An Eye-Opener
August 23, 2008
The Spanish Basketball Team’s gesture is contrary to the spirit of the Olympics
Amidst the glory of the Beijing Olympics, the Spanish Federation Basketball team saw it fit to release a team photo in a Spanish advertisement in which all are pulling their eyes back in a slant-eyed gesture mimicking their Olympic hosts. They have tried to sugar coat it by saying it was meant to be cute, funny, endearing and a gesture of affection by identifying with the Chinese people. Hogwash. Too many of us were subjected to that gesture as kids when it was used to mock us because we looked different than other Americans.
One Spanish player, Jose Manuel Calderon, who plays in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors, remarked in his blog that the ad was done out of respect for the Chinese people and that “Anyone who would like to interpret this differently is absolutely confused.” Pau Gasol, another Spaniard in the photo who is a star for the Los Angeles Lakers, offered a hollow so-called apology that began, “If anybody thought or took it the wrong way and thought it was offensive…” That falls far short of any self-recognition that it was inherently wrong and offensive and attempts to shift the burden onto the viewer’s ability to understand things correctly.
In the absence of a negative reaction, are we to conclude that the ad was appropriate and not offensive? I submit that our silence would serve to validate the creators and participants of that misguided ad.
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As an Asian American born and raised in Southern California, I am offended by the ad regardless of where it ran. In this Internet age, things like this have no geographic boundaries. Jose Luis Saez, the president of the Spanish Basketball Federation, said “The distorted minds that seek controversy should rather worry about racist precedents in their own countries.” In fact, our respective histories are precisely why we must speak up against those who would perpetuate negative racial stereotyping. In the context of the Beijing Olympics, dedicated to harmony and world unity, this ad is a disharmonious gesture and an insult to the Chinese hosts as well as to Asians around the world.
In the context of sports, where merit and character are supposed to reign, this ad is simply unacceptable and needs to be decried publicly. It is particularly painful to me, as an American citizen of Japanese descent, to have to explain again and again why racism is insidious and seemingly benign but always ignorant and harmful.
Moreover, my niece, Haley Ishimatsu, is a 15-year-old American diver representing the U.S.A. in the synchronized and individual 10-meter platform diving events at the Beijing Olympics. As she represents her country proudly, the last thing we need is to tolerate so-called jokes about Asians or any other ethnic group which only serve to separate us in a negative way based on race and physical features. The silent but deadly impact of tolerated racism cannot be excused and should never be overlooked.
The fact that a 15-year-old Japanese American girl is representing the U.S.A. on the world stage in Beijing right now is poignant given that both of her grandmothers were denied their civil rights as American citizens during WWII. They were incarcerated as teenagers in internment camps for years in Arkansas and Arizona based on how they looked and their surnames, not their loyalty to this country. Sixty years later, both grandmothers are alive and cheering their American granddaughter in the Olympics as an American athlete. This is but one example of the celebration of the human spirit that the Olympics is supposed to manifest. That goal of harmonizing cultural differences and applauding achievement regardless of race or gender compels us to speak out against those who seek to justify racism as a prank, a joke, or even stranger, an act of endearment.
Bruce Ishimatsu is an attorney in Los Angeles who practices commercial litigation and is active with non-profit organizations and ethnic bar associations.
Comments
4 Responses to “An Eye-Opener”
Got something to say?
I think that the gesture on the part of the Spanish team is really more innocent than many assume. Think about it: how much experience do the spanish really have with Asian-Spanish issues. They are probably unaware of the connotations of that gesture, something with which we Asian-Americans are all too familiar.
OK, it was wrong for them to do what they did. But I do believe that it was more innocent than many suppose.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Hi guys and gals,
I am a citizen of Spain and Catalonia, and I have lived in the USA for over 5 years.
It’s great cultural mix over the US, and different sensitivities. In a global world, a picture that was intended for a Spanish audience has reached the far corners of the world.
Like reading historical texts, it would be necessary to get into the context and culture of the region before we make some judgement. There are many American symbols and ways that are taken in Spain and Europe as pretencious - chocky - show off, and they are simply forms of expression between friends and dudes. Same case for this photo, which within the Spanish culture shows complicity.
The Chinese consulate in Madrid expressed that this picture is neither racist nor offensive. In fact one of teh main sponsors of Spanish Basketball is Chinese (shoes).
If I think about it, for me there is no reason for offense. I mean, what is wrong with Chinese eyes? Nothing! So where is the ofense? On the other hand, if the media presents this as a team “laughting at …” or in similar form then obviously people will see it in another light - as if we cut a pic of anyone and take it out of context.
Anyway - those who want to see ofense will see it. I think we have many more things to worry about before we even consider this topic.
Cheers everyone!
If the Spanish basketball team members did not think that they were making fun at the Chinese, or Asians in general, by posing this silly picture to emphasize the eyes, then why did they make this pic anyway ?
Suppose some Asian sports team taking a group pic while
they shout altogeher : Spic Maricon !!!!!
How the Spanish public will react ?
Spic Maricon means nothing to Asians.
Tic for tac.
Dear Mr. Ishimatsu:
Why don’t you send a letter to the Spanish Basketball Federation explaining your experiences and why the ad is offensive to you? They should apologize and ask their players to do so too.
As a Spaniard who has lived in the US for ten years I understand your comments. However, in Spain, while the general conflict between Japan and the US in World War II is well known, we know very little about the discrimination against the peoples of Asian descent (and particularly of Japanese descent) in the US, which helps explain your position.
Regarding the whole episode, I will repat what I said in a different forum:
1. It’s clear that people of Asian descent felt offended by the picture. They deserve an apology and an explanation. I’m pretty sure that at least the Spanish players in the NBA will further apologize. I also hope so.
2. Regarding the explanation, it also seems clear that the intention of the Spanish teams was not to offend. Maybe due to the very limited historical contact between Spain and China and other East Asian nationalities (the Philippines is the exception), there hasn’t been much racial contact or conflict.
3. In the whole episode, there’s been more than the intention of those who made the gesture and the reaction of people of Asian descent offended by it. The criticism came first not from the Chinese people in China or Spain or from people of Asian descent elsewhere, but from the British press (The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph curiously united in this) and later by some US media outlets (LA Times, New York Times, New York Post). These newspapers not only reported on the picture and launched it globally, they commented on it and, by extension, on the racial insensitivity, racism and insignificance of a whole nation. For a Spaniard, it is hard to take an ethical lesson on racism coming from a British newspaper, for instance, since the UK has currently a colony in Spain (Gibraltar). Obviously, Britain also has an impressive and very recent history of colonial imperialism in Asia and elsewhere. The US history of agression against different Asian countries and peoples is too well known to mention. I believe the attitude of some Spaniards is mainly a reaction against this third party intervention, maybe a refusal to apologize to British and US ‘white’ journalists. I do not believe that Spaniards will be against an apology to people rightly offended by the picture. At least, I’m a Spaniard and do apologize on behalf of the players who were representing my nation to all people of Asian descent who felt offended.
Ps.:
I don’t know what Spic Maricon is –well, I get the Maricon part, but not the whole thing.