Battle over depiction of Chinese in political ad

Posted at 12:29 PM on February 6, 2012 by Bob Collins (5 Comments)
Filed under: Politics

Is this ad offensive?

In a conference call with reporters today, Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra said the ad is only "insensitive to Debbie Stabenow and her spending."

The Michigan chapter of the group Asian & Pacific Islander American Vote called the spot "very disturbing" and said the campaign "chose to use harmful negative stereotypes that intrinsically encourage anti-Asian sentiment."

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Comments (5)

This bozo is behind the times. The Chinese drive cars now. Preferably, American brands, which is good for Michigan.

They also speak better English than many people born in Michigan.

Posted by Bob Moffitt | February 6, 2012 12:51 PM

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The ad is offensive not because of negative stereotypes ( Like what, for example? An Asian person with a slight accent riding a bike? ), but because of it's blatant inaccuracies. Stabenow is in the forefront of intellectual property legislation.

Posted by Jim Shapiro | February 6, 2012 1:03 PM

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Do most Chinese people ride bikes through rice paddies these days? Or are they maybe trying to conjure up images of another Asian country?

Posted by Rob Thompson | February 6, 2012 1:04 PM

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This ad could have been done in a way that wasn't offensive and actually been a really good ad. If he paid someone to do this for him, he should fire them immediately. It's a really poor ad in every way.

Posted by Kevin Watterson | February 6, 2012 2:03 PM

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Thanks for the insight, Pete-Racicial-Tolerance-Not!!

Posted by BenCh | February 6, 2012 3:54 PM

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