All posts by Amok

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ESPN reaches limit of Linsanity; No excuse for racist headline

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We were all having so much fun, too. Doesn’t mean it’s time to break out the racism.

I was wondering when someone would use a “Chink in the Armor” reference.

I’m sure many Asian Americans thought about it before ESPN did.  But only the most screwed up Asian American self-hater would use it in public to describe the basketball flaws of Jeremy Lin.

It’s not so bad if we were all living in Medieval America and people  actually bought their chain maille and armor from Barney’s  and Macy’s.  Then, hey, sure, it might be OK. When you get a ding in your metal suit, that’s a drag. We all can relate.

But the dark ages are gone. We live in a diverse America, and when you say “Chink,” you are not bringing the love. Nor are you talking about the flaws of Sir Lancelot, real or imagined. Besides, you play basketball in your underwear.

Still, if someone likened Lin’s ball-handling to Lancelot trying a crossover move in full armor, you might make a case for “plausible deniability.”

At least in a metaphorical sense.

But let’s face it.

The ESPN headline was not poetry. We all know what someone means when they say “Chink” in reference to Jeremy Lin.

The media, in this case the headline writers at ESPN,  have been so giddy with Linsanity, they must have thought it gave everyone the green light to have some racist fun.

Editors surely would have taken more care before blurting the “N” word.  But evidently  not the “C” word.

The good fun of Linsanity is intended to make people realize how inclusive the world has become.

It’s not intended to desensitize us all to the racist sentiments of the past.

ESPN has apologized for the slur, but that isn’t enough.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is calling for full apologies on ESPN cablecasts.  The network needs to set the record straight for all to hear, lest anyone get the idea that Linsanity is a good excuse to turn racist.

blog, news, race, sports

Lin-phomania, the basketball fantasy continues; Jimmer, the busted phenom, got next

It’s the next step of Lin-sanity. After you play “out of your mind,” next comes the crazy love that ensues from fans and general observers.
The  last second, game-winner  last night against Toronto extended the fairy tale. The game tonight against Sacramento should extend it further.

What makes it more ironic is that on the Sacramento King bench is a certain rookie named James Taft Fredette.

You remember Jimmer, the one time  basketball phenom.

He burst into our consciousness while heaving up balls from beyond downtown. He was in Utah, at BYU. And because of a hot run in the NCAAs he became a Sports Illustrated cover boy.

When lowly, small market Sacramento drafted him No. 1, Jimmer was cursed and blessed.

Management loved Jimmer and he was their poster boy. But then a coach was fired, a new one came in, and Jimmer looked out of place. He was no longer starting.

The old coach liked his shooting, but the new coach didn’t.  Jimmer is inexperienced, slow on D, doesn’t fit in with all the pieces the Kings have.

Next stop for Jimmer? The bench. You’ll see him in sweats more than you will see him sweat tonight.  Jimmer is one busted Phenom.

You just don’t hear much about it because he’s in Sacramento not New York. That’s the blessing. Sacramento is a good place to be bad.

Conversely, as Lin is finding out, New York is a great place to play out-of-your-mind-crazy.

I wonder what Jimmer will be thinking tonight as he watches Lin?

Maybe he’ll be hopeful. Jimmer shows signs that made him a media flash during the NCAAs.  But maybe if he learns that if he works hard, keeps his chin up, and doesn’t get depressed, he may one day find the spot to open up where he again can be “the man.”

Until then, there’s only one man in the NBA EVERYONE is watching.

And it’s the Asian American wonder, Jeremy Lin.

blog, news, politics, race, sports

I’m no “Lin-fidel,” just a realist on Jeremy Lin. Still, he’s just what we need as more people keep blurring the difference between Asian and Asian American

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I’ve got good reason to love Jeremy Lin. I’m an Asian American who went to Harvard. I didn’t play basketball, but I did play white guys in black theatre productions. (You take your extra-curriculars where you can). So my love for Lin is real. I’m just realistic. I root for the Golden State Warriors and we had a mild case of Lin-phomania last year. 

Lin-sanity is a New York phenomenon.   I’m not sure it can be sustained.

I wish Jeremy nothing but the best. No Schadenfreude from me.  He’s a Norcal homey. He worked hard and when he had his chance this time around he delivered. But I’m not sure if last week was one of those special weeks you remember forever because you just don’t replicate it that easily.  I ran for 187 yards on 7 carries as a Pop Warner half-back. I still talk about that. OK, yeah, Jeremy’s doing it in the NBA. Big diff.   I hope he has a long run and can play at the level he’s shown, but I remember last year in Oakland when he couldn’t get off the bench. 

Still, we can thank Jeremy for reinforcing the point to all of America–there’s a difference between Asian and Asian Americans.

It’s more than a technicality. It’s a point worth stating over and over.

We forgot the distinction in WWII and opened up internment camps—for Americans.

As China shows its economic might, some in this country are trying to blur distinctions again.

Maybe Jeremy Lin will help remind people during this critical time in world history, there are Asians, and then there are Asian Americans.

For more,check out my post on the Asian American Legal Defense Fund blog:

 http://aaldef.org/blog/linsanity-call-it-linphomania.html.

blog, news, politics

Birth Control, Boobs and Catholics

I published a piece in the Filipino ethnic press last week and spent most of the week responding to angry Catholics, including one named Jesus,  about the recent insurance flap concering health care and Catholics.

The president’s accommodation last Friday apparently wasn’t enough. 

Some people still see it as forcing contraception on Catholics.

Ironically, there are a good number of Catholics who also want their crucifixes and their condoms, too. 

Most, however, are still too willing to buy the GOP’s framing of the issue, which is to put a political prophylactic on Obama’s health care plan and call it sent from the devil. 

Let’s be clear. This issue isn’t about religion.

President Obama’s initial approval of a provision in his health care plan that would require Catholic institutions and hospitals to provide health insurance to its workers is just about insurance, not about the right to be Catholic.

The health insurance includes coverage for such things as contraception and the morning after pill. It does not directly pay for abortions. And it’s only for insurance coverage benefits. Catholic institutions and hospitals have all sorts of people working for it, so it just doesn’t cover Catholics.

But some Catholics around the country claim this is an affront to the Catholic religion. How can Catholics be Catholics under this law?

If you went to Church two Sundays ago, you know the Bishops are all tweaked about this and are ready to start a jihad on the Obama administration, with the First Amendment their battle cry!

Everyone, please stop for a moment of prayer and sanity.

When Newt Gingrich sides with the Bishops and calls what Obama is doing an attack on Catholics, we all need to rethink exactly what this is—and isn’t.

The law doesn’t say Catholics can’t practice their religion.

It only forces them to offer insurance to workers. What the workers do with it is their business.

If it’s a benefit like your weekly pay, what you do with your money shouldn’t be your employers’ matter.

On top of that, as I said, not all workers in Catholic hospitals and institutions are Catholic. If the Bishops believe in religious freedom, why would they want to force it on non-Catholic workers 

The law is being applied to every employer equally, and to that end, the Obama administration isn’t forcing it on Catholics. The law is the law. There was even a period of transition built in for Catholic employers to adapt.

But the Catholics are trying to politicize this in a presidential year, and trying to rile up Catholics on the issue of abortion (which incidentally this law doesn’t support directly).

Who’s bullying whom?

More interesting is that a majority of Catholics actually want their contraception and their birth control these days.

Catholics should have their choice to do as they see fit. Their medical decisions aren’t religious ones, and medical decisions are private.

That’s a tough enough issue for people to tackle without also having to deal with a fake political issue that the GOP and the Church are so adamant in deploying against Obama.

In America, aren’t we’re supposed to have a separation between church and state. The Obama administration maintains that. The Church is crossing the line.

 But the other line it’s crossing is the one that keeps medical/health matters separate from religion.

 I’m all for faith. Keeping it separate means we don’t have to make a bad choice between health and faith.

 LEFT BREAST, RIGHT BREAST POLITICS

Exit polls say abortion isn’t all that burning an issue these days, but candidates who need a spark will keep turning to it to get attention and divide an electorate.

The Susan G. Komen fiasco is an indication that contraceptive rights could get hotter this campaign season.

When right-wing influences inside Komen, forced it to pull support from Planned Parenthood cancer screenings we got a glimpse of how the issue can mobilize. The dis-funding set off a firestorm of protests. The Right doesn’t like Planned Parenthood’s abortion policy. The Left resents the politicization extending to innocent cancer screenings.

Komen felt the ire and reversed its stand.

But can anyone see pink again without thinking Komen is just a tool for the right-wing? 

There are a lot of other groups out there that put women’s health first before politics.

Now we know Komen isn’t one of them.