Tag Archives: racism

Asiana 214’s modern internet racism vs. the old style that young Milena Clarke has felt all too well

Is there any doubt that the racism that came out of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 remains one of the most under-reported aspects of the whole tragedy?

Asian bad driver jokes/bad pilot jokes? That’s old school racism, but the modern Twitterverse exploded almost immediately after the crash with everyone showing off their repressed racism.

If you’re one of those who think it’s no big deal, then maybe the example of the egregious racism experienced by Milena Clarke will be instructive.  The old-school style still lingers as well.

If you need to know the difference between the old style racism and the new modern one, check out my post on the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund blog.

Asiana crash brings out hope and racism on Twitter

The Asiana crash at SFO was once again proof of the kind of service Twitter can provide.

While I wondered if there was any survivors or if there was an Asian American on board  all I needed was a Twitter feed to hear from Samsung exec David Eun, who was on the flight and tweeted this message:

“I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I’m ok…Surreal…”

https://twitter.com/TedNguyen/status/353605558516998144/photo/1

Eun tweeted more pictures as Twitter served as a social media  “first responder.”

 

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But I also saw some incredible examples of racism.

Asiana? So they must be Asian drivers.

Here’s one:

 @Coach_Riv: wondering if pilot of this plane that crashed was Asian…they cant drive anything! #NotAStereotype h/t@elonjames

 

Others:

http://www.asamnews.com/2013/07/07/public-shaming-closet-racist-come-out-of-closet-for-asiana-crash-ht-angryasianman/

 

In the end, the Twitterverse is just a reflection of a real life, one where Asians and Asian Americans know all too well can be racist and intolerant.

Two Radicals: Times Square suspect Faisal Shahzad and Tea Party victor Rand Paul from Kentucky

While Rand Paul was marching to victory in Kentucky on Tuesday, Faisal Shahzad was arraigned in New York.

Much has been made about the story of Shahzad, mostly about his ineptitude as a terrorist.

His other story line is more common.

In these diverse times, Shahzad, a naturalized citizen from Pakistan, was no different from many Americans and considered a normal suburbanite . But when the American dream slipped away due to foreclosure and money pressures, the radicalization of the “boy next door” began.

Darn it. If he were white, he could have joined the Tea Party.

But that group is so radical in a different way that a Shahzad wouldn’t have been welcome to pass out tea bags.

If there was a doubt about that, Rand Paul dispelled it this week.

Paul –a Tea Party devotee and as of this week, the newly minted Republican nominee from Kentucky to the Senate–showed his true colors when he made his victory speech for public office in a private country club.  

Being elitist is one thing, but when you add his public denouncement of the Civil Rights Act, you have a true radical in public life in America.

It’s as radical a perspective from a different direction as the radical fundamentalism of Shahzad.

I won’t condemn Paul for having his views.  That would be undemocratic. And our democracy allows for the freedom to have stupid opinions.

But I will condemn his vile beliefs as having no place in modern society.

To be a poltically-fundamentalist American is no less radical a belief to fear in a new diverse America.