Anyway, I do feel a little uncomfortable, not offended, but uncomfortable with the fortune cookie thing. It just seemed so trite and therefore not funny and therefore uncomfortable…because you’re suppose to laugh at the joke but it just wasn’t funny…not even in a dumb way. Maybe it was just the delivery. Anyway, it is interesting that candidates like Yoon have to constantly perform this balancing act. For instance, Yoon not too long ago did an interview on this radio show on this radio station that both have endorsements and very good working ties with the Phoenix. The radio program is yes, trendy with the hipsters, as Larry puts it. And that’s where the balancing act comes in. For Yoon to come off as a viable option in Boston, he must play this racial identity game in order to seem “American”, non threatening, and ‘normal’ enough for the majority (which includes some dumbass Asian Americans too) to vote for him. He must also reach the older Asian/ Asian American community who do not necessarily understand politics and who value consistency, familiarity, and the status quo in the current environment; and therefore, cannot envision a different, more beneficial, more equal social and political landscape. Like I said before, it will be a very difficult task to win the mayoral seat. Every battle won will be hard fought for sure.

On that radio show interview, Sam Yoon did mention that if he gets elected mayor, he would buy an iPhone, the G3S model, for every Bostonian. Ha, so everyone has a stake in this election. Yoon is brilliant. LOL.

“Yoon’s job is not to get people thinking about race in an Asian context. That’s a job for Asian-American equivalents of Dave Chapelle’s and what not.”

So I’m not sure whether or not I agree with you or disagree, but I’m interested in finding out. There are two ways to interpret your statement above. The first interpretation is, “It’s not his job, therefore he shouldn’t do it.” The second is, “It’s not his job, therefore he doesn’t have to do it.”

I disagree with the first interpretation, and I’m guessing you do too.

I agree with the second interpretation on a rudimentary level. I don’t think a mayor or mayoral candidate HAS to address race. It’s not in the constitution, nor is it, I’m sure, in whatever charter Boston uses.

However, I think it’s up to the guy running for office. My view is this: getting people to think about race may not be part of Sam Yoon’s or John Liu’s or Daniel Inouye’s official job description, but if they can do it, why shouldn’t they do it? No one else is doing it, and we need people to do it, so why shouldn’t we be able to rely on our elected officials?

That was one major reason why we elected Obama, right? Obama didn’t have to talk about race, but he did. He gave that big long speech, and everyone applauded him for it.

When Inouye was in Portland, Inouye specifically mentioned the need for Japanese Americans to get involved. It’s not his official job to speak for Japanese Americans, but with his stature and the support he has enjoyed from Asian Americans, he did. He made a statement, and he made it loudly. Sometimes politicians are the only ones who can.

Another example: During the podcast, I spoke about John Liu and how he stood up against a racist prank played by the JV and Elvis show. It’s not within his area, but he did it anyway. Is it correct to say that challenging racism perpetuated by a radio station physically housed outside of John Liu’s area is not a part of his job? Yes. Does that mean he shouldn’t do it? I don’t think so.

The fact is that in a media saturated world, it’s hard to make a statement. If a future mayor of Boston can bring race into the dialogue, I support it. If an Asian American politician is brave enough to put his ethnicity at the forefront despite the media’s obvious biases, I think he could do great things in that office. John Liu has done it, and Senator Inouye has done it. Sam Yoon has thought deeply about race and ethnicity, and my view is that we should give him a chance to do the same.

It is unfortunate that in order to appeal to most voters, politicians rely upon spin and delivery rather than substance.

The fact that this “progressive” rag would publish crap like this just shows how White cultural racism operates today. It’s the standard glib racist caricature that America loves so much.

Of course when you call these people out on it, they will instinctively resort to whining about “Political Correctness.”

To me, it would be interesting to see the reaction of these people if they got a taste of their own medicine.

How about a racial caricature starring some Dago Eye-talian or potato-eating Paddy boy? Better yet, Tommy Menino as a Soprano-style goombah.

You can be sure that White apologists would be soiling themselves and crying about “racism against White people” if this ever happened.

But that is the only language that White America truly understands.

What goes around comes around.

These people will have to learn that truth the hard way.