Bo Dietl Says Katie Couric Looks 'Oriental'

November 12, 2009

Fox commentator Bo Dietl goes all-out on Don Imus' show the other day, even pulling his eyes back to make the point that Katie Couric looks "Oriental." 

Here's what he said:

She looks like a Halloween cartoon. She's got her eyes pulled so far, she's starting to look Chinese herself. Enough with these face lifts, alright Kate. And enough with the young guys Katie. You're over the top baby. You're over 50. Start going out with guys your own age. This cougar stuff don't work.

After Imus makes a half-hearted attempt to defend Couric and change the subject, Dietl goes on to say:

Ten years ago, she looked American. Today she is an Oriental.

I don't know what Dietl has against Couric, but really? To use an entire ethnic group as an insult?

Of course, there're announcers calling NBA star Jianlian Yi Chinaman, so it's clear that sportscasters pay absolutely no mind to what is deemed racially offensive by those funny-looking Orientals -- or, er, Asian Americans.

The "it's OK to make fun of Asians" file is getting so full, we’ll have to create a subcategory: File this one under “it’s OK to use Asians to make fun of people.”

Contributor: 

Harry Mok

Editor in chief

Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.

Comments

Comments

yeah i agree harry. it's time to create a "fucked up shit" (excuse my language) subcategory for our blog. or maybe even a "people using derogatory terms but are too ignorant to know it" subcategory.
Much as I hate these things, unless we stand up and fight, it will never change. Asians need to fight like the African Americans had to in order to get equality. Until then its just gonna be the way it is.Having said that, I dont find Chinamen to be offensive (I am Chinese myself).
Do we have to wait for an entire generation to die out before we stop hearing the Orientals-are-not-American bit?
Japanese American Citizens League sends protest letter to Fox. See it at: jacl.org.
Good luck waiting, Kushibo, since you'll also have to outlive Miley Cyrus.