10 Comments Add your own

• 1. Kristin  |  December 14th, 2006 at 11:34 am

  Wow! It is times like this where it is really hard to be proud to be an American! Rosie’s behavior was absurd and uncalled for. However, what I found even more disturbing was the fact that the crowd got such a kick out of her mocking the Chinese language. Often times I have found myself apologizing on behalf of others for how racially insensitive Americans can often be. For instance, just last night I went out dancing with my roommate who happens to be an international student from Mexico. I was introducing her to one of my friends and at some point in the conversation he made fun of the way she said the word “guitar.” Her mood immediately changed, and she became less outgoing. At the end of the night I found myself (once again) apologizing for my friend’s behavior. She thanked me for apologizing, but told me how much it bothered her because of how self-conscious she is when she speaks English. What bothered me most was not that this reflected poorly on my friend, but it reflected poorly on my sense of judgment when choosing friends. Overall I am embarrassed by both Rosie’s behavior and my friend’s behavior, and how it reflects on Americans in general. I can understand that Rosie was just trying to be funny, and I too appreciate good comedy. With that said, we need to be aware that we often laugh at banal humor without noticing the depth and implications of our actions.

• 2. Ashley Smith  |  December 14th, 2006 at 6:44 pm

  What I don’t understand is how Rosie can accuse Kelly Ripa of being homophobic one day and openly make fun of someone’s race the next. Being a prominent member of the gay and lesbian community, Rosie of all people should know what it feels like to be made fun and stereotyped merely because of who you are. What type of message is she sending with her behavior? Is she saying it’s okay to make fun of the Chinese but not gays?

  From what I understand The View is a show where social, political, and other seroius issues are discussed while comedy is included for entertainment value. This is not the place for a stand-up comedy act. Rosie’s opinion and point of view is probably taken seriously by her viewers. She needs to be aware of the influence she may have over the general public.

  I understand Rosie’s sense of humor is part of her appeal. I also understand that part of what makes the show so popular is the humor involved. However, I do not believe that the host should try to get a laugh at the expense of the Chinese while criticizing another talk show host of being homophobic.

• 3. Peter Chun-Te Wu  |  December 14th, 2006 at 6:57 pm

  I am not surprised by this, maybe because I have personally encountered these myself enough times that I am numb to it?

  Chinese is a very hard language to learn. Apparently Rosie’s Chinese vocabulary level is limited to only two characters, “ching and chong.” NBA’s Shaquille O’Neal also has the same problem, check out this link
  http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0110/1490645.html

  Is it racially insensitive? or comedy? I think it depends on the setting. But even then there is a fine line between the two. Looking back at what happened to Seinfeld actor Michael Richard’s (Kramer) recent racist remarks at the Laugh Factory, even in the comedy clubs the comedian (or any public figures) cannot cross this line. Rosie’s in the showbiz, but what if she was a CEO of some US company looking to expand her business to China? Will she get to keep her job? Like Dr. Whitaker say in our communications class, public figures need to be very careful about these things because you can’t take back what you say once you say it with today’s technology such as youtube that archives video files.

  I think Yao Ming hit the mark in the article.
  “There are a lot of difficulties in two different cultures understanding each other. Especially two very large countries. The world is getting smaller and I think it’s important to have a greater understanding of other cultures. I believe Shaquille O’Neal was joking but I think that a lot of Asian people don’t understand that kind of joke,”

  Since the language is difficult to learn, I have deeper respects for Westerners such as Dr. Morris’s fluency in Mandarin, and the efforts by fellow MBA students in the lounge downloading Chinese lessons onto their ipods and practicing Chinese before the trip. These are good things that cannot be overlooked.

• 4. Stacey Westenberger  |  December 14th, 2006 at 10:31 pm

  I cannot deny that Rosie’s behavior was disrespectful and wrong. It really is an embarrassment to the American culture. Just as Chinese news was reporting on Danny DeVito, they are now probably reporting on Rosie’s ignorant remarks.
  However, the next thoughts that come to my mind are directed towards The Views producers. Although the show is taped in front of a live audience, it is recorded and although I don’t know much about television production, I would think that some information is cut out before being aired. When weighing the options, did the producers of the show feel Rosie’s “joke” was humorous enough to overcome the loss of Asian viewers (or for that matter, all viewers)? Do they know the demographics of those who watch The View to determine the possible consequences of their choice to air this clip? How many viewers were offended by these remarks and would choose not to continue tuning in to the show? Not knowing much about television production, I’m not sure of the answers to these questions. I am merely pointing out there are more people than just Rosie who were wrong in their behavior. Like others’ commented before, the audience’s laughter is also a bit surprising (I would hope it was more of an uncomfortable laughter than truly being entertained by Rosie’s comment). Also, judging from the brief video clips (I didn’t see the full episode) the other co-hosts on the show didn’t seem to display any actions, which would describe this behavior as unacceptable. Passively allowing racist actions to occur is just as offensive.

• 5. Athena Schwartz  |  December 15th, 2006 at 12:46 pm

  I completely understand where everyone is coming from in the comments above. That being said - I think we’re being a little overly sensitive.

  I have heard comedians make fun of English and I thought it was hilarious. I get harrassed every time I order a “pop” in this rediculous state! When I’ve been in other countries and people tease me about my horrible pronunciation of their language, I don’t get offended.

  I agree that Rosie sounded kind of obnoxious. But I don’t think it was a massive insult on Chinese people. I think that no culture should be immune from being made fun of - if it’s ok to make fun of Christians or politicians or Canadians, it should be ok to do bad impressions of Chinese. If we aren’t going to tease certain groups of people, that’s fine - but then we shouldn’t be able to poke fun at anyone.

  I definately don’t think Rosie was being racist - she didn’t say there was anything wrong with Chinese people, she just did a very lousy impression of Chinese in order to make a joke. Maybe it wasn’t the most taseful of jokes, but that doesn’t make her a racist. If some talk show host in China did a bad impression of English to make a joke, would we be disturbed by it? Maybe some people would - but it wouldn’t bother me.

• 6. Derrik Fischer  |  December 15th, 2006 at 1:41 pm

  I do not feel that this act by Rosie has any relevance to being disappointed in American culture. Comedians poke fun at different backgrounds and stereotypes all the time in this country and around the world. Rosie’s joke just happened to be more obnoxious than funny. She never mentioned anything racist about Chinese people. Had her joke been funny, we probably wouldn’t even be having this discussion. When a new South Park comes out, I am not disgusted to be an American. In fact, I am proud to live in a country where shows like this are permitted, and society can generally take a joke as a joke. While some may get offended by it, most are able sit back and laugh it off.

  I, like Athena, have been tormented for years since I moved to California for saying “Pop” instead of “Soda” until I just stopped saying it. When I travel to Mexico or Central America, I am called a Gringo and assumed to be as wealthy as all you freaking rich Americans. I don’t take offense to any of these generalizations. I believe that comedy is a good way of bringing these different racial stereotypes, which do exist around the world, into the open. Shows like South Park, expose some of these problems we have as a global society and make fun of them in a clever way. Rosie, although not very cunningly, was simply making an attempt at this sort of comedy.

• 7. Lee Smith  |  December 15th, 2006 at 4:17 pm

  I do not think I should even comment on this one, I might offend somebody. Let’s get real people; this whole business of people getting offended all the time is really starting to wear on our reputation as Americans. That being my personal opinion the reality of the matter is when things like this happen and the media blows them up into huge events we look bad as a nation. Like it or not the only impression most Chinese are getting from America is what is being said on TV by a select few, most of which are not qualified or educated enough to make any sort of rational argument. The Chinese viewing these statements will put the same kind of stereotypes on Americans that Americans put on there language. If you do not believe that just look at how our own president is mocked in both in foreign countries and domestically. He is more disliked for his speech and appearance than this his politics and policy. If America wants to be treated like a joke and let developing nations continue to surpass our growth, well we need more people like Rosie out there campaigning for us.

• 8. Peter Thelen  |  December 15th, 2006 at 4:25 pm

  I think what disturbs me the most about Rosie’s behavior is not that she did what she did, but that she was so surprised when people were offended and so reluctant to apologize. Is she really unable to see how that would be offensive to Chinese people, whose language is so inextricably connected to their culture? The fact is, if she had imitated a black person in a “stereotypical” black person voice and then refused to apologize, she would have been quickly fired. But because she is mocking Chinese people, it’s just an “overreaction.” In addition, Rosie has always given people a hard time about being politically correct, and her insensitivity to the Asian community smacks of hypocrisy. She just recently accused Kelly Ripa of being homophobic for no good reason:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuSOMY2Wv6g

  Like Athena and Derrik, I appreciate a good joke about cultures and ethnicities, and feel that it is important to be able to laugh at yourself. However, I also realize that I feel that way because I am American, and that is what Americans are typically raised to believe. But I would never assume that what is funny in America is by default funny in China. Even though she didn’t really do any harm, she did put her ignorance of Chinese culture on display, which is truly the most unfortunate aspect of this whole thing.

• 9. Lonnie  |  December 15th, 2006 at 10:17 pm

  You have no idea how hard it was to put Michelle M. on MY blog, but she was right…

  Coffee wishes me to thank everyone who helped in the Blog Awards….All ad revenue will buy my 22 year old student an artificial limb. I think when the results are certified we will be in 2nd place. I don’t think that is too bad knowing we went toe to toe with the vapid Xiaxue and her blog (ranked #6 in the world) following…

  LBH

• 10. Chris Carr  |  December 16th, 2006 at 8:37 am

  Lonnie,

  It was our pleasure to assist. The final days of the blog race and vote where most interesting to watch — one blog surging in front of the other, then the other moves ahead. At the end of the day, you put out a great blog with some great topics and insightful commentary. That is all that really matters. Keep up the good work. - Chris

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The posts, comments and/or views expressed on this trip blog, whether by a Cal Poly student or faculty or an outside guest to the blog, do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of Cal Poly, the Orfalea College of Business (OCOB), any of the OCOB's graduate programs and/or other students who participate in the trip.