I met Donald Rumsfield 2 years ago. War is always going to be here,nothing you can do about it. Iran isnt big enough for a draft, or strong enough especially if we get alied support. Stereotype musy be dealt with, or as a race there will be no progress. So enemies must be dealt with on all fronts

I like the shoe....and i am asian...

DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHEN THE NEW DUNK COMES OUT?

Well hearing about a half-asian, half-white guy drawing asian caricatures for seems like he has some internalized racism issues to iron out.Maybe he's trying something clever and ironic, but I don't see anything like that on the shoe.

C'mon. Yeah it sucks. No race likes to be made fun of using deragatory stereotypes. But hey, it's a little battle. When we start blasting away at the big fight, like getting more Asians to enter public office, (which means opening up your checkbooks and volunteering your time on campaigns), then advertisers and large companies and politicians will give us more respect. They will listen when we bark. Until then, when we cry about petty issues, it sounds exactly like that - crying about petty issues.

anonymous wrote:"Asian Americans, politically speaking, need to expend energy on issues of urgent social justice import rather than getting perpetually hung up on the issue of negative images/stereotypes... On the grand scale of social justice issues, it feels like our community becomes disproportionately caught up on fighting stereotypes when much of that rigor and passion might be more usefully expended elsewhere…For example, I have yet to receive an email blast asking me to write to my political representatives about opposing the HR 4437 immigration bill..."Asian Media Watch writes:The spread of anti-Asian imagery through powerful media companies and other corporate interests such as Adidas is an important civil rights matter and should be high on the 'social justice scale.' Such companies have the power to influence millions and what they communicate has an undeniable affect on public attitudes, perceptions, and policy. If what is communicated to millions is that Asian Pacific Americans are mostly 'geeks, gooks, gangsters, and geishas,' and that it is o.k. to depict APAs as buck-teeth, slant-eyed, broken-Engrish speaking "ching chong ching chongs," then we should not be surprised to see a rising trend of harassment and violence towards APAs.Throughout history, racist propaganda such as those containing anti-Asian caricatures has been used to spread anti-Asian American sentiment, and to justify persecution and discriminatory public policies. For example, the political cartoons during the 1800s and WWII contributed to a climate fear, hatred, and bigotry where the Chinese Exclusion Act and Japanese American WWII Internment were justified in the minds of the American public. Racist imagery has been historically used to indoctrinate youth and they have a strong psychological effect on the viewer regardless of age.One must consider how the portrayal of immigrants by the entertainment and news media is contributing to the present-day anti-immigrant sentiment and to legislation such as HR 4437 (House) and the Chairman's Mark (Senate). How the endless 'jokes' about Latino immigrants crossing the border and their overwhelming portrayal as a threat to 'American' workers grabs hold of the American psyche.We also should not accept Adidas' position that the imagery on sneaker is 'art' or 'lifestyle' trend, and McGee's freedom of expression as an artist and HAPA is not relevant. Adidas is not displaying the image in an art gallery. It has removed the image from such a context, put it on a sneaker, and is selling it to consumers, particularly the youth, who don't know about McGee or his 'art.' Also, who would proudly display racist images as part of his or her urban 'lifestyle?'

Wow What an amazing Adidas shoe.I would have gone for it, If I would have seen this blog before.I just purchased my Adidas shoes fromshoedeals4u.com, so I have book marked this blog. Since I am very much interested in those shoes and going for it in future.

i didn't write that, poplicks wrote that and you don't need to tell, oliver wang, a sociology professor, how important stereotypes are in perpetutating racism. it's very important, i'm a sociology graduate student myself, but it seems to be the entire asian american movement. i t's disproportionate and a problem when it seems to be mostly motivated by the following syndrome (at the expense of other populations in the asian americans):http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2006/04/bitter_asian_ma.html#comments

Wow What an amazing Adidas shoe.I would have gone for it, If I would have seen this blog before.I just purchased my Adidas shoes fromshoedeals4u.com, so I have book marked this blog. Since I am very much interested in those shoes and going for it in future.

it seems to mostly be the problem of men in their 20s and early thirties. are you male and in your 20s or early 30s? in other words, the asian american movement, as seen online, needs to cater to populations other than men in their 20s.

AMD, let me prove to you what i've just said in the last two posts.in the last five months of this blog, the posts with more than 20 comments all had to do with media stereotypes and the problem of men in their 20s.1) SAM magazine2) Mississippi Masala phenomenon (subtext: black men and Asian women)3) Adam Carolla4) Boston Asian magazine (subtext: white men and Asian women)5) Crash6) Adidas sneakers7) Where do you live? (no category)8) Immigration debate (but only because a staffer suggested we talk about more substantive issues than stereotypes)

The assumptions of Asian Media Watch's last paragraph seems to include:1. sneakers are not art or cannot be the vehicle for artistic images or ideas;2. art is for art galleries and should stay there;3. youth don't understand art;4. images cannot be reappropriated by oppressed subcultures.This seems to ignore a few important facts:1. There are a total of 1000 pairs of the shoe sold at 12 retail outlets worldwide starting at $250 a pair which makes these shoes more scarce, more exclusive and more expensive than many objects commonly recognized as art.2. Grafitti existed in the streets before it started appearing (and selling) in art galleries. With shows such as the "art of outdoor equipment" and "art of Disney" that appeared in major museums a few years back, validation from a respected gallery seems to be primarily the concern of collectors.3. Grafitti started and lives as a predominantly youth form. Barry McGee's (Twist's) background as an individual and as part of this lifestyle is very important in understanding this shoe as an artwork. The people this shoe is made for (ie "the kids", not "The Man") understand the artwork. One can argue that the general public (ie people who aren't ever going to see an actual copy of the shoe and can only engage in the debate surrounding it, assuming they read the papers or blogs) won't understand it, but if the mainsteam's limited interaction with it is a multi-sided debate, isn't that a good thing?4. Reappropriation of the language (verbal and visual) of the oppressor is a common tactic in reempowerment. Just ask any pink-triangle sporting sissy.

Totally confusing.

Update: On April 26, Adidas issued a statement of apology and pledged to recall the remaining stock of their Y1 HUF sneakers.In response to Seng, with all due respect, the 'assumptions' 1-4 that you wrote about are in fact your own.

dear anonymous of April 20, 2006 12:04 PM and April 20, 2006 12:57 PM:Is there something wrong with being an asian-american man in his 20's or 30's?What are you really saying that you want? What demographic should the "asian-american online movement" be ordered to cater to?Next time we have our meeting at our secret patent pending treehouse, we'll issue orders to the entire online movement and order them to stay with your program... lolAnyway, there are books, docu-dramas, organizations, in fact, the rest of the western world that doesn't cater in the least, to the interests of asian-american men, so you may have some small consolation there.Maybe there's an Amy Tan, Sandra Oh, or Maurie Povich book signing somewhere...Sorry if pointing racism towards asian-american in their 20's and 30's bothers you. Yup, we should all be ashamed about complaining, and don't make waves, be embarassed about bringing attention to our asian-minority-ness, don't stick out, don't think for ourselves, listen to our elders, swallow bitterness, and stay invisible. Be proper one-dimensional, inarticulate, unaware, materialistic, asian male salarymen. Yess Sirree.lol. ;-)

puzzled,the online asian american community is completely dominated by men. there need to be safe spaces online for women.the community should be balanced offline and online.

puzzled said:What demographic should the "asian-american online movement" be ordered to cater to?it should cater to everyone equally.up to now, the asian american online commmunity caters to men in their 20s.

Dear Anonymous,I'm not against that. There should be and probably are many, online areas for women and everyone else. You are not excluded. It is very hard to understand why AA male expression on the internet can be construed as exclusion.Look, the internet is decentralized. The point of my joke is that no one controls the internet. Compared to magazines, TV, books, it costs almost nothing to put up message boards. There isn't a corporate gatekeeper for expression. So your request or complaint comes off as puzzling, or as controlling. You yourself can post here and express your views.There have been and are many, many publications, movies, and documentaries devoted exclusively to Asian American women. And many of these expressions have not been supportive of asian american men. AA men have seemingly been shut out of the mainstream and their voice has been made invisible. AA males indeed have much less mainstream access than AA females, or any other minority demographic, except perhaps for the Native Americans that don't have casinos.Asian American men, it seems only have the internet as a means of self expression. And again yes, yes, you are welcome to express yourself too.So your sentiment seems more like resenting the phenomenon that asian american men are taking the initiative where they finally have an outlet for expression. A higher level AA-male expression is not exclusion. Essentially, telling AA-males that there is something wrong with opening up and expressing ourselves in an already free & open medium (practically the only available medium) seems more like suppression and trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

Puzzled,Controlling or rightfully criticizing sexism on the internet? Which everyone criticize along with racism and classism.There is a difference between the online Asian American community where everyone can say whatever they want (actually the so-called free internet mimics the sexism, racism and classism of free market capitalism and the same voices are subdued) and "publications, movies and documentaries" produced by the mass media that objectifies and markets Asian American women's bodies. In other words, the way the mainstream media markets Asian women is not the choice of Asian American women.Which documentary, specifically, has not been supportive of Asian American men? I can't think of one.

Hello anonymous,I don't disagree with you that sexism is also bad. It is odd. In the media of practically every society, news casts often pair an older man with a younger woman. The older news man often has a long career on screen, and it often doesn't matter if he is ugly or handsome. But the younger female newscasters often come and go, as if they are hired for ornamental effect rather than for their sharp, incisive questions. The question for the media comes to: who makes these decisions, and why?As for documentary examples, I remember seeing a few devoted only to asian american women in general. --Nothing wrong with that. People are free to express as they wish... There are organizations exclusively for asian american women. I haven't attended, so I don't know their agendas. But, do they support AA-men? Well, they don't include them.Asian men who express themselves shouldn't be sexist or misogynistic. Yes, I cringe and feel frustrated when asian men behave in a crude, clueless, and sexist manner. But men of all races have these bad apples. (And some men hide it better than others. Therefore, sincerity should be given more credit than glibness -- at least that's the advice I would give my future daughter.)However, I hope you don't disagree that asian-american men need greater access to outlets of self expression.I would also like to point out that even though asian americans, as a whole are marginalized, I myself have experienced misandry from asian american females when I was younger. In college and in the media, it seems to me that AA-women have more power than AA-men, and there seemingly has been a role reversal in the power dynamic. Prominent AA-women have excluded or regarded AA-men as irrelevent or something to be distanced away from (ie: Amy Tan, Sandra Oh, Margaret Cho's "American Girl", etc...). When I have personally experienced disdain from AA women, actually immature & shallow girls, dislike or regard me as "uncool" for just being an asian male, I think this is reverse racism and reverse sexism.I'm just as American in culture as they are. I believe in equal rights. I like to cook. I don't expect the wife to stay home, etc... When I was younger, I felt really abandoned and alienated by the nasty racist social mindset among most (but not all) of these AA-princesses. To be rejected by white society is one thing, but to also be rejected by the whitewashed AA-princess clique-set who validate the same attitude as those racists in white society is extremely cruel.I'm happily married now to a wonderful woman. I cook for her more than half the time. She's the only angel whose ass I'll kiss. I'm not a sexist. I want to serve her, rather than ask her to serve me. She washed away the bitterness, because all I wanted was a nice, warm, welcoming woman to love. I feel from my heart, the desire to return 200% of the love that she has for me.I dating those auto-racist AA-girls, I don't think it would worked out anyway, because they wouldn't have given me a chance to emerge from my shell. (Actually... I dated a few AA girls in college by senior year, the auto-racist ones did have alot of baggage, and I did feel like I was an experiment or I was under the microscope.)I don't feel that, as a non-sexist asian-male, I need to be unfairly tarred by that stigma of the sexist stereotype.I'm sorry if I'm ranting. It's not aimed toward you. You could be a very sweet person coming from an entirely different angle.

"As for documentary examples, I remember seeing a few devoted only to Asian American women in general. Nothing wrong with that. People are free to express as they wish."So these documentaries are not unsupportive of Asian men. Asian men are free to make their own documentaries."There are organizations exclusively for Asian American women. I haven't attended, so I don't know their agendas. But, do they support AA-men? Well, they don't include them."You haven't attended and don't know their agenda? Women of every group organize because they're marginalized in most areas of society including within their own community. They are not included in these areas to make the important, decision-making areas that determine everyone's lives. Again, men are free to have their organizations but they're unnecessary because Asian American groups already cater to men."Asian men who express themselves shouldn't be sexist or misogynistic. Yes, I cringe and feel frustrated when asian men behave in a crude, clueless, and sexist manner. But men of all races have these bad apples...However, I hope you don't disagree that asian-american men need greater access to outlets of self expression."Have you been online for a while? It's not just a few bad apples. Of course I don't disagree that men and women should equal access to expression.

The difference is that the Asian American women's self-expression has not been sexist and the Asian American men's self-expression has been.Asian American women sometimes have to self-segregate/organize as they are marginalized even within their own community. But can you name any Asian American women's organization online that excludes men? Also I'm sure that any genuinely anti-sexist male (allies) would be included in these organizations.Asian American men, on the other hand, "express" themselves in a sexist manner. It's up to anti-sexist Asian American males such as yourself to talk with the men who are making Asian American men look bad. Asian America has not gotten to the point where men talk to other men about sexism and anti-sexism and this looks bad and has negative effects for both women and men.

"When I have personally experienced disdain from AA women, actually immature & shallow girls, dislike or regard me as "uncool" for just being an Asian male, I think this is reverse racism and reverse sexism...When I was younger, I felt really abandoned and alienated by the nasty racist social mindset among most (but not all) of these AA-princesses. To be rejected by white society is one thing, but to also be rejected by the whitewashed AA-princess clique-set who validate the same attitude as those racists in white society is extremely cruel."That's the cliquey set as you said. They are what I call Abercrombie & Fitch Asian American girls. Shallow, superficial girls of every race make women look bad.And there's no such thing as reverse sexism.

BURN ADIDAS kill them for what they do to kangaroos and sweatshop workers

To Asian Media Watch:Since my assumptions are my own, I ask for some clarifications on your last paragraph:"We also should not accept Adidas' position that the imagery on sneaker is 'art' or 'lifestyle' trend"Are we not supposed to accept it because we don't want to acknowledge the existence of an art or lifestyle trend? Is it not possible for corporations to assist, encourage or even partake in the initiation of such trends?"and McGee's freedom of expression as an artist and HAPA is not relevant."Why is McGee's freedom of expression as an artist not relevant? Why is his mixed ethnicity (hapa is a word, not an acronym, btw) not relevant in his artistic output?"Adidas is not displaying the image in an art gallery."As I mentioned, Twist started as a grafitti artist- that is the original context of his work. What is the relevance of whether or not these shoes are in an art gallery? Does that physical context do much other than to commidify, control or limit discussion?"It has removed the image from such a context, put it on a sneaker, and is selling it to consumers"When was the image in such a context (if you want to point me to a list of Twist's gallery shows, that would be helpful because I don't know them all)? What is it that makes the art gallery context relevant to the 1000 or fewer folks who are able to obtain and keep a set of these kicks in their possession?"particularly the youth, who don't know about McGee or his 'art.'"What is it about graffiti and McGee's art (no quotes) that "the youth" don't know?"Also, who would proudly display racist images as part of his or her urban 'lifestyle?'"Okay, I agree that racist images are not as commonly reclaimed as racist (or sexist) _words_, but how out of touch would it sound to ask the same question about verbal instead of visual language?

So we agree that most AA's and other minorities can acknowledge the phenomenon of internalized racism within their own ethnicities. (Of course this is not limited to just males or just females.)In European American, African American, Hispanic, and Native American communities, the balance of power between the sexes are such that males predominantly hold higher social and political popularity.In the Asian-American community, such a disparity is not as clear. Incomes differences between Asian American men and women are, (the last time I checked) closer than in other ethnicities.So when you say things that are clearly puzzling such as:"That's the cliquey set as you said. They are what I call Abercrombie & Fitch Asian American girls. Shallow, superficial girls of every race make women look bad.And there's no such thing as reverse sexism. "That is where it is evident there is hypocrisy. Many AA men will acknowledge sexism on their part. An AA men's organization would be condemned as sexist and exclusionary. Sexist Asian men need to open some windows on their thick skulls and need to be educated.Bad behavior on the part of one group is dismissed as just an ignorable fluke not characteristic of that group, while bad behavior of another group defines them?Is that the principle in effect here?So these rules and principles apply as especially characteristic to AA-males, but they cannot apply at all to AA-females?Being regarded as irrelevant or being shunned, not because you are asian or male, but an AA male? Is that not sexist racism?Given the social dynamic of reverse representation & popularity in this country, this is strikingly puzzling.This is illogical ideology, or just socially motivated hypocrisy.The phenomenon of sexism applies when stereotypical, exclusionary, or dismissive judgements apply when the only difference is whether a person is male or female. I agree to equality, and merit according to the person's ability and character. Equality - yes. But special treatment - no. Special treatment only to a Significant Other.

Nope.Women cannot be sexist. Women can be prejudiced but not sexist because sexism requires power. Sexism = prejudice + power and women do not have the power to be sexist. The same way racism = prejudice + power. POC cannot be racist against whites but can be prejudiced and hostile. They can be racist towards each other or internally but whites can be racist towards people of color. So Asian women can be prejudiced but not sexist towards males. Some of you Asian males need to get hip to critical thinking and start reading books about critical thinking because alot of your arguments don't make sense.So it's correct to say that Asian American women's organizations are necessary because of inherent sexism in minority communities. They need to self-segregate to gain equal access and power they don't have.Black women make more than black men and Latina are getting more education than Latino men. What's the big deal if Asian women are doing better in some areas? Is your ego that fragile you can't handle it? The sexism of fearing women's power is divisive to our community and prevents it from taking on more important issues.Again, you say alot of uneducated things.

Finally, (and I'm done here), women can be sexist towards each other and to transgendered people but not towards men.

Sorry, for still being puzzled by your logic, and your definitions -- which seem odd to me.Aside from your bitter ad hominem accusations, and my lack of not being indoctrinated by your dubious education on these theories, I'm not bothered by women having higher incomes.If you say so that racism = prejudice + power. Is not income a factor in "power" (however that may be conveniently defined)?According to your dubious definitions, if group A has the same income and similar political & social power as group B, then can they be racist/sexist or not racist/sexist towards each other?Before you said women can't be sexist. But then you say they can't be sexist towards each other? How can women be sexist to each other if they both have similar power levels?And therefore, asian-americans cannot be racist towards white people?Exactly what is the pecking order/heirarchy now then?Hispanic Americans can't be racist towards Asian-Americans, but they can be racist towards American Indians?And can transgendered people be sexist towards women? I guess we have to determine power levels.What sort of self-gratifying convoluted, crackpot semantic theory passes for critical thinking & logic these days?These are your definitions.Ugh, my initial assumptions are true.But this ideology & attitude mirrors the offensive, hostile, inflexible, illogical, unreasonableness that comes from male chauvinists and bible thumping anti-choice advocates.

And... therefore according to your definitions...It's not what an individual says or does that determines racism/sexism...It all depends on Who You Are, and Who Your Target is.Ahhh... I think I understand your message now.

A few quick points to frame the discussion before it gets into the usual name calling and cred presentation:How do offensive or controversial artworks serve to further discussion on charged topics like race? Why is clothing and fashion relegated to being a reflection of a culture instead of a leader in the progression of thought? Is it a high-brow disassociation with profane existence, a capitalist maneuver to kill yet another form of expression or something else entirely (or all of it)?How does easily-triggered outrage against small actions defocus the vision of the larger movement?

barry mcgee is asian american. ray fong [the character on the shoe] is one of his many alter egos. this controversy is lame. still it will help the people who bought the show to re-sell on ebay fetch more for them.

I agree with the link above in Seng's post (which takes you to Oliver Wang's poplicks). Oliver's points are a) The shoe needs to be taken into context and the context is the artist, Barry McGee, is hapa, has been using these kinds of characters for quite a while in his work (without the intent of caricature) and has artistic license to do so and b) Asian America needs to stop getting so upset over issues of pop culture/stereotype and spend its energy on more worthwhile protests and social justice causes.

Who is Oliver Wang? I heard of him. Isnt he like some R@B and Hip Hop criticin the Bay Area

I still have mixed feelings about this. The term yellow series and the character being so blatantly "Asian," as most of middle America sees us, is questionable for Adidas to put out. But Twist's art is amazing and he is known for subverting racism/people in power. Yet Adidas is a multinational company? But they are only selling 2,000 of these.Anyone walk down to Huf on Sutter? The Fong character is on the window, in yellow. It would be interesting to ask people what they thought of it. And yeah Oliver Wang, or O-dub is a prolific Hip-Hop/music critic who's written for Source and other mags. I believe he is a subscriber for Hyphen! (unless its another Oliver Wang)

i don't see why fighting against negative stereotypes precludes fighting more serious battles. they're tied together and you shouldn't (and don't have to) choose between them.speaking of which, when is someone going to blog about the amazing immigration protests that happened on monday? when is someone going to blog about the proposed immigration legislation, which affects asian americans?

i think this was exactly oliver's point:claire said: speaking of which, when is someone going to blog about the amazing immigration protests that happened on monday? when is someone going to blog about the proposed immigration legislation, which affects asian americans?

World War 3 is upon us and Asian Americans are talking about sneakers, eyelid surgeries and tee shirts. I like what Oliver said:Asian Americans, politically speaking, need to expend as energy on issues of urgent social justice import rather than getting perpetually hung up on the issue of negative images/stereotypes…In principle, yes, fighting stereotypes has a political, progressive purpose. However, on the grand scale of social justice issues, it feels like our community becomes disproportionately caught up on fighting stereotypes when much of that rigor and passion might be more usefully expended elsewhere…For example, I have yet to receive an email blast asking me to write to my political representatives about opposing the HR 4437 immigration bill (though I do not doubt, for a moment, that there are many Asian American organizers working to oppose this legislation). Nor do you often see the same kind of grassroots campaigns being circulated on the internet to draw attention to environmental justice issues affecting low income neighborhoods near polluting industries…In an ideal world, you shouldn’t have to choose but in a world of realpolitik, it’s important to choose your battles wisely. Believe me, there are times when I think people should be rightfully indignant over how Native American imagery is caricatured on sports logos, especially given the saturation of those images nationally…But with this Y1 Huf debate…what are we protesting exactly? It’s a limited edition shoe, destined to only be bought be a few hundred people, designed by an Asian American artist known for subtly subversive work, and located on a part of the shoe that most people will never see. How does this really merit anyone’s outrage considering all there is to be outraged in our nation and world today?…Despite appearances, I’m not trying to single out this campaign for scorn or ridicule. Rather, I’m trying to draw attention to a far larger tradition within Asian American activism that I think really needs to be rethought, especially in these dire times. The need for social justice campaigns that deal with 1) issues of multi-racial import and 2) issues that materially - rather than just symbolically - affect people and families, has rarely been greater in our contemporary history. Let’s not get caught, staring at our feet…Negative images are important (clearly) but I have a wider hope that, as a community, we don’t invest ALL our time in fighting this one area and end up neglecting other important battles that need dedication and focus too.

More on the end of the world and what you can do.

I caught some of O-Dub, Oliver Wangs stuff and articles on the net. I see He is a emerging voice in many different venues, even though he primarily speaks about the HIP Hop and R@B culture. I can see why this sneaker is part of a problem. Image is everything. Isnt that how the phrase go. So why not talk about it? Who are we going to War with, im curious?

Here's a response from Adidas posted on Poplicks.com.

I think Addidas needs to issue a "Me so solly!"

there's no reason we can't do both (fight stereotypes AND serious issues), but it seems that people only get riled up about stereotypes and are largely silent when it comes to the serious stuff. And that is very dissappointing.

Pacific, Iran. We're probably going to war with Iran unless Democrats win 15 seats in Congress this fall, win back the Senate, there are massive protests, etc. There will be a big protest April 29 in NYC.1. The Bush administration admitted this week, after it was revealed by the New Yorker, that they are preparing war plans to invade Iran.2. Six high-ranking former US generals have come out and called on Rumsfeld to resign. Why? Because Rumsfeld didn't listen to the uniformed military leadership when it came to planning and executing the war in Iraq. Rumsfeld insisted on fighting the war HIS way. And we all know where that got us.3. Rumsfeld is still the Secretary of Defense. That means Rumsfeld, and not the uniformed military, is the one calling the shots on the war plan for Iran.4. So that means the same guy who designed the disastrous war plan in Iraq is in charge of designing the entire plan for Bush's next war, Iran.Does anyone really believe the outcome in Iran is going to be any different than the total debacle in Iraq?Different circus, same clowns.And by the way, anyone else feel a draft?http://www.april29.org/http://americablog.blogspot.com/2006/04/rumsfeld-is-in-charge-of-figuring-out.html