There is no lasting advantage to insulting others

A Personal Invitation to Steve Harvey

canadian goose jacket As our conversations about race transcend the literally canada goose clearance black and white, they do not become any easier. I was talking to a fan of comedian Steve Harvey, a friend of mine who happens to be an Asian American woman, about his comments denigrating Asian American men as unattractive to white women. She told me she was disappointed in the fifty nine year old comedian, an African American celebrity who hosts the “Family Feud” game show and has been honored repeatedly by the NAACP canada goose clearance sale with its image award. As an Asian American male who devoted most of Canada Goose Parka his career to an historically black institution, I am always looking for an opportunity to build bridges. canadian goose jacket

buy canada goose jacket cheap My friend has the best strategy: to engage canada goose rather than condemn. Harvey felt he was being witty; he is not in the least remorseful. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Canada Goose Outlet He cheap Canada Goose certainly acted as if he were hilarious as he suggested white women would not date Asian men. He continued by voicing his own preferences. He does Canada Goose Jackets not like Asian food and what canada goose coats on sale he cannot pronounce. (He doubts black women would date Asian men either.) Canada Goose Outlet

uk canada goose Even as the controversy developed, thanks to the instantaneous power of the internet and Asian mastery of technology there’s truth to a stereotype for you Harvey visited President elect Donald Trump to offer wisdom about urban renewal. His comments cannot be dismissed as harmless foolishness. uk canada goose

cheap canada goose uk Celebrities are role models. They license our behavior. We imitate them. cheap canada goose uk

canada goose coats on sale Anti Asian themes canada goose store are cliches. If you have a sense of humor, you should be offended by the recycling of the material. Asian men, whether foreign or American, have been mocked for their alleged lack of masculinity. Ironically, the more Asians appear to be successful, the more of a threat they present to “real” Americans and even other people of color, and, it seems, the more urgent the need to reduce them by any means necessary. So Asians buy canada goose jacket cheap are abused with impunity. canada goose coats on sale

canada goose clearance Nobody remembers that an early canada goose deals Hollywood star was Sessue Hayakawa. The Japanese American was a romantic lead when movies were a new medium. He was too good. canada goose clearance

Canada Goose Parka Hayakawa embodied Yellow Peril. As was true in the Deep South with black men, in the pioneer West the attacks on Asians, who were primarily working men, emphasized the possibility of “miscegenation,” a fancy word for mixed marriages. They had to be excluded to prevent them from populating the Pacific Coast. They were supposed to be as seductive as they were lustful, consistent with their plotting to conquer the world or the universe in comic books and pulp novels. Canada Goose Parka

canada goose coats The iconic Bruce Lee, who Canada Goose online was about as virile as you could have dreamt up, faced unremitting hostility for courting his wife, who was Caucasian. Lee, who wrote, directed, produced, and starred in his own box office hits, was the first non white male to take all those roles simultaneously, before his tragic death. He has passed into legend with his “one inch punch” that would send a man reeling. He actually was Asian American, having been born on American soil, guaranteed his citizenship by birthright, thanks to a case brought by an earlier son of Chinese immigrants. (He was, incidentally, Eurasian, his maternal grandfather having been of European descent.) canada goose coats

Since Hayakawa and despite Lee, Asian men have been portrayed as weak and subservient, even while Asian women are depicted as exotic Canada Goose sale though submissive. In the canon of canada goose black friday sale coming of age 1980s movies, the classic “Sixteen Candles,” featuring Molly Ringwald before the “Brat Pack,” was marred by the character of Long Duk Dong, an exchange student obsessed with bedding an American girl (meaning a white girl).

The actor who accepted the role, Gedde Watanabe, should not be blamed. Even though he performed in the legitimate theatre in classical works, he had only a limited range offered to him by Hollywood mostly “cringeworthy.” He can be horny, frustrated, or both.

canada goose black friday sale Most recently, when basketball canada goose coats phenom Jeremy Lin set records as a rookie, he experienced relentless racial taunting exceeding the limits of generic trash talk, from competitors as well as opposing fans. Among the egregious expressions of hate were those that ridiculed his sexuality. These were part of a pattern, not isolated. Sports commentator Jason Whitlock was only the most infamous of the jerks. (He apologized.) canada goose black friday sale

Yet like so canada goose outlet many Asian Americans, Lin is thoroughly assimilated. He credits his Christianity for his accomplishments.

Stereotypes come from someplace. The media is a primary source. Asian Americans are props, the source of amusement. Cameos in such movies as Donnie Brasco, Fargo, and In the Line of Fire, to name a few specimens from the multitude of Asian figures, hapless and generally nameless, define the Asian personality for all to scorn and scoff at. The scenes in which they appear are re enacted in the schoolyard during recess, an endless loop of sneering that renders the Asian American ashamed of his ancestry, or determined to overcome it as if it were a disability.

In a documentary about the problem, “Slanted Screen,” Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa explains he revels in villainy. He would rather be proud as an evildoer, an agent of his own destiny, than groveling in the bit parts that perpetuate inferiority. Among his credits is Shang Tsung in the adaptation of Mortal Kombat.

These matters are about more than subjective feelings and abstract respect, though we should not underestimate the real trauma of recurring assaults to basic dignity. There is https://www.winterdownparkas.com nothing funny about being picked on. It’s asymmetrical. One party enjoys it. The victim has no choice. Asian American children endure the highest rates of bullying in school. By definition, this belittling of lineage is about communities as much as individuals. It leads to suicide in extreme instances. Private Danny Chen, serving his country at a remote post in Afghanistan in 2011, killed himself because of harassment and isolation.

cheap Canada Goose Harvey opened up a subject that deserves more than bad quips. It involves race and gender. There are disparities multiplied by disparities. It actually is black women, among all demographic groups, who fare least well in the contest for a mate. cheap Canada Goose

canada goose uk outlet He might not have noticed, but Harvey played into the notion that whites must validate people of color. By his standard, whether white women would like to date Asian men is the measure of their worth. Thanks to attitudes such as Harvey’s, however, they likely were stared at, as a black white interracial couple is, in a constant reminder of our unspoken norms. canada goose uk outlet

There are no households headed by Asian males with either white or black or Latina females with which I am acquainted, that do not have a poignant story. The resilience they had to display, including against their respective families, would shame any of us who are not aware of how common cruelties can be, extending to our own kin. The children who are asked daily what they are, how they came to have their name, which they are more of, and so on, testify to the bigotry of people who consider themselves decent.

What might turn out to canadian goose jacket be worse than the indelible black white divide in America is the potential clash of civilizations around the world. There are historic and incipient conflicts along the lines of race and religion, among other divides, with no end of demagogues eager to exacerbate tensions. The greater challenge is to bring people together. DuBois, who wrote “Souls of Black Folk” more than a century ago, pointed out, the domestic struggle for equality is related to, not distinct from, the global struggle to achieve the same justice. For Asians, including those who also are American, literal and figurative exclusion comes from both sides of the color line. In last year’s Academy Awards, while critics lamented the lack of black representation among nominees, the same sensitive observers did not hesitate to condone a skit, presided over by Chris Rock that made Asian kids the butt of the joke. Asian American protest persuaded them to own up to “regret.”

canada goose uk shop I am aware that some Asians have been willing to fight back on the same terms. If an African American person is anti Asian, they will resort to being anti black. I understand their frustration. I would not wish to be a member of an Asian family on Harvey’s TV program (or, more alarming in his book, a mixed family). canada goose uk shop

I am tempted to tell my friend not to be anxious. Harvey might well have an Asian boss soon enough. He’ll need a different script then. There is no lasting advantage to insulting others.

Canada Goose Coats On Sale Hope abides. Dialogue drives our diverse democracy. Canada Goose Coats On Sale

I invite Harvey to sit down to talk. We have common acquaintances who could join us and vouch for each of us.

I am sure we could make each other laugh. That would be a start toward mutual progress.

canada goose uk black friday Addendum. Like almost all Asian Americans, I want to share in our entertainment. The chestnut of Asian male anatomy can be effective. Humor depends on self awareness. canada goose uk black friday

In the recent buddy action comedy Central Intelligence, featuring Dwayne Johnson (part African American as well as part Samoan, a subject of considerable controversy) and Kevin Hart (African American), the exact same theme is deployed with the off kilter tonality that made the movie as a whole touching (with its message about bullying of the obese, not at all didactic). The reason it succeeds is Hart’s character is extemporizing his absurd vulgarity about East Asians (specifically Koreans) to a South Asian, who calls out his racism, before a sight gag involving a snake.