David over at the Columbia University Asian American Alliance blog is making a big deal about a recent E!Online "Watch with Kristin" TV column, in which she refers to Heroes star Masi Oka as "our favorite squinty teleporter." David is calling this remark straight-up racist, and I understand where he's coming from... but I'm not quite on board with this one. While I'd definitely take issue with someone calling an Asian person squinty, slanty, slinty, slitty, or whatever as a derogatory remark (and believe me, it happens all the time), I don't think this is the case here. Isn't Kristin simply referring to the intense "squint" expression Hiro makes when he uses his time/space-shifting powers? You know, the face made famous in the show's pilot ("Yataaaaaaa!"). He's "squinty" because, well... he squints. People familiar with the show know what I'm talking about. Granted, in any case, it's just a poor choice of words.
