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Andrew Yang's Wife Slams Cartoon Mocking Yang As A 'Tourist' In NYC For Its Racist Overtones
A cartoon depicting New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang as a tourist walking around Times Square was denounced on Twitter for being racist.
The AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) Victory Alliance—formerly AAPI Progressive Action—admonished the cartoon posted and published by the New York Daily News.
"This is disgusting and wrong," wrote the organization, adding:
"Every single day Asian Americans have to fight the notion that we are foreigners. We are here and we're not going anywhere. That's why AAPI representation like [Andrew Yang] is so important. Do better [NY Daily News]."
This is disgusting and wrong. Every single day Asian Americans have to fight the notion that we are foreigners. We are here and we\u2019re not going anywhere. That\u2019s why AAPI representation like @andrewyang is so important. Do better @NYDailyNewshttps://twitter.com/billbramhall/status/1396901906694426626\u00a0\u2026— AAPI Victory Alliance (@AAPI Victory Alliance) 1621892970
In the cartoon drawn by Daily News cartoonist Bill Bramhall, a man illustrated in a T-shirt identifying him as "Andrew Yang", is emerging from a subway station. He walks past a souvenir shop whose White owners express optimism at seeing the return of "tourists" to the city.
The cartoon suggesting Asian people in Times Square are tourists caught the attention of Yang's wife, Evelyn Yang.
She said she couldn't believe seeing the "racist disfiguration" of her husband on social media.
"I can't believe my eyes. To publish this racist disfiguration of [Andrew Yang] as a tourist, in NYC where I was born, where Andrew has lived for 25 years, where our boys were born, where 16% of us are Asian and anti-Asian hate is up 900%."
She finished with the hashtag #StopAsianHate.
I can\u2019t believe my eyes. To publish this racist disfiguration of @AndrewYang as a tourist, in NYC where I was born, where Andrew has lived for 25 years, where our boys were born, where 16% of us are Asian and anti-Asian hate is up 900%. #StopAsianHatehttps://twitter.com/aapialliance/status/1396946485258903553\u00a0\u2026— Evelyn Yang (@Evelyn Yang) 1621894025
To demonstrate not much has changed regarding the perpetuation of AAPI stereotypes and discrimination, Yang juxtaposed the image with another Asian caricature.
Which one is from 2021pic.twitter.com/toNDJkHsH6— Evelyn Yang (@Evelyn Yang) 1621894026
@EvelynYang I'm so sorry to you, your family and all AAPI. This is low brow racist garbage. Its heart breaking that this is where we are on the path of human evolution and that you may have to explain to your innocent children about this disgusting behavior one day— Calvin V. \ud83d\uddff\ud83e\udde2\ud83c\udf4e\ud83e\udd89 (@Calvin V. \ud83d\uddff\ud83e\udde2\ud83c\udf4e\ud83e\udd89) 1621906383
Yang—who ran as a Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential election—was ridiculed by New Yorkers for declaring Times Square was his "favorite" subway station during an interview with Showtime interview host and comedian, Ziwe Fumudoh.
As a resident of Hell's Kitchen—which is a West-Manhattan neighborhood adjacent to Times Square—Yang defended his statement at the time with:
"It's my stop, so Times Square. It's big, it's cavernous, there are entertainers there. Sure, what's not to like?"
An editorial published in the Daily News described the statement from the city's gubernatorial candidate as one that was "out-of-touch" relative to everyday New Yorkers.
The article said:
"Andrew Yang may be a quick study, but all the cramming he's done since jumping into the mayor's race can't make up for years of inattention to New York politics and policies, best evidenced by the fact that he has never bothered to vote in a local election."
But even critics of Yang objected to the cartoon.
not supporting andrew yang for mayor, but this is bad. as an asian-american, these things are very hurtful. in school, when people made fun of me for my race, it was always very offensive- this is too.\ndo you know why hate crimes have been rising? this.— Aerin Chen (@Aerin Chen) 1621892073
This is bad. Criticize his policy all day every day, but portraying him as an outsider when he's lived there for over two decades...— AfricanAmericansForYang\ud83e\udde2 (@AfricanAmericansForYang\ud83e\udde2) 1621890879
Others remained frustrated over the appearance of targeting a candidate based on their race.
It's been going on for months in the media.Yang as the foreigner.Yang's personality or preferences aren't NY enough (whatever that means). The racist attacks are full throttle against him & they aren't without consequences at a time when hate crimes against Asian Americans are up— NYC State of Mind (@NYC State of Mind) 1621896629
Billions of years of evolution... for more of the same. Xenophobia will be this rat race world's own demise.— Sanchez (@Sanchez) 1621899570
Even our top asian figures can't escape racism and discrimination in America. The US is truly broken.— SeekLiberty (@SeekLiberty) 1621912571
Doesn't even look like Andrew. Just looks like a super clich\u00e9 (and racist) depiction of an Asian person. The artist should be ashamed.— TotesMagotes \ud83e\udde2\ud83d\uddfd (@TotesMagotes \ud83e\udde2\ud83d\uddfd) 1621894457
People need to decide whether or not to vote for Andrew Yang based on his merits or lack thereof as a candidate, not this absurd and racist notion that he's "not a real New Yorker," which is just a variant on the "perpetual foreigner" problem that Asian-Americans face.— Adam Villani (@Adam Villani) 1621944902
This is terrible! How is this even remotely acceptable in 2021??— Almost (@Almost) 1621949593
So basically ~ \u201cYou can fight in our wars but you\u2019re still a tourist \u201c ... that\u2019s real nice— Ahmad (@Ahmad) 1621895643
Heartbreaking. This kind of vile and disgusting racism towards Asian-Americans has to stop. @EvelynYang and @AndrewYang represent the very best that America has to offer. #NYC #YangGang— Arie Burshtein \ud83e\udde2 (@Arie Burshtein \ud83e\udde2) 1621895508
Yang was reported as the frontrunner in the mayoral election. He was ranked as voters' first choice with 21% support, according to results from a Schoen Cooperman Research poll.
Posting of the controversial cartoon coincided as the month celebrating AAPI heritage, May, draws to a close in the United States.
Anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked in the past year from roughly 100 annually to nearly 3,800 reported cases, according to the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate.
Many Democrats have attributed that spike to former President Donald Trump's perpetual use of phrases like "China virus" and "Kung Flu" in discussions relating to the pandemic.
The idea of anyone who isn't White or Black as a foreigner is a longstanding White nationalist perspective which impacts the daily lives of United States citizens of Asian, Middle Eastern, South and Central American and even Indigenous ancestry. This racist othering is often displayed as telling non-White people born in the United States to "go back" where they came from.
Ken Tanaka captured that constant questioning—which is a racist microaggression—in his video, seen here:
Whether that "othering" was the intent of the cartoon or not, it's something people felt the NY Daily News should have been aware of and avoided.