Deadly Vipers and Acceptable Racism

There’s a whirlwind of blog commentary over the marketing strategy employed by Zondervan and on display over at deadlyvipers.org.  So much as been written, I’ll just share two links, and a quote.

Soong Chan Rah’s Blog

Eugene Cho’s post

Here’s a quote from Eugene’s blog that sums it up for me:

Folks may think the reactions of some are over-reactive but not the case. But having said that, there are seasons and situations you have to shout…how else will people listen especially when hardly anyone fears or respects the voice of Asians and Asian-Americans. You know what I’m talking about, right? Our image of passivity is something we collectively as Asian Americans must confront.

The blunt truth is that these kinds of caricatures simply won’t fly with some other ethnicities. Let me keep it real: Can you imagine the media letting Miley Cyrus go had she painted her face brown or black and mimicked caricatures of an African American?  If the publishers of this book chose to title the book in a way to capture the words and media images of  Urban Hip-Hop African American culture, would it be accepted, defended, and celebrated?