04.17.08
Posted in Blog at 9:23 am by william_lee
If you’d like to support comedians that ridicule the Asian American community for personal gain, here’s your chance!
(she wrote that comedy routine at a time when the Asian American community was enraged by this incident on “The View.”)
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Looking for Audience Members in LA
The producers of “The Cho Show” are currently seeking audience members for an upcoming episode of Margaret’s new series on Vh1.
If you’re at least 18 years old, live in the Los Angeles area, and available Wednesday, April 23rd from 10:00am to 6:00pm please email your contact info to the email address below. However, if you are unavailable for the full 8 hour taping please let us know what time you’re available, and for how many hours.
Due to limited seating we can only admit the first 100 people that respond so send us your contact info as soon as possible to assure yourself a spot on the guest list.
Thank you!
Email:ChoAudience@yahoo.com
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04.16.08
Posted in Blog at 3:44 pm by admin
Technorati Profile
Technorati is a service that will allow you, our faithful fans, to indicate which content you want to see more of.
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Posted in Blog at 7:49 am by admin
A word on comments
To all of our faithful fans– about 6 or 7 months ago, when Fallout Central was wrapped up in a controversy involving “The Doghouse,” a former CBS radio show that featured a segment that was highly offensive to Asian Americans, we found ourselves in an unfortunate situation where lots of angry non-Asian people wanted to silence us from fighting this racism cleverly disguised as “comedy” had posted boatloads of spam comments on our site. As a result, we had to turn on a “moderation queue” through which all comments must pass. So, it might take a day or two for us to get to your comments in order to let them through, but rest assured, we’ll get to you!
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Posted in Sports, Blog at 2:18 am by jon_fukutomi
As baseball is celebrating the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, we also should take time to reflect and appreciate the Asian baseball pioneer Ichiro Suzuki.
While Ichiro may not be the first Asian player in Major League Baseball, he was the first position player. The first Asian players and still the majority of Asian players that enter the major leagues are pitchers. Though pitchers perhaps requires the most refined skills in all of baseball, they do not encompass the real essence of what a ball player is thought to be. When you think of baseball you think of the players that take the field everyday and grind out the long season. The true legends of the baseball are all hitters, the ones who hit the tape measure homeruns or the clutch hit to seal the win. It is the hitters that get remembered and there is no hitter quite like Ichiro.
From the beginning Ichiro has defied traditional baseball logic. Ichiro is the only player to have his first name on the back of his jersey, he thrives on getting singles in an era where power is prized, he swings with an unorthodox motion that requires exceptional bat control. The spring training before his first season in the U.S. his manager, Lou Piniella, questioned if he could hit major league pitching. Ichiro answered that question by collecting more hits than any rookie ever, earning the American League batting title, winning the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player awards and leading the Seattle Mariners to a record tying 116 regular season wins.
In the seven seasons he has played in the majors, Ichiro already left his mark on the history of baseball and has become an undeniable superstar. He has won a gold glove award every season for his impeccable defense and astounding arm strength and accuracy. He has been voted to the All Star team each year. He is accumulating hits faster than any player in history. In 2004 he broke the 84 year old single season hit record by Hall of Famer George Sisler. A record that has stood longer than any homerun record ever had. He is currently on his way to tying the record for most consecutive seasons with 200 or more hits. Ichiro is not just a player, not just a superstar, he is becoming a legend.
Ichiro has challenged the perceptions of Asians in baseball and Asians in general. His accomplishments on the field have forced people to acknowledge his abilities and has demonstrated to other Asians that they can compete with the best in the world. His application of rigorous ideals and discipline have given legitimacy to Eastern Philosophies in a Western domain. But perhaps the most remarkable impact was seen during the Little League World Series soon after he entered Major League Baseball. When a team of predominantly Caucasian boys was asked who was their favorite baseball player they repeatedly answered: Ichiro Suzuki. He has forever affected the perception of Asians within the youth of America. These young boys were idolizing him; an Asian man.
For years Americans have seen Asian baseball players as inferior. But the current wave of Asian players have disputed that notion. Now scouts are constantly searching Asian countries for the next big star. Bobby Valentine, a former Mets manager, has frequently stated that every starting player in the Japanese baseball league could make a major league roster. Ichiro helped Japan illustrate Bobby Valentine’s statement in 2006 by winning the first ever World Baseball Classic which included teams from around the world whose rosters were full of current major league players.
Like Jackie Robinson before him, Ichiro has unwittingly changed the destiny of a race with a simple game of baseball. His unreasonable demands of himself led to staggering accomplishments and these accomplishments demand attention and respect. We as fellow Asians need to recognize this man who is one of us and who has shown us only the beginning of what we are truly capable of attaining. Ichiro may have never intended on being so prominent, but he has inspired me in a time where we lack Asian representation. Ichiro has given pride to a people, here is a hero to admire.
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04.15.08
Posted in Blog at 1:40 pm by william_lee
Happy Birthday Fallout Central!
Fallout Central has just completed it’s first year of operation, and I’m proud and also surprised that we’ve made it this far. Activism (and going beyond the basic task of “raising an awareness”) is a ridiculously draining, stressful, and energy-consuming process. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all of our faithful listeners who have supported us through thick and thin. We would not be here without your kind words of encouragement and support. Thank you all.
You’ve probably seen our elaborate mission statement on why Fallout Central exists in general, but now, one year after we created Fallout Central, I want to share with you why I, William Lee, am here doing this.
I used to hit up the Green Tea Cafe (on 40 Mott St. in Chinatown NYC) every Friday night with my buddies after running the variety shows at THE FIVE POINTS, and we’d constantly revisit the same topics:
- Really horrible media portrayals of Asian Americans
- The lack of leadership in our community (i.e., when someone says “chink” on national television, the celebrities who are in a position to speak out on our behalf end up doing nothing and, in some cases, make some kind of televised statement like, “It’s ok. I make fun of myself too.”)
- Well known and visible Asian American celebrities making up comedy routines that ridicule our community, followed by those same celebrities coming back to our community to get an award for it.
- Hate crimes that are completely ignored by the police
- etc.
Need I go on?
We have always known that there were activist people around the country who wanted to go head to head with the perpetrators of these offenses, and we wanted to figure out a way to connect all of them into a giant critical mass that can actually influence change. I can recall one of my friends indicating that he wanted to participate in previous protests, but didn’t feel comfortable because he didn’t have an “in” with the protestors. That just made me feel totally heart-broken. Why should there be any single smidgen of discomfort in something so noble as participating in a rally to fight for what you believe in?
Now, don’t get me wrong here. I never went into this expecting everyone to all of a sudden want to participate in protests every time someone says “chink.” Activism incorporates a full spectrum of activities, some of which are very passive (blogging), and some of which are very confrontational (calling up CBS Radio and holding them accountable for their own “diversity statement”. In the end, we need people of all degrees of either passivity or confrontational-ness to be on board and equipped with the same information. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Everyone needs some kind of context from which to start the conversation.
Now, back to why I’m here doing this– I have been working for Fallout Central all this time because it was the only way I could satisfy my insatiable desire to address these issues in our community. I wanted to go one step above and beyond “raising an awareness” and not only take a stand for myself, but to enable others so that they too can take a stand knowing that they have the full support of Fallout Central and the Asian American community at large whenever we are faced with racism and discrimination in all of its very nuanced forms. Since I don’t have my own television network, podcasting was the logical choice. The chief benefit of the dynamic nature of talk shows is that it eliminates 99% of the bull-crap that you typically see on blog comments and message forums when people get caught up in flame-wars over a given issue. Don’t believe me? Check out the awesome 167+ comment flame-war on www.reappropriate.com on the subject of “Falling For Grace,” and then check out the debate that we hosted on Fallout Central on the same topic. After that, take a look at the comments on www.thefighting44s in the aftermath of the debate. You’ll find that understanding, learning, and growth, are the only three things that sprung up after that debate. The 167+ comment flame war fizzled out.
Also, I wanted a way to lift up our people– to find individuals who are doing great things in our community who nobody ever hears about. Transcribed interviews on a blog are one thing, but you can get so much more of a sense of what a person is like if you can actually listen to the interview right on your iPod. On top of all of that, you can call into the podcast and give your two cents anytime you want!
Over the course of a year, Fallout Central’s accomplishments have extended far beyond the initial set of objectives that I had in my mind when we first started, and I’m excited about all of the things we have in store for you in 2008.
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Posted in Blog at 12:28 pm by william_lee
To further underscore the importance of awareness, think about how little the mainstream media understands the social, political, and personal attitudes of Asian American adults.
Why do you think Asian American men are practically never portrayed as normal individuals? Well, I’d venture to guess that it’s because no one has ever widely circulated a survey like this one. I don’t know about you, but I’m extremely curious to find out what the results are. Here’s an excerpt:
- My name is Robin Li. I am a graduate student in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in San Francisco, California. As part of my graduate studies, I am conducting a research project that examines the social, political, and personal attitudes of Asian American adults. Please consider participating in my study if you identify as Asian American and are at least 18 years of age.
In this survey, you will be asked to indicate agreement or disagreement with various statements concerning social, political, and personal attitudes. Participation in this survey should take no longer than 30 minutes.
Although this study is believed to present minimal risk to participants, it is still possible that some of the survey questions may cause you discomfort or stress. Please know that your participation is entirely voluntary. You may discontinue the survey at any time by closing the browser window. It will not be necessary to provide an explanation for why you have chosen to discontinue the survey. You may also request a referral to a licensed therapist for one free telephone consultation if you experience distress as a result of your participation in this study.
All data collected from this survey will be kept confidential. You will not be required to provide your name in order to participate in the survey. At the conclusion of the project, all survey data will be kept in a locked box for a period of five years, after which it will be destroyed.
Participation in this study will contribute to the understanding of social, political, and personal attitudes of Asian American adults. Therefore, it is important that you provide honest responses that best reflect your social, political, and personal attitudes. Please complete the survey alone, in a quiet place that is free from distraction.
If you would like a summary of the results of this study, contact me at asianamericanattitudes@gmail.com. At the conclusion of the online survey, you may also choose to enter a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card. To enter the drawing, you will be asked to provide a valid email address. This email address will only be used to contact you if you are the winner of the gift card; your email address will not be associated with your responses to the survey.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study, you may contact me at the following email address: asianamericanattitudes@gmail.com
You may also contact the Institutional Review Board at Alliant International University:
irb-sf@alliant.edu
Or:
Alliant International University, San Francisco Campus
1 Beach Street, Suite 100
San Francisco, CA 94133-1221
Phone: (415) 955-2100
Fax: (415) 955-2179
Many Thanks,
Robin Li
asianamericanattitudes@gmail.com
http://asianamericanattitudes.wordpress.com
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04.14.08
Posted in Blog at 2:27 pm by william_lee
Take a look at these two headlines. One from a prominent mainstream news source (WCBS), and another from a less-widely-circulated news source (The Columbia Spectator):
Both articles describe the exact same incident, however, one headline brushes the entire rest of the article with a convenient stroke of philanthropy on “Sheldon J,” the individual who was arrested for allegedly assaulting Minghui Yu, and then causing his death (due to him running for his life and accidentally getting hit by an SUV).
The suspect says he tried to stop Yu’s fatal run? After he allegedly tried to assault him? Gimme a break. You’ll notice too, that conveniently adding the prefix “NYPD:” to that headline adds further credence to the benefit of the doubt that you, as the reader, will most likely give to the assailant.
Now, the other article says “Court Charges Suspect for Assaulting Yu.”
Big difference.
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Posted in Blog at 1:38 pm by william_lee
I have often seen descriptions of conferences, workshops, blogs, and forums, whose purpose is to “raise an awareness.”
Raising an awareness is a good thing because it is a necessary step forward in rallying people behind a cause. There is, however, a danger of complacency in awareness. It is all too easy to get caught up in “awareness,” and somehow be led to believe that offenses to the Asian American community can be solved through “awareness.” It’s like believing that the process of making other people aware of problems will somehow allow them to be magically fixed by someone else.
This belief, if you get caught up in it, allows you to feel that sweet self-satisfaction without actually having to solve anything or face any difficult challenges because the only challenge of raising awareness is people not being aware. In a worst case scenario, if you fail, someone would end up not knowing about the problem. End of story.
What makes this even more appealing is that you can raise “awareness” through expensive dinners, parties, marathons, selling t-shirts, fashion shows, concerts, and organizing student conferences. In other words, you can keep doing stuff you like to do, except that now, you’re able to feel better about making a difference. Raising awareness is also awesome because once you raise awareness to an acceptable, arbitrary level, you can just back off and say “Bam! I did my part. Now it’s your turn. Fix it.” You get all the benefits of helping (self satisfaction, telling other people that you “did something”), but no need for difficult decisions or the ensuing criticism, because really, there’s no way to criticize “awareness.” This allows you to score that sweet double victory.
Don’t get me wrong here. “Raising awareness” on issues is a difficult task in and of itself. You can ask any of the organizers at the NYCAASC conference that we attended, and they’ll confirm how much time and effort goes into the planning and execution of those things. It’s a tremendous effort. Spending time reading up on a subject or incident, formulating an opinion, and then writing about it on your blog takes a lot of time and effort as well.
However, the moment you believe that raising an awareness is an end in and of itself is the moment that you’ve failed in making forward progress toward the goal you were trying to achieve by raising it in the first place: social change.
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