Teased Kids in Grade School? You Have a Future in Radio!

January 30, 2006

I'm not going to go into the whole thing (it's the same old same old.) For more details, I direct you to Angry Asian Man, who always does an excellent job at chronicling these things. My inbox has been filling up with press releases from APA orgs denouncing Carolla.

This isn't much of a shocker. I mean come on, just look at Carolla. Not to pass judgment on people based on how they look, but I'm sorry, he just looks like he would say something dumb and juvenile. Which is purposeful, I think. He's marketed as a beer-drinking, ball-scratching guy's guy. Plus, he was terribly annoying on Loveline.

Now, before someone comes here and posts, "It's a joke, lighten up," let me just say something: Who cares if it's a joke, it's NOT FUNNY. Saying, "Ha ha, I was just joking" does not make it not racist. And it does not make it automatically funny either. As a joke, it sucks. I mean, come on, it wasn't funny on the playground in elementary school and it's not funny now. Grow up, people.

On February 1, Harry posted:

I received an email that includes a link to an audio clip of the show in question. The audio took a while to download for me, but take a listen.

I've said before that there's a fine line between what's offensive and funny when it comes to racial or ethnic humor. I think most reasonable people would agree that this lands on the offensive side. And would he get away with this if he did something similar with another racial group, say African Americans?

Here is the Adam Corolla clip with the "Ching Chongs" and the Asian Excellence Awards

Here's a news brief about it on United Press International.

Click here to read the letter from Karen Narasaki of the Asian American Justice Center

And click here to read the letter sent by Asian American Journalists Association President Esther Wu to CBS

Contact information for the show:

Adam Carolla: adam [at] adamcarolla.com
Dave Dameshek: dave [at] adamcarolla.com
Rachel Perry: rachel [at] adamcarolla.com
Ozzie Castillo: ozzie [at] adamcarolla.com

CBS RADIO
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
212-846-3939

Joel Hollander
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Radio
212-846-3939
joel.hollander [at] infinitybroadcasting.com

Dana L. McClintock
Senior Vice President, CBS Communications Group
212-975-1077
dlmcclintock [at] cbs.com

Contributor: 

Melissa Hung

Founding Editor

Melissa Hung is the founding editor of Hyphen. She was the editor in chief for the magazine's first five years and went on to serve in many other leadership roles on the staff and board for more than a decade. She is a writer and freelance journalist. Her essays and reported stories have appeared in NPR, Vogue, Pacific Standard, Longreads, and Catapult, among others. She grew up in Texas, the eldest child of immigrants. Find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Comments

Comments

It's a joke, lighten up.And to claim its not funny is just ridiculous - I laughed, thus it was funny.
Yeah, that skit in particular was not very funny and in poor taste. But lets not encourage a bunch of angry people with nothing better to do than write letters to put more pressure on censorship. Come on people, speaking of being juvenile do we really want to keep attacking radio and tv until its nothing but family oriented crap. I know there are alot of easily offended people out there, all I have to say to them is don't listen to Adam Carolla if you don't like him. The vast majority of the things he says are funny, even if they are a little racist. He's just kidding around people. Lets all take a step back and stop taking ourselves so seriously. What bad will become of his racist skit anyways. All you angry chicks who didn't get laid in highschool need to get a new hobby and leave my precious entertainment alone.
This was a radio bit that was ment to be over the top racist to the point of being satirical, not something to be taken seriously by any means. One also has to look at the target audience 18-25 year old white males, this is the Carolla wheel house. It is time to lighten up, it was a joke and at least your aren't a Jew.
Oh yeah, what's more hilarious (and original!) than people in yellowface going "ching-chong" to show how fuuuuuuny those whacky Chinese are!Seriously, racism is not funny. It's not edgy. It's not original. And banding together to express concern over it is so not "censorship" or anything stupid like that. It's called asking to be treated with respect. Something more people obviously need to learn about, judging from the comments here.
Who are you to define what is and is not funny? Of course racism can be both original, edgy and funny, especially if your definition of racism is so broad as to incorporate non-racist stuff like the radio skit.Remember people, you have no right not to be offended. I personally am offended by people trying to sabotage radio shows they don't like the content of, instead of just not listening. Luckily this usually has the opposite effect for the show.
Exactly, I'm sure Carolla is laughing all the way to the bank with all the free publicity this is getting him. and funny or not, lighten up people, its going to be a miserable life for you if you get that bent out of shape over something so silly. I tried to read an article about this on the AAJC site but all I could make out was "Ching Chong Ching".
I personally don't find the Adam Carolla show to be that funny. The skits he does are obviously ripped off from Howard Stern. The impressions that guy Dave Damasheck or whatever does are idiotic, and not funny. I missed the whole "ching chong" thing, but I'm guessing it was retarded. At least with Stern, he makes the retarded hilarious. And everyone is fair game on his show, black, red, white, yellow. Morning radio pretty much stinks without Stern, Carolla is better as a guest, not as a host.
I don't know what you're talking about AngrySternFan, Carolla is way funnier in general than Stern. Now don't forget to put that cigarette out before you get up for more mountain dew, I'd hate to see your trailer burn down. It would be awful to lose all of your budweisser girl posters and Nascar replicas.
Whoa now. I didn't say let's censor the radio. I work at a news publication for god's sake. I'd just like for people to use their brains and think before they go around saying dumb racist things and then trying to pass it off as a joke. Certainly there's a fine line (and one that moves) between what is funny and what is offensive. But come on, that was just so third grade.BTW, I'm not sitting here trying to plot Carolla's downfall. I'm not trying to get his show taken off the air either. I have more important things to do and there are more important things in this world to worry about, such as who is going on the Supreme Court.I'm just saying that it bugs me. And in light of how often it happens, it bugs me that people always pick on Asians -- and that they think it's ok to pick on us. This is driven by a lot of ignorance. And I'm tired of dealing with ignorant people.
Yeah it was a Juvenile joke, but anyone who listens to Adam knows that about 98% of his material is juvenile and immature. I don't think he is ignorant nor do I think the sketch was. He was being ridiculous for the sake of it. I'm there was nothing hateful about it.and as for people ignorantly picking on Asians, cry me an F-ing river. 90% of asian stereotypes are that they're intelegent, educated, wealthy and have good careers. The only thing you get picked on for is the slanty eyes, crazy language and driving bad. Even white people have it worse off in that department, not even mentioning hispanics and African Americans. I don't lnow where you live but I have never ever seen anyone mistreated or mocked for being asian.Basically what I'm saying is all races and religions get their fair share of crap for thier short comings and crazy cultural stuff. Csn't we all just laugh at ourselves and try to get along. I'm a nerdy white Pollock and I have no problem getting made fun of for it. Thats half the fun of being in America, theres such a variety of people from all over the globe to pick on and laugh at, especially here in Los Angeles. You yourself commented on Adam "looking like he'd say something juvenile". Anyone who is a follower of Adam throughout the years also knows he is far from ignorant and juvenile. The new radio show is a good example of him being that juvenile character he plays. But on Loveline I think he helped alot of people and and truly cared about the callers and listeners. People called and told him he prevented them from suicide or helped them through a hard time of their life. He is a good person and a funny man. I urge you to take your own advice and not judge people based on your first look.
I don't know where you get Nascar lover from my post Sternsux (although Budweiser is tasty). But yeah, Carolla is still not funny, and pretty much a bore. A wannabe Stern. Nothing he does is original. But that's just my opinion. But the larger issue is that "Ching Chong" bit. I'll admit.. I giggled a bit, but it was more like a "gee how stupid can they get" laugh. Old and tired doesn't begin to describe that joke. And not even Adam laughed all that much.
“I don't lnow where you live but I have never ever seen anyone mistreated or mocked for being asian.”
Well, Randy, maybe that’s because you’re not Asian, so maybe you're not exactly noticing it. Or maybe you think everything’s fine because you don’t see people getting beat down in the streets. I’ve lived all over the U.S, in all kinds of environments, and even here in the Bay Area, a place known for its liberalism, a place where 30% of the population is Asian, someone has directed racist comments to me while I was minding my own business, walking down the street.There are lots of ways to be racist and mistreat people, and some of them can be small slights. If they’re small, why am I making a big deal out of them? Because they add up over time. Getting a papercut? Annoying. Getting a thousand papercuts? Starts to hurt a lot.Now, about those positive stereotypes of Asians –- the “model minority” stereotypes. Just because the stereotypes are “good” doesn’t make them OK. Stereotypes are powerful. They confine people to it through a kind of social pressure. Anyone behaving outside the “norm” that is attributed to a culture is deemed a failure. And the stereotype, even a positive one, can also be used to revile that same culture (not to mention other cultures who are then compared to it.) For example, all those white parents who are pulling their kids out of schools with big Asian populations because of the “Asians are smart at math and science” stereotype. Now it’s not just about them being smart. It’ s about them being unfairly competitive, not well-rounded, un-human math-science machines. Not so positive.At the root of racism is discomfort with differences. A positive stereotype is still motivated by this discomfort. A negative and a positive stereotype is motivated by the same thing.Now I like laughing. And I’m all for getting along. That’s a fine sentiment. But before you can get along, you need to understand the differences. So instead of saying you’re too sensitive and have no sense of humor, why don’t you think, why does this bother all these people? ... Maybe you’d learn something.
Adam rules but get him fired so he will go back to lovline.
I agree with you in many respects, and there is no place for true racism in our society. I do think its unfair that throughout history people of all races have discriminated against other races. Or even judged people by how they dress or if they are fat or whatever. I'm not saying that this is acceptable by any means. But the hard truth is that there will always be racism and prejudice in some form as there always has been. There are tons and tons of ignorant A-holes out there who blindly hate everyone different than themselves. It sucks but thats life and theres very little you can do to change those peopels minds.My problem is the constant complaining about the media, in this example Adam Carolla. He is actually not racist or saying things to be mean and hateful. He isn't trying to get people riled up to go hate on some asians. I see your arguement that he is perpetuating a stereotype but anyone with half a brain sees that it was meant to be ridiculous. I don't think that poking a little fun is harmful at all. But I do think that a huge uprising against this behavior just pushes people further apart.I myself am not a racist any more than yourself or most right thinking people. But I can enjoy a laugh at myself and others, even when it may seem in poor taste. even horrible things can be humorous with the right spin on it.I can see why you find this offensive and even as a white male I have been treated differently because of my race. How many times a day do you think I get the stink eye from the many various non-whites in Los Angeles just because I am a well dressed white man. Especially lower class minorities have a strong dislike for whitey and lump me in with the man that holds them down and oppresses them. even though I wasn't alive during segregation and my ancestors weren't here in the US to enslave the black man. They were too busy getting their asses kicked by the Nazi's in Poland. I don't do anything in my life to oppress or harm anyone based on anything. But I'm just another white guy taking advantage of the world. In spite of this I don't walk around with a chip on my shoulder looking for any and every opportunity to Proclaim "thats racist" to every minorly offensive thing I hear. Thats my Problem, I'm sick of the racism witch hunt in the media. It needs to stop because its just making people angrier at one another.Lets focus on true injustice where it matters, like our truly racist president and openly racist polititions all over the US. These are people who actually do have a negative impact on society because of their retarded beliefs being the basis for their decisions. Stop pointing fingers at random nobodies like Adam Carolla and if you feel so strongly speak out and do something that will make a difference.In conclusion I think we both have the same morals and ideals at heart, I guess we just disagree on what requires taking action against.Thanks for the good debate, your a smart girl. Probably smarter than me with that huge asian brain :)
So now Asians have big heads huh? Randy thats stereotyping and I will not accept that.. dem fightin words!.. Hahaha :)
i love self-righteous white folks who truly believe they can kick us in different places and tell *us* where it hurts.(kick) "Shut up, sissy! That doesn't hurt. I'll *show* you what hurts!" (KICK)
I love angry non-white folks who truly believe that whitey is always trying to keep them down so they don't have to blame themselves for their problems. I'm so sorry for kicking you all the time.But seriously, I'm not saying you shouldn't be offended. Do whatever you want, I'm just saying that I'm tired of hearing about it and that not everything is a racial attack. Seems like white people are the only ones not allowed to acknowledge differences in a comedic fashion.
Personally I didn't find the bit very funny (and to clarify, this was one of Adam's sidekick's bits played during his segment, not during Adam's - but it was still during Adam's show, so he's at least an accomplice).With that out of the way, I think this is a huge overreaction. I wouldn't consider the bit racist, just like I don't consider saying "Eh" to a Canadian to be racist. It's a racially motivated joke that draws on generalizations and stereotypes, but it's not racist, which requires a clear statement that one race is better than another or an intolerance toward a race.
I think I have a different definition of racism. I thought it was racist. Not because they intended to say one race was better than another (which is totally blatant) but because there's this attitude of THOSE PEOPLE are so weird, speaking their messsed up language. It's that THOSE PEOPLE part that doesn't sit well with me.I'm Asian. I'm not up in arms about it, even though I think it's racial. I just find it annoying and dumb, like something to roll your eyes at.
To Puck: Canadians are a not a race just as not all Americans are white.To those who want to brush off every dispute of mainstream media by minorities: It's one thing if you want to argue that the piece is farcical and intended to be humorous, it is another entirely to counterattack that those who are offended are the ones with the problem. If you seek understanding, you have to draw out ideas, not shut them down. Another thing to consider- shows like Adam Carolla's get broadcast nationally to millions while rebuttals rarely get mention outside ethnic and progressive media outlets seen by thousands who are looking for it, ie you may be tired of hear it (and I thank you for listening at all), but most people never hear it even once.Regarding the Carolla bit specifically: the reason I found it offensive and not merely silly is because there is no show of sensitivity in the piece. I don't see the uproar as being based on White v. minorities and it's not about outrage at any utterance of a taboo phrase, it's about showing a bit of understanding toward cultures other than one's own (why do White folks think it's always about them anyway?). While I didn't think too much of the skit, it's really CBS's response of, "The segment was meant to be humorous and was not meant to offend anyone" confirming institutional insensitivity that I found much more offensive than the skit alone. No claims of being taken out of context (of the show, Adam Carolla's past work or the tone of his comedy), no "oops, none of the people involved in writing and recording the piece realized it could be misunderstood", not even a "we can see how this could be offensive even though we think it's funny", just a big, fat, "You don't get it. Whatever." I can only hope that the poor spin control at CBS results in some amount of open discussion of racial stereotypes instead of ad hominem arguments.(It's also about resources- how can someone waste tham much production and airtime on a piece with only one bad joke? To paraphrase a friend's album review, I'm really glad we're killing people in Iraq to steal their oil to have energy to produce radio segments like this one.)Sara Silverman's "chink" joke- hilarious; Dana Carvey's "Chicken make lousy housepet"- not funny; Chris Rock talking shit about niggers and Jeff Foxworthy sniping at rednecks- sure; Adam Carolla making fun of Asians- no, sorry. When the basis of the joke is accentuating differences without understanding or even the slightest self-effacement, it's well off the road of humor and onto the path of offensiveness.It's not that White Americans aren't allowed to acknowledge differences with comedy, maybe it's just that there is a track record of being incredibly bad at it because many don't seem to understand the practical consequences of difference at all.
last year my six year old nephew came home from school and told us that a school mate of his was laughing and singing "ching-chong ching-chong..." like a song during recess. he didn't understand and asked him what it meant. the kid said he didn't know, but that it was funny. my nephew said he didn't think it funny and if he kept it up he wasn't going to play with him anymore. the kid stopped. innocence.the adam carolla's of the world need to stop passing off their racist views in the guise of humor. racism is learned.
Eddy Wu, 23, murderedThien Minh Ly, 24, murderedKuan Chung Kao, 33, murderedKenneth Chiu, 17, murderedThung Phetakoune, 62, murderedThese are just five of many Americans who have been killed simply for being Asian. Walking home from work, leaving the grocery store, these fathers/brothers/sons/husbands were innocent Americans going about their business when somebody filled with hatred targeted them and brutally killed them, while saying things like, "that's what you get for being a chink!"So, until nerdy white Polacks are killed simply for being nerdy white Polacks, there is no comparison.Stupid is one thing; hate-mongering's another.
Couple of important points:1. Adam Carolla is NOT in-charge of his show. He's merely a "talent." The person who should be blamed is the show's producer.2. Lawyers should be dealing this matter.
I love ADAM!!!!
"but it's not racist, which requires a clear statement that one race is better than another or an intolerance toward a race."That's only one way to be racist. One can be racist without saying "This race is better than this other race." There are more subtle forms of racism short of lynching people.And what is the stereotype in this example of the radio clip? There is no stereotype at work here, just people thinking that another language sounds weird and making fun of it. That's just mean-spirited, NOT satire.
Randy: Obviously, you're not sorry for doing the kicking, or else your response wouldn't be to tell us to shut up. If you were sorry, you'd just stop. Like right now. Just stop.
Asians are complaining about racism. How cute!
Adam or Adumb should do a 1 year penance and work for TOYOTA selling ---http://www.designonq.com/adumb.htm
Of course what Adam Corolla did was racist. You think he'd make fun of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards?! He and the producers would get sued to the point of bankruptcy. Not only that, he'd get his ass kicked everywhere he goes. But because Asians are stereotyped as non-confrontational and aren't taken seriously by whites, I'm sure nothing will happen to him or the producers.
sarah silverman said she said chinks instead of n***** because there were blacks sitting in the front of her standup audience and she was afraid. she said chinks instead because she thought to herself, asians are so nice.
I work in radio. What Mr. Corolla did was just simply a way to get ratings. Piss off a group of people so that he would get lots of attention AND get the ratings. Pretty shallow, but most of the time effective.I hate to point out to people who claim that nothing happens to Asians ( esp those who happen to be a self-proclaimed "Pollack" although I wouldn't bandy that term around either) that since they are NOT Asians, how the hell do they know what really happens to Asian people? I have seen people spit on Asians in San Francisco and had a lady in a movie theater lean over to a friend and say, "this country wouldn't be in such bad shape if it weren't for you gooks." (she got the nationality wrong) Not to mention the numerous dirty looks people throw Asians (I'm NOT BLIND).I am tired of all the Ching chong stuff. I get that walking around. Do you hear people cat calling and whistling "Pollack" at you as you walk by at least once a month? Until you live in my skin, don't claim to know how someone else is being treated. That's a smugly superior attitude.
HAHAHA,this is hilarious.How about fighting for real issues like modern slavery, the dangers of free-trade, the destruction of our forests, pollutions, illegal invasions, 9/11 cover-ups, the Patriot Acts stripping our rights and freedoms from beneath our feet...how come people always waste time on unimportant issues like "racial jokes" and the "price of oil" because it will cost a few more dollars to drive YOUR fucking SUV-tank to your borring-ass job.If you're looking into receiving apologies...how about you start by asking for apologies from corporations like "Carbide" whos mistakes caused tens of thousands of lives in India and still cause birth defects to this day...now that's an apology worth asking for...ohhh but that doesn't affect YOU directly...so I guess it's not worth fighting for."It's a selfish world"
shit...wrong post
While it is sad to see that Adam Carolla is directly responsible for killing 5 asians, I'm pretty amused by some of the comments here:"Lawyers should be dealing this matter.""You think he'd make fun of the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards?! He and the producers would get sued to the point of bankruptcy."So on exactly what basis would you sue them? Last time I checked it was still legal to make fun of a stereotype. Hell, you can say "all niggers should be hanged and tortured" all day without worry - that's why we have free speech. (In USA that is, most (all) other countries are worse in that regard.)"the reason I found it offensive and not merely silly is because there is no show of sensitivity in the piece."Yes, obviously all humor must1) Be politically correctb) Not offend ANYONE (which is tough because some people are offended by too PC humor)III) Serve to educate the recipient of diversity and acceptanceOtherwise it's just not funny."Until you live in my skin, don't claim to know how someone else is being treated. That's a smugly superior attitude."Awesome, so you're for MORE racism."I'm special because I'm Asian and me and my opinion should be treated differently because of my looks!"Genius.By the way, thanks for posting the clip from the show. It really was funnier than I remembered (don't you have the first part?)I have no idea how you can miss the humor in the cliched awards intros, presentations and acceptance speeches - presented in the sillyness of an Asian stereotype, but people's stupidity never ceases to amaze me.Oh, and please get your panties unbunched already, geez.
To Eric: please note that your response to my comments is entirely your own reactionary assumptions about what I consider funny. In no way did I assert that humor and offensiveness are on a linear continuum; instead, I was opining that offensiveness, while possibly humorous, does not, for me, alone create humor. And when something is offensive but also humorous, I think it's important to be a little reflective and consider the effect of the offensiveness in the context of the audience.To Theo's post: Regardless of whether Adam Corolla is talent or more, it's his name on the billboards so for everyone not as media-savvy as regular blog responders (ie most people), he is seen as the driving force of the show, not the show's producers or staff or writers. For that reason alone he should bear some if not most of the responsibility for what gets aired.To everyone: The ongoing polarization of viewpoints is not helping the discussion. Some things are humorous while also being offensive to some, others are humorous to just about everyone, some are funny at the expense of one person; humor works in many ways. Funny and offensive are not in direct opposition just like being considerate does not preclude being critical or controversial. However, what seems to be largely ignored by some while being assumed by others is the role that power plays in humor and the reception of a joke. To get out of the politial realm, power issues are why imitating your boss's voice is probaby going to go over better than imitating the voice of a mentally retarded underling in regular company. (Yes, I realize I am connecting Asians in this case to mentally retarded underlings.) I would have thought this to be pretty obvious, but it seems like this is either being ignored or not recognized in the first place. Maybe that's just me assuming that empowering people is a desirable quality that accompanies respect and equality.I agree that there are a lot bigger problems to go after. However, I think there are effective ways to point that out without insulting those who are looking to make change in the peripheral problems.
Eric, you're such a mother fuc*er, son of bit*h, pi*ce of sh*t, white tra*h. Your entire family deserves to be txxxured and put on fxxx...Relax, just was a joke. It was so funny that I laughed!!! Hahaha!
In this day and age I hardly see the need for censoring the word "piece", but thanks for the consideration.Anyway, your joke could be even funnier if you went into more details about how my family should be tortured - it really is a bit too short in its current form.
No need for words. All work the best imagining in head. Gets more thrilling and exciting that way. But past has shown that I tend to get what I wish for, for some unknown odd reason. Maybe I have the power to put a spell on people? So enjoy the joke while it is still funny. HaHaHa.
I can't stand listening to the Carolla skit cause the Chinese always go ching-chong ching and this is more than I can stand over a minute.
Margaret Cho has been out there for a long time calling Sarah Silverman a stupid Jew. The same Jewish girlfriend of Jimmy Kimmel who is best pals with Adam. Yo Cho! Chingy Chingy Chong!
People say that Carolla was joking and if he had made a serious racist comment it would be immediately denounced. I would rather he came out and made a serious racist comment that way he could 1.) be denounced as a stupid bigot and be relegated to the fringes of society or 2.)be debated point by point on his views like Jun Choi did with the Jersey guys. When someone makes passive racist comments that are disguised as jokes it is plain cowardice. They hide behind the guise of comedy and make people who object seem foolish, meanwhile this stuff becomes more acceptable because it is in the mainstream.
Hey Assholes, Lighten the fuck up, Im Asian and proud and i laughed my ass off listening to that skit and i never even heard of Adam carolla, not corola ( The Dick that said he should be doing Toyota comercials, thats great, lets get a suposed "Asian Raciest" to make crappy Asian car comercials) Us, Asian are fucked in the future, sure we no math, but we cant to a couple asian " ching - chong" jokes.
Oh for christ's sake if you don't like him don't listen to him. He's a guy who enjoy's having a sense of humor that makes fun of all races including his own. he makes fun of everyone including himself. If you are too sensitive to be subjected to him, turn the radio off! The real reason why his persona worked on loveline is that his abrasive honesty forced messed up youngsters who rationalized their bad life decisions to come to terms with reality and work on themselves. If he coddled them like any normal talk show host they would continue on their spiral downwards. And for whoever believed his overtly racist jokes are lacking wit in any way. The majority of his over-the-top racism was purposely sarcastic in their application which was what made them so hilarious. His wit was acerbic which made it a little more difficult to grasp if you aren't familiar with it or are ready to pounce on anything that can be characterized as offensive. Listen to the loveline archive for awhile. See the kind of people who call this show. They needed Adam for this pragmatic attitude he had in life and they needed him for his constant witty (although admittedly sometimes vulgar) responses which if you listen long enough, you can see is not an easy thing to do 2 hours a night for 10 years. They were way too busy dealing with 15 year old girls calling and asking whether or not they should keep their rape baby to care about the average listener's feelings. I am sorry if I upset you or your fellow commentators with my alternative opinion, but I felt you should maybe see it from a different perspective. I am in no way insulted by your opinion nor do I feel you should change it but I figured I would let you see at least to some degree the appeal the public find in him (which usually people assume is simply shock value). He is a smart guy who had a tough life so he has a very objective sense of the world and an unsheltered sense of humor. If you don't like it, I can respect that but in no way is he a racist. Thank you for your time if you read this."Let me set the record straight. I am not a racist... and because of that I have free reign to bash on all the races! Including my own!"-Adam Carolla (Loveline- The Golden Years)
I have no idea why non-Asians in the news media have not addressed this issue. It's not a joke. Racism is never okay. I am white, but my husband is Asian American. So I guess I'm more sensitive to these things than some non-Asians. But Carolla crossed the line. No one needs to lighten up. Racism is never funny.
Howard Stern rules get Sirius Fuck that boring old radio.
Really appreciate the constructive part of the discussion going on here. Seng was rational and objective in his last post in defining the role of humor and that of offensiveness and the fine line that goes between using the two of them together. There is another great blog that defines clearly that fine line between humor, bigotry, and racist humor:http://rangelife.typepad.com/rangelife/2006/02/ching_chong_ada.html
its only racist when you are the target... he bashes gays and mexicans on the show and you dont seem to mention anything about it. How bout you take a joke and just shut up or just kill yourself because obviously you are taking life too seriously to enjoy it.