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How do you feel about a band called "Ching Chong Song"?
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Greenwich Village, NYC - Last night, 20 New York University students held an educational rally to demonstrate against "Ching Chong Song," a Brooklyn indie-folk band. (Both band members are Caucasian). The NYU students stood outside the band's performance to pass out flyers educating attendees of the offensiveness of the phrase "ching chong."
"Words like that contain a painful history loaded with intolerance, hatred, and belittlement," said NYU sophomore Chi-Ser Tran, a demonstrator.
When the band learned of the impending rally, it agreed to change its name and to make an apology during its performance. Band pianist and singer Dan Gower said the name wasn't changed until now because of "all the action people have taken."
The band formerly known as "Ching Chong Song" experienced similar protests in December at Bryn Mawr College. The protests there successfully got the band's scheduled performance to be cancelled. Julia LaMendola, the other band member, wrote an open letter http://www.biconews.com/article/view/5294 in the Bryn Mawr's student newspaper in response: "Growing up a child of a gay parent in a tiny town, a poor second-generation Italian girl, I also have experience with the nuances of language. And give me a break you stupid twats...By the way, `ching chang chong' is what people in Germany call the game rock paper scissors, and stupid petty retards is what I'm calling you."
"While I am heartened that the band has agreed to change its name, I hope that we focus on the issue at hand: racism," said NYU junior Frederick Loo Wong, a lead demonstrator. "We cannot hold pejorative epithets to differing standards. I am offended when someone uses the word `gay' inappropriately. It is breath-taking when someone uses the `n-word.' Why can't the same apply to `ching chong'?"
NYU senior Lily Yuan expressed concern about the sincerity of the band's apology. "But, even though the band changed their name, they announced it with sarcasm and pride and few words that meant nothing and left us standing in humiliation and shock." Yuan was brought to tears during the band public apology when band member LaMendola said, "The college banned me from performing and then I wrote them a letter calling them retarded twats [the audience laughed]...Yea I thought it was pretty funny too..."
"However we may feel about the band's apology, what we have done here tonight is show New York City that Asians are not to be belittled. We can organize and will not tolerate insults. But first, we need to all understand each other for a better society," said Wong.
This is an issue that exists in popular media portrayals. Check out this video of Rosie O'Donnell's offensive perversion of the Chinese language on The View.
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Here is a clip from the Adam Carrolla Show that uses the slur repeatedly to parody the Asian Excellence Awards. http://www.angryasianman.com/other/adamcarolla2006-01-24.mp3The awards honor Asian Americans in media who have made a difference in the United States and were conducted in English. Here is an in-depth discussion angryasianman.com/other/adamcarolla2006-04-26.mp3 Carrolla permitted on his show several weeks later only after funders threatened to stop supporting his show.
The "Ching Chong Song" band has agreed to change its name; however, it has yet to reflect those changes on its website. Also lacking is an apology on the website. The band's website is: http://chingchongsong.com/
An article in NYU's campus paper may be found here: http://media.www.nyunews.com/media/storage/paper869/news/2007/02/15/News/Protests.Meet.VDay.Band-272
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Congratulations
Congratulations for taking action and making this public. It is outrageous that Adam Corrolla, Sarah Silverman, Rosie, and others are promoting ignorance by using degrading and downright racist language. It is not funny...and they need to be educated about the implications of their actions.
I'm sorry the band was so evil about their apology... Maybe its time for a nationwide student boycott of this band-- and a MySpace page spreading the word.
Bad memories...
I remember when Abercrombie and Fitch didn't understand why shirts with Asian epithets were offensive until student organizations nationwide boycotted and petitioned their removal.
Unfortunately, many Americans are unaware of the racist assumptions and attitudes towards Asiatic peoples--from the "model minority" stereotype to the "Does your mom know karate?" question I heard one too many times growing up.
This is why I am encouraged and emboldened by the actions of fellows like Reem Rahman, who held a Racism, Power and Privilege forum at UIUC.
It is time that the progressive community call such actions by its rightful name, and work directly to address the issue or RACISM through such forums and conferences.
Great Job
Great job organizing this event and raising awareness around the innapropriate use of language that is and does offend people - regardless of the intention.
If we want to create a more respectful society and encourage tolerance and awareness of different races, groups, views, sexual orientations, etc... we have to do it across the board and that includes in the way we speak.
Censorship and Freedom
In a world in which America is losing a war, thousands of America's young people have died and are dying overseas, and hundreds of thousands of civilians are suffering and dying, the discussion of this topic is offensive. Furthermore, this protest signals increased societal censorship in an era in which freedom of speech is so much under threat around the world. The inclusion of the `race' of the band members is blatantly racist - should a person's right to expression depend on outdated ideas of race and color politics? One of the greatest dangers to free speech comes from society, at times much more palpable and powerful than government censorship. Any lovers of liberty should stand against the forceful modification of controversial art, however much one might disagree with the comment or orientation of the art and artist.
Lastly, some research into "ching chong" reveals how absurd social censorship always is. Ching Choeng is the name of a heroic Chinese/Hong Kongese reporter for the Straits Times, currently a political prisoner held by China. Should we inform this victim of state persecution for speech that his name is a slur against his people, and he must immediately change it to avoid offending other Chinese people?
Be More Informed
Your reference to the Hong Kong reporter has weak connections to the demonstration's aims. The reporter, oceans and continents away, has no relevance to the negative power that the phrase "ching chong" has to Asian Americans in America. I would venture to say that your reference speaks to a wholesale exoticization of those of Asian descent in America.
Perhaps you are unclear of the motives of the demonstration - it was an educational demonstration about the meaning of the controversial phrase. At no point did we demand that the band change its name. They freely did so and we were happy to have had such an effect. The band's name was artistic (merits are debatable). But it also was unfortunate and arguably a result of a lack of education about its perceived and real disempowering/insulting/exotifying/alienating effects. Something we aimed to remedy. The band is truly free to choose any name, but one should never expect to offend people without people standing against such detriments to civil society.
Lastly, I would like to respond to your opening point. You are ill-informed to question the demonstrators and my dedication to other pressing issues facing America and the world. This was one blog post about one incident. If you want to learn more about the other work I am doing with my life and then evaluate, call me first.
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