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Senator Clinton: With all due respect please stop attacking the Chinese people

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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 11:15 AM
Original message
Senator Clinton: With all due respect please stop attacking the Chinese people
Edited on Wed Apr-16-08 12:14 PM by grantcart




Dear Senator Clinton,

With all due respect Senator Clinton please stop attacking Chinese people for the actions of the government of the People's Republic of China. This is not a simple semantic point Senator Clinton. While atrocities against other ethnic groups in the United States have been documented (unfortunately only partially so), perhaps no group has sustained such a systemic attempt to have the atrocities swept under the carpet (http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/30/193536.php) where for the first time in American history a genocide was conducted under the Congressional edict, the The Chinese Exclusion Act.

quote
The Chinese Exclusion Act was in force in 1882, but Chinese had been entering this country legally before this date. An egregious legal immigration law, no doubt, whose type could be revisited if present-day Americans are not vigilant.

“Nigger Alley”

This author documents many surprising events in the turbulent history of some California cities: There was a massacre in a place called “Nigger Alley” (Los Angeles, 1871). The local, white, angered populace made genocide look easy. These citizens, armed with anything and everything, simply went in and slaughtered each and every Chinese that they could get their hands on, then burned and looted the remains. Not only did Americans do this, but they also imposed taxes on “cubic air” usage. They instituted extensive prostitution brought on by extreme poverty; allowed untreated syphilis, and created virtual enslavement of many Chinese women.
unquote

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/05/30/193536.php

Unfortunately the phenomena is not something of the past with attacks against asian-americans increasing in recent times.
http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/cause_for_concern/p10.html.


By making no distinction between Chinese-Americans, The Chinese Diaspora, the people of China on the one hand and the Government of the People's Republic of China on the other hand your published campaign material only incites racist feelings against Asians. If you think that this is only a matter of semantics then you should take a look at the number of people who continue to think that Senator Obama is a Muslim. Many American citizens do not understand such distinctions, especially if their leaders don't bother to do so.

This use of a short cut by tagging the people of a country with the sins of the government by political leaders creates a short cut for those Americans who are not well informed to project that hostility to people from that country, many whom are fellow citizens.

It is also clear by your hyper critical attacks on very particular use of words by your opponent that had either Senator McCain or Senator Obama used similar language that you would right now be launching a major media attack on the offending party.

For these reasons we fellow Democrats respectfully request that you discontinue using the mailer that includes a broad attack on the Chinese people and in the future make a clear distinction between standing up to the Government of the People's Republic of China and people of Chinese ancestry.


Sincerely


Concerned Democrats




To: Fellow DUers
If you agree with the above request please add your comments, rec and ask the media to please stop attacking Chinese people for the sins of the PRC which of course is not a democratically elected government and not only oppresses the people of Tibet and is a silent partner in the oppression of the people of the Sudan, the Buddhists of Burma but also the hundreds of millions of Chinese living in China.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 11:17 AM
Response to Original message
1. With all "do" respect?
:popcorn:
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racaulk Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 11:37 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. Gimme some of that!
:popcorn:
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cliffordu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #3
6. Can I have some, too?
THANKS!!


:popcorn:
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BlooInBloo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #1
8. Well at least that makes it plausible that it was written by an average American.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:19 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. I resemble those remarks
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sudopod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:05 PM
Response to Reply #8
23. Me fail English?
THAT'S UNPOSSIBLE!
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BlooInBloo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:16 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. I heart Ralph!
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sudopod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #26
28. XD nt
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:15 PM
Response to Reply #1
9. kept staring at the subject line and couldn't figure what you were talking about
what did you put in that popcorn - sure is popular
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:35 PM
Response to Reply #9
15. My secret sauce.
:9

I see you fixed it, but it's too late for me to edit my first reply... sorry! :hi:
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:52 PM
Response to Reply #15
17. np I think its funny it will teach me to look more carefully at the
text - gotten pretty good at making sure the subject line isn't a disaster
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:50 PM
Response to Reply #17
29. Heheheh...
I thought you just copied it from elsewhere... or I'd have been more discrete with my spelling nazi ways. :P
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DJ13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 11:20 AM
Response to Original message
2. Yes Hillary, stop the attacks since the PRC has been good to you & Bill
You think Hsu and Chung (and countless others) gave you their own money?

Please........
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 11:52 AM
Response to Original message
4. noon kick
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berni_mccoy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:06 PM
Response to Original message
5. Wow, it actually says "Stand up to the Chinese"! She is completely insensitive.
It shows how much she pays attention to this issue: none. If she paid close attention and cared about the issue, she'd be focusing on the government of China, not it's people. This is more than a gaffe. It's being out-of-touch with the issue.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:11 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. what do you think would happen if Obama had printed something like that
what would her reaction be?
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:36 PM
Response to Reply #7
16. Hell, what would the cable news morons' reaction be?
They'd be slobbering all over themselves trying to slam him with it.
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Romulox Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:28 PM
Response to Reply #5
14. Agree. She should just call all free-trade opponents "bitter" and liken them to racists!
Hey, that's the goal of this thread, too! :eyes:
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:01 PM
Response to Reply #14
21. The point of the this thread is to draw a distinction betweent the
action of governments and the people.

Attacks against 'Iranians, Mexicans, and Chinese' by Bush/Cheney and the far right wing have helped fuel xenophobic feelings in this country. Those running for president should make a break with that kind of fuzzy language which will, for some, reinforce racial perceptions.
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Romulox Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 04:59 PM
Response to Reply #21
39. What are you talking about? There has NEVER been a President friendlier to Mexico or China
than George W. Bush.
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:55 PM
Response to Reply #5
18. If this came out of Obama's mouth

it would be 24/7 Tweety and Morning Noe!

Yes, this is major...

Thanks grantcart

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Tinksrival Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:20 PM
Response to Original message
11. Hi grantcart
I did a post yesterday on Bill and the company that took over Yahoo in China. I was surprised to read this in a LA Times article:

So Bill speaks to conference of Internet executives in Hangzhou on behalf of this Alibaba. Instead of taking his standard speaking fees, he takes an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity. This I thought was ok cause it's Charity, right? but then the article goes on to say this:

snip>>
But her husband brushed aside a similar opportunity to address China's jailing of dissidents when he spoke at the conference hosted by Alibaba in 2005. Days before his appearance, two prominent rights groups, Human Rights in China and Reporters Without Borders, asked Clinton to raise Internet freedom issues during his speech and address the plight of Shi Tao, a Chinese writer arrested in 2004 after Yahoo's China operation provided state security authorities with private Internet data.

In his keynote address, Bill Clinton hailed the Internet as "an inherently cooperative instrument and an inherently shared technology. The Internet has the potential to put power through information and communication in the hands of ordinary people."

But he said nothing about China's Web censorship or Shi Tao's arrest. Asked later why, he said he was unaware of Shi Tao's jailing. "Unfortunately, there was no discernible result or response" from Clinton, said Carol Wang, a program officer with Human Rights in China., Alibaba Inc., carried a government-issued "most wanted" posting on its Yahoo China homepage, urging viewers to provide information on Tibetan activists suspected of stirring recent riots.


snip>>>>

You can read the discussion I attempted to have here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5512985
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. I guess all Chinese checks look alike
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goclark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #12
19. And I bet the Clinton Duo has received so many $$'s from K@R

those that she is slamming. :puke
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Romulox Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:26 PM
Response to Original message
13. This has GOT to be a joke!
My wife and her entire family is Chinese-American. When she tells me to avoid buying "Chinese" food products at the market, we both know she's not referring to California grown bok-choi.

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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 12:57 PM
Response to Reply #13
20. now you have an ally when you don't want to go to the market
Edited on Wed Apr-16-08 01:04 PM by grantcart
There is a serious point. There is increasing xenophobic fever in the US and to a large degree it is fueled by Bush/Cheney and the far right railing against Iranians, Mexicans and the Chinese. Our disputes lay solely with the governments and not the populace of those countries. Those that are running for president should make those distinctions clear.

Had Senator Obama made a reference like this it Senator Clinton would be clinging all over it.
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Romulox Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 05:01 PM
Response to Reply #20
40. America has a greater % of foreign born peoples than any of the countries you mention
I think the anti-trade = xenophobia is a Chamber of Commerce talking point.
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sudopod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:04 PM
Response to Original message
22. NUTS!
This is one situation where Senator Clinton is standing for what is right rather than what is expedient.

Kudos to her!
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #22
24. its not the standing its the language. she should be standing against the PRC not Chinese people
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sudopod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #24
25. Because people might accidentally think that Senator Clinton
hates Chinese people? Really?
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:17 PM
Response to Reply #25
27. No of course not but the imprecise language of Bush/Cheney/RW
that bashes Mexicans, Iranians and Chinese fuel xenophobic feelings generally.

These lack of distinctions over time contribute to a general feeling against people who are different than us. No one would ever imagine a politician stating that they should 'stand up to the Jews' instead of 'standing up to Israel'.


Standing up to the Chinese? Very Limbaugh. Standing up to the Government of China (or the PRC) states what she means. She should not cling to the xenophobic language of far right.
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cbayer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 01:59 PM
Response to Original message
30. I agree that it is a poor choice of words.
It would have been simple to insert the word government in the part of the ad. The current administration has damaged many people by not distinguishing between them and their governments. Americans experience the same problems when we travel outside the country. Been to Europe lately? There is a widely held assumption that all Americans support Bush and the war, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
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SIMPLYB1980 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:01 PM
Response to Original message
31. LMAO! Sounds like Obama wants to stand up to China to.
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:23 PM
Response to Reply #31
32. But not to "the Chinese".
This thread is attacking her wording.
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SIMPLYB1980 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:30 PM
Response to Reply #32
33. Then you better attack Obama for his choice of wording as well.
Unless you want to be a hypocrite.

"If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies. As I have communicated in public and to the President, it is past time for China to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people, to allow foreign journalists and diplomats access to the region, and to engage the Dalai Lama in meaningful talks about the future of Tibet. I am also deeply concerned about China's failure to support efforts to halt the genocide in Darfur. Regarding the Beijing Olympics this summer, a boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the Games." Obama
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:37 PM
Response to Reply #33
34. Heh... that's a fair "gotcha"
:)

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SIMPLYB1980 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:47 PM
Response to Reply #34
35. Well, thanks. Sometimes unexpected things happen.
:hi:
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redqueen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:50 PM
Response to Reply #35
37. I wanted to say "Well played, Trebek!"
But I didn't know if you'd get the reference. :P

:hi:
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:49 PM
Response to Reply #33
36. In the statement cited he makes repeated references to China and 'Chinese' is clearly modifying
the Chinese government. Also he is putting it into what is clearly 'the government sphere' by referencing Darfur, Tibet and the President boycotting the ceremonies. There is no other possible interpretation besides understanding that of a reference to the Chinese government. 'Stand up to the Chinese' is ambiguous and carries a certain xenophobic right wing flavor which we should not cling to.



You are right however that it would have been even better for Obama to have phrased it as 'If the Chinese government'.
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grantcart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Apr-16-08 02:53 PM
Response to Reply #33
38. In your second link the writer uses 'Chinese' but Obama does not
from the writer of the article

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama vowed on Monday to get tough with China over its undervalued currency, saying he would threaten to limit access to the U.S. market as a bargaining tool with the Chinese.


Obama's words

"America and the world can benefit from trade with China. But trade with China will only be good for you if China itself plays by the rules and acts as a positive force for balanced world growth," he said.

Obama was speaking at a forum hosted by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which has launched a statewide "China Cheats. Pennsylvania Loses" campaign for the April 22 Democratic primary election. Democratic rival Hillary Clinton will also attend the rally on Monday


Your citation actually helps make my point.
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