April 18, 2007
This Blog is Not For Bigots [UPDATED]News
Welcome to Sepia Mutiny. If this is your first time visiting and you found us by reading the MSNBC/Newsweek article which commenced with:
The bodies had barely been removed when the racial epithets started pouring in. Cho Seung-Hui, the 23-year-old identified as the killer of 32 on the Virginia Tech campus, may have lived in the state since his elementary school days, but to the bigots in the blogosphere it was his origins in Korea that mattered most. “Koreans are the most hotheaded and macho of East Asians,” wrote one unnamed commentator on the Sepia Mutiny blog. “They are also sick and tired of losing their Korean girlfriends to white men with an Asian fetish.”
then please understand two very important truths:
1) Four out of the five comments which followed that quoted ignorance repudiated it consummately…
For shame.
This entire post decried stereotyping, and look at what you wrote about Koreans. My thoughts are with anxious students facebooking each other, heartbroken family members and everyone else affected by this tragedy. How can yours even go there? [SM]
2) “one unnamed commentator” does not speak for or represent this amazing, progressive, close-knit community
In fact, the views in the soundbite which MSNBC/Newsweek opportunistically and irresponsibly highlighted are NOT shared by the vast majority of those who write, comment or lurk here; they are the exception, not the rule on a blog which was created to enlighten, not divide. We are saddened that such a reputable and established source of news would misrepresent our site’s purpose and imply that the words of a rogue commenter are somehow indicative of the work we tirelessly try to do.
The bitter irony of this situation is that this website exists to create positive change and yet we were mischaracterized by an article about the valid concerns of the Korean American community after Monday’s massacre; as South Asian Americans, we sympathize and understand such issues because we are far too familiar with the concept of “backlash” ourselves.
We pray that Korean Americans are spared what Balbir Singh Sodhi suffered, that the rage which is to be expected after something so senseless isn’t misdirected so that it harms even more innocent people.
Just as one anonymous person who isn’t even a regular contributor here shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of an entire blog, one troubled, lost soul who took his pain out on innocents shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of an entire ethnic community. We are all suffering; let’s put aside the generalizations, stereotypes and impotent rage and work instead towards healing ourselves, our communities, our world.
::
This is what they have to say for themselves:
Dear Mr. Reeves,
I appreciate your note. Our intention was not to chastise Sepia Mutiny in any way—many blogs have been receiving derogatory comments, and Sepia is just one example. I think that anyone who visits the site will quickly find out what you speak of: that it’s an open forum for commentary, and with that comes the possibility of potentially-hateful comments. We would hope that our readers who are concerned about this site check it out and find that out for themselves. Unfortunately, unless we’ve introduced factual errors into a piece we do not print retractions, and we stand by this piece. I appreciate your input and interest and will keep it in mind as we move forward in our coverage.
Respectfully,
Jessica Bennett
Thanks for writing them, Maurice. We appreciate your efforts to rage against the useless, sloppy, too-proud-to-admit-they-erred machine.
anna on April 18, 2007 02:05 PM in Blog, Issues, News · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
¤ uber desi dot com said: Who you calling a Bigot? Bigot.
¤ Uber Desi said: Who you calling a Bigot? Bigot.
If SM was “just one example”, why is no other blog or comment quoted in the article? Another interesting point is that a random set of words from the original comment when typed in Google does not bring up SM in its results. How on earth did Newswee...
Despite all the efforts of SM Intern and others who moderate comments, it is sad to see this.
EXACTLY. When I called out another commenter yesterday for a different, but similarly contemptuous and unpleasant stereotype (I'm not linking to it because the case is closed and there's no need to go back there), I said he was "embarrassing the site" with his statement. This is the kind of embarrassment I meant. A lesson to us all!
Unfortunate, but I *am* glad that you posted this. I think it's important to make people aware of the fact that while they have a right to their opinions, the site as a whole is in no way representative of the sort of bigoted, loaded bullshit that one person may decide to spew on an ad hoc basis.
No need to call specific people out by name or handle, folks. Let's keep it positive and elevated.
Okay, yes. I realize that's the way of the mob. Sorry...
"Just as one anonymous person who isn’t even a regular contributor here shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of an entire blog, one troubled, lost soul who took his pain out on innocents shouldn’t tarnish the reputation of an entire ethnic community."
well said anna.
Its really sad.....The SM bloggers and interns take great pains to bring quality material and discussions to the blogosphere and few careless words (and what followed in this case) bring much pain. I completely agree with Siddhartha. Folks, words are very powerful-choose them carefully! One callous remark can hurt the genuine efforts of many.
It seems really unfair for Newsweek to associate a random bigoted anonymous comment with your fine website. Any website that gets tons of comments will have some obnoxious ones. They could have mentions that the owners of SM repudiated the comment later on in the comment thread.
On the other hand, it is cool that someone at Newsweek reads Sepia Mutiny. You actually get a mention in print (I am assuming that this will be in next week's edition). I guess any plublicity is good plublicity in that it drives more people to the site.
Now SM will be talked about in the same breath as Debbie Schlussel. Sad...
Thats some undeserved bad rep. But hope that it will lead to traffic here and subsequent realization of the truth about this blog. They should have at least provided a link to the quoted blog entry!
Chocolat,
You actually get a mention in print (I am assuming that this will be in next week's edition)
I think it is a web exclusive article.
As an avid reader of Sepia Mutiny, the community and direction of this blog has always been of protecting and telling stories of those who have been targeted due to their race. The many archived posts of this blog shows us this and extends to races outside of South Asia as well.
It is a disappointing and IRONIC to see the MSNBC writers single out this blog and single out a single comment by a single commentator. I applaud the story they wrote since it hopes to prevent backlash (Sepia Mutiny has the same mission) but they did it with selective journalism.
What people need to understand is while Sepia Mutiny does censor certain useless posts within reasonable time, it also allows different points of view to be expressed to EXPOSE the bigotry and shallow views of some people which then fuel discussion for change and improvement for others and ourselves.
if u turn on msnbc cable news now, after the commercial break, they will be discussing racist reactions against the korean american community. i wonder if this blog willl be mentioned.
I find it irresponsible of MSN/Newsweek for quoting such a comment. Did they peruse all online forums for anti-Korean remarks and this was all they found? If anything, they're planting the seed.
I think the Asian and South Asian communities have always worked in partnerships.
I call bullshit on MSNBC and Newsweek. Bad reporting, bad reporter, go lie down!
Unfortunately, this is what passes for journalism these days. I was disgusted by what MSNBC did - even more than the original comment. With the original post, OK - some people are going to voice opinions that others do not agree with. For MSNBC to take that one post and feature it in the first paragraph was shameful. Not mentioning that the poster was criticized by everyone else on this blog was irresponsible.
Indeed, I have written at length my qualms with the whole notion of backlash in the United States. If Koreans feel under scrutiny, but nothing actually happens - is that news? We're reporting on feelings now?
of all the sites from which newsweek/msnbc could have plucked a comment to support their story about fears of a backlash against koreans, this is the least suitable and representative. that comment is more of an anomaly than the standard of comments here and it's a shame that the journalists didn't take the trouble to peruse sm more closely to get a better sense of what type of blog it is and what it represents. there are far more vitriolic sites whose regular patrons indulge in this sort of thing - especially non-asian websites and more "mainstream" sites. even some of the comments by "real" americans on the bbc keep harping about the gunman's korean birth and take great pains to point out that although he grew up in the u.s. and was for all intents and purposes an "american" kid, he was not a citizen and therefore "asian" and not "american." very lax "parachute" journalism and very disappointing.
Oh god this is heartbreaking considering all the incredible work and knowledge base that SM provides for this community.
I think it's pretty shitty of Newsweek as if they were looking to create trouble to find a non Korean website that happens to be South Asian and find one bad comment to single out? Did they miss the 100s of other positive and supportive comments in the past few days. WTF. I'm mad. Shame on Newsweek.
I will never again writing something on the web without putting more thought into it. This is terrible.
Wow. Here SM is doing its level best to bring attention to racial stereotyping and how dangerous it can be, and MSNBC runs something like this?
Someone should really set them straight.
...it should be coming on now. right after this break.
Thanks Manju-- please keep us posted?
I said he was "embarrassing the site" with his statement. This is the kind of embarrassment I meant. A lesson to us all!
Buddy, that's disingenuous, and downright surprising from you. I clarified the satirical nature of the 'embarassment' immediately. It's truly a reflection of your character to lump the comments in question here, with those from before.
You're right, there's no need to go back there, but you had to anyway. Bravo.
I can't believe what was said by Prema in the cited blog entry. This isn't a time for people to be opportunistic in seizing a moment to shove the blame onto any community of people. This is a time to come together and seriously reflect on what happened and why.
I also don't understand how MSNBC could write such rubbish about Sepia like that...jerks. They make it sound like one of the regular bloggers wrote that stupid comment.
Oh holy crap! I absolutely love reading this blog - I really find the tenor of discussion here to be a breath of fresh air, intelligent and lively. The tributes to the student and professor killed in the rampage were beautiful and sensitive. I really cannot believe THIS is what gets SM mentioned in the mainstream press. Shame on that lazyass reporter!
I think it is a web exclusive article.My bad.
This is doubly bad for Sepia Mutiny. First they slander the website by associating it with a racist diatribe of an anonymous commenter. Second, they don't even insert a proper hyperlink to your blog in a web only article. Notice they hyperlink to their own garbage.
I think the SMutineers should write and complain. Really.
It's also possible, if not probable, that the whole "backlash against Koreans / Asians" meme is entirely a media-driven phenomenon. At the moment, a google news search for "korean backlash" produces only stories about the fear of such and no actual incidents. It's not a given that if the perpetrator of a heinous crime is an ethnic minority that there will be a backlash against that community in the US. To suggest otherwise is highly irresponsible. Part of the racism driving the backlash against Arab Americans post 9/11 was the us-against-them mentality fostered by the president and the media. People were encouraged to see Arab Americans (and by extension, other brown people) as representatives of some violent ideological movement. This is not the same dynamic as the Virginia Tech incident. No one, not even the wingnut right, is suggesting that Koreans in the US be targeted (and those same wackos were/are pretty cavalier in their disdain for Muslims).
OMG! What terrible reporting! did the MSNBC "reporter" bother reading any of the comments that followed? I'm a semi-regular lurker, reader, and commenter on SM, as well as a korean-american, i find it totally offensive that MSNBC published an article that opened with such hate and fear mongering! i've always found the SM community to be inclusive, intelligent, and open-minded.
i think i might write to MSNBC and tell them how wrong they are. humph.
All I can draw from Newsweek's article is that there's fear of a backlash. There's no actual evidence of a backlash itself, nor the beginnings of a backlash. The whole story is invented. It's fear-mongering at its most devious.
"One guy at work said, 'You guys better be real nice to Kim. Make sure he doesn't get stressed out so he doesn't come in and shoot everyone.'"
I tell you, these chutiyas write such rubbish sometimes.
no mention. whew! Just an interview with a korean-american prof who was talking about how some K-A students were afraid to go to the rally for fear of retribution.
It's also possible, if not probable, that the whole "backlash against Koreans / Asians" meme is entirely a media-driven phenomenon. At the moment, a google news search for "korean backlash" produces only stories about the fear of such and no actual incidents. It's not a given that if the perpetrator of a heinous crime is an ethnic minority that there will be a backlash against that community in the US. To suggest otherwise is highly irresponsible.
________
Agreed - the press has not reported one real crime that has taken place yet. This is an attempt to get eyeballs on screens.
Part of the racism driving the backlash against Arab Americans post 9/11 was the us-against-them mentality fostered by the president and the media. People were encouraged to see Arab Americans (and by extension, other brown people) as representatives of some violent ideological movement. This is not the same dynamic as the Virginia Tech incident. No one, not even the wingnut right, is suggesting that Koreans in the US be targeted (and those same wackos were/are pretty cavalier in their disdain for Muslims).
I disagree with you here - but I don't want to go off on a tangent.
JOAT:
I will never again writing something on the web without putting more thought into it. This is terrible.
Silver lining to every cloud. I guess. :)
Me, I intend to keep bringing it raw.
Oh no! I wish they had the common sense to read even a few of the comments posted before and after! I rarely post here but I do catch up with Asian-based news. I guess I belong to the generation inbetween Yo-Dad and some of the posters. I do wish they had the decency to read through the rest of the comments. The pain most of us felt when Dr. Loganathan was one of the first announced. So many of us could imagine our own relative...
Very sad and heart-breaking to be known worldwide in such a negative fashion. But on the other hand think of the people who will come and hopefully stay and become positive contributors. We can all hope and pray only for the best. That seems to be the way to deal with this.
"Just an interview with a korean-american prof who was talking about how some K-A students were afraid to go to the rally for fear of retribution."
This is what post 9/11 America looks like.
It's also possible, if not probable, that the whole "backlash against Koreans / Asians" meme is entirely a media-driven phenomenon.
Right on Preston. Today's journalism is so sensationalisic it disgusts me at times. You can see it in the way the interview the people that were there that day, the people that were affected, Miss Samaha's father was interviewed and he was just being milked for all it's worth for the world to see. It was really shameful. Can you give the man 10 minutes to mourn his daughter god.
I hate that journalism is now entertainment. People plug in to for their daily Anna Nicole fix and if it isn't as exciting as a school massacre it's not newsworthy. I'm so disgusted right now.
That's MSNBC for you. And Newsweek. Lazy, sometimes not technically inaccurate, but misleading. Sometimes inaccurate too.
Good move, Anna. I think it's better to respond than "let the facts speak for themselves". No one need fear about the need for SM's image, though. The thoughtful people who never heard of this blog will come here and see what it is and maybe stay and enrich this community. People who are thoughtless enough to think ill of SM because of this Newsweek article...I think the SM crowd is better off without them.
This is what post 9/11 America looks like.
Uh - pre-9/11, there were times in the U.S. when blacks rode the back of the boss, were hanged for whistling at a white woman, Indian tribes would sign treaties only have them torn up, and South Asian men were forbidden by law to marry whites. Keep a little sense of perspective.
Silver lining to every cloud. I guess. :)Me, I intend to keep bringing it raw.
You know this just really hurts because I feel like SM is like my home and have taken liberties with crapping here sometimes too but this hurts because this is about perception outside the home. I can apologize, fight with, disagree with and make up with people within my home because I assume people inside would know me, but someone else looking in may not always see it that way.
I've been writing on the web for nearly 10 years and have only in recent years learnt the weight of the words. Written words don't always translate what is on your mind especially when written in haste. I can attest to it. Better to take 10 more minutes to think it thru.
yes the media (especially tv) is milking this as usual. however, those people who are being milked have voluntarily agreed to be interviewed. after one bad experience with the media (meaning manipulative questioning aimed at eliciting emotions on cue) they should just avoid the media. one story i read on the loganathan family said the family declined to be interviewed. i understand the need to tell the world about your beautiful loved one whose life has been cruelly cut short, but sometimes the families end up being "victims" of the media as well without really knowing it.
Remember - it was Newsweek that reported the phony "Korans flushed down a toilet" story a couple of years ago which led to riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Guess Zakaria needs to crack some whips over there.
this is really egregious. considering the nasty things being said over at sites like debbieschlussel.com. Why would MSNBC single out Sepia Mutiny? I'm sure they have some dedicated personnel devoted to things like this who are savvy enough to know what this blog is about. I don't know. it's bizarre and unfortunate.
I can apologize, fight with, disagree with and make up with people within my home because I assume people inside would know me, but someone else looking in may not always see it that way.
It's all G my sister. Those who know, know. Those who don't, forget them. You can't please the whole world. Sometimes it's "first thought best thought" other times, it's "think it through."
Newsweek is nothing. My own mother googled me. Not a pretty sight!
I can't believe that reporter decided to quote the one person who made anti-korean remarks on this blog and basically ignore the majority of posters who admonished the views of that individual. I do believe the press condones the us verses them mentality whenever a brown/nonwhite person is involved. You just can't believe everything you read in the press these days.
Oy...what craptacular work by MSNBC and Newsweek.
I'm just blown away by the brush they've tarred this site with. SM is the most open and welcoming site I've been on, and I love it here, and for them to highlight the crazed ravings of one loon as representative of this site...well I feel like I need to go throw up.
Anyone know if Fareed Zakaria reads SM?
This is like someone seeing a comment against racism on that Debbie chick's blog and then declaring her website a great place to research tolerenet view's about the world.
Now I know why MSNBC is channel 76 on my cable box. My cable company is trying to save me from ever having to view that station run by dunces.
On the bright side of things, only about 24 people a day ever view MSNBC.
Hear hear, ANNA! Way to LOOK FOR the first anti-Korean-American comment that popped up on your search engine and plop it into your article, without context, to bolster your half-assed fear of backlash angle, lazy MSNBC/Newsweek writer!
So, when's that apology to SM appearing in web-exclusive format?
Speaking of bad reporting, I was talking to my mother yesterday (in desh) and she said some Indian papers at first reported the shooting as the reaction of a jilted lover. Apparently, he had been turned down by an Indian woman. Not just bad, but pointless, as well.
just wrote a can of WHOOP ass to msnbc.
let's see if that wakes them up.
This article in the New York Times, though well-intentioned, attests to the essential irrationality of nationalism; what other kind of ideology can make people feel ashamed and responsible for the isolated acts of a single individual who they never knew and would probably have never met? The statement applies of course to all who subscribe to this ideology either implicitly (just think about the implicit assumptions that underpin the article linked) or explicitly, not just the particular national group in question.
Hey there, as a Korean American I'd just like to thank you for this post. I can't believe MSNBC would consider Sepia Mutiny, of all blogs, to be promotors of racism. That is absolutely ridiculous. I've been reading Sepia Mutiny on a semi-regular basis for a long time now, and I think it's one of the most prejudice *conscious* sites on the 'net. As Anna's post stated, South Asians tend to be very much aware of racial prejudice and backlash in the post 9/11 world. Again, I've personally never found anything but open minds on this site and I think this recent post is really indicative of the intelligence, compassion, and good writing which is characteristic of the Sepia Mutiny Blog.
Personally I've yet to hear of any "backlash" against Koreans or North Asians. I think there's definitely a general feeling of unease amongst Koreans (including myself), but I don't think there's been any actual targeting. I've got to echo some of the comments here and say that there's really no "story" here, it's just the media machine trying to get people worked up. We really do live in a "culture of fear"!
They singled out ONE comment to support their argument, but that reflects society. It's a minority of people that are racists, because you need to be not-so-bright to hate an entire community for one person's actions. But I agree that they shouldn't have made it sound like nobody opposed that racist comment on the blog.
"Anyone know if Fareed Zakaria reads SM?"
Zakaria edits Newsweek International. USA editor is Jon Meacham. There seem to be a couple of different web editors. The authors of the article mentioning SM are Jessica Bennett and Noelle Chun.
You should keep this post at the top for several days and we should (I mean, regular commenters who wish to do this) should write to Newsweek/MSNBC . Sadly, this kind of sloppiness goes on a lot in reporting these days (okay, by a lot, I mean sometimes. Still). It's almost as if the writer went fishing to find one comment on the internet to support a meme. This is reporting? Ugh. Journalism and advocacy don't mix, and shouldn't.Good grief.
First off--WAY TO GO Anna for calling MSNBC out on this first thing. This is absolutely ridiculous, and shameful. If the reporter of that article had done his/her research, they would have seen what a progressive and all-inclusive blog this is.
Second--I intend to write to MSNBC.
And Third--
It's also possible, if not probable, that the whole "backlash against Koreans / Asians" meme is entirely a media-driven phenomenon
Indeed.
Two possibilities -- laziness or malice.
1) They did not bother to visit SM and saw the comment referenced in some other site/blog such as Foreign Dispatches.
2) They are regular lurkers and were looking for a comment like that to give SM some bad press. Ignoring the original post and all the other comments, and not posting a link can not be accidental.
In LA, ABC news yesterday reported that a Korean mother said her son was spat on at school.
I gather MSNBC has not looked at their readers' comments about Sanjaya on the MSNBC's AI blog. Jeez!
Sorry Guys, I know how hard you have worked to keep this place a-hole free.
I am going to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume that they did not read all the comments and are not regulars here.
But that DOES NOT make it right.
wow, this is ridiculous, i agree with MD. Many journalists or should say shockvalue journalists seem to be 'creating' the story and looking for supporting points, versus collecting a number of sources and evaluating the overall material and writing an actual piece.
WRITE to MSNBC:
letters@msnbc.com
just wrote my scathing 2 cents.
i'm wondering what's stopping the MSNBC journalist from posting the comment themselves and then quoting it? Stephen Glass?
This reminds me of "Bonfire of the Vanities", where the hack journalist Peter Fallow builds his career on twisting facts to create a story that sells papers and builds up his career.
"I gather MSNBC has not looked at their readers' comments about Sanjaya on the MSNBC's AI blog. Jeez!"
that is an excellent point. and if msnbc had not disabled their comment on story feature, you would have found a treasure trove of such comments.
So, I went to the Foreign Dispathes blog and the text referenced Salon? I am really tired of the blog first, think later, ethos of some of the blogosphere. I've seen the right-of-center blogs do it, and left-of-center blogs do it, go fishing for a comment to shove into ready made ideological boxes (yes, I know I made that comment already, yesterday). Hey, I've got a blog that discusses X, let's find everything remotely related to X and extrapolate from that one comment! Like I said, ugh. Dear journalist reading this or any other blog, especially those on the opposite side of your own political thought, take a few seconds and click around to get a feel for the place? Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy....what else could they possibly be getting wrong?
Wow, I'm so glad The Imugi wrote in - Just this week I was talking with an Asian American journalist and she was telling about angryasianman and how much she liked that blog and I of course had to tell her about sepiamutiny. I hope she doesn't rely on the msnbc news and instead will read sepia a little bit more closely.
Another piece of craptastic reporting by MSNBC and Newsweek. And A N N A, the work that you, Abhi, Amardeep and the other SM-ers do to keep this site running and troll-free is much, much appreciated by this frequent lurker and not so frequent commenter.
I agree with Preston:
It's also possible, if not probable, that the whole "backlash against Koreans / Asians" meme is entirely a media-driven phenomenon.
But this:
Part of the racism driving the backlash against Arab Americans post 9/11 was the us-against-them mentality fostered by the president and the media. People were encouraged to see Arab Americans (and by extension, other brown people) as representatives of some violent ideological movement.
seems out of place, as he conceeds:
This is not the same dynamic as the Virginia Tech incident. No one, not even the wingnut right, is suggesting that Koreans in the US be targeted (and those same wackos were/are pretty cavalier in their disdain for Muslims).
In fact the dynamic is probably the opposite. Newsweeks intentions were probably good. They see themselves as defenders of korean-americans and went on a fishing expedition, as MD writes, to confirm the pre-existing liberal stereotype of racist america.
I go to lunch, I come back, I see this.
I am stunned. Disbelieving. Disgusted.
Any journalist worth his or her salt would have spent a few minutes perusing the site to get a feel for the general tone, maybe even tried to contact the contributors, and THEN set about quoting.
This MSNBC article is such misrepresentation it makes me ill. MSNBC can contact any number of commenters or authors directly should they choose to; that they didn't only serves to highlight my earlier point that America is becoming increasingly intolerant, bigoted, and stubbornly entrenched in its efforts to resist understanding anything unfamiliar or different.
If this is just a web-exclusive article, editorial questions and comments might best be directed to WebEditors@newsweek.com.
I hate to say this but that is how the news works,they are always looking for the negative and not the positive as you can see from the one post they picked out.
Take heart folks. People believe what they want to believe. If they are interested enough they will take the time to come to this site and see the truth for themselves. If they are not interested enough then who cares - they will have forgotten the name of our site in two nanoseconds.
What concerns me more is that I am a Newsweek reader (I know, its written at 5th grade level, but its a great one for the bathroom...ahem.. TMI...) and I am once again forced to face the fact that too often we take what we read on face value. How many more times do I need to be reminded that journalists' ethics span the gamut? Until I take everything I read with a whopping heap of salt I guess.
Call me paranoid, but that quote was so beyond the pale, and the fact that IT got picked as somehow representative of this site, that...I can't help but think this was a setup, Mutineers. Some kind of collective bitchslap to the Mutiny. Some anonymous commenter comes along, says something ridiculous, and THAT IS WHAT REPRESENTS SM to the world?
Yeah, I don't think so. It just seems too coincidental.
This MSNBC article is such misrepresentation it makes me ill. MSNBC can contact any number of commenters or authors directly should they choose to; that they didn't only serves to highlight my earlier point that America is becoming increasingly intolerant, bigoted, and stubbornly entrenched in its efforts to resist understanding anything unfamiliar or different.
I would revise that to say the the American press is interested in portraying American as increasingly intolerant and bigoted.
OK we need a new word. I'm going to make one up right now.
Frontlash. n. fig.
a. A lie designed to make itself come true. b. Proactive prejudicial strike by members of the public when sudden pressure is applied, esp. through the mass media's false report of such action. The media then reports the prejudicial strike as backlash. Usu. targeted at minorities. A form of self-fulfilling prophecy. Unlike a backlash, a frontlash can occur entirely by design, and it usually has inbuilt deniability. {see also: pogroms, Newsweek, racism, truthiness}.
Frontlash. n. fig.
a. A lie designed to make itself come true. b. Proactive prejudicial strike by members of the public when sudden pressure is applied, esp. through the mass media's false report of such action. The media then reports the prejudicial strike as backlash. Usu. targeted at minorities. A form of self-fulfilling prophecy. Unlike a backlash, a frontlash can occur entirely by design, and it usually has inbuilt deniability. {see also: pogroms, Newsweek, racism, truthiness}.
_______
I Love It!!
OK we need a new word. I'm going to make one up right now.Frontlash. n. fig.
a. A lie designed to make itself come true. b. Proactive prejudicial strike by members of the public when sudden pressure is applied, esp. through the mass media's false report of such action. The media then reports the prejudicial strike as backlash. Usu. targeted at minorities. A form of self-fulfilling prophecy. Unlike a backlash, a frontlash can occur entirely by design, and it usually has inbuilt deniability. {see also: pogroms, Newsweek, racism, truthiness}.
Kobayashisan kokimiyoi!!
Anna
This is an intelligent site that is raising awareness on important, relevant issues.
Keep up the good work and plod ahead like you all do, even more so in light of all the issues and misconceptions raised by this recent tragedy.
#73: brilliant. kobayashi will soon be famous.
Beautiful, Kobayashi-san. That sums it up best. This is as definite a case of frontlash if ever I saw one.
Arigato! Now go forth and spread the word. Hey, summady forward it to Colbert for me.
Excellent work, Kobayashi-sama. I'll be forwarding this to the dictionary powers-that-be types. And maybe even Stephen Colbert!
WTF. If they had to expose bigotry in the blogosphere, couldn't they pick on one of the WN blogs, where such comments are entire articles, not to mention proudly endorsed by the blog?
Kobayashi - what a fitting description of how society often acts today. And specifically of how the irresponsible authors of this article have acted.
On a side note:
Have the authors not seen Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle?
We brown people love the Koreans!
I wrote to Jessica Bennett at Newsweek:
Dear Ms.Bennett,
I'm writing you in response to your article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18178194/site/newsweek/ regarding the backlash against Korean-Americans following the shooting at Virginia Tech. You highlighted the site "Sepia Mutiny" in your article as indicative of the type of vitriol now being seen on the web. I think your characterization of Sepia Mutiny is wrong. I've been reading stories on the website for about a year now, and I'm always amazed by how open and loving of its members the site is. There are, as with any community, a few people who say regrettable things, but all in all, the site is very accepting.
What you've done, however, is make the site appear cruel and hateful, which it is not, and I think that that action was reckless journalism.
I ask you to please reprint a retraction, or at a minimum, state that the overwhelming majority of comments on the site do not look like the one you quoted.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Maurice Reeves
She responded (promptly, I might add):
Dear Mr. Reeves,
I appreciate your note. Our intention was not to chastise Sepia Mutiny in any way--many blogs have been receiving derogatory comments, and Sepia is just one example. I think that anyone who visits the site will quickly find out what you speak of: that it's an open forum for commentary, and with that comes the possibility of potentially-hateful comments. We would hope that our readers who are concerned about this site check it out and find that out for themselves. Unfortunately, unless we've introduced factual errors into a piece we do not print retractions, and we stand by this piece. I appreciate your input and interest and will keep it in mind as we move forward in our coverage.
Respectfully,
Jessica Bennett
MSM knows that blogs(like SM) give them a run for eyeballs/money. Naturally they will have a cavalier attitude.
M. Nam
Well, good for Jessica Bennet for so promptly responding, but I'm still, did anyone else find it a classic example of not quite getting the point (although, I'll give her points for trying)?
M. Reeves,
that letter only makes me believe even more strongly that the comment was a plant, placed there to provide a story later on. It's difficult (if not impossible) to prove or disprove one way or the other, but then again, why else? Of all the comments on the site, whence that one? How did it get quoted? It's not a site about South Koreans, it's about South Asians (which usually means Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, etc). So how did the authors of that article come across that comment?
It's just too easy.
unless we've introduced factual errors into a piece we do not print retractions,How can you argue factual errors when you're reporting opinion? Doesn't she know the difference?
I can't believe that reporter decided to quote the one person who made anti-korean remarks on this blog and basically ignore the majority of posters who admonished the views of that individual.
As the guilty party here let me clarify that I am not anti-korean by any means. Far from it. I am a great admirer of east asians including koreans, as my other posts prove. They are the only non-european people to have successfully modernized, to have defeated western colonials and imperialists in war, to challenge the dominant west for supremacy in science, technology and commerce. That is good news for all non-westerners, for it opens up the game.
If anything I thought that pointing out that koreans are the most "macho" of east asians was a compliment. That certainly was not a falsehood as other posters have pointed out, and as koreans themselves will proudly confirm. We have plenty desi posters here boasting how "martial" their particular ethnicity is compared to desis from other parts of the indian subcontinent. Being manly is clearly seen as something to be proud of. So how was my comment an insult? Similar comments were made about koreans when they defended their stores with guns during the LA riots a few years ago. And the comments then were made with admiration. Including by white supremacists.
Perhaps I picked the wrong time to mention korean machismo. But the violation of MSNBC/Newsweek for picking on this isolated post in a blog that overwhelmingly takes a stand against racial profiling, as being representative of it, is far more egregious. Shame on them.
By the way, I strongly suspect that it was this part of my post that probably provoked this sorry excuse for a journalist: "They are also sick and tired of losing their Korean girlfriends to white men with an Asian fetish."
I must say she explained it well. The response (here, to the MSNBC article), while not inappropriate, is certainly a case of much ado about nothing. Or, at the very least, making the proverbial mountain ...
While I can see how folks would take eprsonal offense to this hole situation, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't what this MSNBC reporter implied (or wanted). She did not attach any adjectives to the SM blog itself, and clearly mentioned that it was a comment she was quoting. Anyone familiar with blogs and commenting in general knows that blogs are not responsible for the content of their comments.
Just my 2 paisas.
My theory is this: the comment was highlighted on another blog, picked up by yet another blog, and quoted through that, perhaps by not vetting the original blog comment and the context?
Ah. Well, nevermind then.
But has anyone seen the comments on the MSNBC article itself?
My god. And they reached for the Mutiny for evidence of vitriol and backlash against Koreans?!
Actually, I don't think it is a mountain out of a molehill: what I was also responding to was the nature of the article and the methods by which the authors tried to 'flesh out' their thesis. In other words, rather than reporting, naturally, on a phenomenon, they went hunting for a quote to fit a meme; at least that's how I read the article. Did anyone else get that feeling reading the original article, or am I off-base?
I'm sorry, ANNA, but I kind of feel like this was bound to happen. I don't think SM is as "progressive" a community as you would like it to be. FOR WHATEVER REASON, it attracts a lot of people who think the way the person quoted in the Newsweek article does. I'm sorry, but SM is the kind of place where certain people can make blanket statements about Islam being "barbaric" without being banned b/c they'll call them "stupid" or "idiotic" if they disagree, where people who question white privilege are slammed as being "racists" and where any discussion of a South Asian female turns into a "hot or not" contest.
Progressive may be the ideal, but you're far from it. That Newsweek comment doesn't represent SM as a whole, but it does represent a very strong element of it. Sorry, just my two cents.
And your average John Q. Taxpayer wouldn't be able to discern "Sepiamutiny = blog about Indian diaspora, South Asian interest, etc.." They'd actually have to come in to check it out.
But I'm with Salil, I think it's a plant. Turnaround time was way too quick.
Just sensational reporting at it's worst. The reporter was probably just looking for a 'backlash' angle and quoted whatever they could find.
i JUUUUUSST found this website on monday, had a cheshire grin all week, and now - (!) aside from being outed - its totally misrepresented. kudos to you mutineers for an excellent blog. consider the newsweek reference a way for new pple directed here to see what you're all about.
While MSNBC reporters are too lazy to actually read more than one comment on the SM blog, they are also ignoring the now complete derangement of right wing blogs who are devasted by the lack of a Muslim angle in this story.
Huma, that's not fair. That's like me going to Huffington Post, reading about death wishes for Cheney, and saying the whole Huffington Post should be tarred by that brush. Or anti-Indian anti-outsourcing comments at Kos or Kevin Drum.
Do try and hide your schaudenfreude next time, Huma.
LOL, Al M. I guess we can judge blogs by their commenters.....sheesh. Does Newsweek teach a course of fishing for comments at the lowest common denominator blogs?
i agree with salil - i don't think they were out for SM, or even looking for it. they simply found a quote that fit the article and went with it. as for the proposed 'we were framed' theory...well, as any sensational media reporter knows - any press is good press. i doubt they were trying to take out SM by pointing a large population to it's existance.
Prema:
Your excuse for writing the original comment is pretty lame. You guessed by generalizing, on the basis of unprovable and derogatory ideas/gossip, the nationality of either a truly evil or mentally deranged individual that committed the worst mass murder in the history of the country. If this is not fodder for idiot-supremacists looking for targets, in a vulnerable and sad/confusing time, then what is?
The MSNBC/Newsweek article is completely misleading, and disingenuous in claiming there is no need for a correction to context, and I will be canceling my subscription to Newsweek (not just for this trespass, but also the earlier sloppy reporting on the flushing of the Korans, that somebody, above, in the comments highlighted) but what Prema wrote was inexcusable.
PS: I think everybody should write to the reporter in question, and say we would be voting with our wallets if she doesn't correct the contextual implication in her news/opinion article.
This is irresponsible journalism. Whoever wrote that piece ought to apologize. There goes my subscription to Newsweek which I was just intending to renew. Happy to save my $ for something worthwhile :) I hope Fareed Zakaria reads SM regularly hereafter (and if not he certainly should). I too think it would be a good idea to keep this post on top of the screen for a while.
I must say she explained it well. The response (here, to the MSNBC article), while not inappropriate, is certainly a case of much ado about nothing. Or, at the very least, making the proverbial mountain ...While I can see how folks would take eprsonal offense to this hole situation, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't what this MSNBC reporter implied (or wanted). She did not attach any adjectives to the SM blog itself, and clearly mentioned that it was a comment she was quoting. Anyone familiar with blogs and commenting in general knows that blogs are not responsible for the content of their comments.
I disagree; the original article potentially contained an implicit generalization, especially since it did not point out that this was the only comment that indulged in any kind of stereotype. Its like saying something to the effect that "all English majors are terrified in the aftermath of this event (since the perpetrator was also an English major), and sure enough some bigot is found to link the tragic actions to things they teach to English majors in college nowadays", while conveniently ignoring the fact that all the other commentators then proceed to make fun of the said comment.
prema,
are you reviving that tired old theory of martial races?
i'm terribly disappointed. according to the law of martial races, people in the south of India (with the notable exception of Nairs), (and presumably SL as it is all in the tropical belt)were judged to be inadequate for combat due to the 'enervating' nature of their climate.
Did that matter to the LTTE who made suicide bombing into an (utterly disgusting, pointless and ugly) art form?
Did that matter to the mostly North Indian Jawans who made up the IPKF--the same force who found themselves to be foxes in a coop full of hens with razor blades and 10+ years of guerilla fighting experience (holding off a much larger conventional force (both sl government and ipkf) with guile and scrounged (and extorted) resources.
The Curzons and Soulburys are long-dead so let's leave them there and the harebrained theories of their colonialist contemporaries.
blanket statements about a race of people, whether you consider them to be anecdotally proven/true, are RACIST.
PS: I think everybody should write to the reporter in question, and say we would be voting with our wallets if she doesn't correct the contextual implication in her news/opinion article.
Boycott Sal's.
Boycott Sal's.
You should boycott the guy that cut yo' hair.
To be fair to Newsweek, they never said the comment was indicative of sepia mutiny. But they did something worse. To them, an anonymous comment is apparently evidence of some larger American backlash against Korean Americans, which is especially absurd since they do not even know if the commentator is American.
It’s the dumbing down of political discourse, using the lowest common denominator as a way of tarring a larger community. Anonymous comments are only indicative of the anonymous commentator.
No, Huma...I'm sorry that you feel we somehow deserved this.
I'm sorry, ANNA, but I kind of feel like this was bound to happen. I don't think SM is as "progressive" a community as you would like it to be.
Scroll up.
FOR WHATEVER REASON, it attracts a lot of people who think the way the person quoted in the Newsweek article does.
Maybe it does, but if so, they almost overwhelmingly lurk, so I don't know-- but you seem remarkably certain about just whom we attract, which is surprising. Beyond that, exposing such people to different views is a good thing. It is important to call people out and have a dialogue with them and model better behavior vs being in denial about such strains of thought in our community.
I'm sorry, but SM is the kind of place where certain people can make blanket statements about Islam being "barbaric" without being banned b/c they'll call them "stupid" or "idiotic" if they disagree,
We do not let hate speech like what you accuse us of tolerating stand-- we ban and delete for it, with prejudice. If anything, we get criticized for being TOO sympathetic to Islam. Are you reading the same blog I write for or are you, like the authors of the article which inspired this entire post, in the mood to type recklessly?
where people who question white privilege are slammed as being "racists" and where any discussion of a South Asian female turns into a "hot or not" contest.
There may be dialogue about white privilege and you may not agree with some of it, but the rest of your point is NOT well-taken. And as for the Hot-or-Not allegation, we regularly have discussions about that happening and more significantly-- why it happens. We DO call out bullshit on this site, just like we did immediately after Prema gave Newsweek their money quote...progress occurs slowly. Too slowly for your tastes, apparently.
Progressive may be the ideal, but you're far from it. That Newsweek comment doesn't represent SM as a whole, but it does represent a very strong element of it. Sorry, just my two cents.
Thank you for sharing and for allowing me to share this right back-- the quote they chose does NOT represent a very strong element of Sepia Mutiny, in fact, it represents nothing but garbage that we wasted no time in taking out.
Thank you Maurice for writing such a terrific email to the journalist at Newsweek. I believe that if (as Maurice requested) she didn't state that the overwhelming majority of comments on the site are not like the one quoted above, then it is indeed a misrepresentation of facts.
p.s. I am a lurker but this incident has prompted me to comment. I think Sepia Mutiny is a wonderful blog and I believe that the way it was represented in the article is totally unfair.
While MSNBC reporters are too lazy to actually read more than one comment on the SM blog, they are also ignoring the now complete derangement of right wing blogs who are devasted by the lack of a Muslim angle in this story.Priceless! I don't know whether to laugh or cry (it seems some people are caricatures of itself; you know what this means, don't you: the death of comedy. Seriously, she can replace the Colbert report and nobody would notice any difference)
To be fair to Newsweek, they never said the comment was indicative of sepia mutiny. But they did something worse. To them, an anonymous comment is apparently evidence of some larger American backlash against Korean Americans, which is especially absurd since they do not even know if the commentator is American. It’s the dumbing down of political discourse, using the lowest common denominator as a way of tarring a larger community.
Pol Pot needs gloves.
I meant caricatures of themselves
MSNBC doesn't do what it preaches.
We must resist temptation to draw ill-conceived lessons from massacre
Talk of double standards.
While I can see how folks would take personal offense to this hole situation, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't what this MSNBC reporter implied (or wanted). She did not attach any adjectives to the SM blog itself, and clearly mentioned that it was a comment she was quoting. Anyone familiar with blogs and commenting in general knows that blogs are not responsible for the content of their comments.
Ashu: The problem is that sometimes the label does get (wrongly) affixed to the whole blog. I mean, I still know people who ask me what a blog is. I am not sure they'd be able to differentiate between a blogger and a commenter or a MSM journalist. All they know is that it is on a "website".
So even if it was on the comments only, it *could* be held (by the ignorant and the nOObs) as a reflection of what the blog itself stands for. And SM is almost a community by itself, a community where I lurk a lot (and talk very less). Which is why I consider it a personal affront. And while I think it is unlikely that SM would be targeted solely on the basis on this one mention by Newsweek (and that offending comment), I'd lean towards reaching out to the Korean community if needed. But if there are more readers like #49, I think we'll do just fine.
sigh!
I agree - my "mountain of a molehill" conclusion was rushed, perhaps by my desire to find good in everything & everyone.
The outrage over the MSNBC article wording IS justified. I will also be writing to the "reporter"
And yes, that link to the DebbiSchlussel log IS priceless ... they're fuming that it WASN'T Islamic-related or -motivated! They obviously err on the wrong side, when it comes to levels of paranoia, than I!
Amazing. Really...just amazing.
For the last several months I've turned to a lurker on this site, but this thing has brought me out of the woodwork, because it's really not fair. The irony lies in the fact that SM is tolerant of all comers, so yes, the nutjobs can (to some extent) comment here, too. And I don't think anyone on the SM staff is particularly tolerant of blatant generalizations towards any race here; white, Hispanic, South Asian, black, Korean, whatever...make disparaging remarks about them and you'll first get a warning from SM Intern, and then you'll get banned.
Simple rules, and yet people always seem to complain that they're the ones being targetted unfairly. "If I was white / Jesus / a leper / had a stomachache and I said that, you wouldn't care," they whine.
Well, speaking broadly, if you recognize yourself in that...God, just shut up. You're commenting on the site about the site, and complaining that the site isn't open enough. In my book, that makes you an asshole, and that's like (as my sister put it so eloquently) "driving an SUV with a yellow sticker on it while we fight a war for oil."
Thank you, Pooja, for posting the Web editors' address. I just sent them a hammergram.
It is sad that the reporting at MSNBC/Newsweek follows the same sort of thoroughness as the lazy student who leafs through a book the night before a paper is due, looking for the single quote that he/she can take out of context to prove a point and supply the required number of bibliographic sources.