When I first found out Jon Gosselin is Asian American, I thought, “Cool!” His kids were an adorable hapa brood, and Kate was a somewhat… shall we say … difficult partner. A mixed-race family is nothing unfamiliar to many AAPIs (and especially Japanese Americans, who have had the highest out-marriage rate of all AAPI ethnicities for decades).
Erin called it almost the first time she happened to tune in to the show. She pointed out all the ways that Kate showed little emotional intelligence (barking, “What planet are you from, Jon?” in one show), and the ways Jon seemed to be distancing himself from Kate in his body language and expressions.
That’s what the first look at “Jon and Kate Plus 8” was like for us.
Now, Jon Gosselin just looks like a fool, not cool. He’s being sued by TLC for breach of contract. And his antics may have also cost Kate, soon to be his ex, a chance at her own show with the kids, “Kate Plus 8.” He tried preventing crews from filming their kids, so TLC has apparently postponed the new show’s Nov. 2 launch, according to TV Guide. Other reports have said the show has been canceled altogether.
What’s ironic is that Kate’s been coached and appears to be a different person from the hard and harsh wife from the start of the series in 2007. She’s been reinventing her brand to a sympathetic character and a warm-hearted mom. Meanwhile Jon’s devolved his brand from long-suffering husband and kinda bumbling dad to dumbass playboy twerphead. She might deserve another 15 minutes of fame, but his clock’s run out.
I blogged about how Asians feel a twinge of guilt and shame every time Asians commit crimes or otherwise embarrasses themselves.
So, what are supposed to do with Jon Gosselin, who is half-Korean though he showed that side of his cultural makeup only once during the series, when he cooked Korean food for a family dinner. He’s a classic Twinkie: yellow on the outside but white on the inside.
Here’s what I’d like to do: Exorcise him as an Asian America. Disown him. Throw some white paint on the dude.
That way, he can do whatever he wants with his damned life, and I won’t have to feel any connection with him.
Even a Hapa woman we know, who’s part Korean, says she’s embarrassed that Gosselin has the same ethnic background, and wishes she could disown him as anything like her.
Oh, and one more thing. Even if Kate Gosselin deserves another chance in the limelight, I’ve got to think hat shutting it all down and folding up the circus would be the best possible thing for the ones that really count in this sorry soap opera: the eight kids.
i wouldn’t disown him as an asian american. all ethnicities have their own douchebags. 🙂 also, it can be hard to tell how much of his asian side he actually shows to his kids & what ends up on the editing room floor.
Immaturity has nothing to do with Racial background…his wife berated Jon and he took it longer than most…but he should have kept his mouth shut…His immaturity showed through…as did his actions..I feel sorry for the kids who were acting more adult like than their parents…no one wins in this sad situation…you can’t change the spots off of either parent….they were not mature enough to become parents…of eight….
“I blogged about how Asians feel a twinge of guilt and shame every time Asians commit crimes or otherwise embarrasses themselves.
So, what are supposed to do with Jon Gosselin, who is half-Korean though he showed that side of his cultural makeup only once during the series, when he cooked Korean food for a family dinner. He’s a classic Twinkie: yellow on the outside but white on the inside.
Here’s what I’d like to do: Exorcise him as an Asian America. Disown him. Throw some white paint on the dude.”
If Jon Gosselin is exorcised as an Asian American, there are a whole lot of others who need to get the boot before him.
Pick any random Asian American celebrity or media icon (cough, Tila Tequila), and you would have a good case–not that these people really identify as Asian American to begin with.
True enough, Lxy, but Gosselin is at the top of my list just because he’s so… visible, public and still followed by paparazzi. At least, like the Tila Tequilas of the world, he doesn’t go around flaunting his AAPI identity, so maybe we aren’t all being besmirched by his antic.
Now that is quite a racist assessment by Mr Asakawa, a fellow who apparently decrys racism. I guess that Ken Eng must have some white in his woodpile, else he wouldn’t be such an @$$ then.
My ex was Hapa (Half Taiwanese/half German) and this individual is absolutely embarrassed being in settings that involved other Asians, such as restaurants and Asian markets. Granted, he was raised in Iowa and has never come into much contact with other Asians. As a white girl, I love his “interesting” look (he looks Cuban) and personality but can’t keep up with his cultural confusion. Sometimes, you can’t help how you are born but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t embrace all aspects of your ancestry. He also has problem dating “Asian” girls. Seriously dude, you are such a disgrace to other Asians.
LOL — thanks for your observations! I think there’s definitely an element of where you’re raised that adds to your identity issues. Being raised in the midwest is so different form being on the West Coast, where there are so many Asians….
You guys are terrible. How do you “disown” people who do not even belong to you? Nobody belongs to you, especially strangers that don’t even know you. I think they could care less if you disown them. You guys sound like tribal African with barbaric attitudes. Get real and be kind to people who are different than you. No two people are alike. Stop judging people based on their skin pigment and ethnicity. Such racist bigots.
By the way, if you actually talk like this at a hospital, the doctors will send you to a psych ward. Normal people do not talk about disowning people they do not own. You can’t stand up for yourself and identify yourself by your personality but need to identify based on ethnicity? Couldn’t you simply see or judge Jon Gosselin as a person? For example, he’s a selfish person rather than a disowned Hapa/Asian American?