link My Way News – Asian-American lawmakers demand Limbaugh apology.
Demand apology to whom? Who is this guy, Leland Yee, the Chinese Al Sharpton? If he feels offended, ask the fat guy for an apology for himself. No one made him the spokesman for Chinese people. It’s unlikely that every Chinese person in the U.S. is all in a knot because Limbaugh made some childish remark. While I can agree that Limbaugh didn’t demonstrate the height of intellect in mocking the Chinese language, it’s likely he did more harm to his own credibility than offend the population of Asians. Was I offended? Not really. Would I feel better if he apologized? Again, not really.
Thus far, Chinese Americans have stayed above the PC cesspool of institutionalized victimhood and exaggerated hurt feelings. A guy like Limbaugh certainly has a large audience and one can argue that what he says carries influence. Maybe, but I think most people can discern political rhetoric from sophomoric jokes. Certainly this attempt at lowbrow humor would be more expected by a Howard Stern than a Limbaugh and so it damages Limbaugh much more. Years ago, Andy Kaufmann portrayed an immigrant named Latka Gravis on the TV series Taxi, who spoke with a vague Eastern European accent that was very funny. I don’t recall Eastern Europeans wailing on soapboxes asking for apologies at that time. To the untrained ear, all foreign accents sound funny. Lighten up.
Let’s not politicize every slight, real or imagined for some cheap political gain. So Limbaugh’s remarks were juvenile. Call him a fat loudmouth. It’s even. Besides, there’s a good chance that one day Rush will visit a Chinese restaurant…then he takes his chances.
link Jersey Shore Italy Trip — Italian Group FURIOUS! | TMZ.com.
Unflattering to be sure. It’s hard enough to dispel all the stereotypical depictions of Italians in film and entertainment through the years as being goombas, guidos and mobsters. Now, on the TV show Jersey Shore, even more cartoonish portrayals of Italian/Americans are served up and consumed by an apparently mesmerized public. With a planned trip to Italy in the works, Italian American groups are now up in arms about the depictions of their culture. I have never seen the show, but based on snippets in the news and pop entertainment pieces, it is obvious that the behavior of such characters as Snooki and The Situation are played up to cartoonish levels for ratings. No self respecting person wants to have their heritage mocked and derided unless it is obvious satire. With that being said, it’s unlikely most rational people would confuse the portrayal of the characters in the show with Italian Americans in real life. There are enough successful Italians out there in all walks of life that Jersey Shore characters are taken for what they are, entertainment.
Following this theme, it is amusing to observe the constant stream of inane blather that passes for comment from the Reverend Al Sharpton. It’s unclear to me how the Reverend can still pretend to fly the banner for the African American population. Is it the fault of the media for allowing him a platform to pontificate on every issue? Do they think that Reverend Al represents any constituency other than his own gang of race baiters? As said here before, he would find white lines on black road to be racist in some way. Recently, conservative personalities Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin made laudatory comments about Dr. Martin Luther King honoring his principles and life’s work. Rather than affirm the comments of the ‘enemy’, Reverend Al decided that they were trying to steal ‘our crown’ referring I suppose to fact that Dr. King was a black person and that his struggles belonged solely to people of color. No one seems to see the irony of Sharpton making divisive claims about people who are trying to be inclusive! Where are the groups representing African Americans disavowing Sharpton for his cartoonish depictions of them?
Why aren’t the views of Bill Cosby, or Allan West or even Oprah sought out on any given topic? The constituency of black people in the U.S. is estimated at 13% of the 300 million plus population, making the total about 39 million people. Why aren’t people more indignant about the obtuse ramblings of Reverend Al, who purportedly represents them? It’s unlikely that African Americans view all issues that affect them through the prism of race as portrayed by Sharpton. It’s a safe bet that Sharpton no more represents the views of black people than the genius Bill Mahar represents the views of whites. Like Italian Americans discussed at the top, most black people probably lead normal lives doing normal things, assimilating with the population in general, successfully or unsuccessfully as the case may be. They don’t need Reverend Al to portray them all as oppressed victims struggling to get a share of the American dream. Does no one find him an embarrassment? At the very least, media outlets should air a disclaimer when he is interviewed indicating that the views are for entertainment only and not to be taken without a responsible adult present.