Current Events > Sacramento's Top Health Official Refers To Asian Americans As 'Yellow Folks'

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https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/11/17/sacramentos-top-health-official-refers-to-asian-americans-as-yellow-folks/

Sacramentos top health official referred to Asian Americans as yellow folks during a board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday. County Health Director Dr. Peter Beilenson used the phrase, which many Asian American advocates consider a racial slur, while speaking in support of a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis. Its a crucial thing we need to be doing to address the issues of the African-American, and brown, and yellow folks, as well as the white folks Beilenson said while speaking inside the county chambers, wearing a mask over his chin. The term yellow has been used in the past to evoke exoticism and danger in regards to specifically East Asian people. Terms like Yellow Peril were common in the early 1900s to support racist, anti-China policies. Beilenson told CapRadio that hed misspoken. It was a significant mistake, I was put on the spot for giving my comments and obviously should have said Asian American, Beilenson said. As someone whos really prided himself on 30 years of a career fighting racism, I very much apologize for my use of the term, and would certainly never do so again.

Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, says theres no reason to use that term whatsoever, and it shouldnt be used. I think at this moment, weve seen words matter, and with the rise of anti-China rhetoric, and this idea of Asians as foreigners, the word yellow just kind of promotes that sentiment, Kohli said. The term connotes this idea of fear of other, of fear of disease, and its not a term that Asian Americans have embraced. For the Asian American community, the use of the term yellow comes at a particularly challenging time. President Donald Trump has repeatedly denigrated Asian and Chinese Americans during the pandemic, referring to COVID-19 as the China virus and Kung-flu. A group called Stop AAPI Hate has recorded over 2,700 incidences of racism, discrimination or hate crimes relating to COVID-19 against Asian-Americans since the pandemic began. Using that phrase very much hearkens back to that history of xenophobia and, basically, what is language to exclude and otherize Asian American/ Pacific Islanders to make it seem like they dont belong here, said Monika Lee, communications manager for the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network. Beilensons use of the slur came after members of the public demanded County CEO Nav Gill and other executive leaders be fired or investigated for misconduct and misuse of federal coronavirus stimulus dollars.

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It was a significant mistake, I was put on the spot for giving my comments and obviously should have said Asian American, Beilenson said. As someone whos really prided himself on 30 years of a career fighting racism, I very much apologize for my use of the term, and would certainly never do so again.

lol, sure bud

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This dude probably thought he was saying it as a politically correct term and then immediately realized how badly he fucked up.

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Seems suboptimal. There doesn't seem to be maliciousness here, but this required profound profound ignorance.

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So he apologized? Meh. Move on. I say this as an Asian person. Way bigger issues in the world than someone using a wrong term when they are on their side.

You cannot SAY that

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Honestly, as an Asian person myself, I've always wish our race was given a color name instead of a geographical name. It makes me feel less foreign.

Race forms:
White
Black
Asian

Shit just doesn't line up. But hey, you go by what you're given. I'm not going to around telling people I"m yellow.

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we must forgive and forget

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It looks like he was using it in the same context as "brown folks," which no one has a problem with, but he definitely should have known better given his background

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