A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."
In the column, AsianWeek regular contributor Kenneth Eng listed "reasons" to discriminate against African Americans. The piece has been pulled from the newspaper's Web site, but the print edition of the free paper, owned by the politically influential Fang family, was still available in news racks Monday.
Eng called himself an "Asian supremacist" in January in another installment of the column, which runs under the label "God of the Universe."
You can read the original column in its entirety here (PDF link) -- have a butcher's, it's a real eye-opener.
What surprised me is how such a screed actually received editorial approval to go to print in the first place. Keep in mind this did not appear in some nutjob's photocopied newsletter, but rather a supposedly-legitimate newspaper with a decent circulation put out by a well-known San Francisco publisher. I mean seriously, is there any American newspaper editor in their right mind who would actually publish a column titled "Why I Hate Blacks" (which is not satirical and really is a column about hating black people written by someone who apparently hates black people)!?
It brings to mind an article I recall reading about the FCC's lax monitoring of Spanish-language media, which also described some widely differing standards when it comes to the media and its intended racial demographic.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." — P. J. O'Rourke
Yeah, that's totally f'd up. AsianWeek isn't exactly The New Yorker, but it's never done anything remotely this stupid and racist, as far as I know. Angry Asian Man did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts:
Angry Asian Man wrote:The controvery over Kenneth Eng's "Why I Hate Blacks" AsianWeek column continues to grow, gaining attention in the mainstream. Forget Eng. He's a punkass hack with a pathetically limited worldview, no better than a neo-nazi or a member of the KKK. His racist barking with be his own undoing. The people who really need to answer for this are the editors of AsianWeek, who chose to run the piece in the first place. Here's the apology AsianWeek issued regarding the matter:
"AsianWeek sincerely regrets any offense caused by the one opinion piece which reflected that author's personal views. We apologize for any harm or hurt this has caused the African American community. AsianWeek has great respect for all that the African American community has done for Asian Pacific Americans.
AsianWeek's operation and editorial policy are based on a philosophy of diversity. This includes fighting to promote diversity of opinion in our own community and even to expose its disturbing warts. It also includes a proven record on promoting cross-cultural diversity and inter-racial interaction. AsianWeek as an organization is proud of its deep and unparalleled history of working with, interacting with, and building connections among all the diverse groups that make up America."
Not much of an apology. This statement does nothing to denounce Eng's views. There's a big difference between promoting "a diversity of opinion" and a publishing an all-out racist hate rant. And don't give us fakespeak about "cross-cultural diversity" and "building connections" if you're going to give a guy like Eng a platform to spit on diversity. It's ridiculous. Continue to contact AsianWeek and tell them how you feel about this at asianweek@asianweek.com.
I'm sure that I'm going to be called an idiot, at best, but I really don't have a problem with a paper printing an opinion piece like this (in a general sense). Nor do I think anyone should be fired for expressing their views, even if they are blatantly idiotic.
geezer wrote:I'm sure that I'm going to be called an idiot, at best, but I really don't have a problem with a paper printing an opinion piece like this (in a general sense). Nor do I think anyone should be fired for expressing their views, even if they are blatantly idiotic.
I have to agree with this view, with the exception that expressing ones views must be a part of the job you are doing for that to be acceptable at work. But if you are hired, as in this case, to write an editorial or an opinion piece you should be able to say whatever you want and if an editor decides thats the kind of thing her publication wants to print then she can be responsible for that decision as that is her job.
Ultimately though the editor will be fired and the other editors wont hire that writer again so the net effect is the same. But if AsianWeek wants to be so audacious as to be openly prejudiced against blacks they still have every right to be in print... in the USA anyway; not that anyone here is saying otherwise.
Still fairly shocking news item on some level.
kind of like a cloud I was up way up in the sky and I was feeling some feelings that I couldn't believe; sometimes I don't believe them myself but I decided I was never coming down
pengo wrote:So you guys don't like freedom of speech/press?
Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press don't mean that people that say stupid things aren't told that they did something really stupid. It also doesn't mean that the publishers of stupid things don't get boycotted.
AsianWeek is certainly legally entitled to continue publishing whatever crap they want to. That doesn't mean that other people aren't equally entitled to excercise Freedom of Speech by very loudly stating that AsianWeek's editors are a bunch of idiots and should be fired.
There is nothing in Freedom of the Press which says that people have to buy AsianWeek newspapers, or that people cannot organize a consumer boycott of AsianWeek. Freedom of the Press only says that the government cannot shutdown AsianWeek.
pengo wrote:So you guys don't like freedom of speech/press?
Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press don't mean that people that say stupid things aren't told that they did something really stupid. It also doesn't mean that the publishers of stupid things don't get boycotted.
AsianWeek is certainly legally entitled to continue publishing whatever crap they want to. That doesn't mean that other people aren't equally entitled to excercise Freedom of Speech by very loudly stating that AsianWeek's editors are a bunch of idiots and should be fired.
There is nothing in Freedom of the Press which says that people have to buy AsianWeek newspapers, or that people cannot organize a consumer boycott of AsianWeek. Freedom of the Press only says that the government cannot shutdown AsianWeek.
Given the cornucopia of personal experiences and opinions on the forums, it's rare that I find someone stating my exact views so succinctly. Well put, ydejin
pengo wrote:So you guys don't like freedom of speech/press?
What do either of those have to do with this situation?
Writer isn't going to jail, and writer isn't being 'punished' for criticising the government.
Black Lives Matter
"To wield Grond, the mighty hammer of the Federal Government, is to be intoxicated with power beyond what you and I can reckon (though I figure we can ball park it pretty good with computers and maths). Need to tunnel through a mountain? Grond. Kill a mighty ogre? Grond. Hangnail? Grond. Spider? Grond (actually, that's a legit use, moreso than the rest)." - Peacedog
AsianWeek has great respect for all that the African American community has done for Asian Pacific Americans.
What exactly have they done?
Meat Shield
In his clever way, Superhiro is saying that Asian Americans would be stuck in the modern equivalent of restaurants, laundries, and railroad gangs if not for the civil rights movement.
My first thought when I heard this was what the hell were they thinking? I mean, honestly. If you're trying to be seen as a "mainstream" paper why publish crap like this? And then to act shocked that there's been such a backlash? They just now realized that it was a mistake to publish a hate-speech piece penned by a self-professed asian supremacist? Morons.
It would be like the Family Channel deciding to air Debbie Does Dallas in between a re-run of Family Ties and the Hallmark Movie of the Week and then being shocked that people were offended. That's not what people come there to see and that's not what people bought that paper to read. I think it's just a horrible case of editor ignorance on who their subscribers are.
Oh, and my second thought when I heard this was that maybe one of OO's former members had decided to take up free-lance journalism. You know, as a social experiment.
"If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out?"
- Will Rogers
Radio Raheem: Give me 20 D Energizers.
Sonny: 20 C Energizers?
Radio Raheem: Not C, D.
Sonny: C Energizers?
Radio Raheem: D, motherfucker, D. Learn to speak English first, all right?
Kim: How many you say?
Radio Raheem: 20, motherfucker, 20.
Sonny: Motherfuck you.
Radio Raheem: Motherfuck you? You, you all right, man.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
AsianWeek has great respect for all that the African American community has done for Asian Pacific Americans.
What exactly have they done?
Meat Shield
In his clever way, Superhiro is saying that Asian Americans would be stuck in the modern equivalent of restaurants, laundries, and railroad gangs if not for the civil rights movement.
I agree (well, maybe not the railroad gang part). Asian American rights groups that emerged in the 1960s and 70s were modeled on their African American counterparts, and many of the leading Asian American activists got their start in the civil rights movement. Even more importantly, the Immigration Act of 1965, which would lead to a major increase in the Asian America population and a dramatic shift in Asian American demographics, was made possible by the success of the civil rights movement.
Radio Raheem: Give me 20 D Energizers.
Sonny: 20 C Energizers?
Radio Raheem: Not C, D.
Sonny: C Energizers?
Radio Raheem: D, motherfucker, D. Learn to speak English first, all right?
Kim: How many you say?
Radio Raheem: 20, motherfucker, 20.
Sonny: Motherfuck you.
Radio Raheem: Motherfuck you? You, you all right, man.
Damn, it's been too long since I watched that movie.
Going to be hard to watch with a critter running around though - although it would be kinda cute to hear her say "motherfuck you."
Uzi or sword? Uzi or sword? Uzi or sword? Or Glock? Wait, OMFG, I'm a fucking dragon!!! With body armor!!!!!!
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton MYT
His mind-boggling eccentricity is still pretty entertaining, but I'm starting to feel guilty about laughing at a young man who is clearly seriously disturbed.
His mind-boggling eccentricity is still pretty entertaining, but I'm starting to feel guilty about laughing at a young man who is clearly seriously disturbed.
GIBSON: You seem very angry. What are you angry about? Why are you angry at so many different kinds of people?
ENG: First of all, I would just like to say that solipsism proves that my philosophy is that since I am the only consciousness I'm aware of, any solipsism must be real. Therefore, since perception creates reality, in both the quantum and relativistic realms, I must be god. So the only reason why — so if there is such a thing as god, then he's me. Either worship me or, you know, forsake religion.
Possibilities:
1. Borat.
2. Sincere.
3. Sincere and crazy.
To his credit, let me say this: if I ever get an interview on Fox, I hope that I have the stones to lead with a reference to my medeival mecha-dragon stories.
Edit: And if Fox knew dry humor, I might think that this header on the story was deliberately funny:
This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," March 5, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.
The highlight of my day, really. I shortend it, but it is still (surprisingly) In context..
ENG: ...But you know, I mean aside from that, you probably want to know why I call myself the god of the universe as well.
GIBSON: No, I wasn't going to ask you about that. Why do you hate white people?
"Adam was but human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten the serpent."
-- Mark Twain .
Mr. Fed wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:43 pm
To his credit, let me say this: if I ever get an interview on Fox, I hope that I have the stones to lead with a reference to my medeival mecha-dragon stories.
I have to admit I haven't watched Mr. Fed's recent interview on Fox - did he have the stones to lead with a reference to his medieval mecha-dragon stories?
I'll just point out, perhaps rhetorically, that not all mental illness is manageable. Schizophrenia is particularly scary and random, and while some, even many, can be treated and their illness controlled, it is not an easy thing for any of them.
Like physical illness, sometimes mental illness takes over and no amount of effort, money or love can stop it.
A great post, Ken. For all of your writing on legal issues and Dungeons & Dragons, I think it's your work on mental illness that will leave the deepest imprint.
Thought provoking. I've always thought that I'm a bit "internet-broken" because my primal instinct is not to mock or disparage folks when I'm initially presented with their [other]ness (though, regrettably, I don't always follow this primal instinct). But this is a very nice piece that I hope helps turn a few minds towards thinking a bit more about the big-picture when presented with such evidence.
Thank you as well.
"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." — Elontra
Mr. Fed wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:43 pm
To his credit, let me say this: if I ever get an interview on Fox, I hope that I have the stones to lead with a reference to my medeival mecha-dragon stories.
In 2007 the idea of Mr. Fed appearing on Fox seemed crazy.
