This morning as I performed my usual coif, I had The Early Show on and was only half paying attention when I heard one of the ladies (sorry, not sure of their names, as I never actually sit down and watch it)report that a book or log or some such that was written by a Chinese explorer and predates Columbus’s writing by 70 years was found, indicating that he arrived in America first. I could swear I heard the other lady say “Wow, Yellow Power!”. Huh? Could I have heard correctly? Did anyone else hear this and find it extremely odd, to say the least?
On a side note, and please don’t take this as a racial slur in any way shape or form, but does anyone else think that Huey from The Boondocks looks a little bit like the black lady on the show (who, by the way, is gorgeous)?
I saw a story on this just this morning. What it reported was that a 1700s copy of a Chinese 1418 map of the world is being discussed as proof that the Chinese explorers had visited the new world 75 years prior to Columbus.
A book a few years ago by Gaven Menzies made the claim that the Chinese discovered America, Australia, and all sorts of places in between. He makes a tolerable case, but there are some questions (most importantly, to my mind, the time frame: it doesn’t seem likely they did everything he claims in the time involved, though this map, if genuine, gives him a bit more time).
Menzies also assumes for the sake of his argument that there was a passage north of Eurasia, which raises the question of how the Chinese knew about it and how they knew it would take them back home.
Still, the case he makes is intriguing.
The problem is that the actual map was made in 1763, when the New World was well known. It purports to be a copy of a map made in 1418, but there’s no way of knowing if that’s true.
While it’d be interesting to turn over the whole …1492…ocean blue…apple cart (I guess), my post is really about whether or not someone on a nationally broadcast show that isn’t MadTV or SNL would actually utter “Yellow Power”. Am I being a dufus in thinking this could be offensive? Is “yellow” not a derogatory term toward Asians? I’m not trying to be funny, or dense for that matter, but in today’s PC climate it seems like there’d be some kind of flap about it (and rightfully so, if it’s as inulting a term as I interpret it to be).
I dunno - if it’s OK to refer to other “races” by color name, why not Asians? “Black Power” doesn’t raise an eyebrow with anyone I know. “White Power” does, but that’s because of the Nazi/KKK implications; if not for that, would it still be OK? My gut says no.
Yellow Power? Come on, people, that is rather offensive. We are not yellow, that is Asians are not, we are all shades from nearly white to nearly black.
Look, blacks often identify themselves, using terms like “Black Power”. Fair enough, I am OK with a race identifying themselves with it.
But just as “White Power” has negative connotations, so does “Yellow Power”. Please don’t call your Asian friends yellow, unless you know they’re OK with it, we are neither jaundiced nor cowards, the other two definitions of the word.
As for the show? It’s the Early Show, like it has any respect.
Personally, I find any type of “xxxxxxxxxx power” expressions to be meaningless at best, but to hear it on what is supposed to be a reputable news show is a bit jarring. Not trying to argue with you, YaWanna. Just struck me as odd and wrong, is all.
Agreed - but the same is true for those of us that everyone has no problem calling “white.” Personally, I have a very noticeable yellow undertone to my skin. If I said “don’t call me white,” though, I guarantee that would cause eye-rolling and derisive snorts, at best.
I’m not arguing against you about the color issue, Anaamika; just saying there’s a double-standard and I hate those.
Personally I find the slogan “Yellow Power” quite amusing. I have never heard the term “Yellow” used pejoratively. Also, part of the humor value, sad to say, is the fact that in general, Asians in this country are rather apolitical; even in areas where there are large concentrations of Asians, you don’t hear much about “the Asian voting bloc” the way you do about the Hispanic or Black voting blocs in other areas.
I am often a part of a swirling mob of (Yellow) Asians with a guy in the middle shouting to be heard, but he’s yelling out table numbers for Dim Sum, not political slogans.
Outside of history books, yes… But I suppose I should mention that my high school (a) had purple and white as its school colors, (b) a high percentage of (yellow) Asians and (c) an even higher percentage thereof on its girl’s volleyball team, and (d) said team had the (self-dubbed) informal nickname The Purple Peril, which (e) by and large we thought was clever and amusing.
and (c) an even higher percentage thereof on its girl’s volleyball team, and (d) said team had the (self-dubbed) informal nickname The Purple Peril, which (e) by and large we thought was clever and amusing.