Rosie's ching-chong comments

[Rickypt]

I don't believe this has been discussed yet.

For those not following, a few days ago, Rosie (on The View) was talking about all the hoopla over Danny DeVito's drunken appearance. She wondered aloud what it would sound like on Chinese news and proceeded to say something like "It would sound like ching chong, ching chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong, drunk, ching chong".

Many Asian-Americans have expressed anger over this and demanded an apology. After stalling a bit, Rosie has given a somewhat lukewarm apology. Many have said it is not enough, and have called on the television station to condemn the remarks.

I really don't know what I think about this one. My typical response is that if tons of people are offended by something, then there is a reason for that, even if I don't always "get it".

In this case, I'm trying to understand better why it is so offensive. I have a ton of French friends who are always making fun of what English sounds like to them (sounds like ruh, ruh, ruh, ruh, ruh). It is not like Rosie used a slur, or said anything nasty about Chinese people. She did a (somewhat dumb and lame) imitation of a language.

I live near Chinatown and hear Chinese every day. It sounds nothing like ching chong to me, so I think her imitation was stupid. But I don't find it racist or an ethnic slur (as has been claimed by some).

Finally, I am weary of people demanding apologies all the time. Apologies should be given when someone is truly sorry for their actions or words. They should mean something. Forcing an apology just means you "win" some kind of political fight, but really nothing is accomplished. My fellow gays are one of the worst groups at demanding apologies. Why not just put the energy into explaining why you are offended and doing some educating?

Any thoughts on this one?