Anger over Limbaugh's mockery of Hu
Source: Agencies |
January 29, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AMERICAN radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh's imitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech has stirred a backlash among Asian-American lawmakers in California and across the United States.
California state Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, is leading a fight to demand Limbaugh apologize for what were viewed as racist and derogatory remarks.
Yee has rallied civil rights groups to boycott companies such as Pro Flowers, Sleep Train and Domino's Pizza, which advertise on Limbaugh's national talk radio show.
"The comments that he made - the mimicking of the Chinese language - harkens back to when I was a little boy growing up in San Francisco and those were hard days," Yee said in an interview on Thursday. "You think you've arrived and all of a sudden get shot back to the reality that you're a second-class citizen."
During a January 19 radio program, Limbaugh said there was no translation of the Chinese president's speech during a visit to the White House.
"He was speaking and they weren't translating," Limbaugh said. "They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha." He then launched into a 20-second imitation of the Chinese leader's dialect.
The next day, Limbaugh said he "did a remarkable job" of imitating China's president for someone who doesn't know a language spoken by more than 1 billion people.
"Back in the old days, Sid Caesar, for those of you old enough to remember, was called a comic genius for impersonating foreign languages that he couldn't speak," Limbaugh said. "But today the left says that was racism; it was bigotry; it was insulting. And it wasn't. It was a service."
Limbaugh's station operator, Clear Channel Communications Inc, did not respond to requests for comment. An e-mail to Limbaugh's show requesting comment was also not returned.
Other Asian-American state and federal lawmakers agree that Limbaugh's comments were inciting hate and intolerance amid a polarized atmosphere. A number of civil rights groups, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, Japanese American Citizens League and the California National Organization for Women, have joined Yee in calling on sponsors to pull advertisements from Limbaugh's program.
"I want an apology at the very least," said New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat. "Making fun of any country's leader is just very disrespectful for someone who says he is a proud American."
Shortly after condemning Limbaugh's remarks, Yee said he received death threats at his offices.
California state Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, is leading a fight to demand Limbaugh apologize for what were viewed as racist and derogatory remarks.
Yee has rallied civil rights groups to boycott companies such as Pro Flowers, Sleep Train and Domino's Pizza, which advertise on Limbaugh's national talk radio show.
"The comments that he made - the mimicking of the Chinese language - harkens back to when I was a little boy growing up in San Francisco and those were hard days," Yee said in an interview on Thursday. "You think you've arrived and all of a sudden get shot back to the reality that you're a second-class citizen."
During a January 19 radio program, Limbaugh said there was no translation of the Chinese president's speech during a visit to the White House.
"He was speaking and they weren't translating," Limbaugh said. "They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha." He then launched into a 20-second imitation of the Chinese leader's dialect.
The next day, Limbaugh said he "did a remarkable job" of imitating China's president for someone who doesn't know a language spoken by more than 1 billion people.
"Back in the old days, Sid Caesar, for those of you old enough to remember, was called a comic genius for impersonating foreign languages that he couldn't speak," Limbaugh said. "But today the left says that was racism; it was bigotry; it was insulting. And it wasn't. It was a service."
Limbaugh's station operator, Clear Channel Communications Inc, did not respond to requests for comment. An e-mail to Limbaugh's show requesting comment was also not returned.
Other Asian-American state and federal lawmakers agree that Limbaugh's comments were inciting hate and intolerance amid a polarized atmosphere. A number of civil rights groups, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, Japanese American Citizens League and the California National Organization for Women, have joined Yee in calling on sponsors to pull advertisements from Limbaugh's program.
"I want an apology at the very least," said New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat. "Making fun of any country's leader is just very disrespectful for someone who says he is a proud American."
Shortly after condemning Limbaugh's remarks, Yee said he received death threats at his offices.
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