Chinese Whispers: Big Bird in Exile?

All day after last night's presidential election debate, stories and jokes about Sesame Street have been bouncing around the cybersphere. It's sort of like the old game of "Chinese Whispers," also known as "Telephone" or, as its surrealistic cousin is called, "Exquisite Corpse." Even people on the street are talking about it. "Poor Oscar the Grouch," one guy quipped. "He's already living in a trash can; if Romney won he'd be totally homeless." Ha! What next, Big Bird in Exile?

Here's what started millions of cyberbubbles zipping around the world -- Mitt Romney's statement (on October 3, 2012), in Denver:  "I'm sorry, Jim. I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you too. But I'm not going to — I'm not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it. That's number one."

This was Romney's only specific budget cut proposal during the debate. 



Beyond Sesame Street, there's China and Chinese people. One of the last things I ever took notice of about Big Bird prior to last night was a special called Big Bird in China (1983), something that seems all the more apt today. Nowadays, the economies of the USA and People's Republic of China are intextricably linked. But even so, China and Chinese have down the centuries been convenient scapegoats for various and sundry. It's almost hard to believe, but even in the 20th century a lot of Americans still referred to any Chinese person as a "Chinaman" -- and that was the more "polite" epithet. This fact is wickedly lampooned in the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998). Walter Sobchak (John Goodman): "The Chinaman is not the issue here, Dude. I'm talking about drawing a line in the sand, Dude. Across this line, you do not . . . Also, Dude, Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please." And there's the matter of "some Chinaman" in the Korean War.

A quick perusal of stories that include the word "Chinaman" in the headlines of that hoary American newspaper of record -- the New York Times -- reveals a lot about what constituted "acceptable language" and widespread attitudes in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

November 22, 1884: "A CHINAMAN A CHINAMAN ALWAYS." This discusses the legal status of one Ah Kee, born in Hong Kong. ". . . Judge Brown held that a Chinaman was a Chinaman, no matter where he was born or where he lived. A Chinaman could never lose his nationality . . ."

October 2, 1885: "A CHINAMAN STRIKES BACK." This was an incident reported from Bismarck, "Dakota:" a "slightly intoxicated" man named Thurston "passed a Chinaman who was sitting in front of his laundry. Turning around, Thurston slapped the Chinaman in the face, saying: 'What the ____ are you doing here?' The Chinaman sprang to his feet, knocked Thurston into the street, and would have killed him if he had not been pulled off."

September 15, 1888. "HE WAS A GOOD CHINAMAN. AND HE TRIED TO BE JUST AS GOOD A CHRISTIAN."  

One Lo Ye reportedly died of a heart condition during a Sunday school session. "He had given up his habit of worshipping brazen images and material representations in hideous forms of beneficent heathen gods, and intended to become as good a Christian as soon as possible . . ."  Afterwards, "scores of Mongolians came to the chapel to gaze upon the feautures of the dead. With impressively sad countenances, they came, gazed in silence for a moment, and then with even more sorrowful faces went away."

October 18, 1888: "A CHINAMAN IS A CHINAMAN." (Sequel to 1884 story above).

July 8, 1904: 'CHINAMAN ROUTS ITALIAN. With Hot Iron and Water He Resents Attack on His Queue."

One John Trepori, "an Italian," reportedly was harassing one Lang Ung "at 36 North Fourth Avenue." A stiletto was involved,  and then a pistol. As things went from bad to worse, Trepori "drew a revolver . . . and fired point blank at the chattering Chinaman," who was not seriously injured. Both men, however, were arrested.

July 28, 1907: "AGAPE AT CHINAMAN'S WIFE. White Woman Lectured Harlem Mob Which Threw Things -- Police Called."  This story revolves around one "Wo Lee, Chinaman, at 1329 Amsterdam Avenue . . . near 125th Street." A woman identifying herself as Mrs. Wo Lee reportedly asked a gathering crowd, "Didn't you ever see a white woman married to a Chinaman before? I am sure you must have. Why, I have even known white women to marry
negroes . . . Please go away now."

And so on. Today's syndicated news outlets are slightly more subtle in revealing many such biases and prejudices, yet they're still quite outrageous when you investigate closely. Can you imagine looking at 2012 from the perspective of a hundred years from now? 

As for Big Bird and Sesame Street, in November I'm voting for Barack Obama again -- just as I did in 2008. Even a hundred years from now, I suspect, my voting record will stand proudly. 

Today's Rune: Joy.