Chol Soo Lee
Chol Soo Lee’s story highlights the discrimination a Korean American man received in the criminal justice system (“The Story of Chol Soo Lee,” March 28). In the 1970s, San Franciscans had little knowledge of the difference between Chinese and Koreans. The prosecutor, and even Lee’s own attorney, referred to him as Chinese. His struggle as an immigrant from a broken family was never told.
Lee’s post-incarceration struggles reveal the absence of a re-entry support network for prisoners coming out of incarceration. Asian American prisoners as a group are one of the fastest-growing prisoner populations. We need services for housing, employment, education, substance abuse and mental health counseling, family and religious support. We need to help the prisoners and their families deal with the guilt and shame surrounding incarceration.
Sujung Kim
San Francisco, April 2
AZN TV, R.I.P.
I am so disappointed that AZN TV is going off the air (“AZN Television To Go Off Air,” Feb. 1). It’s my favorite station — I even gave up watching Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy to watch some of the dramas on AZN.
I feel I’ve learned a lot from many of the shows. This station is a good way to get an idea (maybe not always correct or perfect, just like our American shows) of how other parts of our big world live. This was a perfect way to help “globalize” ourselves.
Great job, AZN, and I’ll miss you very much.
Julie Sliwinski
Via asianweek.com, April 1
It is a shame to learn that Comcast is pulling the plug on AZN. One of the main reasons I have kept my overcharged cable TV subscription for this long is rare valuable programming like AZN. Brian Roberts, you just lost another customer.
M. Tong
Via asianweek.com, March 31
Comcast will be shutting down the AZN channel on April 9, and this is a direct slap to Asians and Asian Americans as well as other ethnic groups who’ve enjoyed watching high-quality Asian programming since the channel’s inception nearly three years ago. Most of these programs, particularly the Korean dramas with English subtitles, are far superior to American television shows and will be sorely missed.
Comcast states that the main reason the plug is being pulled is that there are only 14 million regular weekly viewers nationwide, along with advertising revenue that hasn’t nudged up. I sympathize with their plight, but shutting down a channel isn’t the only solution. Comcast should be ashamed of their decision!
Rene Del Prado
San Francisco, March 31
Jabbawockeez Love
I’m an African American woman who has always had an eye on hip-hop internationally, so when my friends act shocked about Asians in hip-hop, I just tell them the Asian community has been bringin’ it for years. And they’re only getting better with time (“Jabbawockeez, Unmasked,” March 14).
Hip-hop is long past the Bronx; it’s international. Thank you, Jabbawockeez, for showing that true b-boying from the ’80s is not a lost art.
Tashima Beach
Fort Stewart, Ga., March 28