Sacramento, CA – Rush Limbaugh’s imitation of the Chinese language during a recent speech made by Chinese President Hu Jintao has stirred a backlash among Asian-American lawmakers in California and nationally.
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California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, is leading a fight in demanding an apology from the radio talk show host for what he and others view as racist and derogatory remarks against the Chinese people.
In recent days, the state lawmaker has rallied civil rights groups in a boycott of companies like Pro Flowers, Sleep Train and Domino’s Pizza that advertise on Limbaugh’s national talk radio show.
“The comments that he made — the mimicking of the Chinese language — harkens back to when I was a little boy growing up in San Francisco and those were hard days, rather insensitive days,” Yee said in an interview Thursday. “You think you’ve arrived and all of a sudden get shot back to the reality that you’re a second-class citizen.”
During a Jan. 19 radio program, Limbaugh said there was no translation of the Chinese president’s speech during a visit to the White House.
“He was speaking and they weren’t translating,” Limbaugh said. “They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha.”
He then launched into a 20-second-long imitation of the Chinese leader’s dialect.
The next day, Limbaugh said he “did a remarkable job” of imitating China’s president for someone who doesn’t know a language spoken by more than 1 billion people.
“Back in the old days, Sid Caesar, for those of you old enough to remember, was called a comic genius for impersonating foreign languages that he couldn’t speak,” Limbaugh said. “But today the left says that was racism; it was bigotry; it was insulting. And it wasn’t. It was a service.”
A telephone and e-mail to Limbaugh’s station operator Clear Channel Communications Inc. was not returned Thursday. Clear Channel’s Premiere Radio Networks Inc. is home to Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Bob Costas and Sean Hannity.
An e-mail to Limbaugh’s show requesting comment was also not returned.
Yee has been joined by Asian-American state and federal lawmakers who say Limbaugh’s comments are inciting hate and intolerance amid a polarized atmosphere. A number of civil rights groups, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, Japanese American Citizens League and the California National Organization for Women, have joined Yee in calling on sponsors to pull advertisements from Limbaugh’s program.
An online petition has been created on Yee’s website.
“I want an apology at the very least,” said New York Assemblywoman Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat. “Making fun of any country’s leader is just very disrespectful for someone who says he is a proud American.”
She added: “He was, in his own way, trying to attack the leader of another country, and that’s his prerogative as well, but at the same time he offended 13 percent of New York City’s population.”
There are about 14 million, or 4.5 percent, Asian-Americans in the United States, more if counting those of mixed races.
In California, Asians make up more than 12 percent of the state’s 38 million population.
While Asian-American lawmakers demand an apology from Limbaugh, some are increasingly concerned for Yee’s personal safety. Public officials have been put on alert after the deadly rampage in Tucson where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot while meeting with constituents.
Shortly after condemning Limbaugh’s remarks, Yee said he received racist death threats to his San Francisco and Sacramento offices. The lawmaker also received a profanity-filled telephone message Thursday.
The caller, who did not identify himself, called Yee a “cry baby” and urged him to resign from office.
Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Tony Beard Jr. confirmed the Legislature has launched an investigation and is cooperating with other security agencies.
He said Yee had received similar faxes in April after he called on a state university to disclose how much it was paying Sarah Palin for a fundraiser.
“We need to stand up for civility and be respectful of one another. Otherwise the consequences are dreadful as we can already see in the death threats against Senator Yee,” said Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat who represents a large Asian district outside Los Angeles.
Yee, who has a chance to become San Francisco’s first elected Asian mayor, said he has no plans to change his behavior because doing so would amount to “stepping down.” He said his staff has received additional security training.
“It’s just been a disappointing experience,” Yee said. “I’m not angry about it, more disappointed that in the year 2011, we still have individuals who are racist.”
Threats to minority lawmakers are not new. California state Assemblyman Paul Fong said he was the target of racist comments in 2009, when he introduced a resolution officially expressing California’s regret for the way it treated Chinese living in the state.
I think Limbaugh should immediately apologize, as soon as China apologizes to America for playing the hateful anti-american song during a concert held in the White House in honor of the Chinese “dictator” as Democrat Ried called him.
They make fun of the President and the americans in the white house and limbaugh has to apologize. Makes sense.
Yidden don’t like when others mock their fast talking Yiddesh Accented English, so they should not throw stones mocking the Chinese.
It was truly hilarious. Both what he said and how he said it. Rush is deaf and can make such entertaining imitations of languages as different from English as they can be. Just like he can engage and beat liberals with one half of his brain tied behind his back. Loved it!
Oh, yes, and the complaint from some little man that Rush reminded him of “those … rather insensitive days” – not worth responding.
It’s the liberal left who are stirring the pot. They want to get rid of Limbaugh for speaking the truth about the liberal and obama agenda, so they’re looking to instigate against him any place they can. The regular Chinese folk don’t really care what he did, as a matter of fact, a Chinese guy that I work with, thought it to be pretty funny. It’s the so called Chinese “leaders” who received an order from the top to start stirring the pot. Don’t forget, Rush was criticizing a brutal dictator who is bent on destroying this country. As far as Rush making a funny chinese dialect, I see nothing offensive about that, its funny, not offensive. This country is turning into communist china and soviet union. Truly disgusting. Anyone who sees it differently is a buffoon and baboon. Time to pack the bags, time is running out.
Sorry, Rush. Comparing yourself to Sid Caesar’s performances 60 years ago is disingenuous. It also used to be OK for white performers to wear blackface and use exaggerated mannerisms. Stereotyping ethnic groups to get a laugh just isn’t acceptable any more.
This is just another reason why Mr. Limbaugh is not an American leader. Only an icon.
it was known of old that the most ignorant people are the most insulted when being told there ignorant.being the chinese are an ancient culture and in most circumstance feel supperior to western ways of thought they usualy will not get offended by a slure but have a cultural background to ignore same.i believe this Rush incedent falls in this catogorie and the complainers are just political intrests in the scene who have learned the occidental mindset and are useing it as a ploy.its pink its red it stinks.
I heard it just like I’ve heard him making fun of lots of people including Castradi, and this as usual is much about NOTHING.
Once again the liberals are playing the race card on anyone who disagrees with their policies. I’ve listened to Rush for years and not once has anything come out of his mouth that can be interpreted as racism. His only crime is that he is the most staunch and outspoken person on defending and upholding the constitution that this country was founded upon, and this is what the liberals hate about him. Being that the liberals can’t debate him they resort to smear tactics just look at what they have did to Palin. They are destroying this country little by little and they must be stopped now before it is to late!
Phil from Domino’s here. We are dumb-founded that our name is being connected to the call for a boycott by Sen. Yee. Domino’s Pizza has never advertised on the Rush Limbaugh Show. We’re investigating the possibility that a Domino’s ad may have run in a local market somewhere by accident, but we are not an advertiser on this show.