OPINION
Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
April 21, 2014
Volume 24 Number 8
April 21, 2014
ISSN: 1094-9453
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MY TURN
n Dmae Roberts
Retiring phrases
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n my career as a writer, performer, and media
producer, I’ve learned to talk about race and to
be someone people can talk to about race. It
wasn’t easy at first, but I got used to it. Addressing
cultural differences and similarities became impor-
tant in my work because of my family’s experiences
with racism and isolation. I found the more I
educated myself about history and the language of
race, the more I could have conversations that
weren’t about accusation and recrimination, but
about potentially learning to understand. Even
when discussing race within a racial group it can
sometimes become polarized, so I always turn to the
historic backdrop, especially regarding the way
certain words are used. Whether they can accept
that context and move on from there depends on the
person.
Race often comes up when I’m teaching,
particularly when I reveal my biracial identity. I say
“reveal” because most people assume I’m white
until I tell them about my roots and family history.
Recently in my media classes at Mt. Hood
Community College, I played pieces about Asian-
American history from my radio series Crossing
East. An African-American student asked, “What
are those hats they used to wear?” He made a
gesture to dramatize a cone-shaped hat. An Asian-
American student said they were called “rice hats.”
There was a definitive pause in what had been a
lively discussion until then.
I’m used to that pause. It’s the moment when
people ponder, wondering if there will be an
awkwardness that could potentially lead to a
negative confrontation.
I told a story I heard while working on the
Crossing East series. In it, I revealed that during
the building of the railroad, some people believed
the white workers would often call the hats “coolie
hats” because that’s what they called the Chinese
workers. Through the series I learned from my lead
scholar, Judy Yung, a professor emeritus at
University of California, Santa Cruz, that “Ku Li”
(comprising two characters) is an Indian or Tamil
term meaning “bitter strength.” She explained that
was how the term “coolie” evolved to mean the
contract workers who came to build the Trans-
continental Railroad. I told the students how that
descriptive term for a hard worker became a
derogatory name applied only to Asians. Over the
course of history, this has happened to many words
and phrases relating to race.
Words are so important because often what is
said is the first sign of racism. Even something as
seemingly complimentary as “amasian” — a word
I
combination in the urban dictionary that originally
meant “amazing Asian” — singles out people
because of their race. The word was widely
discussed and debated when National Basketball
Association (NBA) player Jeremy Lin had his
breakthrough season in 2012. Why couldn’t he just
be amazing? Sportscasters also ran headlines like
“chink in the armor.” Some people defend that
phrase because it isn’t intentionally used to
denigrate Asians. That explanation doesn’t really
take away the sting; I still cringe watching
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with
the word used four times in one of the scenes to
describe the “chink” in the wall.
The word “chink” could have developed from the
word “Qing,” as in the Qing Dynasty. The origin of
the phrase “chink in the armor” can be traced back
to the Middle Ages when suits of armor were worn.
Enemies would look for a vulnerability in the armor
— a small hole — that could be penetrated. Today,
the expression is used to describe a small character
flaw that might cause problems for a person. But
always the usage of the word “chink” is offensive.
Another phrase that has always bothered me is
“Chinese fire drill,” which refers to a prank in which
a car stops at a traffic light and then everyone runs
around the car to change drivers. The phrase is
intended to describe something crazy and con-
fusing. The term allegedly originated from the early
1900s, when British officers in Asia were trying to
teach a Chinese crew how to start a bucket brigade
if a fire occurred on their boat. Not speaking each
other’s language, the British couldn’t explain the
fire drill, so there was confusion. I’m all for retiring
that phrase as well as “Chinese whispers” (a kid’s
game of telephone), “Chinese wall” (lawyers use it to
describe a code of silence), and “Chinese water
torture,” which began with a Harry Houdini escape
act.
Even when people don’t intend to be racist, when
they use those phrases, it’s hurtful. The most recent
example is Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. He
used the phrase “Ching Chong” in a skit to mock
Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. An
out-of-context tweet drew the ire of activist Suey
Park and her followers who saw a post on Twitter
referring to the skit. The full tweet was: “I am
willing to show #Asian community I care by intro-
ducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for
Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.”
That led to the Twitter hashtag “#CancelColbert,”
which trended for several days and sparked much
debate. Yes, the tweet was taken out of context.
Continued on page 7
Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication.
