Year of the Ram: Chinese New Year Feature (Feature) Washington Journal: Is War Good for Asian Pacific Americans? (in National News) Cheu Steps Down as Executive Director of LGBT Center (in Bay Area News) U.S. Opens Door to Shanghai Club (in Sports) Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (in A&E) Emil Amok: Internment? No, Harrassment is Enough (in Opinion)

Ode to the Astronauts

DEAR EDITOR: The following “credo” by the late author, Jack London reminds me so much of the brave men and women of the Columbia, who lived their lives to the fullest.

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

Henry Y. Mar

Oakland, Calif.

A Sorry State of Affairs

DEAR EDITOR: I have to say, I loved Emil Guillermo’s “The State of Our Union,” (Jan. 30). I also think there wasn’t enough coverage of the dim-witted Shaquille O’Neal’s idiotic comment about Yao Ming. What a moron. He and that Tony Bruno knucklehead alike. Maybe people should call in with some Tony Bruno jokes.

As an American, I can honestly say that very often, Americans act in poor taste — in ignorance of real life — and often in a direct effort to prove to people how stupid many of them really are ... like Shaquille O’Neal. When they act like that, it makes the dignity that Yao showed in the face of this incident even more representative of the dignity and poise most Asians have. If only some people would recognize it.

And, Emil, keep up the good work.

Tim Ramsey

Via e-mail

DEAR EDITOR: I’ve only recently been introduced to AsianWeek and your commentaries. Ironically, it was as a direct result of the unbelievably boneheaded racist remarks by Shaquille O’Neal that I came across the asianweek.com site. I find your paper to be refreshingly broad in its coverage. It’s a marked difference from the local Asian publications I’ve found in the Seattle area since moving here almost seven years ago. Seattle’s Asian community has developed quite differently from other communities in North America and is much less cohesive than most of its counterparts for many reasons.

Thanks for Emil Guillermo’s column piece “The State of Our Union,” (Jan. 30). The whole Shaq debacle really does piss me off too. Offended? You’re damn right I’m offended. And I’ve been less inclined to let it go even as time goes by. Sadly, it all comes down to money. Not politics — but money. It’s all about money. There was never any doubt that Shaq, being a great basketball player, has gained a lot of endorsements for a lot of products, generating more money for more publicity which leads to bigger NBA contracts, egos and salaries, and on and on and on.

However, being Asians, many of us have learned to turn a bad situation into an opportunity. Simply with the press of a button, someone can now send a message to Asian friends and family everywhere, who will then send it on to their friends and families. There are over a billion of us and this will spread very quickly. And this message will reach those hard-working brothers and sisters sweating in Reebok factories over there in Asia where they happen to make all those wonderful Shaq jerseys and shoes for the rest of the world to buy and wear. The message will ask that everyone who works in a Reebok factory and touches any Shaq product no longer wash their hands after going to the bathroom. When those products hit our shores, everyone knows by the time they arrive because, just as e-mail jokes (good or bad) travel the world in an hour, the media too will surely have received this circumnavigated message. Horror of marketing horrors! And supposing Yao also just happens to decide not to sign with Reebok because of Shaq and his remarks and his now-soiled products? I’m sure at that point, we’ll at least momentarily get Reebok’s attention anyway, if nothing else.

How’s that for Asian power?

Robert Lee

Seattle

Insert Soap into Mouth

DEAR EDITOR: I’ve been enjoying your weekly publication for the past few years. I consider myself as liberal and progressive as any of my Asian peers, however I must take exception to Secret Asian Man, “The Origin, part 22” (Jan. 30).

I respect your free speech policy afforded to the artist, yet I feel at a point, one must edit unnecessary obscene word[s] such as f—ing, used in one of his sentences. In my opinion, which I think may be shared by many of your readers, omitting that F-word loses no meaning for the artist’s message, i.e. “What gang are you in?” I work with first and second grade readers and even when the word ‘stupid’ appears in their book, they are embarrassed and hesitate to pronounce the word. Why not keep our kids away from swear words as long as possible?

With your huge numbers of minors in your reading audience is it absolutely necessary to glorify profanity, especially in a cartoon for your family-oriented publication?

A. Chinn

San Leandro, Calif.

The Universal Translator

DEAR EDITOR: Your portrayal of Anna Guo is extremely lame, “Chinese American Group Pushes for Dismissal of Felony Charge in Juvenile Case,” (Nov. 8). Regardless of the underlying mental/emotional problems she may have been experiencing, culture and language are not an excuse. A gun or knife needs no translator, on the street it is known as the “universal translator.” Unless you have been on the receiving end of either item, you can’t begin to judge the actions of those that are.

R. Schumacher

Benicia, Calif.