Saturday, February 24, 2007

Pat Robertson: Plastic Surgery Gives People "Oriental Eyes"

Through media, we often hear about how some Asians would get plastic surgery to make them appear with Caucasian-like facial features.


Videos: Quicktime or Windows Media

According to Pat Robertson,

"[Westerners] they got the eyes like they're Oriental, and, you know, it's all pulled. So, make sure you do it right. But -- it's -- that's one way you can go, but it'll cost you five or six thousand dollars probably."

I personally doubt (at least I hope) Robertson had any intentional racist motive when he made the comment.

However, when he physically elongated his eyes to illustrate his point, that is when he has crossed the line. Especially when he is suggesting as if having "oriental eyes" is some kind defect that one should be ashamed of, thus "make sure you do it right."

7 comments:

  1. Well, I mean, probably he was referencing plastic surgery, because if you "do it wrong" you'll look stupid no matter what you looked like before. And that action is likely a decent approximation of pulling skin to change eye appearance, so.

    But then again, Pat Robertson is not someone to whom I'm inclined to give the benefit of the doubt!

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  2. To quote South Park: "I'm sure they'll have no trouble seeing the ball ... with their BIG AMERICAN EYES!! AHAHAHA!!!"

    Sigh. I thought Rosie O'Donnel would make people a bit more careful.

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  3. What is he 10 on a playground?

    You better be careful or you might end up looking like an Asian, when obviously you are white and superior looking. That's what I thought were the meaning behind his words.

    And whether he actually meant to say it or not really just says he's a closet racist. (or maybe not so closeted!)

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  4. Oh ewww : P
    I am beyond horrified with so many non-asians laboring under the illusion that asian features are some sort of deformity. I have never looked in the mirror and thought to myself, "Wow, my white-american eye structure sure makes me a better and more attractive person!"

    And yet it seems like that is exactly what many people ARE thinking, subconsciously or otherwise. The fact that those thoughts actually exit their mouths in public settings displays a horrible lack of social awareness.

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  5. I, personally, wouldn't doubt for a second that Robertson did have racist motives with his initial comment. He's not big on anyone other than upper--class, rich, republican white folk and personally, the world would be better off if he lost his voice...and the ability to write or type...or do sign language...or, well you get the idea.

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  6. I really wonder what is wrong with him sometimes - how did he get this way? Is it because he's angry with his parents for giving him an "effeminate" sounding name?

    What I find scary is not so much his opinions themselves, but the fact that they're also shared by many people in the US. Which explains the success of his television networks.

    There's this fairly common opinion in this country that I've never understood, especially with older people, that East Asians have "slanty" eyes. It's probably derived from the racist caricatures that were common in the earlier part of the last century. The good news is that, like many racist stereotypes, it seems to be diminishing with the newer generation. But for the "old farts" like Pat Robertson who dominate the airwaves, we continue to get this kind of nonsense.

    But can we trust a man who claims he can leg press 2,000 pounds, despite being over 70 years old, due to an "age defying energy shake". If that's believable, maybe Alex Chiu isn't such a quack, after all.

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