Most stereotypes are negative, even if they are based in truth. Nobody really likes being stereotyped but there are a couple that don’t sting: No black guy is going to freak out if it’s implied he has an enormous schlong and no Asian will take offense at being branded smart. According to the NYT however, it’s incredibly racist to say Asians are intelligent.
The New York Times’ claim does come with an asterisk in that it’s only racist to imply Asians are smart if the implier is a Republican. They could care less about actual racism from democrats, but invent ways to smear Republicans as racists.
Entrepreneur Mike Gibbons is a GOP candidate running to replace Ohio Senator Rob Portman. Back in 2013 he appeared on a podcast that has the NYT clutching their racial pearls. The NYT article is behind a paywall but Yahoo! News has the same content so, f*ck the Gray Lady:
A Republican running to replace Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) used racist tropes to talk about Asians on a podcast in 2013…
…Mike Gibbons made the remarks while citing “The Bell Curve,” a controversial book that drew accusations of racism for claiming that racial differences in intelligence are driven by genes and the environment.
The book claimed that “the smartest people in the world as far as measurable I.Q. were Ashkenazi Jews,” Gibbons said on the podcast, according to a transcript reviewed by the Times. “And then right below them was basically everybody in China, India and, you know, throughout the Asian countries.”
Keep in mind that Gibbons wasn’t saying he believes the theories in The Bell Curve, he was just stating what’s written in it. It was this next thing that really got The NYT frothing however:
Describing a class with “mostly Asians” during his graduate school years, Gibbons said, “It was astounding to me how much they studied, how they were incredibly bright, but they memorized formulas.”
Oh no! He said Asian students study hard and are incredibly bright. He’s worse than Hitler.
And just in case you aren’t seeing how this is racist, allow some liberal media hacks to explain:
Gibbons’ 2013 comments rely on an old racist trope that assumes Asians inherently excel in STEM due to their race despite the community’s diversity.
They also invoke the model minority myth, a term coined by a white sociologist in 1965 that falsely claims Asians achieved success despite their status as a racial minority.
Experts say the model minority myth adds an undue burden on Asians who feel unable to ask for help because of the stereotype, which puts them in a box. It can also lead to mental health stressors…
The NYT is really stretching things here, but if they really want to find some outrage over anti-Asian quotes, look no further than Joe Biden:
According to Biden, “Orientals” are poor convenience store workers who all look the same and talk funny. Somehow The NYT has no problem with that but is flipping their wigs over a Republican saying Asians are studious and intelligent.
