PRESS ADVISORY PRESS CONTACTS
For immediate release: Christina Chen, NAASCon Co-Chair
February 25th, 2008 naascon.news@gmail.com
We, the board members of the National Asian American Student
Conference, condemn Max Karson's opinion piece, "If it's war the
Asians want...It's war they'll get," published by the University of
Colorado-Boulder's Campus Press on 2/18, as categorically racist and
serving no other purpose than to perpetuate racist and harmful
stereotypes of Asian Americans. We were further disappointed upon
learning of Mr. Karson's lengthy record of flouting similar defamation
charges (leveled against him earlier in his college career) by
conveniently enshrouding his racist, misogynistic, and homophobic
rhetoric under a rather broad interpretation of "satire."
We were shocked, moreover, to discover that Mr. Karson was not alone
in deploying this tactic. In a statement issued by several members of
the Campus Press editorial staff, the editors "apologize[d] for any
ambiguity of the satire that may have been misconstrued." It has
become clear to us that, rather than taking responsibility for
printing Mr. Karson's article, the Campus Press staff is adopting a
"blame-the-victim" mentality, and has instead allocated the blame to
its offended readers. They assert that it is the affronted reader who
has "misconstrued" the author's attempts at enlightened humor, a
ludicrous assertion given that this piece neither intends to advance
any kind of informed racial discourse, nor displays any signs of
satirical self-awareness.
In addition, we recognize that this is not an isolated incident.
Whereas it may be true that one may not need to probe any further than
Mr. Karson's past articles to find examples of discriminatory remarks
being defended on the grounds of "satire," it is a familiar scenario
to us all; an outcry follows the publication or verbal espousal of
hate speech against Asian Americans. Those who should be held
accountable for the approval and dissemination of such remarks are
absolved of blame. Rather than apologizing for such blatantly
discriminatory remarks, responsible parties instead engage in apologia
to protect themselves while affirming their own positions of power.
Offended subjects without equitable avenues of expression are
dismissed as "insensitive," "unenlightened," or even "uppity." Those
who complain, some contest, are the ones in need of "enlightenment" or
"lightening up," and so it stands that the blame is successfully
shifted towards those who raised the initial concerns about the
attitudes of the author, as well as those in the executive ranks of
their medium. The case made for racism, disguised as enlightened
humor, effectively disenfranchises voices that do not have comparable
access to the resources through which the offending actors communicate
their platform.
This scenario is seen time and time again, like the April 2007 JV and
Elvis repeat broadcasts of a prank call involving anti-Asian
overtones, the January 2007 Daily Princetonian's article mocking
student Jian Li, and similar incidents that happen everyday that fly
under the radar, under the pretenses of "satire." Those who articulate
such discriminatory and racist views, and those who condone these
messages, are complicit in the reinforcement of negative stereotypes
and profiling of, and in extreme cases, physical violence against
Asian American communities. This is unacceptable, and we of NAASCon
implore Asian American students and anybody of conscience to condemn
Mr. Karson and those who afforded him the platform to spread his words
of hate. We must stand up and say, "never again."
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