it looks (again) like a "satire," but such a poorly written one that the guy should get torn a new sphincter just for poor writing.seriously, what's the point?or maybe there's a context here that i'm missing because i'm not going to their university. maybe the guy is responding to some recent campus incident? who knows?

Clearly this is satire, a "humor" article. Clearly the author is not seriously proposing to do these things to Asians. I believe that we should look at it through the lens that this is not intended to be completely serious. So in my opinion, it is not "hate speech."Yet what troubles me, and probably many others, is that I'm just not clear on what exactly he is satirizing, and what is meant to be the source of humor, other than the hyperbole of a race war.I am open to the possibility that Max Karson is not seriously racist at all, and is simply making a point about the absurdity and antiquity of racial misunderstanding.But even if it's all a joke, does that make it okay? I think not. Certainly I believe in his freedom to say these things, but this article is still deeply troubling to me for several reasons.1. Why is it more socially acceptable to write this about Asian Americans and not, say, African Americans? You might recall a similar article with racist undertones in the UCLA newspaper a year or two ago. It was defended in a similar fashion, with cries of, "it's just a joke" and "lighten up." Well, if Japanese internment was as deeply entrenched in the American psyche as much as slavery is, would we be "uptight" to be offended by his suggestion that Asians be kidnapped and abused? No one should obligated to take a joke.2. The language of the article is inherently divisive. It is "us" versus "the Asians." Of course, "we" refers to the white student population, which he casually assumes as the average reader of his article, the establishment, and the norm. "The Asians" makes reference to the concept of the perpetual foreigner, the idea that Asian people, no matter their actual background, English-speaking ability, and amount of immersion in American culture, people of Asian descent are always something other than American.I am reminded of the title of a book by George Lakoff, a cognitive linguist, "Don't Think of an Elephant." If told not to think about an elephant, it is impossible to avoid doing so because the mere mention reinforces the idea. In the same way, repeating the frame of "Us" versus "the Asians" unconsciously strengthens the division. Karson's casual use of this kind of language only serves to reinforce xenophobic conflict.In the end, I take Karson's writing with a grain of salt. Look him up on Wikipedia; he has been suspended for insensitive writings before regarding women and the VT massacre. Clearly he is a controversial person in many ways other than this article. He is a self-styled satirist who fails at every attempt. But just because something is a joke doesn't mean that we have to laugh it off.What we need is a new conversation on race, especially of Asian American issues. The political and social history of Asian Americans is probably the least understood of all, even by most Asian Americans themselves, so upon the publishing of this article, we need to find a way to bring our conversation into national consciousness.We need to stop using legal means to censor this kind of writing, and we need to stop branding ignorant writers with a scarlet letter. We need to be productive and tell the national community in plain terms what our problems our, what we want, and why articles like this hurt us.Thanks for reading!

It may be satire..but look at the hate it has spawned in this blog...http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/20/asians-hate-column-ignites-firestorm-cu/especially the entry by John Frost about Chinese women and half Chinese babies polluting the earth.And the idiot experts such as Stephanapolus and Russert really think that Obama will be elected US President. They make me laugh!!

this is absolutely, not satire. if it was supposed to be, what a crap piece of writing it was. the editors sent me this after i wrote to them:http://media.www.thecampuspress.com/media/storage/paper1098/news/2008/02/20/News/Letter.From.The.Editors-3223782.shtmlon the front page of their website, but not even really visible.i feel disgusted, especially by the kind of poor apology that was written. it had no content and stirred away from the issue. what crap.i really encourage everyone to continue writing to the editors to demand something more sincere and to express what they feel.

The piece was intended as satire--with the purpose of making fun of the entitled, "walnut-brained" (as he calls them) white students who, while claiming not to be racist, harbor bizarre suspicion of and stereotypes about Asian students.It's over-the-top, Onion-style commentary and silliness--Karson is saying, "Hey white guy, I know you think that racism against Asians isn't taboo--fine, let's push it there."And if it makes any difference, the piece was supposed to run as a companion to this opinion by a Korean-American student: http://media.www.thecampuspress.com/media/storage/paper1098/news/2008/02/18/Opinion/A.Few.Words.On.The.Asiaphilic.Plague-3216974.shtml

Here's a statement from the university chancellor.

This was meant to be funny and it was. I couldn't stop laughing. It was like reading a south park episode. I'm sure those who are offended by this are the same offended by south park. Read between the lines, not just what you want to. This makes fun of white just as much or even more than asians throughout the article. Its comedy genius

i'm glad someone thought it was funny, because i sure as hell didn't. and i watch south park, that's funny to me, sometimes. frankly i find the simpsons in better taste, or even the family guy. but this? pure comedy genius? i don't think so. i refuse to think that we're stooped as low as this in the world of "journalism"...

i'm highly offended by this guys article, and i think the university needs to do something more drastic. this isn't the first time he's written something that has offended the public. he's an awful journalist if he thinks this shit is satire. it's got prejudice stamped all over it. you wanted to start a war you little bitch, you got one!!

comedy genius?? what the fuck? this shit was not funny and your poor sense of humor shows thru "pete" your probably one of his dumb ass friends.

Max's use of racial stereotypes borders a threat to the security of America. Not even the ACLU will save him here. His plan to drag and hog-tie is a clear act of domestic terrorism--which via the USA Patriot Act--gives authority to Homeland Security to detain him for 72 hours without the use of a lawyer. Max forgot we're still in a war. I say he face a jury.

There's no doubt that this column was an attempt at satire, but he's got a long way to go before he gets hired as a writer at South Park.I know these are student journalists, but common sense should at least make them question whether the column works as it was intended. For the most part it did not, and I think it is irresponsible to publish it as it was written.The lame excuse and apology given by the editors for the paper are also irresponsible. Sometimes you mess up and you just have to own up to it.Nothing has been accomplished here. If the intent was to make light of racial stereotypes, I think the opposite has happened. Journalists already have a bad enough reputation and this incident hasn't given anyone a reason to think otherwise.I hope the writers and editors at the paper learn something from this incident and don't come away just thinking the PC cops are out to get them and that somehow their First Amendment free speech rights are being infringed upon.

OK, apparently this guy Karson is really whacked. He's even got a Wikipedia entry. Now I really question the wisdom of the editors of the paper for publishing a writer who has this kind of history.

here is a good response from the Asian American Journalists Association.

hyphen magazine should release a response.