I protest. Wait - can I do that?
by Anti-Racist Parent columnist Margie Perscheid
By now, pretty much everyone knows the story of the Spanish and Argentine teams who thought it might be cute to do a little yellow face for the press. If you haven’t, you can catch up on the whole sordid affair at Angry Asian Man. ARP’s own Carmen Van Kerckhove was interviewed on CNN about the incident, too - you can watch here. My reaction was pretty strong, as I’m sure yours were, too. A commenter to my post got me thinking about something, though; I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.
First, let me explain how I see this incident: Three of Spain’s world-level athletic teams are photographed making “Chinese eyes.” The teams are bound for the Olympics in Beijing; the photos will appear in “good luck” advertisements. An outcry follows the publication of the photos, which the teams dismiss. They offer no apologies, but instead point back to those who speak out in oppostition of the photos and and say they are overreacting. One of the team’s members put it this way:
Jose Manuel Calderon, an icon of the national team, explains in his blog at elmundo.es that it was a wink from the sponsor, something they thought appropriate and affectionate. He is blunt: “Whoever wants to interpret something different is totally confused.”
What I hear in these words is It’s YOUR fault if we offended you.
I see ignorance on many levels here, and racism. There is something about the smiles on the faces of these athletes as they pull back the corners of their eyes that makes me wonder if they have a clue about what they’re doing. It makes me ask myself how prevalent this attitude might be in Spain, because everyone in the photos seems happy to join in the fun. I picture my kids traveling there, and wonder if people could just as easily make fun of them, out of affection of course. Would they then need to join in the fun, too, out of respect for their affectionate hosts? It brings back memories of the day my Korean son came home from school one day when he was in kindergarten and ran around the house doing exactly what the Spanish basketball teams were doing - pulling his own Asian eyes back and saying “Chinese eyes!” It was my wake up call - and it still hurts to think of how innocently he followed along.
On the other hand …
Is it wrong to extrapolate this behavior beyond the actions of these teams? Certainly not all Spanish people are racists, I know that. But why did my mind jump to a broader judgment in this case? What is it about these photos and this incident that speaks to me as much about these team members as it does Spanish attitudes toward racism?
I have identified two things that contribute: First, these teams are representatives of their nation, and as such surely have received coaching and guidance on how to behave in the host country. It’s more than a little odd to me that something this blatant could have been missed. Second, they admitted no fault, showed no remorse, and didn’t concede that they might have caused offense.
Which brings me to the questions I have for you:
First of all, what was your reaction to this incident?
Do we, with our continued history of racism and a gazillion examples of our own of institutionalize racist behavior, have a right to cry foul?
Margie Perscheid is the adoptive mother of two Korean teens. She is a co-founder of Korean Focus, an organization for families with children from Korea with chapters across the country. Margie is on the Board of Directors of the Korean American Coalition DC Chapter, a former board member of KAAN, the Korean YMCA of Greater Washington (now KAYA), and ASIA (Adoption Service Information Agency). Margie writes about her intercountry adoption experiences at Third Mom. She, her husband Ralf, and their two children live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Jennifer wrote:
Margie,
Thanks for your post on this subject–I’ve been thinking of my own reactions and thoughts and oddly enough, they are fairly muted.
Let me clarify.
I identify as Asian American and grew up with kids doing these gestures to me (and this was the liberal Bay Area of the 1970s) and even today, there are times when I’ve seen kids/adults make this gesture (which always shocks me to see in the 21st century).
So when I saw these photos, I sighed a deep sigh but for some reason I wasn’t shocked/surprised. And I’m not shocked/surprised by the Spanish team’s (or Spanish officials) lack of apology and lack of understanding that what they did was “racist” or just plain offensive/inappropriate. I don’t think Spain has a history of social justice and civil rights or a diverse population that has pushed them to consider issues of racial privilege and discrimination at an institutional level. I could be wrong–I’m not an expert on Spanish history/society/culture, but this isn’t the first incident of racism & Spain & sports (there was a Formula 1 driver who was heckled and people showed up in black face–UGH).
Do we have a right to be offended and indignant, even if the Chinese embassy says they are not? And do we have a right to cry racism given the history of racism in our country?
Absolutely. We live in a globalized and international and transnational world. To sit back and think that this is just between Spain and China simply isn’t true. And regardless or perhaps because of the U.S.’s history of racism and discrimination, I think we should try to parse out (as you have done above) the reasons these images make us uneasy–and the message it sends around the world. Because it’s offensive, not just to Chinese people or Asians but to ALL OF US who practice anti-racism.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 8:55 am ¶
unsigned masterpiece wrote:
I thought it was totally thoughtless and appalling. It made me wonder what planet these people are living on. Did they think it was funny? It seems like the kind of thing that happens when good people do nothing. Surely there were some people in that large group that thought this is racist not amusing.
I’m not an American so I can’t comment on part 2 of your question but if I were I would say, yes you do have the right.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 9:02 am ¶
Paloma wrote:
I think you Americans do have the right to cry foul. I would not do it by saying ‘remind me to take that visit to Madrid off the list of things to do before I die’ as you did in Third Mom. It kind of negates your point, doesn’t it?
Nonetheless, I must say that I have personally encountered a lot of ‘day to day’ racism in Spain in recent visits (I am Spanish but have lived out of the country for 20 years): comments along the lines of ‘I am not a racist but…’, and remarks about people’s appearance etc, much of it directed at Eastern European migrants. I know that there is a lot of institutional racism because I have researched how the Roma minority is treated by local governments. And yet, I have also seen some work being done by those in charge to counter racism - great ads on television, for example, we don’t get antiracist ads in the UK where I live.
I think it is good for Spanish people to be pushed into examining their attitudes - just like it is good for everybody else. I personally would try to do it in a manner that doesn’t perpetuate or create prejudice.
Paloma
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 10:13 am ¶
Susanna wrote:
I hadn’t heard about it, but as always (call me naive), I’m shocked that people think this kind of thing is OK. And yes, we have a right to cry foul. It’s only natural to assume this racist behavior (even if “unknowing”) is a nationwide attitude, if it’s part of an advertising campaign featuring teams representing a nation. Can you imagine a U.S. ad campaign featuring these photos? I can’t. At least we can score a point there.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 10:23 am ¶
Karen wrote:
My reaction was that maybe in Spain they have the same attitude toward eye-pulling that they have in Russia. In Russia, my experience was that people would pull out one or both eyes in the context of a conversation as a kind of sign to say, “The person I’m talking about is Asian.” (There are also commonly used hand signs to refer to being in jail, drinking alcohol, and failure or refusal.)
I saw this as racist, in that it both mocks a facial feature that differs from that of the speaker, and lumps together people of widely disparate heritages. I didn’t ever see that it was done with malice, or with any *intention* other than to convey information. (Of course that doesn’t mean that no one ever does it maliciously.)
I think it’s an example of how effects can be harmful even when intentions are not, and that instead of being defensive, the teams and sponsors in question should apologize, take new pictures, and move on.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 10:48 am ¶
PureGracefulTree wrote:
I appreciate you articulating what is so often heard in response when one calls out racist acts: “It’s YOUR fault if we offended you.”
I think the question of whether we have a “right” to be offended in any given situation buys into the whole idea that we need to be given permission to feel, or that we need to be able to logically justify our feelings on an intellectual level for them to be treated with respect. This is where many discussions of racism fall apart—the oppressor (often an unintentional one) says, “Well, I didn’t MEAN to offend you, so it’s your problem.” It’s precisely this assertion of dominance that perpetuates the system of privilege.
So I think we all need to be less worried about whether we’re “allowed” to be offended, and simply admit that we are, and open a dialogue on why.
In regards to this particular case, Frank Wu, a noted Asian-American author, has an interesting perspective about how this ad may be viewed differently by Chinese vs. Chinese-Americans, depending on their history of struggle with assimilation. I think it’s very much worth reading, as it reminds us once again that this is not only about race but about the role of race and domination based on race in one’s country or culture.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/20/ED4812DRHU.DTL&type=printable
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 2:16 pm ¶
Gigi wrote:
My ancestry is Spanish and I can’t say that I was surprised. Bigotry is alive and well all over the world! Even though I am not Asian, my children are and I was offended from the start. My initial thought was that if the players had mocked another non-minority group by pretending to have large noses, the reaction and remorse would have been immediate. Even if they wish to hide behind their excuses, it is still shocking that no one has openly acknowledged the act as distasteful. This kind of behavior *still goes on* in the schools of the USA. It is not acceptable here or there or anywhere!
It is not just our right, but our duty, to cry foul. If we don’t, who will?
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 7:46 pm ¶
Maree B. wrote:
Not only do we have a right to be offended, but, on some level, we are morally obligated to take offense at anything that denigrates a person or group based on their race. Whether intended to offend or not, the gesture of the Spanish team was racially insensitive and laden with prejudice. It was (is) wrong. If the Olympic games were being held in Kenya, would it be acceptable to pose for a picture making a facial gesture to imitate large lips or to wear dark face paint? Of course it wouldn’t be and the outcry from most countries would be heard far and wide. This situation is no different and deserves no less of an outcry, especially from those of us who consciously attempt to live an antiracist life in a culture whose moral fabric is still tightly woven with the threads of racism.
If you are offended by this blatant example of sanctioned racism, speak out about it. Maybe you’ll help someone else speak out as well.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 8:28 pm ¶
Danielle wrote:
Members of my family who are not Jewish pull this same crap with me all the time — “it is your fault if you were offended by my {overtly anti-Semitic} joke.”
Those pictures are just wrong.
Posted 20 Aug 2008 at 11:13 pm ¶
Christopher Haynes wrote:
As a white man living in China, I really do not care one way or another about this photo, and I think we are just overreacting.
If I had a nickel for every time a Chinese person laughed at me just for being white, or for making mistakes in my Chinese, or for doing anything slightly unusual to that person, I would be able to buy the Spanish basketball team. You’ll probably say that they do it privately and this was a public thing, or that the Spanish are guests in China, or something like that, but that strikes me as a lot of double standard.
You see, getting offended is not inevitable: it is a choice. If something I say offends you, even if my intent was to make your jaw drop in anger, you have the choice to brush it off with a laugh. (And of course, if I wanted your jaw to drop, your laughing would defeat me.) Instead, many of us flare up in defense of our groups, which serves the interests of the prejudiced. Then we are told “I have the right to get offended,” as if, in this case, “right” meant “obligation”. Moreover, because of political correctness, we have people getting offended on others’ behalf. Instead of being actually offended by something, we take offence because we consider that someone else might take offence. This, in turn, gives the targets of the rude remark justification to get extra angry, and everyone ends up on the attack.
Well you know what? Getting offended is part of learning to think. I’ll bet all those little Asian American kids that have grown up to get insulted at this silly photo are stronger because they were made fun of. I was made fun of in school, too, and in the long run I let it make me stronger. The last the thing the world needs is more whiners like I was when I was little.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 4:05 am ¶
Max wrote:
My mind went immediately to all the adoptive families in Spain. Many Spanish families adopt from China, which I always thought odd — do they have any Asian communities there? Of course there are many mixed race adoptive families in the States, but at least conscience parents can find and live in communities with large Asian American populations. Those that don’t, well that is another post.
Totally outraged? Yes!
Think it is wonderful there is international coverage of this? Yes! Hopefully it is a teachable moment, but it sounds like the team has some serious racist issues already. Wish I could be more shocked by the team’s response, but I think I am just sickened.
Since 1,000 places to visit before you die is one of my favorite books, I do also understand that you were just being snarky about not visiting there and liked the article title.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 6:34 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
>You see, getting offended is not inevitable: it is a choice. If something I say offends you, even if my intent was to make your jaw drop in anger, you have the choice to brush it off with a laugh.
Christopher, you seem to be confusing external reaction with emotional response. Laughing at an insult is a RESPONSE, and it can be trained into someone, esp. when ridicule is common. That doesn’t mean that the insult isn’t real, or that it doesn’t hurt. At the very least, it tells you something about the person hurling the insult (which can be instructive and revealing, but does not take away the social sting of an insult, especially one that targets ethnicity and appearance, things we cannot change and have minimal control over).
>Instead, many of us flare up in defense of our groups, which serves the interests of the prejudiced.
Right - if we only defend ourselves, and don’t both with people less like ourselves, then prejudiced people would STOP THEIR BEHAVIOR INDEPENDENTLY? Really? How and why?
>Moreover, because of political correctness, we have people getting offended on others’ behalf. Instead of being actually offended by something, we take offence because we consider that someone else might take offence.
BINGO! Seriously, folks, where is my card? Is there still a free space?
Christopher, seeing the offense in a statement that isn’t bout you personally is not “being PC”, it’s called basic human decency.
Under your rules, a biological man should not take offense at a women being called “BITCH” because he’s not a woman. And strangers should just walk by a man being assaulted while being called ethnic slurs, unless the strangers are also of that ethnic group? Only people on the low end of the Kinsey scale should object to homophobic slurs around them?
Being an ally is not PC. Being an ally means a realistic view of the world that doesn’t revolve around yourself. How is that a problem?
>This, in turn, gives the targets of the rude remark justification to get extra angry, and everyone ends up on the attack.
Why should I care about a prejudiced person getting angry at being called out on their prejudice?
>Well you know what? Getting offended is part of learning to think.
Wait - I thought getting offended was a CHOICE? Learning to think is also a choice? We should get offended in order to learn to think?
>I’ll bet all those little Asian American kids that have grown up to get insulted at this silly photo are stronger because they were made fun of.
And any negative concept of Spaniards, or maybe all Europeans or Westerners in general, is also stronger.
A photo is likely not going to scar a high percentage of Asian or specifically Chinese kids. But if they are of Asian decent and in a non-Asian majority environment, and this crap is the tip of the freaking iceberg on the scale of ethnic harassment, it can and does affect self-esteem , self-identity, and actual social interactions with peers and authority figures.
>I was made fun of in school, too, and in the long run I let it make me stronger.
Oh wow. My Bingo card is now full. Because the self-described white guy survived teasing as a child, every person, white or non-white, who gets harassed for ethnic features or personal appearance must also be hunky dory and be “strong” and what-not?
Hint: Your privilege is showing.
Tip of the iceberg for many of us, Chris.
>The last the thing the world needs is more whiners like I was when I was little.
And the last thing I need is someone telling me to NOT have compassion and empathy and sympathy for other human beings.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 7:59 am ¶
lxy wrote:
@ Christopher Haynes
And of course the ignorant White boy has to weigh in with his tired “Don’t be politically correct. Get over it. I’ve been a victim of discrimation as a white boy too” whiny complaints.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:14 am ¶
Deborah wrote:
I tried really hard to understand where they were coming from with this gesture, thinking maybe there is some weired joke that I don’t know about. With all the responses I have heard thus far, it still makes no sense. Therefore, this advertisement remains completely inappropriate and cannot be interpreted as a “good gesture” of any sorts.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:27 am ¶
WC wrote:
How prevalent is this attitude in Spain? If your Korean kids went there, would the Spaniards make fun of them? As an Asian-American who spent a semester in Madrid six years ago, I would say (and this is from my personal experience):
1. Yes, this attitude is VERY prevalent in Spain (at least in Madrid, for me) and 2. It is very likely the Spaniards would make fun of them. (sorry)
Why? Because Spaniards are very proud of their European- Spanish heritage and are very patriotic of their country. They poke fun of EVRYONE! The English, the Asians, the Portuguese, and other Hispanic/ Latin Americans. Spaniards believe it’s the world’s disadvantage that not everyone was born a Spaniard. When I was in Madrid, with my very rudimentary Spanish speaking skills, I was told to stop speaking Spanish because I was botching their beautiful language. When my South American friends would speak amongst each other in their Columbian accents, the Madrienos would tell them to speak Spanish with a Catalan accent because they were in Spain, not South America. (It would be like if we Americans went to England and a Brit told us to speak with an English accent because we were in England, not USA.) So if your Korean sons go to Spain and are made fun of, is it because Spaniards are racists? No, they’re just snobs making fun of kids that are not Spanish. My two cents, or dos pesetas.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 9:35 am ¶
Gillian wrote:
Dear Mr Haynes,
You are right, the world doesn’t need any more whiners. All parents of “THOSE Asian-American kids” should teach them rather to suppress their feelings of hurt over blatant insults, and then when they are older, they too can be hard-nosed people, living behind 50-foot-high emotional barriers, too busy keeping those in place to be sensitive to anyone else’s plight.
Dear Ms Perscheid,
My reaction to the photo was one of disbelief. My reaction to the press coverage was one of irritation - as usual, the press are quick to point the finger, fan the flames, indulge in their own little racist attack against the Spanish people and, on top of that, not actually take seriously the racism of the action of the various teams (all said there was no malicious intent, without justification of any sort).
As Gigi said, bigotry is alive and well all over the world. Do any of us have a right to point that out? Do Americans have the right to point that out since their own track record on race is not shining?
Are you, as an American, indistinguishable from your country? Do you consider yourself to be the same as every other American? Do you consider the members of the Spanish BB team to be indistinguishable from their country? To be the same as every other Spaniard?
This has nothing to do with the US’s (or any other country’s) track record. Every person in the world has a duty, NOT to be offended, but to speak out against discriminatory behaviour, whether the incident takes place at home or abroad.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 10:15 am ¶
JoAnn in NJ wrote:
I am the Causasian wife of a Filipino man and the mother of an adopted daughter from China.
Was I offended? No, I just considered the source. Jocks, people, jocks! Hardly an enlightened group, yo.
Was my husband offended? No.
My daughter is 3 and hasn’t seen the photos.
There are many more important battles on my front to fight…like the moronic woman in my daycare that compared the adoption of my daughter to the adoption of a dog from the shelter. That’s more critical to my thinking.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 12:59 pm ¶
Habladora wrote:
Tricky question… do we have the right to cry foul? Sure, we need to tell people (and nations) how their actions are interpreted. Was the team being insensitive and racist? Yup. Are we sometimes insensitive and racist too - yes.
The truth is, Spanish culture seems to tolerate a lot of things we’d see as mean-spirited and racist. One of my friends is nicknamed “El Moro” (the Moorish guy) because he is darker than most Spaniards. It drives me batty, even if they seem to not recognize the harm - even after I try to explain. Of course, another is called “El Gordo/ Gordito” (fattie), and also seems not to mind. I know I’m dealing with a cultural difference here, but I still don’t feel like there is such a thing as culturally acceptable racism. So… does intent matter? The unwillingness to admit mistakes certainly does.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 2:07 pm ¶
Violeta wrote:
I did find the pictures showed poor taste and poor judgment…but I wasn’t surprised. I’m Spanish, living in the US for some time, with 3 children adopted from Guatemala. We adopted from Guate for a few reasons, some of the most important which were that I’d be able to help my children retain their native language, and a fair number of their cultural touchstones. I am constantly surprised that many Spanish adopters RARELY choose to adopt from Guatemala, choosing China instead, because they see the Chinese children as closer to white/Spanish than the Guatemalan children who are actually in most cases a mix of Spanish and Mayan ancestry. It boggles my mind, but that’s the prevalent attitude there. I actually had the director of the agency we used tell me that I was the only Hispanic mom she’d worked with in over 20 years that didn’t express ANY preference in skin tone, but I was also the youngest. That said, I think things are changing in Spain… a fair number of Spanish people have been rattled by the photos, and, as another example, you can see the improvements in the treatment of the Roma people… just slowly. Still, I’d put visiting Spain back on the list of things to do… but that’s just my Spanish pride talking.
Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 9:42 am ¶
Brodie wrote:
Here is another story along the same lines. Please read it and support our kids! Reject profiling and discrimination.
http://www.hiphopnurseryrhymes.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/buy-low-sell-black/
Posted 22 Aug 2008 at 6:35 pm ¶
Margie (Third Mom) wrote:
I want to thank everyone who added their thoughts to this discussion for doing so. I’m still struggling with what my gut tells me (”This is racism”), and what my head tells and asks me (”We have plenty of racism in the US. Do I have a right to point it out elsewhere?”). Your p0ints of view definitely help me look at this complicated issue from many angles, as I hope they’ve done for others.
Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 12:21 pm ¶
Liza wrote:
Oh snap! Just catching up on some ARP posts and loved this comment thread (mostly for it’s heatedness). Way to break it down Lyonside — loved it. Brilliant. Hope you heard my applause through the wireless internet.
As an Asian American woman who saw this gesture far too many times, I was at first like, “Oh, hells no.” And, then shook my head with words like “Idiots” flying out my mouth.
One word: privilege. Okay two words: privileged ignorance.
Posted 25 Aug 2008 at 8:47 pm ¶