“I hereby declare, on oath, that … I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same … so help me God.”
Ten years ago, with my right hand raised firmly, I solemnly swore at the Naturalization Oath Ceremony. The representative speaker was weeping while struggling to vocalize her words. My mind resonated with her every word. Who can truly understand an immigrant’s feeling of that moment? At that moment, I told myself that my children and I would forever belong with this land of democracy and freedom, and pursue our shared American dream together with other races and ethnics.
One day of ten years later, I clicked on a YouTube link one of my friends sent me, shocked and frozen at the same instant. On July 10, in a commentary news program of Fox News, Mr. Bob Beckel said: “The Chinese are the single biggest threat to the national security of the U.S. They have been, they will be and they can wait. They are very patient. Do you know what we just did? As usual, we bring them over here and we teach a bunch of Chinamen — er, Chinese people – how to do computers and then they go back to China and hack into us.”
We were contemptuously called Chinamen. The loyalty of the Chinese Americans to our nation is relentless denied. The Chinese in America are portrayed as potential spies. Accompanied with such words of slander were Mr. Bob Beckel’s dirty Fxxx body language and shameless laughter. It all happened in a live news program, under the eyes of all U.S. TV viewers.
Is this simply accidental? I thought of the case of Wen Ho Lee, which happened more than 10 years ago, a rare case that “embarrassed our entire nation and each of us who is a citizen of it”, by the presiding judge. Wen Ho Lee, a nuclear scientist who worked for the U.S. government, received special “attention” for his words and deeds just because of his ethnic background as a Chinese. He was accused of spying for China and was imprisoned for nine months because of it. He was isolated and humiliated in the prison, but nevertheless he kept up his spirit. In the end, in the absence of sufficient evidence, the federal prosecutors were forced to withdraw the accusation of spying.
Just a few months ago, the American audience heard in a TV program — “killing all the people in China!”
Last October in a pre-recorded television program of ABC TV, host Jimmy Kimmel sent such a message over to the American people through a child’s mouth. Is this simply a word of ignorance from a child’s mouth? Please note that this is a pre-recorded show. If the child’s ignorance can be forgiven, where do our free media place their conscience?
Why such things had been happening to the Chinese in America again and again?
The formation of the anti-Chinese wave was never done in one day. Browsing through the immigration history of the Chinese in America, we can see that the Chinese Exclusion Act of more than 100 years ago did not simply start overnight. The distorted slandering depiction of the Chinese in America happened long before the Act, the choice of the Chinese to bear any burden and humiliation, the silence when facing such distorted slandering depiction, all those together had finally led to an uncorrectable situation. Aren’t they the main cause of the Chinese Exclusion Act?
Face the history. Learn from the history. Destroy the evil before it becomes menacing. Voicing our strongest protest to Mr. Bob Beckel, is our only choice.
I want to say, my siblings, no matter you are a Democratic, a Republican, or an Independent, let’s united together. Let’s defend our dignity together.
Mr. Bob Beckel must face all the explicit and implied slur in his words to the Chinese American and the Chinese in America, his dirty body language, and apologize for his words unambiguously.
I want to say, Mr. Bob Beckel, please stop acting and lying with the cover of freedom of speech. There is no market for discrimination in this clean land of America. There is no room for your slander and ugly body language in a public program of America.
I want to say, Fox, please no longer keep silent. Please take the necessary societal responsibility of a media, and make a wise choice between what is “right” and what is “easy”. The screen of your program should not become a stage for an ignorant racist. Please fire Mr. Beckel and rebuild your reputation.
原文翻译：美国梦和我们的尊严 （发表于７／２４／１４）
中文链接：https://chineseamerican.org/?p=2268
