OCA, an advocacy group that seeks to “advance the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans” has issued a statement regarding that offensive photo we saw yesterday of Miley Cyrus, Justin Gaston and friends mimicking Asian features in a seemingly mocking way. The group finds no humor in the photo and expresses its disappointment in the statement. Here is the full text of the statement released by George Wu of OCA:
“The photograph of Miley Cyrus and other individuals slanting their eyes currently circulating the Internet is offensive to the Asian Pacific American community and sets a terrible example for her many young fans. This image falls within a long and unfortunate history of people mocking and denigrating individuals of Asian descent…
…Not only has Miley Cyrus and the other individuals in the photograph encouraged and legitimized the taunting and mocking of people of Asian descent, she has also insulted her many Asian Pacific American fans, said George Wu, executive director of OCA. The inclusion of an Asian Pacific American individual in the photo does not make it acceptable.
OCA hopes that Miley Cyrus will apologize to her fans and the APA community for this lapse in judgment and takes the opportunity to better understand why the gesture is offensive.”
I absolutely agree, as I stated yesterday, I am just as offended and disappointed in this kind of behavior. I’m also very disappointed and saddened to read all the comments on the blog condoning or, at the very least, laughing off this behavior as “it’s only a joke”. For me, the issue isn’t about being PC to a fault, it’s about respect for other people. Making fun of people, even if you think they’re laughing with you, is just wrong … plain and simple. It’s not a “liberal” matter, it’s not a “PC” matter — it’s a common sense matter. Very young children, who are Hannah Montana fans, learn to mimic things they see and hear. Even tho you may not be offended and you may not think it’s a big deal, it is offensive and a very big deal for other people. Making fun of Asian features, calling someone “retarded”, saying “you’re so gay” is offensive — even if you think it’s funny. I feel sorry for the people who think that saying “lighten up” and “get a life” is a way to explain away this sort of hurtful behavior. It would seem that they don’t understand the hurt and pain that this kind of mocking behavior can cause. As I said yesterday, my biggest concern is that young children might see this sort of behavior and feel validated to emulate it because they think it’s funny, since Miley Cyrus does it. If people would just think about the things they say and do at the expense of others, they might realize that what they intend to be funny is actually pretty harmful.
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So basically, miley isn’t allowed to do anything, because everyone in america is always offended..
geez, let the girl LIVE.
everyone has done what she’s doing before
who cares.
people are saying they’re offended cause they don’t like her…cause she sucks
miley can do anything apparently, that seems to be the problem. With all the money and clearly no parental restrictions, this little miley girl can have a 20 year old boyfriend, take slutty pictures, take RACIST pictures, make bitchy youtube videos, etc etc. When I was 16, I never did that stuff. And even if i wanted a 20 year old boyfriend (my older brother’s friend was beautiful), my parents would have never EVER allowed that to happen. And I wasn’t a “rolemodel” to a ridiculous amount of fans. And the racist behavior….would never be okay, even when i’m 90. UGH i’m done ranting. her behavior just disgusts me…
I still stand by with what i said yesterday….they are just messing around, having some fun…they ARE making fun of Asians eyes….the same way people make fun of fat people, skinny people, bald people , ugly people and so on it may be in bad taste but not racist and sure as hell not worth all this attention..move on to something else…something important! this is not news of any kind…NEXT!!!
@hannah
amen.
realest comment EVER.
in my opinion at least. (:
While what she did is offensive, at least people with kids who look up to her can use this as a teaching experience for their kids. Hell even if your kids aren’t fans, you can still sit them down and explain to them that what she did was wrong and why. And for the record I think someone needs to smack some sense into her parents!
@hannah:
Agreed. I am a 27-year old female caucasian who grew up in Deep South Alabama. ALABAMA. Do you have any idea what stereotypes come with growing up there? The moment I open my mouth and speak (with my deep drawl), many people assume that I am a redneck who hunts every weekend, rides 4 – wheelers, and lives in a trailer park. My real life couldn’t be farther from that. It’s a sad truth of life that stereotypes are EXAGGERATIONS of fact (i.e. Southerners being rednecks, African-Americans being thugs, Jews being money-hungry, gays being divas, marching band being band-nerds, the list could go on and on).
SO….do I condone what Miley did? Absolutely not. But I think it’s unfair to say that because of the fact that I am a straight, white woman that I don’t know what it’s like to be categorized and made fun of.
wow it must be really hard to live with you trent
wheres ur sense of humour? people always make fun of others not because they’re racist but because its funny
hello russell peters…
and i hate how every one calls her a role model
parent your own kids instead of letting disney do it for you
This is crazy that people are making a big deal of this. It’s a joke. People are too serious in the world today and take things too personally. Pretty soon we wont be able to do anything without it “making fun of another person”. When I was 16 which was 9 years ago, I would make a face in almost every picture. And CLeARLY the Asian in the picture does not seem to mind. So if i stick my tongue out am I making fun of someone who can not completely shut their mouth? NO! This world would be a MUCH better place if everybody didn’t things so personal and not think everything is about them! I love this site and I am not trying to be rude but get over it, she’s 16!
@Crystal — you’re right! It is a joke … it’s just as funny as people making fun of white trash idiots named Crystal who are clearly ignorant assholes. Ha ha ha ha, isn’t that funny?
Totally agree with you, Trent. Very well said. Thank you.
@kath – i laughed at your comment. because its the furthest thing from the truth, if you only knew. but you completely proved my point. people need to quit thinking everything is about them! So if you want to stand your ground, never again use a fake accent, hold up the peace sign (bc you could be mimicking activists), stick out your tounge..OR make any type of face bc I’m sure that there is SOMEONE in the world that would take if offensively. Why in the world do you have to take everything to an extreme. Poor Kids!
It’s someones opinion…you can’t tell them whether or not they can be offended by this. Sure it’s a joke…but honestly it’s offensive to some people.
thank you trent! i soo agree with you. she is old enough to make her own decisions and she decided to act arrogant, offensive, and careless. this is not about putting this to the extreme. just today..i overheard someone mimicking an asian man because of his accent and making fun of him…and so i called him out for it. yes you see people do it all the time…or “joke” around…but does that really make it right to do so? those dumb little comments about race…really is hurtful…you have no idea. growing up..i had to deal with it. and no one seemed to care. everyone thought it was funny….miley seems to portray these exact people who would make fun of me when i was younger….
It’s slightly frightening that so many people on here were telling you to lighten up about it. It’s also worth mentioning to some of those people that being PC isn’t actually a good thing, just look at the words “politically correct”. It’s doing the right thing so you don’t get in trouble for your actions, not because it’s the right thing.
As far as the Harry stuff, while it too is bad, it’s worth pointing out that the British sense of humor can be quite…different. I’m American, and am dating a Brit, and having been to the UK several times, I gotta say, it’s a bit of a culture shock each time. Again, it doesn’t make it right, it’s just worth pointing out the culture difference in the two cases.
I don’t mean to judge Miley, because I don’t know her as a person. But I really can’t understand why she continues to make these bad judgements, what with her 20 year old boyfriend, those scandalous photos, mean YouTube videos and now this photo. Even if she was just joking with all of these things, she needs to think about the consequences of her actions. I don’t want to be seeing a Miley Cyrus sex tape.
Trent, if you’re going to cover this so much, at least give the same strong stance to other similar stories. If you can blow this so out of proportion, you should have also lost your shiz on Prince Harry, and Michael Phelps to name a few.
People, please show that you have at least some informative background before spewing bull. The basis of all of this controversy is racism.
Definition: Racism
“The prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races”
Now where in this picture does it imply that they are superior to asians because they are squinting their eyes.
thank you trent. i’m asian and i’m sick and tired of trying to explain why being called yellow, monkey, “ching-chong” chants, oriental, or people pulling their eyes back is offensive. yes, i will explain it, but it doesn’t make it any less wrong. people are still offended by the N word – and we all know it’s best to just not say it.
i also agree with you on your comments about calling something retarded or gay.
She has a very young and impressionable fanbase, who are quick to mimic her…even if she’s wrong. You’re absolutely right. Good job, Trent!