus has also offered to have Kris join them on future rides and to buy him a drink. Because, y’know, alcohol solves all of the world’s racism.

Hey, if it was good enough for the president...

Thanks, President Obama.

In the end, Maus is just happy to have “learned something” from this experience. Like, y’know, that not all Asians look the same. Or that, y’know, the police don’t care enough about your little “tactical urbanist” group of sunflower-planting cyclists to send the damned police captain undercover to spy on it.

Because, after all, we people of colour are just here to teach you these things. We aim to please.

Never mind that this all is stuff you should have already known.

If the thought of confronting Jonathan Maus and the other folks of Veloprovo over their racism brings you all sorts of indescribable glee, than you  can comment on the Veloprovo apology page here, send an email or comment on the BikePortland forum here, or tweet Jonathan Maus @BikePortland here.

Update: Okay, so I’ve had a chance to read Jonathan Maus’ apology posts and his wrap-up of his meeting with Captain Chris Uehara. I also got a chance to read this post by Veloprovo participant Jess Hayden. And, I gotta say that I’m impressed. Maus and Hayden acknowledge their privilege and apologize unconditionally for their roles in this fiasco. While I cringe at the concept of boiling this all down to a “teachable moment”, it’s nice to see some of the folks involved chastise their fellow bloggers and commentors for trying to rationalize and justify what they acknowledge as a product of internalized racism. So, I take back the “douchebag” comments above; these folks are not douchebags, just misguided.

Let’s just not let this happen again, m’kay, guys?

 

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Posted in Asian Americans, Awesome Asians, Racism | No Comments »

Duke University Frat Holds Racist Asian-Themed Party Complete with Coolie Hats and Yellowface

February 6th, 2013

Brothers at the Duke University chapter of Kappa Sigma held an Asian-themed party last week. And it was oh-so-incredibly racist.

It all began with the circulated email invitation. It was as if someone had taken Full Metal Jacket, The Good Earth, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and every episode of Charlie Chan and ground it with a mortar and pestle, and then placed the resulting smooth paste in a beaker over-top an open flame in order to distill the very essence of purified anti-Asian racism. To wit (these and all other images courtesy of Asian Student Association at Duke, which added the arrows and commentary to the original images):

You had me at "fuck you".

You had me at “fuck you”.

Protests and a formal complaint of bias from the Asian American community at Duke University forced the brothers of Kappa Sigma to rename their party “International Relations”. However, photos uploaded to the frat’s Facebook page (and later removed) prove that the party and all its full-glory racism went on as planned. Party attendees showed up in a variety of stereotype-riddled “Asian-themed” costumes, including coolie hats, kimono, sumo wrestler fat-suits, and loin-clothes (?).

The woman locking lips with the mostly-naked man in the coolie hat may or may not be dressed as a prostitute.

The woman locking lips with the mostly-naked man in the coolie hat may or may not be dressed as a prostitute.

And, of course, no "Asian-themed" costume is complete without a peace sign.

And, of course, no “Asian-themed” costume is complete without a peace sign.

Let’s be totally clear: this shit is racist.

It’s offensive for a whole host of reasons. First of all, this shit perpetuates degrading stereotypes of Asian/Asian American people and our culture; stereotypes that have been historically used to denigrate and dehumanize Asian people since we arrived on American soil. Y’know, the “good ‘ol days” when we were referred to as “Chinamen” and mocked for that r/l slurring in our accented speech moments before we were raped and lynched.

This party also underscores the Other-ization and marginalization of Duke’s Asian American students, who are as much a part of the Duke community as the members of Kappa Sigma.  And finally, it encouraged widespread yellowface by non-Asian students who think that becoming and being Asian is as simple as a quick wardrobe change. Asians are people. We are not a costume theme.

In the wake of the party, student organizations at Duke organized a widespread campus flyering of the above images — a public shaming of the brothers of Kappa Sigma for their behaviour. They further called for Kappa Sigma to lose its fraternity charter, which it had only had returned to it last year after a 10-year hiatus when it was forced to operate unofficially due to violation of on-campus rules governing fraternities.

Kappa Sigma responded with an email apology to the Duke community:

“Upon learning of the deeply damaging effects of our email to our fellow students, we should have completely canceled the aforementioned party,” the email read. “The Duke Community in which we exist is one that we see too often as divided, and while our actions have brought attention to and widened that divide, it is our sincere intention to work to contribute to a United Duke.”

Meanwhile, there has also been on-campus backlash against the response by the Asian Student Association and other organizations, specifically criticizing the use of Facebook pictures in their public shaming campaign. Some have argued that the ASA has unfairly targeted partygoers, rather than the organizers of the party. Writes one commenter on the ASA’s open discussion on the topic:

Now while I agree with the intentions of this event, I do not agree with how ASA or the initial creators of the flyers executed them. First and foremost, I don’t think it’s EVER be okay under any circumstances to violate another student’s privacy. I’m certain that no one asked for permission or consent regarding these more or less compromising photos.

To this I say — if you participated, you are culpable. The women in the above photos didn’t trip, fall, and stumble into some racist Asian get-up. No one subjected them to a reverse mugging, and forced a pile of coolie hats into their unwilling arms. No on is secretly standing behind that girl up there and demanding that she hold that peace sign up or know the full wrath of a taser. These people knew the party’s theme, and they chose to attend anyways. They put together their racist costumes of their own free will. They implicitly permitted their pictures to be posted to the Internet by Kappa Sigma. There can be no legal expectation of privacy here, and thus no violation of it.

Others on the ASA open discussion have criticized the public shaming campaign by suggesting that the Asian American community is “too angry” about this party. Writes another commenter:

I’m just disappointed by the lack of maturity with which this situation was handled. Was KSig’s initial email offensive? I’d say yes, definitely. Is it indicative of a more widespread issue within our campus culture regarding stereotypes and cultural sensitivity that needs to be addressed by the student body? Absolutely. But should we be protesting against one of (truly if not the most) internationally affiliated IFC fraternities on campus for their “racism?” I’d say that’s not only extreme, but also missing the point, and an action that only begets disproportionate backlash and knee-jerk reactions from both sides. I am all for creating a more accepting and tolerant atmosphere on this campus, but let’s start by doing so collectively and working together, not by singling out an individual group, which is got us into this whole mess in the first place.

I get it. This public shaming campaign is ugly. But, racism is ugly. It’s visceral and nasty and painful and often times violent and sometimes deadly. Y’know what happened when Dr. Martin Luther King marched peacefully in the Deep South for civil rights? He got hit in the head by a goddammed rock. Y’know what happened to the three Cornellians who drove down from Ithaca to join the movement? They were lynched on the side of a deserted highway. Sometimes anger is the only rational response to have.

Look, I do not condone any potential responses by the ASA that have been, themselves, racist or sexist. But I also cannot sit by and support the argument that Asian Americans (or any minority group) should respond to racism with only “a measure of calm”. Sometimes it takes time to find the strength to be the better man.

This isn’t just some party thrown by some dumb kids. I mean, yes it is, but when I see those coolie hats and loinclothes, I see what kids at an esteemed school of higher education think of me, of my mother and my father, of my sister and my future children. I see how they see my skin and my culture and my people. This isn’t some stupid prank — this is (at least metaphorically) racial violence: the willful and deliberate misappropriation of a person’s very identity and being for another’s transient and drunken amusement and debauchery.

Is it not a second form of racial violence to tell a people that, in the face of that cultural and racial violation, their own emotional reactions are invalid?

I agree that the Asian American community of Duke must find a way to forge a positive and constructive outcome from this incident. And already, they have: there has been an outpouring of support from Duke’s other minority groups, including the on-campus Black Students Alliance, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Lambda Phi Epsilon (a national Asian-oriented fraternity), and the Students of the Carribean Association. In my own undergraduate days, another incident of anti-Asian bias was what inspired me to join my local Asian American organization and eventually pursue a minor in Asian American studies; and it all came from a first spark of anger.

I await to see what happens next at Duke. But, I do know that parents should think twice before sending their kids to this school.

Act Now! If you are a student at Duke University, an open discussion is scheduled for tonight at 7:30 pm at McClendon 5 (hopefully, if you’re on-campus, that means something to you). Here’s the Facebook event page. There’s also an on-campus protest scheduled for earlier this afternoon, at 1pm. Contact Duke’s Asian Student Association for additional information or for other opportunities to get involved.

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Posted in Act Now!, Asian Americans, Colour-Face, Racism | 1 Comment »

Racist and anti-miscegnation letter sent to local CA resident calls Filipinos “filthy… scum”

January 8th, 2013

(H/T: Angry Asian Man)

The above letter was anonymously sent to Derek Valencia, a resident of American Canyon, CA.

The above letter was anonymously sent to Derek Valencia, a resident of American Canyon, CA.

Angry Asian Man reports on an image of a letter that has gone viral online. The above letter was sent to a local resident of American Canyon, a city located in California. The letter bears a letterhead claiming it is from the California Department of Consumer Affairs’ Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, an official state organization, and the first part of the letter appears to be a notification of violation of services. However, as you read down, the letter quickly devolves into racist hate speech, including such gems as calling Filipinos “filthy”, “unwanted”, and “scum”. The letter ends on a tirade against Filipino women marrying “Caucasion” (sic) husbands in order to bear “half-breed” children.

Angry Asian Man has provided a full transcript:

California Department of Consumer Affairs
Board of Barbering & Cosmetology

Maria Aida Ignacio Brandes aka Maria ‘Lenny’ Ignacio
Cosmetolgist-License #234099
421 Knightsbridge Way
American Canyon, CA 94503
DOB 10 September 1950

Subj: Haircutting/Styling Practices Under Revoked License

According to the State of California Licensing & the concerned neighborhood residence in close proximity to your dwelling find the above referenced license currently holds a status which carry restrictions from a disciplinary action brought against you as noted below:

License issued on 1 February 1991
Expiry 28 February 2013
Accusation filed on 22 November 2010.
Revocation effective date 4 January 2012

Note: Nguyen, Minh T.N. also covered under Lic #234099 at the time of the date accusation.

Be advised that under California statues “Any person providing certain services for a fee is required to be licensed by the California Board of Barbering & Cosmetology“.
Those services include (but are not limited to) hair cutting, hair dressing and styling, nail care, skin care, removal of superfluous hair, permanent removal of unwanted hair and the application of makeup.

Be advised from concerned local citizens that you may not be within jurisdiction to perform noted services includes in the statutes cited above. This would include the maintenance & care of known male/female/male child relations in current residence at 103 Ford Drive, American Canyon, cA 94503 since early 2010.

Ms. Brandes, be advised that you are potentially in breach of current State of California rules/regulations and subject to fines.

In addition, the American Canyon Filipino community as filthy as it is. [Illegible] unwanted as it is…… doesn’t need to bring additional unwarranted/unlicensed practices which assists in bringing down the already downward spiraling property values in our area.

We are attempting to have our community a law abiding one, without having yet another gang of Filipino scum such as yourself and married daughters who have attempted to assimilate into this once clean non-Filipino dominated area in American Canyon (Napa Junction) which includes those of your female offspring who have aligned themselves with CAUCASION husbands to assist in ensuring their half-breed children have “straight noses” in order to be accepted in non-Filipino society.

Yours Truly,
Concerned American Canyon Neighbors

This is the kind of thing you expect from Jim Crow era America, not the twenty-first century. The typos and poor grasp of the English language suggest someone younger, or, I guess, someone who doesn’t know how to work spell-check. Or, I guess, an ignorant bigot who was somehow given access to a computer and a printer.

Either way, this shit is so racist.

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Posted in Asian Americans, Racism | 1 Comment »

Colbert Report weighs in on Bill O’Reilly’s anti-Asian comments last week in a questionable segment

January 8th, 2013

Last night, in the first return episode after a three-week hiatus, Colbert Report dedicated an entire segment to the recent controversy over Bill O’Reilly’s anti-Asian and anti-Hawaiian comments on the O’Reilly Factor last week.

Just to recap, O’Reilly remarked on-air that Asians aren’t naturally inclined to be liberal because we are generally “industrious and hard-working”, and that therefore it’s surprising that Hawaii and its high Asian population is home to rampant crime and drug addiction. Oh, yeah. He said that.

In typical satirical Colbert Report fashion, Stephen Colbert summarized the controversy in a monologue that contained a flurry of racialized (and generally schoolyard) puns and jokes. The segment ends with Colbert learning from his lawyers that stereotypes, even “compliments”, are insensitive. Check it out (fast forward to 1:48):

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Blood in the Water – Bill O’Reilly’s Racial Insensitivity
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Now, I obviously appreciate the sentiment of the segment, and for the most part thought it was a positive take on the controversy. It emphasized the point that “complimentary” stereotypes are still racist stereotypes, and that Bill O’Reilly is a jackass.

However, I also felt uncomfortable watching the segment. Peppered into the segment were some random puns and racialized humour targeting Asians. And while the segment was building to the larger point, the audience laughter felt less like they were in on Colbert’s joke, and more a “hahaha – Asians eat chop suey!” kind of reaction.

And herein lies the danger in dealing with racial topics in a comedic or parody fashion. I am reminded of Tarentino films like Kill Bill and Django Unchained (which my boyfriend has written a larger piece on in Facebook in which he addresses this subject). These films involve revenge fantasies that target specific racial minorities (and in the case of the latter, slavery); how these subject matters are being reacted to by an audience, within whom racial prejudices are ingrained, is relevant. In Kill Bill, is the audience reveling in Uma Thurman and her sword, or the visuals of a thousand Asian people getting cut to bits? In Gran Turino, when the audience laughs at Clint Eastwood, are they laughing at his ubiqutious use of the word “gook” and “zipperhead” or at it? Hell, is there anything funny about a White man calling a person of colour an epithet, ever?

I appreciate that Colbert Report dealt with Bill O’Reilly and his anti-Asian comments. I appreciate the message of his segment. But, “chop suey”? Really?

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Posted in Asian Americans, Racism | 3 Comments »

Chuck Todd needs to apologize for his random anti-Asian racism this morning

December 7th, 2012

Chuck Todd is the current host of MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” and a former White House correspondent.

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, host of The Daily Rundown, went off-script and spouted some random anti-Asian racism this morning. Returning from a commercial break, Todd mistook where he was taping from, confusing Washington D.C. (where the show is normally taped) with New York City (where he is right now).

Todd then made a dismissive retort about New York City, implying that he dislikes the city. When he was questioned as to why by his guests, Todd quipped sarcastically:

“That’s right, defend New York City, with your 3-block radius of Chinese takeout and dry cleaners.” (emphasis added)

Excuse me, Chuck? Did you just say on live national television that the reason you don’t like being in NYC is because you’re around too many Asian people?

That is seriously fucked up.

Act Now! You can contact Chuck Todd and the Daily Rundown with your displeasure over this random morning racism through Twitter at @dailyrundown, @chucktodd, and @msnbc.

(H/T: JEL)

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Posted in Act Now!, Asian Americans, Racism | 18 Comments »

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