anyhoo... on a related racist front... i hate to admit this but i watch that show, "real housewives of orange county". it's a reality show on bravo that follows the lives of five "housewives" living the high life in orange county.
last night, the thin man and i were sprawled out on the futon watching the latest episode. among the many "rhoc happennings", vicki, the housewife who is originally from the chicago area, accompanies her daughter on a drive to her (the daughter's) new condo. while her daughter drives, vicki conducts business on her cellphone. apparently, she's speaking to someone who's asian and after she hangs up, she goes on to say how all she hears is "chinky chinky chinamen".
i just couldn't believe i was hearing it again. i was curious to see if i could find a clip. i still haven't been able to find one but i did find that other viewers are calling her out on it on her blog. i posted my own comments but i'm sure they won't get published... here's what i wrote:
"...to all of you people who think asian americans should "just get over it" - just because you assume vicki didn't MEAN to be racist, offensive and hurtful - doesn't mean it WASN'T racist, offensive and hurtful to an asian person.
i'm asian. i was offended. i was hurt.
if you're not asian, you probably don't know what it's like to hear "chinky chinky chinaman" ALL THE TIME and what kind of pain or painful memories resurface.
a few years ago, my sister was walking down the street and some white men taunted her with ching chong. she ignored them and kept walking, assuming they would just quit. not only did they not quit, she was dragged into an alley and beaten. they screamed at her, "you chinks are taking away our jobs!" she's not even chinese.
i grew up in chicago and live here now but i've lived in nyc, asia and even (5 years) in california. i've experienced racism from every one - white and people of color, liberal, conservative, christian, non christian.
it's NEVER ok to be racist. that's what i teach my children anyway. this is not an isolated incident. shaquille o'neill did it. adam corolla did it. rosie o'donnell did it. pat robertson just did it.
everyone needs to own up to their own prejudices. everyone needs to reflect on why they think it's ok to be racist "in certain situations". it's not about being politically correct. it's about being respectful of people regardless of their color or culture. we all have to try to recognize subtle racism like this and stop it because if we don't, we're just enabling racism and ignorance to spread and thrive. "
UPDATE 2/10: i just googled and you can contact vicki gunvalson directly via email - vicki@coto/insurance.com - see here.
Please accept my sincere apology for the comment about one of my Asian clients. It was no way meant to be racist in any way. I have a very large clientele that are Asian and I respect their communities and cultures. I would appreciate accepting my apology for anyone that was offended. Regards,Vicki Gunvalson
UPDATE 2/11: i emailed vicki directly with the comment i made above and i just got an email back from her. she writes:
"You are right and I apologize! The comment I made to my daughter was wrong,and I am sorry. I had no idea what I said was going to be publicized on the air. I have learned from this and thank you for letting me know your side of this.
Vicki"
did you all catch that? she had no idea that what she said was going to publicized on the air. so, it's like rosie all over again... she won't make any racist comments anymore- on tv. THANKS A WHOLE HECKUVA LOT, VICKI!
please note the comment by lisa (below) reporting that some complaint comments seem to be missing from vicki's blog now.
i was just telling one of my neighbors (who is african american, married to a caucasian & also new to the neighborhood) about how weird it is for me to live in the neighborhood we live in. it's pretty much split 50/50 - african american and caucasian - generation after generation after generation. i told my friend that i feel like the thin man and i are "race spies".
some of our caucasian neighbors seem to think it's ok to say "watch out for the black people". then, i turn around and some of our african american neighbors say things like "i didn't think you spoke english" to me. the thin man (who is irish and puerto rican) has often had to endure conversations where neighbors talk about the negatives of "black people". he was even privy to a conversation about another latino neighbor who was vying for a captain position for the local volleyball league and how other players were trying to get him thrown out because they didn't want a latino in the league. why do these people think it's ok to tell me - a woman of color - these things? why do these people think its ok to share these thoughts with anyone - caucasian or of color? my friend was really interested because he realized that he really wasn't a "minority" in the neighborhood. he could see that clearly we were - our whole family.
i don't LOVE this neighborhood. but, it's not all bad. we've managed to fashion a pretty good life for us here. we've made very good friends here. we're able to live well and within our means. in some ways, i feel like i'm here for the same reason i'm still catholic. i can't run away from somewhere or someone that needs my help - EVEN THOUGH I REALLY WANT TO.
i guess what i'm trying to articulate (and not well) is does any one racist incident/statement make someone a KKK card carrying member? no. i don't think so. but it doesn't make that incident or statement any less racist. it doesn't mean we should just avoid talking about it or sweep it under the rug or excuse it as some isolated slip of the tongue. it came from somewhere and it doesn't disappear. it's just time for ALL of us to walk the walk and talk the talk.
so yesterday morning, we (me, the paloma, the porkchop and the thin man) all got up after a good night of sleep (for the first time in 10 days) and padded down to the kitchen, in our comfy pjs, to celebrate over a handful of favorite breakfast treats - an orange scone, a bear claw, a pumpkin muffie and a chocolate chip muffin.
then, a large, ominous, threatening cloud appeared and loomed over us. from the cloud, we heard an eerie cackle and then it said, "i'm rosie o'donnell and you're watching the view!". it was a repeat and they were talking about michael richards during the hot topics segment. rosie was explaining how the n word is used in the rap poetry of kanye west or tupac shakur.
i shoulda known my view/rosie watching wasn't quite over. while i was in palm springs, the thin man showed me this article criticizing rosie's "apology". and even before that, i heard about the whole rosie dissing trump suing rosie fiasco.
which made me more curious as to why some asian american celebrities haven't said anything about rosie's ching chong. is it THAT "dangerous" in hollywood to criticize a celebrity like rosie o'donnell?
eric byler and daniel dae kim got together and produced this video denouncing former virgina senator george allen and supporting allen's democratic challenger jim webb.
i read over at reappropriate that lucy liu had this to say about rosie o'donnell during a CNN interview, "I think Rosie O’Donnell is...is a comedian and comedians do things that are outrageous and not politically correct all the time. If everyone has the right to their opinion, and, uhm, I think that if everyone had to apologize for everything, then it would just be ridiculous."
which left me speechless, frankly. about as speechless as i was when i watched those two asian ladies emphatically clapping their hands in support of rosie and reading their lips saying "we thought it was funny."
but, i'm going to go out on a limb (and will probably upset a large segment of my asian brothas and sistahs who may one day stumble across my babblings) and say that i don't think lucy liu is stupid or a sellout or a race traitor...
furthermore (eek), i think she is in the perfect position to "represent" (something i think she prefers not to do) without trying to represent. opportunity has never knocked so hard on any door.... first of all, she's got a movie coming out soon with cedric the entertainer called "code name: the cleaner". second, she appears in an anthology (and critically acclaimed) film about the AIDS crisis called "3 needles", where she plays a blood smuggler in china. third and last, she's the executive producer for a new film called "charlie chan". apparently, she plays charlie chan's granddaughter. yeah. i know that went over like a fart in church. but, hey it's not even in production yet - innocent til proven guilty...
so, here's the thing... lucy liu is scheduled to appear on the view on thursday, january 4. i sh*t you not.
maybe, just maybe, if we all ask, intelligently and politely, MAYBE.. lucy liu can kick the sh*t explain, slowly, clearly and monosyllabically, so that rosie can understand, the hows and whys, the heights and depths, the basic and detailed intricacies of her racist chingchongery.
anyhoo - i processed, i ranted, i googled:
i think lucy liu's manager is mary ellen mulcahy at framework entertainment:
Framework Entertainment 9057 Nemo Street Suite C West Hollywood, CA 90069 i also found this email addy - mem@frameworkent.com - not sure it'll work though.
however, fans are told to request autographs via snail mail addressed to the william morris agency
c/o William Morris Agency One William Morris Place Beverly Hills, CA 90212
i dunno. i'm going to write to both addresses because i'm a glutton for punishment as mama nabi so eloquently commented to an oblivious, attention seeking, *sshat f*cktard in barcelona "...I owe it to my young daughter, who only knows love and kindness at the moment, to stand up and fight for it to stop being okay, to stop being "indifferent" to outright racial slurs, to attempt, until my last breath on earth, to make this world a kinder place for her - so that something like 'ching chang chong' is not a commonplace taunts that she will hear and will brace againt. It is my duty as a parent to say 'No more'....."
NO MORE.
UPDATE 01/03 - fyi, i just heard today that rosie is on vacation for the week. so, lucy liu won't even see her tomorrow.
UPDATE 01/04 - so, the whole rosie ching chong thing never came up.
barbara brought up the fact that lucy liu gets mistaken for lisa ling all the time and joy behar added "well, they're both chinese and pretty." to which lucy liu totally shrugged off agreeing that it was good for both of them. incidentally, lisa ling just ammounced her engagement to a doctor here in chicago. i believe his name is paul song (which is weird cause there's a dr. paul song in oncology at the hospital down the street where the porkchop was born. i was considering seeing him for a follow up.)
then this whole conversation happens re: kabbalah and buddhism and the chinese zodiac because lucy is wearing a kabbalah bracelet. she mentions that she wears it for protection but her mom's buddhist. lucy explains that the upcoming year is the year of the pig. then, joy responds, you're wearing a kaballah bracelet and then you're celebrating the year of the pig? *laughter* to which barbara responds with a "related" story about maury povich and connie chung trying to adopt a baby from china. their only request was that the baby be chinese and jewish. which opened up the topic of transracial adoption from china and how difficult it is now. lucy liu mentioned some restrictions including age and weight (?). but the subject was moved back in the direction of her new movie with cedric the entertainer where she plays his girlfriend and a waitress. apparently, there's a HOT fight scene with nicolette sheridan.
it's about here where i start to feel like i'm involved in one of those awkward conversations that someone (who i don't know) starts up for no reason in particular. i'll usually get asked what my nationality is and to be polite, i say "filipino". (personally, i don't usually mind people asking questions. growing up with CH, i think i just preferred people asking questions instead of silently staring at me.) and instead of just leaving the question answered a stream of consciousness discussion evolves into who else this person knows who is filipino or what their limited experience with filipino culture has been - their childrens' teacher, their hairstylist, their elderly parent's caregiver, the nurses at the local hospital, the best pancit/lechon/lumpia they've ever eaten, the few tagalog words they know, etc...
it reminds me of the time i backpacked in europe and every time i ran into another american i was greeted with, "where are you from?". i'd say "chicago". and the response would be "i'm from *insert amercian city here*"! to me, it seems the person assumed since we were both american we had everything in common.
earlier in hot topics part of the show, joy was demonizing any parents who spank their children (like her fellow guest host, sherri shepherd) and added that studies have shown that some people who were spanked tend to be sexually deviant. so during the lucy segment, joy asked lucy is she was ever spanked. lucy revealed that yes, her parents spanked her to which barbara responded, "but the chinese people are so gentle." APPLAUSE!
i just checked the view's video page here and they actually have the segment up of rosie o'donnell doing "ching chong". the video is labeled, "the view-hot topics-danny devito". it's about 3 minutes long and around the 2:06 mark she starts her "ching chong" thing.
i honestly thought i was hallucinating the whole thing because i hadn't heard about it via racialicous or angry asian man. so, i wrote to rosie via her blog to see if/how she would respond. nothing yet. i'll keep you posted if i hear anything....
UPDATE 12/7 :
the view got pre-empted by the president (what? is he covering up for her now?) i checked to see what videos they had available and there wasn't an apology. i don't know for sure if she apologized or not.
still no email from rosie. and on her blog, she's no longer taking any questions. so, i wrote and complained to barbara. that'll get me nowhere but i'm glad i got my measley 2 centavos out.
links to the video have been posted to racialicious, angry asian man, harlow's monkey and now - youtube and gawker (and um, what anonymous email tips... i didn't send numerous anonymous email tips to bigger bloggers than me.... wuh- huh? 0_o ) .
UPDATE 12/8:
i watched the view this morning and i didn't see/hear an apology either. it actually looked like a taped show. at one point, joy behar had mentioned her maiden named sounded japanese and then there was a *jump*. there was laughter where there wasn't a joke. it was weird.
the video has been taken off the view video site. but it's been youtubed:
however, rosie o’donnell has apologized (sorta???) and answered some viewer questions re: the incident on her blog:
1) Rosie: for someone who comes off to be so sensitive and aware of lgbt issues, why did you think it was alright to mock Chinese people and the language on The View (re:danny devito: ching chong …)???
it was not my intent to mock just to say how odd it is that danny drunk was news all over the world even in china
it was not meant to mock
2) hi rosie, i thought your impression of the news in china was a little offensive! it’s ok, though, I still love you-
didnt mean it 2 b offensive in any way
3) Rosie, what made you think it was okay to make fun of the way Chinese people speak?
the joke was about the danny devito drunk news making headines all over the world including china just comedy folks no intent 2 harm
peace
i dunno… ok, so she wasn’t trying to be offensive…
bottom line - it was racist thing to say and do, she should say so and she should apologize on the view since that’s where it happened.
and apparently, adam corolla gets together with guy aoki because he wants to help... whoa.
here's a great related post via tv guide's blogger, coggie. this especially rings true for me:
"When you grow up day after day of this, being blindsided by mindless cruelty, because you were born with features you can't cut out or facelift or transplant, you grow to develop a Pavlovian reflex-- similar to abused adults flinching when anyone raises their hands, because it cuts too close to home. It's a reflex I constantly have to fight. Constantly."
just so you know - ignorant people DO exist - here's proof (the bold is mine):
"Maybe I am utterly politically incorrect, but for the life of me I don't see how this would offend Chinese people. All Rosie did was mention that the DD story has gone international and imitated her version of a newscast in China. She wasn't exactly channeling Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast At Tiffany's." Chinese SOUNDS a certain way to our ears and she imitated it. She didn't hammer us with a stack of stereotypes. " UPDATE 12/9:
i say, WHAT THE F*CK!? this has nothing to do with whether or not she's funny. it has everything to do with her saying something racist and inappropriate and not admitting to it or apologizing for it. by brushing it off, she's basically saying, "hey everybody, it's okay to mock asians with ching chong. you're not racist. they're just being too sensitive."
UPDATE 12/10:
no emails from rosie or barbara.
racialicious has a new post up about guy aoki and adam corolla joining forces which reinforces what angry asian man had to say about it. and people are still talking about rosie even though she has a LOT of defenders, i'm glad the dialogue is still going.
reading a LOT about rosie, i've been reminded of the many times i was "ching chonged" or the experiences of friends of mine. i've read other bloggers similar stories too - like mama nabi's or hiromi's. i'm also reminded of the time when my stepsister was ching chonged and then beat up by a group of unknown white guys because they claimed she was "taking away their jobs".
i wonder when i'll be comforting my own children when they experience their first racist taunting. i just hope i'm there when it happens so, they're not alone.
UPDATE 12/11:
i keep forgetting to mention two things - the wikipedia entry for ching chong has been updated and i found this website where you can submit and discuss with others your own ching chong experience.
i still haven't received any email responses from rosie or barbara.
i checked rosie's blog and found that although she's not taking any questions, she's still answering some. here are two: "JP writes:
Hey Roside, why aren’t you getting your head out your butt and be more sensitive to Asian-Americans.Don’t post this message and see how you are hiding your true facade.You suck and need to get off tv.
go fuck urself jp"
(i'm very angry about rosie's racist remarks, but i'm not going to disrespect her because then i would be like her. don't be like rosie, people.)
"Leema writes:
U r a great role model. I respect ur courage. I’d like 2 know what makes u imitate a foregn language as a joke. It’d be funny if u knew how 2 speak it, it sounds racist and ignorant, which u r not.
i am irish i do an irish accent - make drunk jokes - stgerotypes this is comedy
i do many accents and probably will continue to
my mom in law impression offends some southerners what can u do
i come in peace"
UPDATE 12/11, 10:37 pm:
rosie has answered more questions/comments on her blog, but still nothing approaching an apology. if anything, there are more comments in support of her than against her. i can only wonder how many questions/comments she's hiding. basically, she says a) she didn't mean to offend anyone b) she's ignoring us c) she thinks we're blowing this way out of proportion and that our reactions are "odd" :
"Chao writes: Rosie - I am very appalled at your comments on The View regarding Asian people. They were so insensitive and hurtful. How can you possibly explain this and what can you say to help heal my wounds?
sorry u were offended chao it was not my intent
Beth writes: It’s so silly that Bill O’Reilly is having a segment on how you angered the Asians -you didn’t do anything at all - you were saying how silly it is that Devito became world news! Don’t listen to them! i dont toni writes: Ro, I can not believe that the Chinese are mad at you about a JOKE!!! Oh My God, lighten up people. Bill O’Reilly even stood up for you tonight on “The Factor”! Calm down people it was just a joke! go bill
Yves writes: Rosie-I don’t see the big deal about the Chinese routine. You’ve done English accents before on TV and the Brits didn’t get bent out of shape. They took it out of context and they need to chill. the whole thing is odd 2 me
Max writes: I’m a hypersensitive politically correct leftist. I checked out YouTube to see what the fuss was about. Give me a break! You were speaking Gibberish to symbolize a language you didn’t know. So what?! so what is right
Hiroyuki writes: Rosie, Till this latest incident I was on your side. How could you use racist stereotyping? If what you say in the past is true, what you say in the unguarded is true - then I guess you are a racist come on hirou gotta be kidding"
this is the problem that i have, rosie. i imagine that the majority of the audience of the view are "1 million bored housewives" and like me, many of those bored housewives have kids. since viewing and applauding and approving your racist ching chonging, those 1 million bored housewives are turning to their children and tsk-tsking "those asians" who are much too sensitive, have no sense of humor and are "a-ok!" to make fun of per rosie.... THAT'S what i have a problem with. and the thing is - i'm not saying it would have happened whether or not you'd stuck your foot so far up your mouth that you were cleaning your ears. but now that you have, you've only made the problem that much worse. you've only made more work for mothers of color like me. THAT is why i'm upset. THAT is why i demand an apology to be said in front of that cheering and applauding public that supports you so wholeheartedly. rosie, just an fyi - these people were laughing and applauding with their children too.
i haven't seen any alerts for any campaigns so i urge you to complain and demand an apology. (it could happen - details magazine apologized. shaquille o'neil apologized. adam corolla apologized.)
abc television has it's own contact form here. and you can write or phone: ABC, Inc. 500 S. Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521-4551 (818) 460-7477
lastly, i'm going to tivo that bill o'reilly re-broadcast with john liu. a recap of it should be up on his website by midday tomorrow if you missed the original broadcast like me.
UPDATE 12/12:
i was curious about rosie's rep cindi berger (who also reps barbara walters, mariah carey, jessica simpson and the dixie chicks). i found an old article about rosie and cindi and spinning media hype. here's cindi's contact info by the way, if you want to complain to her directly too:
i just saw this depressing thread of comments on a post from gothamist. this sh*t just leaves me speechless. it's weird that people think this kind of taunting only happens to children - and like that's NOT a bad thing.... as if we somehow "forgive and forget". newsflash america - it doesn't stop when we grow up and so we can't forget.
the porkchop just went down for a morning nap. so, i'm just about to watch the bill o'reilly from last night. *rolls eyes*
UPDATE 12/12, 10:42 pm:
it's late and i've had a long day, but i had to check in... sorry in advance, if the following post is fuzzy...
i watched the factor from last night and was SO disappointed. bill o'reilly really couldn't see the reason for the outrage in the asian american community. and although john liu did a good job of voicing the collective opinion(s), i just don't think he was as tough as he should've been. it almost seemed like he backed off further and further into the interview. towards the end, he said something like, "i don't blame rosie. i blame barbara." WHAT!?
two things that stood out to me... 1) bill o'reilly thought it was just chinese people who were upset about this - a sentiment that is common in comment threads. that doesn't surprise me but, does he really think that the average non-asian can tell which asians are chinese or not? 2) bill o'reilly suggested that the view interview john liu and other asians on their show. i say, "YES!!!"
when i watched the view today, i was disappointed again to find that there was no apology offered even though a) all the ladies were talking about the importance of religious equality and that the seattle airport should have representations of kwanzaa and ramadan in addition to the christmas tree and the menorah and b) barbara actually brought up danny devito AGAIN.
rosie answered some more questions/comments on her blog and added a mini pseudo apology:
"Ben writes:
If the joke were about fat people and instead went: “Fat people around the world heard it. They probably said, ‘Gobble gobble, munch munch, DeVito, drunk, munch view, gobble”.’ Would it offend you?
well it would offend me as it makes no sense
but the joke was about the abusrdity of danny devito drunk on the view being INTERNATIONAL NEWS then the offensive ching chong and we’re off 2 the races
Ploy writes:
Did you really think that chinese bit was funny? Going “ching chong” is exactely how people degraded and mocked my family all our lives. It’s distasteful and it hurts me that it comes from you.
i am sorry it hurt u poly all the people who made fun of u in a negative way for being who u r
my bad accent was not meant to insult or degrade linguistic incompetence - guilty mocking - never
mel writes:
i love you rosie and i’m not offended by your asian joke but the reason people are is because you weren’t doing an accent. you weren’t speaking actual chinese, just mocking their speech.
i wasnt mocking thats my best impression accents r tough on the whole
Catherine writes:
U r an advocate for the gay community. U r a full-figured woman in a culture that doesn’t embrace it. Shame you can’t look beyond your world to try to understand the grievances of others.
but i do cath really - i do
denise writes:
Rosie you would have had a cow if someone did what you did to the chinese about Gay people. For Shame.
like someone doing a gay guy with a lisp like i do a lot
she's also answering more questions/comments and on a positive note, she says "i will b more sensitive / promise". see below:
Sarah writes:
So I guess it’s ok if I make GAY jokes if I call myself a comedian? RIGHT.
You have a lot of nerve blowing off your Asian joke considering how damn sensitive you are about GAYS.
FAT ASS
my ass isnt fat its my stomach sweet sarah - i sould like a delightful woman
John writes:
Miss O’Donnell, I was wondering when your public apology for insulting the Asian American community will be? P.S. I will make it my personal vendetta to make this public to everyone I know.
do ur best john
go in peace
Ben writes:
You say how you dont understand what the fuss is about, but its hard 2 understand w/o having grown up Asian. Imagine a derogatory gay joke. If YOU got bent outta shape about it, I WOULD understand…
ben i am sorry it hurt u i didnt think of it the way it was taken i will b more sensitive promise"
WHOA! i'm watching the view and i think joy just said that they're going to bring up the whole "rosie hates asians" thing on the second half of their "hot topics" segment!
nevermind... joy just meant they were going to talk more about whatever they were blathering on about in the second segment...
ha! apparently, bette midler's daughter is studying in china and she just came back from an enjoyable visit there and she said something like you guys better watch out 'cause i think they're going to all be showing up here tomorrow. to which rosie had nothing to say... which got me thinking - the following people are going to be on the view in the next couple of days. i think we should make sure they know about rosie's ching chong. maybe they can ask her about it on the show...
dari alexander susan sarandon fantasia julianne moore gladys knight
UPDATE 12/14:
ROSIE APOLOGIZED JUST NOW!
apparently, elizabeth is seeing an acupuncturist. and the brought up the subject of rosie's ching chong to elizabeth. THANK YOU ELIZABETH'S ACUPUNCTURIST!!!!! right after she said that, rosie says, "ok. we have to talk about this." and she went on to describe what happened they even played the ching chong clip again. rosie says that she didn't know it was offensive. she asked asian people she worked with and they told her that yes it was offensive. she apologized BUT she did say that she might say something like it again (can you BE any more VAGUE, rosie?) because that's how her mind works.
then... THEN, i almost wanted to strangle someone. first of all, joy behar seems pretty dismissive of the whole thing. then, either she or rosie says something like," are there any asians in the audience?" and two women in a front row wave. joy asks them if they were offended and they go "NO!" and clap and say "it was really funny".
WTF!!!??? were they planted there or something???
anyway... they're still talking about it. i'm sure the clip will show up soon. i have it tivo'd if someone can explain to me how to get a tivo program up, i'll happily do it.
