In the news
So Miss Rossie has recently gotten some flack for her insensitive "Asian Impression." Despite the public outcry, ABC and Barbara W. stand by Rossie. Rossie also gave non-apology and states she will continue to do "accents". This has raised some questions for me.
1. Does she really consider "that" an accent? If so, please go back to the comedy college and work on it because I'd hate to here your Arab or Indian accent.
2. I can't believe Rossie does not understand that Asians might find her "Ching Chong" rant offensive. This coming from the woman who claimed Kelly Ripa was a homo-phob because she didn't like Clay Akin covering up her mouth.
Also in the news Nicole "All Night Long" Richie was arrested for driving her car the wrong way on the freeway. All I have to say is "come on Nicole, I thought only grandmas did this in their Lincoln Town Car on the way to church. Also disturbing is that she only weighed 85lbs when booked.
PS: Sorry for the Fox News Links, I'll do a better job next time
posted by Monticore @ 7:38 PM
11 Comments:
I agree with you that it's not really an accent.
But, I can understand how Rosie would be upset that Asians are misconstruing her intent. That Liu would claim she is implying "that [Asian Americans] are a group that is substandard to English-speaking people," is ridiculous.
If she was doing the joke properly though, she shouldn't have said "drunk" in her bit. The only English words should have been Danny Devito and The View.
That she does not speak Chinese does not mean she thinks Chinese are substandard, though one could arguably say that English is the standard language worldwide. The joke would have been okay if she had spoken Chinese rather than approximating it.
I'm just glad she didn't used pigeon Chinese. She would have been in really hot water then.
would it have been improper for michael richards to mimic stereotypical "black" behavior during his show?
would it be improper for david letterman to use an exaggerated lisp and prance around while he spoke about homosexuals?
so, why does "it was a joke" cut it now for rosie?
ever hear the joke about how chinese people name their children? it's pretty much the exact same answer without danny devito, drunk, or the view in it.
rosie is a complete hypocrite. she expects fair treatment and respect for her social group, but then uses a racial insult against another. (sidenote diatribe -although i dislike kelly ripa, her questioning clay aiken's hand can be contrued many different ways. it is even harder to equate it with homophobia when you consider the fact that clay aiken has never said he was homosexual. in fact, he had repeatedly said that he is not gay.)
really, it was an insult when shaq used a similar bit about yao ming. although yao didn't protest, shaq was scolded by the sports world. imagine that, the sports world, full of all it's male chauvinism, homophobia and stereotypes, knew that it was inappropriate to make a joke that makes fun of another's language. and, shaq apologized, although he went with the old, "i'm sorry if anyone was offended" rather than actually apologizing for doing something offensive.
if abc, barbara, rosie and the view don't want to apologize, fine. that is their right. but, they had better expect a whole lot of deaf ears next time they complain.
finally, i'll agree that mocking someone's language doesn't mean that you're saying they are substandard. it does mean that you are being insensitive towards their culture, language, and race.
oh, and i should add, before anyone thinks that i'm trying to come out all high and mighty, i admit that i've told racially insensitive jokes. i've said other stupid, wrong things. i've used that, "it's just a joke, take it easy" defense.
i don't doubt that i'll repeat these errors in life. but, i hope that if someone points it out that i will be a big enough person to think about it, realize that i'm in the wrong, and apologize.
Plenty of comedians do those first two things you ask.
Have you never seen a black comedian mimic the stereotypical "cracker" free of criticism of this magnitude?
I have.
Have you ever seen a comedian parody the gay stereotype without backlash?
I have.
I don't see anyone lambasting Larry the Cable guy or Bill Engvall or Jeff Foxworthy for hammering on redneck stereotypes.
Where were the Scottish when Robin Williams made fun of the venerable sport of golf?
If you're going to argue precedence, you don't have much ground to stand on.
The only reason this is a big deal is because the time of day, the venue, and the network.
Had this been a stand-up routine on a late night cable channel. I doubt this would be a big deal.
I wonder if Liu fired off an angry missive at the creators of Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle for their stereotyping of Korean-American students as overbearing overachievers. Or is that stereotype A-ok?
Maybe he's been sending ire-inspired emails to Fox for their work on MadTV and the Asian stereotypes they make there?
He chose this battle because he knew it would result in this publicity.
Sorry for the fragmented commenting. I'm at work and my reflections are coming in fits and starts.
Why is her homosexuality even an issue in this instance?
People seem to be upset that she could be so insensitive and yet still maintain that she's an equal to everyone else as a homosexual.
Blacks were made free and equal in this country. Some black people say and do racist things, and/or commit crimes. Should their equality be revoked? No.
I feel like you should be more forgiving and let go of the, "My god, she's gay and wants people to be sensitive to that but she said something racist." Gay people don't claim to be infallible but that doesn't mean we shouldn't see them as equals.
it's true, if this had been said on a cable show, late at night, it probably wouldn't have brought as much attention.
it's true that comedians frequently play on stereotypes.
it's also true that comedians go too far, and get called out on it.
sure, there is a bigger deal being made out this incident because it was on network tv, in the middle of the morning. the more people see it, the more people may be offended. more exposure (numbers) generally brings more attention. if janet's nipple show had been on during the intermission at a curling match, it wouldn't have sparked as much controversy. or, it would have taken a while longer to gain enough momentum to become the crap storm that it was.
it is quite obvious that venue matters. if you're a comedian, doing your comedy routine, you're going to get away with a lot more. you're going to be able to make jokes that push the limits.
but, letterman, leno, conan, john stewart, colbert, and so on are all comedians as well. i think that if any of these comedians dropped this same racially offensive comment on their show they would catch heat.
the network or time doesn't change the fact that she made a racially offensive remark.
as for the issue of her sexuality and its relation to this issue, i can't speak for others, but i am guessing that they may think the same way. rosie went out of her way to call out another person for a remark that she felt was insensitive, even offensive to a segment of the community. she then made an offensive remark about another segment of the community and was called out on it. it's that simple. i don't expect her to be sensitive, giving, intelligent, tidy, or anything because she is a lesbian. all i expect from that designation is that she will partner with a woman. (as a comedian, i expect her to be funny, which i rarely do.) but, because she is someone who recently expressed outrage about the "prejudiced statements" of another talk show host on air, i expect her to be more careful with what she says.
but yes, i do expect her to extend the same respect towards other groups as she would like extend towards hers. i think that's a pretty basic human desire.
as for the precedence that other groups have said racially insensitive things and got away with it, is that really the argument we want to say settles it? people have said racially offensive things so we shouldn't challenge future occurances?
i don't think that people are going after rosie on this issue because of her sexuality. i think people are going after rosie on this issue because she recently accused someone, on air, of essentially the same thing. people are saying, "hey pot, remember the other day when you were ranting about the kettle being black? turns out you are too."
will their be pundits & talking heads that only focus on the issue of her sexuality? yes. but that hasn't been the case in the media outlets i've listened to so far.
finally, whether or not Mr Liu wrote letters of outrage about other movies, comedians, etc. isn't the issue. well, at least it's not the issue that i've seen. the issue is whether or not what rosie said was offensive. if it is seen as offensive, then it makes rosie a hypocrite for saying one thing and doing the opposite. although, i guess i haven't heard her ask for equality for all people. so, maybe it is consistant for rosie to make racially insensitive remarks. just not jokes about clay aiken's hands.
in other news, heather learned to put links in her blog. now, if she'll just format her pictures. just kidding.
Adam your attempts to explain or justify Rosie's comments just don't fly with me.
What she said was wrong. Precedence doesn't make what she said right.
As for making fun of "white people" I say "go for it". It's the least we can do as a race since we have enslaved nearly every other one on the planet.
In my mind making fun of a Southern accent or Rednecks isn't the same as Rosie's comments.
I'm not trying to argue that what she said was right based on precedence. I'm only saying that early arguments here weren't very strong and didn't fly for me.
The Ripa thing is null and void anyhow because Ripa did the same thing Rosie is doing, denying what she did is what another said it is.
Is doing an accent just as racist as what Rosie did?
I should also point out that I do not think Rosie's bit was justified. I'm merely saying that I understand her frustration.
I understand that she was approximating an accent in order to do a bit about foreigners speaking about a topic in their language and inserting english words that do not have translations into their language.
I'm only trying to point out that I believe there was no malice in Rosie's "comedy." There is a difference between an attempt to illustrate how a Chinese person might talk about U.S. events and implying that Chinese people are less valuable than U.S. people or "sub-standard."
That being said, intentional or not, it was still lacking in taste.
In essence, Ed has admitted to the same thing. Ed advocates egalitarianism, or some form of it, I'm sure. And admittedly, he's forsaken that belief for a moment of humor, as I'm pretty sure, everyone has, including me.
I do not advocate doing so, but I also understand when it happens. There is a big difference in Rosie's comments and say, Michael Richards' comments. Malice being the big thing.
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