*I decided to ice the Vocal Sample Studies post for a second and dive into some other topics.
It’s been a big week for race relations! New York bans the, “N” word, the Rev. Al Sharpton discovers a disturbing link to Sen. Strom Thurmond -and if that wasn’t enough, a young Asian-American slips his two-cents in and gets more than he paid for.
The Kenneth Eng debacle at Asian Week has raised plenty of eyebrows and debate over his controversial views about race and ethnicity. I’ve posted comments on other blogs and have read the mountain of responses -I’m not interested in syndicating his racist diatribe, but I think that it’s important that it doesn’t get swept under the carpet.
If anything, it did illustrate the point that racism in America is not exclusive to a particular ethnic group. I’m sure there are a lot more Kenneth Eng’s in the Asian-American community -but for the lack of ability or unwillingness to voice their ideas, they move in silence and quietly nod in agreement.
Asian Week has let this contributor go for the time being, but I heard there’s an opening at the marketing department here.
*btw I like these kicks…
What I find so amusingly ironic about this individual is that in spite of his professed intelligence, his demeanor has rendered him ineducable. Just listen to him talk about his experience in a classroom. He knew (or so he thought) exactly what he needed to learn and what he didn’t. He thought all of his teachers were stupid. Instead of engaging in constructive dialog with others he talked at them and down to them. He read a few books, concocted his own bizarre world view and now claims to possess esoteric insight into the mysteries of the universe, all in the minuscule period of time he’s drawn breath. What I find even more ironic is that he thinks he’s so different from every other teenager when in fact he isn’t. They ALL think this way. They ALL think, after reading one or two books, that they have sole ownership over true wisdom. MOST of them, as they get older, grow up and realize that they know NOTHING, and that upon reaching true adulthood, the learning process has only begun. Not so with Mr. Eng. He’s “God”.
The result? Insipid essays about the “theory of nothing”. Nebulous science fiction books written to fool the credulous. (I’ve met younger people, by the way, who have published books) And his latest contribution to the marketplace of ideas? A self-defeating polemic against logic.
Mr. Eng is merely one of the many people who want to be intellectuals, striving for profundity but not actually saying anything.
(ethan jones)
He’s got it all wrong. It’s white racists who are the problem. White skin privilege, that is.
You’ve hit the nail on the head John, it’s the assignment of blame, coupled with a half-cooked ideology that makes comments like your own kindling for a roaring fire of useless bickering among different ethnic groups.