Hi,
I want to draw your attention to an offensive and racist editorial cartoon on the Ottawa Citizen (August 7, 2008, A14). I wrote a letter to the editor. I don't know whether it will get published but I want to share it here.
I strongly feel that we should be more active in getting our voices heard in mainstream media. We need to pay attention to how we are represented in the mainstream media, fight back, and participate in debates actively.
Letters to the Editor
Ottawa Citizen
Re: Editorial cartoon, August 7, 2008
As a Chinese-Canadian, I am writing to express my objection to your offensive and racist August 7th editorial cartoon by Cameron Cardow. The coolie hat has been a notorious symbol in racist representations of the Chinese, as anyone with some critical understanding of racism against the Chinese is aware. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual Chinese – how many Chinese do you see wearing them? What it does is to lead people to think all Chinese are the same as the caricatured Chinaman that was popularized in the 19th century – this is precisely how racism works. This cartoon also demonstrates a serious problem with much reporting on China. It is as if only when the Chinese people criticize the communist government, are they deemed as fellow human beings who are capable of reason, who have aspirations we understand and support, and who are worth listening to. But when the same people stand with the government on certain issues, they are dismissed as duped and/or crushed subjects. I urge you to get over this bias and try to appreciate the Chinese people’s enthusiasm for the Olympics on their terms.
Xiaobei Chen
I want to draw your attention to an offensive and racist editorial cartoon on the Ottawa Citizen (August 7, 2008, A14). I wrote a letter to the editor. I don't know whether it will get published but I want to share it here.
I strongly feel that we should be more active in getting our voices heard in mainstream media. We need to pay attention to how we are represented in the mainstream media, fight back, and participate in debates actively.
Letters to the Editor
Ottawa Citizen
Re: Editorial cartoon, August 7, 2008
As a Chinese-Canadian, I am writing to express my objection to your offensive and racist August 7th editorial cartoon by Cameron Cardow. The coolie hat has been a notorious symbol in racist representations of the Chinese, as anyone with some critical understanding of racism against the Chinese is aware. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual Chinese – how many Chinese do you see wearing them? What it does is to lead people to think all Chinese are the same as the caricatured Chinaman that was popularized in the 19th century – this is precisely how racism works. This cartoon also demonstrates a serious problem with much reporting on China. It is as if only when the Chinese people criticize the communist government, are they deemed as fellow human beings who are capable of reason, who have aspirations we understand and support, and who are worth listening to. But when the same people stand with the government on certain issues, they are dismissed as duped and/or crushed subjects. I urge you to get over this bias and try to appreciate the Chinese people’s enthusiasm for the Olympics on their terms.
Xiaobei Chen
