Colorado balloon boy Falcon Heene: I notice when Asian Americans are in the news, for good or bad

I don't know about other Asians, but I bet Erin and I are not the only ones who flinch whenever we hear or see coverage in the news media that involves an Asian or Asian American. If it's good news, hooray and we cheer on the butt-kicking Asian, or applaud the award or medal or accomplishment. But if it's bad news, we share the tragedy, shame or embarrassment as if it's happening to our own family. A good example is the big story today north of Denver, where a six-year-old boy reportedly climbed into his parents' homemade flying saucer-shaped balloon which took off and floated for several hours across northern Colorado. The media first reported that the "balloon boy" had crawled into the balloon and managed to untie a tether, which set the helium-filled craft free into the sky.