5.06.2009

idiotic satire in indiana university's the robin


Here we go again. Another college campus publication makes fun of Asians in the tired guise of "satire." This time, we're talking about Indiana University in Bloomington, and The Robin, a student-run humor and satire publication -- sort of like wannabe version of The Onion, only nowhere near as good.

I'm informed that the April issue features a fake news story on how Asians have essentially taken over Bloomington The article "reports" that Asians now make up 90% of the city's population, much to everyone's surprise: Mid-March survey finds Bloomington is 90 percent Asian. It's really unfunny.

I know, I know. Satire. It's the magic password when fools write things like this. But I can't help but think that the sentiment behind this piece comes from a very real place -- perhaps a concern or uneasiness that Bloomington's Asian population is indeed growing too large and too quickly.

To top it all off, The Robin also features the cartoon above, Graphic Violence. Pretty disturbing implication, considering the article about Bloomington's suddenly massive Asian population in the very same issue. I guess "small Asian family" is supposed to be funnier that just "small family." Really? That's racist! (Thanks, Kimberly.)

angry archive