...full text also available on Truthdig [1] |
|
|
Like many other Hispanics, I am a member of Generation E.A. [2] (ethnically ambiguous). Over the years I’ve been mistaken for just about every racial or ethnic combination—from Eurasian to Afro-Irish to Arab-Native American. This guessing game is something members of Generation E.A. are used to in discussions with acquaintances, classmates, co-workers and curious passersby.
Sometimes it’s even educational. But this is never something one would expect to hear from a politician, particularly a politician addressing the Hispanic Student Union at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nev. Yet this is exactly what happened when Sharron Angle [3], the Republican candidate for Senate in Nevada, told a group of students that she did not know if the brown border crossers featured in her “Best Friend” [4] commercial were all Hispanic because “some of you look a little more Asian to me [5].” She continued, “What we know, what we know about ourselves is that we are a melting pot in this country. My grandchildren are evidence of that. I'm evidence of that. I've been called the first Asian legislator in our Nevada State Assembly.” Do these words have a logical meaning? A Las Vegas Sun blogger [6] tried to find out when he asked what Angle was talking about. Angle's handlers said that "a reporter thought she looked Asian." Meaning, if everybody looks a little bit "Asian," then no one can be a racist. Especially not Sharron Angle, “the first Asian legislator” from Nevada. Because this explanation proved unsatisfying, Angle’s spokesman, Jerry Stacy, told TheDC [7] that Angle is “a proud grandmother of beautiful Hispanic children -- she loves them dearly and wants only the best for them, and these are some of the motives that inspire her to run for office.” Does this remind anyone else of George H.W. Bush’s referring to his multiracial Latino grandchildren as “the little brown ones” [8]? Perhaps instead of playing racial guessing games and saying that everyone looks a little bit Asian, Angle might follow the advice offered in the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” [14] from the Broadway play “Avenue Q.” “If we all could just admit that we are racist a little bit, even though we all know that it's wrong, maybe it would help us get along.” At the very least, she’d be honest. |
Links:
[1] http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/everyone_looks_a_little_bit_asian_20101027/
[2] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E1D6173EF93BA15751C1A9659C8B63
[3] http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/sharron_angle/index.html?inline=nyt-per
[4] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb-zZM9-vB0
[5] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHC3SxDmCU
[6] http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2010/oct/18/angle-hispanic-children-some-you-look-little-more-/
[7] http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/20/sharon-angles-critics-resort-to-accusing-her-of-racism-and-playing-racial-politics/?utm_source=Jezebel+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1bc36bbc19-UA-142218-20&utm_medium=email#ixzz13P4XVnMG
[8] http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,997196,00.html
[9] http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/19/reid-blames-angle-for-ad-urging-latinos-not-to-vote/
[10] http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/18/angle-tries-erase-line/
[11] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jehan-s-harney/angle-racking-up-millions_b_765436.html
[12] http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25291109/detail.html
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Horton
[14] http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/avenueq/everyonesalittlebitracist.htm