When I say "Asian-themed," I mean presenting the same old tired stereotypes—including rickshaws, chopsticks, fortune cookies, karate dudes, kimonos and takeout boxes—to impressionable young children. It was a condensed Orientalist hodgepodge of Asian culture, supposedly all in the name of Gospel.
The most disurbing thought was that for many of these kids, this would probably be their first exposure to anyone/anything "Asian." Despite organized protests and letters to Lifeway's leaders, the company went on doing business as usual with "Rickshaw Rally," all the while maintaining that there was nothing offensive about the curriculum.
And now, this... Last year, Zondervan, one of the most reknown Christian publishers, published something along similarly offensive lines... Here's an excerpt from Skits That Teach by Eddie James and Tommy Woodward ("The Skit Guys"), a skit book meant to be used by youth groups in churches all over the United States. The skit involves a Chinese delivery man saying:
"Herro, Dis is Wok's Up Restaurant calling to confirm your order. . . . ISkits that teach? Teach what? Racist accents? That's pretty jacked. I've been completely out of the loop with this issue up to now, but Reverend Soong-Chan Rah (who spearheaded the movement against "Rickshaw Rally") has been vigilantly documenting his objections and conversations with Zondervan and The Skit Guys over at his blog. Start with the February 23 entry and read forward.
think that, yes, you total is 14 dollar 95 cent."
"Herro? This is Wok's Up Restaurant again. We have drive and drive, and we can't find you house. We don't find you house soon, you pu pu get cold. Pu pu good when it hot."
(Hostile) "Okay, we drive for long time looking for you house. I tell you you go outside and I look for you. I am driving a red Rincon (Lincoln) Continental. You pu pu still getting cold. Bye!
"Okay, I drive for long time and I stil not find you house. So I am eating you pu pu! Ruckiry it still warm. I was hungry, so I eat it. Mmmmm . . . this pu pu is good. (Smacks lips a few times) You on my bad rist. You don't call us anymore. Bye!
The dialogue, thankfully, has been open, genuine and constructive, with Zondervan taking significant steps to respond to the situation. On Friday, they posted a public apology, along with an extensive list of concrete, committed action steps.
The reacting is pretty encouraging, considering how dismissive Lifeway was. I think the main issues are where they go from here, and what they're going to do to ensure this doesn't happen again, and most importantly, examining the attitudes that made them believe this was appropriate in the first place.