ESPN, ESPN, ESPN . . .
(and I pronounce that as "es-spen, es-spen, es-spen" in my head while I shake my head)
I will admit that my (immigrant) Taiwanese (tall and very smart but not basketball-playing) husband and I thought it was kind of funny in the "I can't believe that got published" sense. I mean, it's not every day a blatant racial slur gets mistakenly used in a pun-like fashion by a HUGE publisher on its website to cover a guy who is now one of the most Googled people all over the world. Open mouth, insert foot, leg, pelvis, and other leg and foot. I fully believe that it was an honest mistake that wasn't caught under the time pressures of publishing. Additionally, it is possible that because Asian-Americans have not traditionally been successful in major sports like basketball, the writers who cover that sport don't even think about any potential anti-Asian slurs when they go to their list of headlines. After all, part of what makes Lin's story so incredible is that he's the first really successful Asian-American basketball player. It requires a whole new analysis on whether any of the canned phrases (like "chink in the armor") can be considered in a derogatory way. Regardless of the reason, it was a heck of a mistake.
P.S. After we talked about this, my husband began singing the "ching chong" song posted by an Asian man in response to the anti-Asian student rant posted by a UCLA student. We've definitely claimed that song as our own -- after all, it means "I love you."
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