Dartmouth President and Email

Cheers of joy erupted at the breakfast table (at my Asian family house) when we read that the first Asian president of an Ivy League university was appointed to Dartmouth College. Reading his long list of accomplishments, that included activism in the health care industry and research, certainly helps to diminish the idea the belief that someone could possible pull the "he only got it because he's Asian" card (except for the fact that this is the FIRST time in hundreds of years that this is occuring!).

Then, of course, the other shoe dropped. An email sent out by a Dartmouth student that was.... get this ... included in a larger "newsletter" sent out to over 1,000 alumni and students was an email:

Date: March 3, 2009 11:06:39 AM EST To: GOOD-MORNING@LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU Subject: Good Morning

This is the Generic Good Morning Message for March 3, 2009.

Yesterday came the announcement that President of the College James Wright will be replaced by Chinaman Kim Jim Yong. And a little bit of me died inside.

It was a complete supplies.

On July 1, yet another hard-working American's job will be taken by an immigrant willing to work in substandard conditions at near-subsistent wage, saving half his money and sending the rest home to his village in the form of traveler's checks. Unless "Jim Yong Kim" means "I love Freedom" in Chinese, I don't want anything to do with him. Dartmouth is America, not Panda Garden Rice Village Restaurant.

Y'all get ready for an Asianification under the guise of diversity under the actual Malaysian-invasion leadership instituted under the guise of diversity. It's a slippery slope we are on. I for one want Democracy and apple pie, not Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen. I know I sure as shit won't ever be eating my Hop dubs bubs with chopsticks. I like to use my own two American hands.

Of course, a quick apology was issued - including the heard-it-all-before-passing-the-buck of "I didn't mean for it to be racist" bull -- and that it was meant to be satirical.

Yeah, people's race/ethnicity can certainly be used in humor as a part of a humorous agenda; however, this isn't funny. It isn't appropriate. And, yes it is racist.

Even more disturbing in some comment threads on the Ivy League blogs is the "guess you can't take a joke" type of line.

Post racial America... uh, huh. Sure.