The charge of racism gets thrown around a lot in our society as a weapon of defense from potentially opposing points of view. In fact, charges of racism and other inflammatory rhetoric are thrown around so carelessly by today’s media (especially in politics) that it’s hard to tell reality from hyperbole. But then again, there are examples like the video shown below that are clearly and senselessly racist to the core.
This sick attempt at a “joke” comes from FOX Sports’ website and “comedian” Bob Oschack. Oschack poses as a reporter to interview USC students about welcoming Utah and Colorado to the Pac-12. A simple enough premise, if not a comedic gold mine. The problems start early when Oschack clearly encourages USC’s students to give a “good old-fashioned All-American welcome” to the newest Pac-12 schools. What follows is about as discriminatory a three minutes of video as you can see as Oschack exclusively interviews Asian-American students and awkwardly questions them on Pac-12 expansion.
As someone who went to an undergraduate school with one of the highest international populations in the country (Ohio Wesleyan) and as a graduate student in a natural science (Chemistry) I’ve encountered many Asian-American students. Many speak English as a second language and fight every day to communicate with the majority of people they deal with in a college setting. Despite the communication gap, the Asian-American students I’ve encountered seek no pity or extra attention, rather they want to be treated as any other student who doesn’t face the same language barrier. Furthermore, many could give two pisses in a bucket about collegiate sports. So, parading a bunch of Asian-American students in front of a camera to talk about sports was only done for one reason, to demean and make fun of them.
Several questions come to mind after seeing the video. First, who in their right mind thought this was funny? This overtly racist crap wouldn’t even make Archie Bunker laugh. Second, who in their right mind at FOX Sports thought this was a suitable video to publish on their website. A similar incident comes to mind when ESPN allowed a “depth chart analysis” of an Alabama recruit’s death to slip through the editorial cracks at the WWL. Only mild credit can be given to FOX Sports for pulling down the video and issuing an apology. These types of eye-opening mistakes can’t happen in this day and age, especially at a major sports media company like FOX. We’re not talking about a mistake on the level of “that’s why pencils have erasers.” No, someone should seriously lose their job over this overtly racist video ever reaching the internet.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nHbcgo1ZkyI
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