Miley Cyrus Thinks It’s Cool to Mock Asians

by Latoya Peterson

Now, what did the Spanish Olympic basketball team say when they did it?

Oh, right, it was a “wink.” A sign of “affection.”

Here’s what other bloggers are saying – I don’t really have any words on this one.

For those who don’t know who the most popular teenager in America is, Miley’s third from the left. Is this how kids are posing for photos these days? Hey! Look at us spoiled punkass hipster kids making racist gestures! Because it’s fun, and we just don’t care. And it’s, like, totally ironic or something, you know? Our friend here is Asian and the rest of us are white! Get it? Watch us all do the silly squint-eye!

Who is the Asian guy, anyway? Sitting there like a tool and letting his “friends” getting away with racist gestures. Not funny. And is it me, or is he actually trying to make his eyes look wider? Couldn’t resist getting to hang out with the cool kids, I guess. Even if it means having to deal with this idiocy. Or maybe he’s forgotten what it feels like when some jerk on the street does that out of real-ass hate.

Rachel’s Tavern:

As a culture, Americans need more avenues for young people to talk openly about racism and racially insensitive behavior. I wish we didn’t totally avoid race as a topic of discuss with the youth. As I write this I’m trying to think how I would explain the problems with this to a 9 year old Hannah Montana fan like my step son.

Disgrasian:

Maybe when you first peeped it, you were like us, and commented on the one Asian schmuck in the picture. Like any douche worth his seat next to Hannah Montana–the tool undoubtedly bit his lip (”Yeah! Slanty! Hee! No, it’s funny cuz I’m here! You guys are great!“) and giggled while his friends talked to him in buck-toof. And then wondered at night why he doesn’t get laid.

Exactly what part of post-racial America are we in again? Think we got turned around somewhere…

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Trackbacks & Pings

Open thread at Anti-Racist Parent - for parents committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook on 05 Feb 2009 at 11:27 am

[...] The teen star was caught in a photo mocking Asians. There is a good round-up of throughtful coverage on Racialicious. [...]
breaking: we owe miley an apology for being mad « anachroniste on 07 Feb 2009 at 1:25 pm

[...] Sort Of, Not Really Apology. There are some really good discussions already up on Angry Asian Man, Racialicious, Disgrasian, the OCA website, Perez Hilton, and many, many more, so I’m not going to say too [...]
Margaret Cho Blog » Blog Archive » Oh Miley on 11 Feb 2009 at 5:27 pm

[...] am so upset by Miley Cyrus, I think it warrants a [...]

Comments

atlasien wrote:

I’m pleasantly surprised this has become such a big media item and that so many other people realize how messed up it is.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 9:03 am ¶
Jaya wrote:

That douche trying to be a Japanese tourist in the background is just icing on very racist cake.

Jesus Christ. How is this person a role model, anyway?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 9:42 am ¶
Eric Daniels wrote:

Well being the “model minority protects” him from racism because they “really admire asian culture” unless they raise the grading curve in their classes. Does anybody expect Miley Cyrus to be anything but an igorant wannabe bad girl?

Now if she said “Nigger” to one of her tween fans then her street street cred would rise, unforutantely La Toya and fellow asian- american travelers on this blog white celebrity racial insults of asians won’t even raise an eyebrow.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:09 am ¶
Lamees wrote:

ugh it gets worse- she posted a ridiculously offensive reponse on her blog. http://dlisted.com/node/30543

i guess asians have goofy faces?
her justification is disgusting and she needs to man up and apologize.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:31 am ¶
Monie wrote:

Wow. Will there be a price to pay for this? Or will Miley just make the standard apology and everything is back to normal.

Increasingly there are no consequences when celebs get caught doing racist things/ pulling on a bong, etc.

So if there is no price to pay them where is the deterrent for them and everyone else?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:10 am ¶
Thea wrote:

Maybe we should ease up on hating on the East Asian kid. Who knows what his motivations are, or what he was thinking as that photo was taken, or what he’s thinking now…

Having been the only person of colour for years when I was around the age of Cyrus and crew, the reasons why I had only white friends and the reasons why I couldn’t articulate to them why it upset me when they were mildly racist, were far more complex than just wanting to “hang out with the cool kids.”

I dunno, lay off a bit. I just feel bad for the kid.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:21 am ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ atlasien: I’m pleasantly surprised too. So often and for too long there’s been a mass “what’s so bad about it?” shrug.

@ Jaya: Oh, yes, to cover all bases, see?

@ Eric Daniels:
Now if she said “Nigger” to one of her tween fans then her street street cred would rise, unforutantely La Toya and fellow asian- american travelers on this blog white celebrity racial insults of asians won’t even raise an eyebrow.

If memory serves, LaToya is black. Not Asian-American. And even if she were, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. If you’re trying to say that readers here (and LaToya herself) wouldn’t care if Miley Cyrus said “Nigger?” that’s some serious poppycock.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:23 am ¶
Chris Chambers wrote:

I agree with the outrage, but can’ the fact that she’s very young, lives in bubble and is likely stupid (the young part often goes hand in hand w/stupid) count not as an excuse but an explanation?

As for the model minority part I have indeed heard from my pet white people, on the DL, that this is not a big deal. That Asians are “successful” very smart (the grade curvething) and of course there’s the insular, non-assimilating thing. So yes, the post racial thing is a myth.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:24 am ¶
polerin wrote:

Exactly what part of post-racial America are we in again? Think we got turned around somewhere…

Latoya, welcome to Williamson County, TN. I installed cable there for years. Among other stupid racist crap that I heard/saw, a co-worker of mine had to call me to help him with one of his jobs as the wife wouldn’t let him in the house because he was black.

Ugh.

I don’t normally post links to my lj, but the media is doing it’s usual weak wording of this crap, and it has annoyed me enough to do so.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:28 am ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ Monie and Lamees: That is why I am secretly delighted that Miley Cyrus revealed herself to be as much of an asshat in words as she appeared to be in the image. Too often the “Hey, sorry, I was drunk/sad/angry/kidding!” excuse seems to absolve the offender in the media. But she basically responded with “No, I’m even worse than you think.” refreshing. Sell this one to me, Disney.

@Thea: This is true – maybe he was caught off guard? I’ve been there before. Like when a friends new husband said I should come over and play Ghettopoly (because we’re nerd-friends and were talking about board games recently played, not out of the blue). While trying to figure out the best way to both mock him and school him, I know my face went through many many turns that, if captured by camera, might have looked a bit something like our friend’s face up top.

Still, he could be of the “Whats’ the big deal?” school, too. I’d love to know.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:30 am ¶
Thea Lim wrote:

Just had a thought and wanted to clarify: I don’t think what Cyrus and friends are doing is “mildly racist.” I was referring to the things my friends were saying, and granted, they never did anything as over the top as get me to pose in a picture with them while they made slant eyes.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:33 am ¶
Nina wrote:

I’d chill on the Asian kid for now, who knows WHAT the deal was. Shit, he may not even have known, since its not like he can see what the rest of them are doing.
Save judgement till we know for SURE what his part was in the whole thing.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:46 am ¶
Eva wrote:

I think this is terrible and I really feel bad for the young Asian man in the photo.

I hate to say it but my friends and I used to do that too, but we were like five and I didn’t know any Asians, my school was about 95% Jewish and 5% Black. (this was in the mid 1960’s). However by the time I got to Cyrus’ age I knew better, so she doesn’t get pass from me.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:48 am ¶
atlasien wrote:

I was just debating about the kid at another forum… I feel sorry for him too, but he’s still being a self-hater. He needs to get called out for it. The first step is realizing the behavior is wrong, the second is changing it.

Of course, this is all dependent on him actually knowing what was going on, and playing along with it. Who knows, maybe he’s from somewhere where there’s no cultural context for the eye-pull and has no idea it’s even an insult.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:52 am ¶
Elahater wrote:

Amen!

http://hateonme.com/2009/02/04/miley-cyrus-banking-on-asian-americans-not-liking-her-anyway/

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 12:06 pm ¶
Deaf Feminist Punk! wrote:

I’m not East Asian, but I was REALLY offended by that photo. I wondered what that East Asian guy is thinking of all this…

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 12:39 pm ¶
Elton wrote:

THIS IS BILLY RAY CYRUS’ DAUGHTER.

BILLY RAY “ACHY BREAKY HEART” CYRUS.

What do y’all expect?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 12:41 pm ¶
nonogirl wrote:

There has been a lot of negativity directed at the one person of Asian decent in the picture. However, I’m going to play devil’s advocate and come to his defense. Here are some possible reasons why he’s not culpable.
1. These racists are sitting behind him. How do we know the person taking the picture said, “everyone make a face,” and as a way of mocking their “friend,” these wonderful white kids decided to pull the slant eye to hurt/embarrass the Asian?
2. People are coming to the defense of Cyrus saying that she’s young and therefore not responsible (what we want in every role model, ha), why aren’t they making the same excuses for this young man?
3. I’m sure many people who frequent this site have had the experience where they were the only minority in a room full white people, or whatever the majority happens to be. And I’m sure, on some occasion, you’ve heard an off-handed remark, etc. Are we always so centered and at peace with ourselves, that we will always confront instances of racism head-on? God knows what these kids would have done to him, had he spoken up.
4. He may be a completely unaware, self-hating Asian/Asian American etc. Sad, but there are some of these around.

Also, I find many of the comments posted toward this pic on various venues to be more disturbing that the pic itself, which is wrong and certainly racist. Boycott Miley Cyrus. Write to Disney. Do something about this folks, and spread the word.

In this day and age, we have certainly taken quite a few steps backward. I think I would have less problems with how Asians are routinely mocked to little consequence (at least amongst the “mainstream”) if there is equal opportunity mockery, but there is not. Contrary to waht some people say, white people are not being made fun of all the time – and if they are, it is mostly by other white people who want to make a buck. If this were a photo Cyrus and her klan mocking any other “minority,” she would have lost her contract with Disney and making a public (but totally insincere apology). America is the land of hypocrisy.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 12:49 pm ¶
Rchoudh wrote:

This crap is unbelievable. That’s why I don’t expose my six year old daughter to these idiotic Disney “role models”. Starting from the time these “stars” like Cyrus and Hudgenson began baring their bodies and getting pregnant like Spears’ sister to now this, I don’t see anything positive about these people being worshipped and adored by young children.

And it is ridiculous that this Cyrus character is old enough to have known that these are racist gestures and it doesn’t matter if your lone POC friend is there to make it seem like a “harmless” joke. But of course she or her handlers will probably pull out the “she’s young” excuse ala Britney Spears. And how stupid are these celebrities to have their indiscretions caught on camera (racist gestures, nudity, etc)? What’s next sex tapes??? I wouldn’t put is past someone to think these stunts will garner more publicity even if it’s bad.
As for the Asian kid I too will hold judgment on what his role was throughout this (innocent bystander, POC prankster making this seem ok). I think whatever his role was he has hopefully learned never to tolerate and condone such behavior again.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 12:54 pm ¶
SciAngie wrote:

@Thea,, nonogirl, I agree with easing a bit on the Asian guy in the picture. However, I have a question about something similar. I have a particular acquaintance who frequently says ‘mildly’ racist statements about Asians. He’s made ’slanty-eyes’ jokes, mocked someone in our group for winking then saying ‘oh wait, you’re just Asian’ and even ‘you want some fried rice’ in a mocking accent. Now, there are plenty of Asian students in my group (Asian-Am, and Chinese, Nepali), but no one ever calls him on it. I feel that I cannot be the first interlocutor, because I am not Asian myself, I don’t condone it in any way though. I have said given him the evil eye, and asked him what he means by it but he just brushes it off. I feel if the Asian students don’t say something concrete as well, other than “what the hell, haha” nothing would be done.

I feel that the some sort of situation could be happening to this guy.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:15 pm ¶
Phrone wrote:

That photo was deeply shocking and incredibly racist. I just have one thing to add to the conversation:

This may be a sidenote, but I see a lot of people jumping on the one Asian guy in the picture. (The worst are the “Well, he seems fine with it. Why are YOU offended?” but there’s a variety of responses, including the Disgracian.)

I don’t know about you, but when I’m clearly stoned (sorry dude) and people are making racist gestures BEHIND ME, I wouldn’t expect to see them. It’s sortta like bunny ears that people do in pictures — albeit deeply offensive, racist bunny ears — in that they’re doing it because he can’t see them.

tl;dr — Asian guy doesn’t have eyes in the side/back of his head, people.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:26 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:

@Elton–what I’d expect from Billy Ray Cyrus is what I’d expect from any person who’s a parent: give his child some home-training. In this case, this means rearing his child to not make fun of a person’s race.

But my statement is also presumptuous. He may have done exactly that, and Miley decided that, for whatever reason, it’s perfectly fine to mock other races. Maybe her prejudice is specifically anti-Asian. Anyway I look at this, her and the non-Asian folks in her posse’s behavior is utterly f***’d up. As for the East Asian guy, I feel where atlasien’s coming from, but I find myself leaning towards nonogirl’s side. The young man may not have known at the moment what happened because the other folks are behind him. I just wonder what he’s feeling now….

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:27 pm ¶
Ejunco wrote:

I feel sorry for the lone asian guy in that pic, and I wonder if he did anything about it.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:30 pm ¶
Eric Daniels wrote:

A.D. Nix, there you go assuming what I am thinking,(you want to enter into my brain it’s a trip) I know Latoya is not Asian – American and if you would have read between the lines instead of being ‘defensive” it was that many whites who “admire” Asian culture and have friends/lovers who have Asian surnames treat Asian- Americans like “PETS” and don’t think they did anything wrong with mocking their facial features and since many Asian – Americans don’t want the reputation of being the “whiny minority” that whites accuse “African- Americans of somany choose to stay silent over obvious ill treatment.

Cyrus like many whites and other POCS think that saying words like “ching chong” and the bucktooth chinese sterotype of Warner Brothers 30’s cartoons is not “really racist” because they really really admire them and their discplined culture. And since this issue will fade away like soiled toilet paper being flushed down the toilet because celebrites like Cyrus and others don’t think it’s racist because “they accept Asian- Americans in their lives !!!

Now if Miley really wanted street cred and a grown -up rep she obviously craves, Cyrus could dress up in blackface with a 40 in her hands because reagrdless of how outrageous and racist the slant-eyed look is they will not see that it is racist until Asian American organizations challenge them on their behavior because Frank Hu trying to reason with Sarah Silverman was patheic but Yellow Rage does in right.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:43 pm ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:

Let’s note that the fifth guy may be imitating an American Indian: V-sign (feathers?) behind the fourth guy’s head and hand over mouth (war whoop?).

Maybe the “game” was to insult the minority of your choice. Five of the six chose squinty-eyed Asians and one chose an American Indian. Or maybe the fifth guy is confused and thinks Asians act like American Indians.

It would ironic if the game was to imitate somebody and the Asian guy was imitating a clueless white person. Somebody like Miley Cyrus, for instance.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:45 pm ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:

Maybe Amy Sedaris could develop a “ching chong” routine out of this. Perhaps get Rosie O’Donnell and Miley to accompany her.

But did Miley’s response really make things worse? Seems to me it was your standard “I didn’t mean anything”/”you’re overreacting” defense.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 1:49 pm ¶
Bobby wrote:

Asians need to make it very clear that this sort of behavior is not tolerable.

People elsewhere who commented on this photo are absolutely convinced that Miley was only pointing facial differences/showing affection/or having some harmless fun.

It just shows you how myopic many people are, to be able to rationalize even the worst of racial prejudices.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:00 pm ¶
jmn wrote:

So this is Miley’s response to having her ass handed to her by John M. Chu and ACDC? That’s pathetic …

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:19 pm ¶
Fatemeh wrote:

Just. Fucked. Up.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:21 pm ¶
RainaWeather wrote:

I’ll never understand how people who live on the same planet as I do think this is alright.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:24 pm ¶
evd wrote:

Having gone to school with almost all white kids in the 60s and 70s, I can tell you that there is definitely a “white kids club”, and although you think these folks are your friends, you find out where you really stand when shit like this happens.
I bet the Asian kid felt blindsided by this bull, and more than a little hurt.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:25 pm ¶
F. wrote:

#25 Rob Schmidt: No, I don’t think that’s an American Indian stereotype. I’m sure it is the “buck-toothed, squinty, Japanese tourist doing the peace-sign” stereotype.

I’ve seen some people suggest that the Asian male in the photo is purposely “widening” his eyes, while his white “buddies” slant theirs. Wow, imitating physical features of different races has never been so funny.

There’s ANOTHER photo of Miley, her boyfriend and the same Asian male, the two white kids making “Asian” face again: http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/2857/n150800346309544843830bp9.jpg

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:33 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:

@Eric Daniels–I don’t think AD Nix’ “reading your mind” was too far off. I mean you did say this #3:

Now if she said “Nigger” to one of her tween fans then her street street cred would rise, unforutantely La Toya and fellow asian- american travelers on this blog white celebrity racial insults of asians won’t even raise an eyebrow.

First of all, Latoya must have “raised an eyebrow” or else she wouldn’t have bothered posting this. Secondly, when folks in various parts of pop culture have called Black folks and other marginalized folks, either implicitly or explicitly, equivalent of “nigger,” this blog has addressed it–if I’m not mistaken, what Miley Cyrus and her crew is visually the same thing as calling a Black person the N-word.

Now if you would have said in #24 in the first place, I would have been cool, even actually agreed. But you attacked Latoya and the “fellow Asian American travelers on this blog.” It was uncalled for, and AD Nix challenged you on it.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:41 pm ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ Eric Daniels: I have no interest in trying to enter your brain – trust. So, let that trip end.

I asked what you meant because what you wrote was unclear. The actual lines were so unclear that whatever was ‘between’ them was . . . hell if I know.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 2:45 pm ¶
blip wrote:

This crap will be normalized like blackface has been normalized in recent years. Tropic Thunder anyone?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 3:12 pm ¶
Bones & Kim wrote:

Ugh.
Well since everybody has already said so much, I will just add that the Asian guy in the picture, man…I hope he spoke up about it instead of being another passive Asian-American. That’s just what we need more of.
I think it is necessary to speak up about this shit even to your friends. They may think that being your friend excuses them from racist behavior, but it shouldn’t excuse you from getting angry. Of course they are likely to tell you that you are being too “PC” and all those other tired things.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 3:48 pm ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ The Cruel Secretary: I think it may be an (understandable) misreading of the punctuation/syntax but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a misread meaning well within the realm of possibility.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 3:49 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:

@AD Nix–LOL!

::fist pump::

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 4:24 pm ¶
MeowKun wrote:

Well, mayb that Asian Guy don’t find it that offensive in the first place. Use finger to pull the outer corner of your eyes up to mock Asian is after all a very European/American thing and not all people can identify that. There was a period my boyfriend (he is European/Ethiopian) do that to me, and I just find it incredibly silly because my eyes definitely do not look like that and didn’t aware of what it means in North America/Europe (I was born and raised in Hong Kong). After I keep telling him that “stop that, thats not what I look like” and he stopped. Then again, I am not defening for Miley Cyrus (I never liked any Disney stars, and [b]her racist intention is definietely prevail[/b]) or that Asian guy in that photo (I am quite sure he is a bit more aware than I do); I just find the whole “that Asian guy have self-hating issue” might not be the most accurate statement in this event.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 4:35 pm ¶
Maus wrote:

“Let’s note that the fifth guy may be imitating an American Indian: V-sign (feathers?) behind the fourth guy’s head and hand over mouth (war whoop?). ”

Uh, no. Those were bunny ears and have nothing to do with racial stereotypes.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 4:40 pm ¶
spaghetticat wrote:

@ Bones and Kim

Why would you be friends with people who don’t respect you or your culture?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:06 pm ¶
Jeremy Pierce wrote:

The kid on the left looks like he’s pulling his eyes down. It looks to me as if Cyrus is elongating her eyes horizontally, but it doesn’t look as if she’s pulling them up. Neither seems sufficiently close to the “Asian eyes” thing to justify the assumption that she’s clearly doing it intentionally, which makes her goofy face comment sound much more plausible than everyone here is taking it.

17: How does her relation to Billy Ray Cyrus demonstrate anything? Is it because he’s a Southerner, and all Southerners are racist? Is it because he’s an outspoken evangelical Christian, and all evangelical Christians are racist? I know of zero instances of any incidents where the elder Cyrus has even faced charges of racial insensitivity, so unless there’s some information I don’t know anything about I can’t see how such a statement can be motivated by anything but pure bigotry. But maybe you can correct me with some specific incidents that establish that he would be the sort of person to raise his daughter to be racially insensitive.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:20 pm ¶
spaghetticat wrote:

I see how this could be compared to blackface but not to the word nigger. Furthermore, the eye gesture doesn’t have the same history as blackface or nigger. (Someone correct me if I’m wrong.) I think that’s why the Asian guy isn’t that bothered by it. He might no be American. So then he’s really not going to be bothered by it. Chinese people weren’t outraged last summer with those pics of the Spanish tennis and basketball teams but a bunch of different types of Americans were.

We don’t even know what was going on in the picture. These kids could be drunk or something. Not that that justifies anything. I just feel weird making a big deal out of a private photo of a bunch of high kids.

What did people really expect from Miley Cyrus anyways? That she be a role model? Why? She’s an entertainer.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:24 pm ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ spaghetticat: This is good question probably with a very complicated answer. I mean, as a heterosexual feminist woman even dating men who consider themselves to be feminists (one of my basic criteria for anything serious) does not save you from “What the fuck was that?” moments. Sometimes you don’t see it coming.

In my book, there are those who might just need an, uh, helping hand (starting with the back of it (j/k – say “no” to violence))* and a talking to, others who are habitual offenders or shrug it off or would dare to use the “too PC” deflection (REDDEST OF RED FLAGS). The former, would not see much of me in the future. The latter I would dismiss with prejudice. Done-zo.

The business above would mean the immediate cancellation of my friendship subscription for sure.

* No one is obligated to instruct anyone else in The Ways of Not Being A Racist Asshole unless they’re teaching a course on the subject. Just to be clear.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:31 pm ¶
MinxL wrote:

It’s becoming apparent to me that “the eye thing” to Asians is like the “n-word” to Black Americans. A very annoying occurrence that one is faced to live with, regardless of how much goes on in telling ppl it’s NOT okay! I have no idea anymore. I just tired of it all.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:32 pm ¶
spaghetticat wrote:

I’d like to clarify my comment about the history of blackface and nigger.

I’m black. I went to a college that was significantly Asian/Asian-American. Freshman year, kids of different ethnic/racial groups were friendly with each other.

One night, us girls (me and a bunch of Asian-American girls) were getting ready for a party. We were drunk and some of us were high. One girl says, “Wow, your ass is so huge. You have a ghetto booty, giiirrrl!” She smacks my butt. After that she gets a pillow and shoves it up the backside of her dress and walks around swishing her hips.

My point is that this girl was highlighting a PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC that many wrongly ONLY associate with black people having.

Skin color, like size of one’s butt, and like eyes, is another physical characteristic. In the U.S. the color of your skin once determined if you were a slave or not…not your eyes or the size of your “booty.”

Maybe I’m a self-hater like someone said the Asian guy in the picture is but I did not think what the Asian-American girl did was racist…stupid, absolutely, but it really didn’t bother me. If she put on blackface a la the Bubble Sisters or called me a nigger this would be a very different story.

That’s just me. I just thought I’d throw this out there.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 5:46 pm ¶
F. wrote:

#42: Jeremy Pierce, people who pull their eyes to mock Asian features don’t actually care what angle they do it. A bunch of white kids pulling their eyes back so they look “slanted,” and one of them making “buck teeth” and the Japanese peace sign, looks like pretty obvious intent to me.

If they ARE just making “goofy faces” then why isn’t the one Asian male doing it as well? Perhaps because according to people like Miley and her buddies, he doesn’t have to– Asian faces are inherently “goofy”, I suppose is her reasoning?

The idea that you would argue differently because of the angle or direction they are pulling their eyes back is, frankly, hilarious.

#43 spaghetticat: Chinese generally did not get upset about the Spanish basketball teams’ actions because they didn’t even KNOW about it. The Chinese government purposefully had newspapers not run the image so as not to have controversy mar their Olympic experience.

And rather importantly, if you’re an Asian living in Asia, the “slant-eye” gesture probably means nothing. When you’re an Asian living in a non-Asian country, it means being different. Having differently shaped eyes from other people. Being harassed and insulted because of your eye shape.

Seeing people pull their eyes at you as an Asian person CAN be likened to blackface, because it is mimicry and derision of racial physical characteristics.

It isn’t the same as using the N-word, but it IS often done with the same INTENT: “I will call you a n*gger/mock your eyes, because you are a different race.”

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:05 pm ¶
spaghetticat wrote:

@ A.D. Nix

Haha @ “‘what the fuck was that?’ moments.”

I’m black and in a long term relationship with an European man. There are times when I’ve given him a “helping hand.”

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:10 pm ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ spaghetticat: That’s fucked up. I’m kind of at a loss.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:25 pm ¶
Clara wrote:

Jeremy Price said: The kid on the left looks like he’s pulling his eyes down. It looks to me as if Cyrus is elongating her eyes horizontally, but it doesn’t look as if she’s pulling them up. Neither seems sufficiently close to the “Asian eyes” thing to justify the assumption that she’s clearly doing it intentionally, which makes her goofy face comment sound much more plausible than everyone here is taking it.

Jeremy, your attempt to defend the actions of Miley and her friends is ridiculous. The “slanty Asian eye” is all about making the eye slitted, thinner. The angle that they’re pulling their eyes in is completely irrelevant. Miley has her fingers at the corners of her eyes, and she’s clearly pulling them to the sides. I don’t need to know what angle she’s pulling them in to know that she’s mocking the way I look. (Yes, I’m Asian American.)

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:29 pm ¶
spaghetticat wrote:

@ K

I don’t think blackface or nigger (nigger in particular) NEED to be likened to the eye gesture.

It’s obvious that the above picture is not O.K. without the comparison. Right?

I’ll explain…

When I was younger, kids (the white ones) always pulled up/down(Japanese/Chinese…not kidding) the corners of their eyes and said “Japanese Chinese” or “ching chong” at the Asian/Asian-American kids.

These same kids did not come up to me and the other black kids and call us nigger because of our skin. We were called “darkie!”

Nigger is a slur. I know black people who call the “wrong kind of black people” nigger. I comes from a place of hate not mockery.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:32 pm ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@spaghetticat: The butt stuff is fucked up. Not the Euro stuff.

On the latter I can definitely relate. It can be hilarious and insightful – I mean, things can be confusing. Like how “nappy hair” doesn’t, in fact, mean one’s hair after a nap.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:35 pm ¶
Big Man wrote:

I got the sense the Eric Daniels as saying that “outside” of Latoya and folks on this blog, most people wouldn’t be that upset.
Since I’ve seen him on other sites, I feel comfortable guess that’s what he meant.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 6:37 pm ¶
Titanis walleri wrote:

“#25 Rob Schmidt: No, I don’t think that’s an American Indian stereotype. I’m sure it is the “buck-toothed, squinty, Japanese tourist doing the peace-sign” stereotype.”
It just looks like he’s giving bunny ears to the guy on his right to me…

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 7:20 pm ¶
Kaonashi wrote:

The guy in the back is imitating Japanese girls who cover their mouth when they laugh while giving bunny ears to their friends. Ugh. >.>

What a ball of stupid. I feel really bad for the Asian kid in the front. Here’s hoping he got a better class of friends.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 8:00 pm ¶
cat m. wrote:

@Clip

…Blackface is not normalized. Were you here when that happened? We were not ok.

@ad nix, cruelsecretary,
I didn’t understand a word Eric said either.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 8:11 pm ¶
Elton wrote:

No, I’m not a big fan of the Cyruses.

Yes, what she’s doing in the picture is racist.

No, not everyone on the TV box is some sort of role model or messiah.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 8:27 pm ¶
vandia wrote:

Whenever I see the name Eric Daniels in the thread I know trouble is lurking around the corner……

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 8:57 pm ¶
nina wrote:

spaghetticat

actually, white racism toward those of african descent did not focus solely on the color of the skin
the hair, the shape of the skull, the shape of the body and facial features were all characteristics used to differentiate black from white

and if any black woman in the US truly truly believes that ANYONE can refer to her buttocks as a “ghetto” booty and it NOT refer to race is, well, deluded

if someone makes the little asian eye thing at a south american of native american ancestry, it doesnt mean it wasnt racist in its intent because “well, Im not really asian”

i mean, not all black women have kinky hair, not all women with kinky hair are black but if she patted your hair after a pool party (assuming its afro-textured) and then put some brillo pads on her head and started flouncing about, its racist.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:05 pm ¶
merq wrote:

First of all, I’m gonna play Devil’s Advocate for a second, as I always try to do when overwhelmed by anti-racist rage.

First of all, while she was disingenuous and cowardly (in the standard modern-racist way) with her “goofy” excuse, accusing her of equating East Asian features with goofiness is almost as disingenuous — and needlessly so, seeing as she actually did do something genuinely racist here.

She said (paraphrasing) “I wasn’t referencing East Asians. I was making a goofy face.” How anyone can honestly turn that statement to “East Asian features = goofy” is beyond me. Let’s not weaken our argument by lending credence to the “looking for racism everywhere” bullshit rhetoric.

Now, looking at the photo (again, playing Devil’s Advocate)…
If I’d just seen a decontextualized solo shot of Miley Cyrus (IT’S MILEY!!!), I probably would’ve gone something like:

“ahh, stupid teeny pose.”

“wait… she isn’t pulling back the corners of her eyes to mean what I think… Nooop”

“Hold on there, Merq. Don’t get all hyped up just yet. It could just be a kid making a ‘goofy’ face for picture time.”

And I probably would’ve stayed with that line of reasoning with her in the full group shot… if there wasn’t another eye-pulling douchebag, and the little fucker in the back with the bucktoothed squint face going. Fuck a coincidence — that shit’s just racist.

Regarding the East Asian kid in the photo, I try not to make assumptions about people’s beliefs and principles based on five minutes of interaction, not to mention a nanosecond committed to camera.

We have no idea what dude thought or said after seeing that image. Yes, he probably knew what they were doing (unless they co-ordinated their racism via the special Racist Douchebag telepathic frequency). But while he may have initially stifled his anger, seeing the shot during one of the many photo-approval sessions of the night, he may well have ripped Cyrus (IT’S MILEY!!!) et all a few new ones for this shit.

Basically, let’s save the rage for the right targets here… Lord knows there are enough clear violations in this mess.

@ Angry Asian Man:
You’re totally justified in your rage, but “he’s actually trying to make his eyes look wider”?? Come on, man. I expected better!

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:08 pm ¶
Lisa wrote:

I haven’t much to add except to echo the sentiments above. Here in Shanghai an Overseas Chinese writer on a popular expat blog used this to make fun of Asian-Americans for being oversensitive, http://shanghaiist.com/2009/02/05/miley_cyrus_creates_controversy_wit.php:

“Miley Cyrus creates “controversy” with “chinkeye” pose

If we listened close enough, we could probably hear the words going through her head right at that moment: “I have an Asian friend, so it’s okay.” And to be quite honest, it probably is.

But because the poser is Miley Cyrus, and because Asian Americans love to get mad at things, someone somewhere had to demand an apology.”

Sadly, most of the commentators agree with her.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:18 pm ¶
dirkdiggler wrote:

what is distressing is that none of the “mainstream” media outlets have even run this as a story. imagine if she did something to mock african americans or gays, the media uproar would be unbelievable. but because it’s asians, not such a big deal. and you can thank people like sarah silverman and amy and david sedaris, in some small way, for this desensitizing. they, of course, would argue that they couldn’t possibly be racist because they supported obama.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 10:57 pm ¶
dirkdiggler wrote:

and the likes of jeremy pierce are exactly the problem. the guy is pulling is eyes down, so it can’t possible be mocking asians. seriously? are you just dumb or the world’s most disingenuous apologist?

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:02 pm ¶
Bill wrote:

While the face she is making is clearly in poor taste and racist; the use of misogynistic terms to lambast her is equally offensive to m any people.

It’s a shame that in an effort to expose her so many people resort to just as despicable behavior and nobody bats an eye.

Posted 05 Feb 2009 at 11:33 pm ¶
Bones & Kim wrote:

@ spaghetticat

I wouldn’t want to be friends with people who don’t understand or care about my culture, or don’t respect it. The Asian guy in the picture needs to hang out with more Asians, not those losers.
Some of my white friends do that whole “pork flied lice” and “herro” shtick (they love shit like “Team America). They think it’s hilarious. When I spoke up against it they not only said I was on a “PC patrol,” but they pulled out the old “but we’re making fun of the stereotype, not the race” bullshit. I don’t see it that way at all. They tell me to learn to take a joke; the usual defenses.
I dunno, maybe when I’m not around them they say shit like, “but we have an Asian friend” blah blah blah. Perhaps they use me as a shield for their own ignorance. But like I said, I don’t know. They seem to think we are headed for a post-racial world and other white liberal wet dreams.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 12:28 am ¶
jmn wrote:

Adriel Luis’s video response is hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa2ly6jzlJ8

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 12:50 am ¶
Kabbakick wrote:

OK seriously for every one of these types of post this needs to get posted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ti-gkJiXc&feature=channel_page

“I don’t care who you are, I care about what you did”

and now the REAL question here is
” how are we going to get our wallet back”?

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 1:35 am ¶
Jeremy Pierce wrote:

I’m just trying to explain how someone might be contorting their face to look goofy without a thought that it has anything to do with Asians. Surely that’s possible, especially in a generation where it’s usually frowned on to make fun of people for physical characteristics, racially-associated or otherwise. Buck teeth are, in fact, a common goofy face with no racial associations. The same goes for the bunny ears, which are an extremely common goofy thing to do in pictures, also with zero racial connection. The idea that it must be a Japanese peace sign is, frankly, hilarious.

As for the Asian guy in the picture, isn’t it obvious that he’s in front of everyone else? He may not have any idea what they’re all doing. We have no idea what was going on when this picture was taken. They may have all struck these poses as the picture was being taken, and he only realized it later. On the other hand, it’s possible that he knew what they were doing and had no problem with it, because he knew it wasn’t an Asian thing for whatever reasons that he might have access to that we don’t. It’s also possible that he was offended and expressed that in a way that wasn’t picked up on by the rest of them. The scenario where he knows they’re making fun of Asians but refuses to say anything is one among many possibilities. Give the guy a break.

I should be clear that I’m not offering a defense of any of what appears in this picture. I have no idea what was going on when this picture was taken, so I’m simply not taking a view. I’m hesitant to pronounce judgment. It may well be what almost everyone here is taking it to be, but I’m always hesitant with particular racism charges, because serious charges deserve much more serious evidence than frivolous ones, and this is especially so when particular people are involved. I’m much quicker to recognize that there are generally true practices that constitute racism than I am to call an individual incident racist if I don’t have all the information about the incident.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 2:14 am ¶
Daniel wrote:

I typed this in another place but for those who make an argument over free speech and the likes….
I think everyone is entitled to this right, basically in front of friends, there’s no need to be so “P.C.” however if people feel offended by actions such as this one, then they too have the right to express it. No one has that authority to tell them to calm down or not speak out. Of course, everything must be carry out within reason.

It’s true to that one phrase where people should be able to laugh at themselves, but these are just my experiences in the States…regarding that type of humor, half of the time it is really pure superficial non-sense (like you have to really dumb yourselves down to “get it”).
A large portion of the other half is humor that should generally be shared among friends, close ones, or within the family–inner circle so to speak. Unless you were paid to but that’s a different story to talk about.

There’s also the double standards type of attitude because if this really was another ethnic group or mocking another ethinc group, reactions would be different, depending. I too have often been the only visible minority within small groups like this one, (in my teens and today in my twenties)but we don’t do anything like that. That’s just us though, can’t say much for others.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 2:18 am ¶
Kai wrote:

Talentless tween celebs are one thing but I’d like to point out that a discussion on an anti-racist blog should probably not include repeated invocations of the utterly uninformed stereotype that Asians are “passive”. Even a cursory examination of Asian American history, and the current Asian American anti-racist landscape, explodes this racist myth.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 2:39 am ¶
A. wrote:

As I said on another blog…Miley Cyrus wants for the Obama daughters to appear on her show? After this stunt, she can kiss that “presidential endorsement” goodbye.

Why are people so fucking stupid?

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 4:04 am ¶
Whitney wrote:

And what kills me is her half-assed “apology.”

The story was featured on Yahoo! and called it a “sort-of apology.”

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/miley-cyrus-apologizes-for-controversial-photos/18508?nc

How can you not know that’s offensive? And then say that it’s a goofy face? The mind, it boggles.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 7:16 am ¶
Carolina wrote:

In response to Rachel’s Tavern, there is obviously something that we CAN do about this very offensive behavior coming from a teen role models like Cyrus and Co.

Those of us who are parents, educators or otherwise have special influence on minors and we CAN make the Buck stop here by boycotting Hannah Montana products and entertainment. Not only your stepson, but my daughter is also 9 and a potential Hannah Montana fan. Let’s take the lead and explain to our children exactly why this kind of display is wrong and should be condemned. My child is perfectly capable of recognizing blatantly racist gestures like these and is very sensitive about xenophobic language and behavior in general. My guess is that most children her age or older are too!

We, as responsible adults owe it to our children and the young people in our lives to give them credit for being intelligent enough to understand these issues and welcome them actively into the discussion. I am going to share this thread with my daughter today after school as an opportunity to discuss peer behavior, racism and bullying – common family meeting topics already.

An appropriately educated nine year old can easily recognize and condemn unacceptably racist behavior, so a teen role-model should absolutely be held accountable for hers. Cyrus is doubly guilty because she is a public persona who has a huge influence on popular culture. I intend to actively boycott Hannah Montana inc., and I highly encourage those of you who are the parents of minors to do the same. In this case, we can make the buck stop here.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 7:48 am ¶
Da Rule wrote:

The worst TV mocking of Asians I have ever seen was a British game show called ‘Endurance UK’.
http://www.ukgameshows.com/page/index.php?title=Endurance_UK
Based on the Japanese version and all it really was a piss-take to give a ‘legitimate loophole’ to bring out all the stereotypical ways of mocking orientals. The fact this program was allowed to pass censorship and aired on national TV in recent times says something.
It is still possible to see TV ads in the UK and New Zealand with some chinese shmo who’s obviously been told by some white advertising group to act really stupid with an exaggerated ‘chinglish’ accent – another loophole – ‘get the chink to do the stereotypic mockery himself and no one can complain’.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 11:30 am ¶
F. wrote:

#68: Jeremy Pierce, you’re very representative of a huge part of the problem with race these days. It’s called “denial.” Or maybe, as they say, not being “able to see the forest from the trees.” Don’t worry, a lot of people suffer from it, and surprisingly, they’re not even all white ones.

If you saw a picture of Miley Cyrus covered in black shoe polish and pretending to eat a watermelon, you’d probably argue she happened upon some fruit after falling into a vat of paint. I mean, we just don’t know the details, you know????

But thanks for introducing the theory that someone pulling at the corners of their eyes might have different connotations depending on the angle at which they do it, that one is just classic.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 12:07 pm ¶
Heather wrote:

So I am an Asian-American, and I grew up in a predominantly white area. And while, I do find the photo offensive and clearly racially loaded, I think that the reactions Miley and some others have had to this photo are what make the situation really distasteful to me.

I am a firm believer in equality and standing up for your rights and the rights of others. But I also believe in picking your battles. There is a lot of ignorance and hateful things out in the world, and I don’t believe that one person can tackle them all. And I don’t necessarily believe that it’s always more effective to battle racism with an iron fist, particularly when the perpetrator is not aware of how offensive what they did/said was. I have certainly had friends in the past do/say something that was perhaps less than sensitive, but I chose to wait to bring it up until we could have a discussion about it instead of getting upset in the moment, potentially embarrassing them, and risking losing a chance for dialogue.

And while I do find the photo offensive, I find it more offensive that some people have said that because you don’t see the lone Asian dude smacking the other people in the picture, that this somehow proves the passive Asian stereotype.

But really, the worst part for me was Miley’s less than half-assed attempt at an apology. Even if there was some sort of situation where they were all making fun of each other (white people made slanty eyes and the Asian dude made big eyes or whatever), and even there was some big, funny inside joke that none of us are privy to, Miley should have known that these pictures were going to find their way to the internet. She should have known that people would be offended by the picture, and she should have offered an actual, sincere apology for the potential hurt that this may have caused to her supporters and young Asian fans. But instead, she chose to try to deflect blame to the media, and, in the process, insulted our intelligence by assuming that we would fall for her “goofy face” excuse.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 1:30 pm ¶
bdsista wrote:

Leave Eric alone, I don’t always agree with him, but he brings perspective and sometimes biting wit that I enjoy.
@spaghetticat-please get some new friends-Damn!
@AdNix, nappy hair can be hair after a nap, it depends on who you took the nap with and for how long. If I didn’t have satin pillowcases-whew-the comb eater would come alive.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 8:45 pm ¶
dirkdiggler wrote:

jeremy pierce:

Your not making any judgments is exactly the problem. God forbid, don’t judge despite the clear evidence of bigotry; you have that luxury. Your silence in the face of bigotry is the real danger because it allows it to flourish. Your statement indicates that it’s somehow worse to be accused of being racist than suffering from what (at least here) is clear bigotry. And while accusations of racism appear to fly recklessly, when it’s clear, as it is here, and people like you don’t call it what it is, it makes it far worse, because the bigots rely on people like you to defend, or at least keep silent about, it.

Posted 06 Feb 2009 at 10:22 pm ¶
Asa wrote:

The token Asians are always full of self-hatred. I don’t believe these people are racist, they are misguided and think poking fun at Asians is a form of endearment.

While adults may not care, but I know all Asian kid go through this same taunt in school.

It is uncle tom’s like this guy that perpetuate the cycle.

Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 12:39 am ¶
DivergentDana wrote:

“I have certainly had friends in the past do/say something that was perhaps less than sensitive, but I chose to wait to bring it up until we could have a discussion about it instead of getting upset in the moment, potentially embarrassing them, and risking losing a chance for dialogue.”

But what if what they said or did embarrass/es/ed you?

Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 2:48 am ¶
Cat wrote:

I’ve actually found certain comments to this photo more offensive than the picture itself.

There were comments left on a celebrity blog exclaiming that Asians were not only ‘overreacting’ to this photo but that the authors themselves (some of whom identified themselves as white) made those faces all they time when they were a children…

So they reasoned that since Miley Cyrus is still a child (16? A child? Really?) she was blameless, and that this was behaviour was acceptable anyway.

I guess what gets me angry is that fact that someone who has absolutely no clue can have the sheer audacity to tell me I’m overreacting. Engage me in respectful debate, but please don’t insult my intelligence.

Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 11:00 am ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:

@ bdsista: I know from nappy hair. And he was not using it the right way.

Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 4:13 pm ¶
Lxy wrote:

The whole “I was jes making a goofy face!” alibi is lame. I wonder did Miley think of this feeble rationale herself or did her handlers do it for her?

Look at the entire staging of the photo with all her friends (sans the token Asian kid) all making the same basic gesture and especially that moron in the pink polo shirt doing the “bucktoof Japanese tourist” pose.

Posted 07 Feb 2009 at 8:58 pm ¶
brownstocking wrote:

um, this IS a pop culture blog. Hannah Montana (very unfortunately) is part of US pop culture.

spaghetticat: i’m going to hope that you find new friends. that really hurt my heart.

Posted 08 Feb 2009 at 2:36 am ¶
yesand... wrote:

to the deer in headlights:

This is what it costs to have rich white friends.

Posted 08 Feb 2009 at 4:50 am ¶
Heather wrote:

@ DivergentDana: that may be the case, and I may choose to address it in the moment if other people in our company are paying attention to my reaction to what was just said. However, by and large, I surround myself with people who have good hearts, even if they don’t always think about what they’re saying. And if they’ve said something that didn’t quite sit right with me, it wasn’t out of malice or intent to embarrass. Almost exclusively, they sincerely weren’t aware that I would be offended by what they said (and I think this dynamic is somewhat complicated by my love for “South Park” and “Family Guy”), and when I bring to their attention how I really felt about their comment, they really do feel badly, and it almost never comes up again.

I’ve found (and your experience may be different) that something like the social phenomenon of diffused responsibility can sometimes occur when I bring the issue up in a group, and I think that often happens out of defensiveness. No one (at least not my friends) likes to be called out for doing/saying something racist, especially not in front of a group, especially when they weren’t intending it to be offensive, and I’ve found they’re less likely to put up walls or other defenses, if I approach them one-on-one. Because ultimately, my main goal is not to embarrass them (even if I have been somewhat embarrassed), but to point out what was offensive and make them understand where I’m coming from enough that it doesn’t happen again.

However, if the comments were coming out of a place of malice or intent to embarrass me, or if the comments continue to happen after we’ve had a conversation, then that’s a completely different situation, and the gloves may certainly come off.

Posted 08 Feb 2009 at 2:20 pm ¶
Michelle wrote:

First of all, I didn’t take Eric Daniel’s first comment literally. But I sighed because I knew he would get it.

Second of all, I agree with a lot of what Merq said. You know, there could be a ga-gillion reasons and backstories for that photo. Not being there, we don’t know what happened. I was shocked byt the photo, but then another part of me kicked in an thought, we don’t know the whole story.

HOWEVER, a major clue came in the apology. If I got caught in a photo doing something that an entire community found offensive, I would like to think that even at sixteen I would have the common sense to simply apologize. Like “Dude, I meant no disrespect, but my friends and I have this running joke and I could see how you took it the wrong way. I am truly sorry to have offended anyone in anyway.” DUH! Doesn’t she have handlers who can help her out? That for me was the red flag, the “you darkies/orientals/others are just messing up our party” flag!

I have no words for the young Asian man. I can’t help but think that if they are really friends, they would have talked about the back lash before she went on her blog with her little fauxpology, right? I mean, right? And still, she doesn’t get it? He, unfortunately, is looking more and more guilty by association.

And just because people are southern Baptist, evangelicals, doesn’t mean that people should assume that they are ignorant racists. In particular, Billy Ray Cyrus and family have traveled all over the world and been exposed to many different things and people.

#73, Carolina, you win in my book. The best, most salient response to this whole debacle. Brilliant.

Posted 08 Feb 2009 at 6:23 pm ¶
b!tchwithoutborders wrote:

Is anyone else concerned that only one Asian American advocacy group has demanded an apology?
What should be done until an official apology has been given? Do y’all think that one is coming?

Would it be a good idea to contact the following advocacy groups and urge them to also comment on the situation:

Japanese American Citizens League
Asian Americans for Equality
Asian American Justice Center

Or would it seem trivial for them to comment on a pop star?

I just think that something should be done so this issue doesn’t fade.

Posted 09 Feb 2009 at 1:40 pm ¶
L. wrote:

I just read where she recently issued another (actually a first) apology regarding these photos. Somehow, she tied this into a lesson from God that will lead her to becoming the woman he wants her to be. I think that in order for that to actually be true, she would have had to learn something from her. The fact that she had to be demanded (twice!) to issue an apology and acknowledge offense (intentional or otherwise) is indicative that she hasn’t learned a damn thing except.

Posted 10 Feb 2009 at 5:25 pm ¶
Clara wrote:

Just like to say, I’m really proud of OCA for calling out Miley Cyrus on this crap. (I was an intern at their national office last summer.)

By the way, OCA has commented on Miley’s faux apology too:

“The picture is offensive and now this statement is inadequate,” George Wu, Executive Director of the OCA, an Asian-American equality group tells Celebuzz. “It’s not a real apology. We’re not backing down without a fuller apology.”

(I got this from an entry on Perez Hilton, strangely enough)

Go go OCA!

Posted 10 Feb 2009 at 8:38 pm ¶
Rachel wrote:

It kind of looks like the Asian guy is making fun of his white friends in the picture too. Has anyone heard from him?

Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 3:25 pm ¶
sejw wrote:

Looks like someone is suing Miley for her little stunt (hurrah!): http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491304,00.html

(and it’s on Fox News, no less)

Posted 12 Feb 2009 at 9:22 pm ¶
Eurasian Sensation wrote:

I have no interest in Miley Cyrus, but given that she’s young and immature, I think we should cut her a bit of slack. I do hope she gets why people are offended though.

I lay off the Asian guy in the photo, I say. From that one snapshot of a split-second in time, some of y’all think you know everything about him (he’s a passive Asian stereotype, he’s perpetuating race hate, blablabla…)

It kinda feels like overreaction… we don’t know the context of what led to that photo being taken… perhaps we shouldnt leap to judgements and get too worked up over something we don’t know anything about.

Posted 13 Feb 2009 at 4:07 am ¶
kharyl wrote:

i am definitely more insulted with her excuse… “simply making a goofy face”
wow … now that was stupid

Posted 13 Feb 2009 at 11:44 am ¶

Miley Cyrus Thinks It’s Cool to Mock Asians

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