So I’m pretty sure you have all seen the Alexandra Wallace’s “Asians in the Library” YouTube video by now, and the numerous video responses as well. But if not, this will get you up to speed: http://campuseventsblog.com/?p=4594#comments.
By no means am I condoning what Alexandra has done, but after personally hearing and reading numerous critical comments and hateful responses, I believe that posting them here is not going to right her wrong; if that is what you are looking for, see the above link for further links. Instead of adding to all the negativity already circulating in the media, I would like to take this opportunity to address the greater issue at hand: the issue of ignorance and intolerance. You can call her a racist, a (insert profanity here), or a disgrace to UCLA all you want, but the biggest thing she is guilty of is simply being ignorant. Also, it certainly didn’t help that she chose to express her offensive opinions in a public way during a stressful time when everyone is procrastinating and looking for a distraction or emotional escape from studying. Hopefully this will serve as a learning experience for her and that she will become more aware and accepting of Asians, Asian-Americans, and all the other ethnicities represented in UCLA’s diverse student population.
The stereotypes that Alexandra brings up in her video are hardly what you can call original. I mean, who hasn’t heard someone mocking Asian languages by generalizing and condensing the hundreds of distinct dialects into a mere: “Ching Chong Ting Tong…” I believe that it was the shock of having these words come from a woman representing a prestigious, intellectual institution such as UCLA that rubbed people the wrong way. Then, she mentioned the tsunami so nonchalantly and with such a lack of sympathy that I can see how this definitely offended those who were affected by this catastrophic tragedy. However, retaliating with racism, stereotypes, or threats is not an appropriate response because it just shows an intolerance of others; as Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” There is also a fine line between racist humor (humor that uses oppressive stereotypes and reinforces prejudice and social hierarchies) and racial humor (humor that simply provides social commentary on the differences between cultures and promotes understanding); so please keep that in mind when sharing all of those parodist videos with friends and don’t fuel the fire.
Alexandra announced in a letter to the Daily Bruin on March 18, 2011 that she is “truly sorry for the hurtful words [she] said and the pain it caused to anyone who watched the video” and that she will no longer be attending UCLA. As the buzz dies down, let us move forward and start Spring quarter off open-minded, better informed, and more united because we are all part of the Bruin family, and always will be. If we don’t even respect each other, how can we expect the rest of the world to?
Here are a Do’s and Don’ts that we can all learn from this viral video explosion:
1. DO be courteous and whisper in the library, or simply go outside. I’m sure Alexandra isn’t the only one annoyed by people talking loudly.
2. DON’T assume all minorities are immigrants. They can be U.S. citizens, and thus American, too.
3. DO think, “how would I about my parents, future employers, or the entire nation seeing this?” before you post anything online, unless you want to learn the hard way like Alexandra. The internet is forever.
4. DON’T take the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Japan lightly. Thousands of people are suffering. What if it happened to you?