Boycott Vaughan and Bendis

This topic is for Asian people on this website.

I write this topic because no one in the media will listen to us, and the internet is unfortunately the only way I can protest.

I am a victim of racial bullying. Blacks and whites have abused me because of my ethnicity for years and no one in power cares. Statistics show that 54% of Asian people have been bullied in America, most of them because of their race. For the record, blacks were the ones who mostly abused me.

The reason I bring up Vaughan and Bendis is because these are two whites who enforce the double standard: That it's okay to be racist against Asians, but it's not okay to be racist against blacks.

Here is some evidence. I should let you know that the following is extremely painful for me to remember, let alone write:

1. In Mystique, Vaughan has the title character say, "That place has more diseases than a Vietnamese prostitute." In the same comic book, he has the title character transform into a black man to beat up a stereotypical white racist.

2. In Mystique, Vaughan has the character poke fun at a Japanese Man because his ancestors were interned in WW2.

3. In Y The Last Man, he has a character called Mann, who is an Asian Woman that changed her name just to be more American.

4. In Ultimate X Men, Vaughan has Lady Deathstrike and Storm as two criminals who are feuding with each other. He has Lady Deathstrike beaten and humiliated by Storm even though Storm is a criminal herself. Meanwhile, other Ultimate Marvel characters have been altered to appease the black power movement. For example, Nick Fury.

5. In the Ultimate Spider Man video game, Bendis has a group of stereotypical Asian gangsters who fight for "honor" and dress up with dragon tattoos.

No one has ever brought up these issues. For that matter, whenever Asian people are stereotyped, virtually no one in the media cares. Yet when blacks face even the slightest discrimination, the American media goes into an uproar.

A google search will reveal that the vast majority of Americans (blacks, whites and Hispanics) think that racism against Asians is perfectly acceptable. For example, on a number of articles that were written about Asian rights organizations protesting the racist show Dads, blacks, whites and Hispanics made comments such as this:

1. "Feelings are not protected by the First Amendment."

2. "Lighten up. It's a joke."

3. "People are too freakin' sensitive."

4. "These Asian rights organizations are bullies."

5. "Are you kidding me? Asians are the most racist people on Earth!"

If racism is protected by the First Amendment, then so is our right to protest and organize boycotts. We are not bullies.

I am trying to organize a boycott against Vaughan and Bendis. What they and other writers like them wrote has severely traumatized me to the point where I have difficulty functioning in day to day life. I used to be so strong, but after having been told repeatedly by Americans that Asians deserve fewer rights than other citizens, I am having trouble fighting back. School teachers always blamed me whenever I defended myself against black and white bullies. I hear racist remarks at work regularly and when I complain to civil rights organizations or attempt to sue them, nothing ever gets done. Yet blacks in school and at work are treated like sacred figures.

Writing on an internet message board may seem pathetic, but it's my way of forcing myself not to give up. But some days, I just feel like surrendering completely to the brainwashing and societal conditioning.

I anticipate that most of the whites and blacks on this board will try to shout me down merely for voicing my protest. This is my message to them: I am not subservient. I am allowed to voice my protest and I deserve the same rights as other Americans. Your juvenile remarks about Asian penis sizes and the A bomb do bother me, but I will not easily let you break down my will. I will not stop fighting for what I believe.

Again, this topic is for Asians. I suggest we boycott Vaughan and Bendis.

Yo dude I'm black. And I apoligize for the acts of my people. Everyone should be respected.

ok

You seem more racist than the racist you talk about.

Which Mystique issues are they?

I think I've heard that some people do change their names to suit the country that they're moving to. Does that count as racist?

I'm not sure I understand point 4. Are you saying it's racist against Asian people because Lady Deathstrike lost a fight?

I don't know man... I mean, I'm a white guy, so maybe I'm just not connecting with the issue, but I don't really see a huge offence in any of your points relating to the writers or their work. I guess I don't understand how anything in a comic could really "traumatize" someone to the point of dysfunctionality.

I'm currently dating an Asian woman (she was born in China, but has lived in the US for most of her life) and from my experiences with her, there are some occasional racial jabs, but nothing too serious, and not even close to as bad as the way I've seen blacks treated in the same settings. After reading your post, I asked her if she thought that this "double standard" you mentioned was a big issue... she said, and I quote, "Not really. I mean, the jokes can get a little annoying sometimes, but it could be so much worse."

I'm not trying to diminish your struggles, but in all honesty, the examples you provided (regarding the comics, as you didn't really provide specific examples in any of the other areas you mentioned) don't really seem like that big of a deal, from the perspective of an outsider looking in.

I'm sorry, but if you have difficulty functioning in day to day life because of a few things you read in some comics, then you need to toughen up. You can't allow little things like that to get to you.

Scarlotte Rose. Actually, I was born in America and I changed my American name into a Japanese name. I reject American culture and I reject the American country.

Mystique was published years ago, so I don't remember which issues they were, but the words are fresh in my mind as though I read them yesterday.

I'm saying that Vaughan has a habit of humiliating Asians while sucking up to blacks. Unfortunately, he's not the only American writer who does this. White liberals go out of their way to kiss up to blacks, even if they have to humiliate other white people. An example would be when Vaughan has Mystique turn into a black man to beat up a white racist. I try not to insult people because that makes me look like a bully, but there's no other way I can say this: Vaughan is a sycophant and should be ashamed of himself for prostituting his own race.

Also, what I'm saying is that Marvel has a habit of going out of their way to please blacks. Years ago, they had this thing called "Red, White and Black". They also turned Nick Fury into a black man. They also have a ton of black superheroes and there was a news report where the editor in chief Joe Quesada censored the word "nigger" in one of the comics because he was afraid black people would go crazy. What about Asians? In Spider-Girl, they have this nerdy Asian character who is repeatedly bullied and stereotyped. He didn't seem concerned at all about our feelings. Real Asians are not actually like that. Most of us fight back against bullying, but only surrender because white and black teachers and power figures tell us that "two wrongs don't make a right" even when it's clearly self-defense. I may not be as strong and confident as I used to be before I was traumatized by those events, but at least I did fight back as hard as I could for a while.

@the_tree:

Again, it's not just those comics. It's the history of abuse that we Asians have to go through. Blacks in school would hurl racial slurs at Asians and commit hate crimes against us every day and when we tried reporting this to the teachers, we were ignored. And then writers like Vaughan and Bendis suck up to blacks while demonizing and humiliating Asians.

I agree that a handful of comic books should not traumatize someone, but that was really the last straw. I know of a lot of Asians who are just as traumatized as me, but for some reason, they've lost the will to fight. I can understand them, because even right now I'm having trouble putting up a resistance.

10/10 thread

Don't feed the troll.

My best friend is Asian and we throw racist jokes at each other all the time....

@frankthelance: O.K., but I think it does happen the other way too.

The actual quote is from Mystique #9, it's "By this crazy mutant chick, calls herself "The Host," filled with more diseases than a Vietnamese call girl.". I'm sorry if I sound picky, but it's maybe best to make sure you've got it exact if you're making a serious point. I'm not sure if mentioning a particular country makes it racist, maybe xenophobic against Vietnam though. The changing into a black man to fight a racist doesn't happen in this issue by the way. I'm not sure which issue it happens in though, as I don't own all of them.

Also, I don't know if "going out of their way to please blacks" is completely true. If they were really trying, wouldn't there be at least one black character with a solo series just now?

Obviously racism is a problem, and attempting to deal with it is a good idea, but I'm not sure if boycotting these two creators is the right way of going about it, based on your evidence.

@frankthelance: Clearly a troll.

Dude, it's just a few small jokes in movies. Get over it.

I sympathize with you if you feel offended. However, some things you've said could be equally construed as offensive. Or at least these things seem like the words of a person who is very confused.

One thing you mentioned in particular isn't racist (an Asian woman changing her name to sound more American). Many Asian foreigners who come to this country choose to do this. It being in a comic is just exemplary of that realism.

Beyond that, there are some things you bring up that sound very nonsensical. I think you are a very frustrated and confused person.

Regardless of some of your examples, racism does exist. It's a sad fact that some people have to deal with it period, let alone some groups way more than others. It's not fair and it's certainly not right. I certainly can't stand in your shoes but if I was you I wouldn't want to be assigning more racism towards myself or a group I associate with when it doesn't exist in some circumstances. Just from my stance, taking an objective POV I think these things you mention are maybe being read into more than they have any inherent racist value. Just trying to be honest and maybe shed some light.

But yeah you sound frustrated. I'm sorry of your experiences with bigots. If I could meet you I'd give you high five and we'd hang out and talk comics. Just know not everyone is an a$$. Sometimes it seems tht way, but there's plenty of us people out there that would love to give you the time of day regardless of how you look. Best of luck!

My thoughts summarized exactly.

Wait...his generalizing and ignorance and obvious hate against other groups bothers no one else??

He seems very....misguided.

I'm sorry that you feel offended.

I'm Asian, but I'm not really offended by these things. I know a ton of Asians, and I don't any of them that have been bullied. Maybe because we live in a friendly area. But I realize that racism is out there.

However, I don't think boycotting Vaughan and Bendis should be an option...they are jokes but they are little significance and aren't intended to be racist.

Every race, yes, even white people experience racism, and some more than others, but I do think that there are some other races that experience more racism than Asians. However, this is slight off tangent.

My point is, you're reading too much into it and being really sensitive over these little points. I'm sorry that you have been a victim of racism, and I sympathize, but come on dude. You're acting like other races don't experience racism and Asians are being extremely oppressed.

I agreed. He seems misguided and ignorant. The way he's writing is making it seem like he thinks that Asians are the only ones who experience racism. All cultures do, to some extent. I am Asian, and one might expect me to "relate" or whatever, but I could honestly say that some other races experience racism. He's looking at it only from his point of view, and forgetting about others. And he's complaining about the writers apparently "kissing up to black people."

Mystique is basically a super villain, her actions are supposed to be "wrong".

Changing your name has nothing to do with race or ethnicity, it's feeling self-conscious about being different.

People of all races lose fights in comics.

Video games are notorious for stereotypes. Plus, video game gang members usually all look alike to make it obvious that they're all in the same gang.

@frankthelance

I will only comment on one item.

3. In Y The Last Man, he has a character called Mann, who is an Asian Woman that changed her name just to be more American.

this is not racisim....the act can be, but having it happen to a character ISN'T, its a legitimate historically backed reference to racism in the real world.. there are many asian/blacks/europeans/africans/native americans/southamericans who had to change their name to be more american....this is reminding of this fact, when we forget this kind of thing happened, we pretend that the predjudices never occured, and we doom ourselves to have these acts repeated for later generations. as whoopi goldberg said defending the showing of cartoons with black stereotypes, if we ignore that this ever happened, that can be worse than it happening to begin with.

OHH btw, my scottish ancestors had to change their last name when they moved to england...and my dutch ancestors as well had to change their name when they moved to england...my syrian ancestors did so moving to greece...and then to Slavia, and then germany..don't pretend your special when it comes to THIS specific form of prejudice.

huh, only three posts? are you a troll?

@bierschneeman: It's obvious he is a troll just reading a few of his post, saying he had an "American" name and later changed it to a Japanese one, yet for some reason his username is Frank... Why would he use a non-Japanese if the whole point of him joining this website is to show his Asian pride and point out racism towards the same set of people?

I don't want to devalue your experience or "gaslight" you by implying that these aren't issues or aren't a big deal, but I'm a little uneasy in how you seem to be placing equality on a zero-sum scale between Asians and blacks. You're absolutely right to point out inconsistent treatment, but there's no need to put the target on blacks because of it.

"It's a double standard" implies that there's some sort of special treatment being perpetuated or encouraged by blacks, making them complicit in any mistreatment toward you. It is not a "double standard", it's just plain racism being perpetuated casually by white authors. (Yes, one should note the difference between character voice and author voice, but characters that make casually racist comments that don't move the plot but instead are just window dressing are problematic, IMO.) I just hope that you're not creating this dynamic of Asian vs. black because you were bullied by a group who happened to be black. Don't let them screw with your head like that. I do hope your situation improves; nobody deserves to be bullied.

If you're interested in following others who are writing on these topics, AngyAsianMan's blog is a good one—he covers these issues in depth, including comics when it comes up. The most recent article of his I read was about an open letter to evangelicals about just this brand of "humor" treating Asians as a punchline.

Yeah, you're definitely propping up a zero-sum scenario here between Asians and blacks. This is not the answer. Inclusivity and civility towards blacks should not be something you find offensive. It is not "sucking up". You should be able to point out the wrongs done by these writers with the casually written Asian "jokes" and stereotypes without perpetuating anger toward blacks.

I understand you were bullied by a group who happened to be black, and are obviously frustrated, and nobody deserves to be bullied, but this is not the answer. I have to believe that intersectionality across ethnic, racial, and social divides is a better solution.

Well said!

@frankthelance: I find it...odd that you feel the need to include Bendis in this, as you only have one example from him and that's from a video game.

But I also disagree with you in general on this issue. I think there are a lot racial problems that need to be sorted out, particularly in American entertainment mediums, but I highly doubt that Vaughn was like "YEAH LET'S FIND A REASON TO BE AN @$$ TO ASIAN PEOPLE!!!"

Do I think there is a lot of room for improvement on racial issues in comics? Yes, of course I do.

Do I think that boycotting these two creators for very poor/invalid reasons is a good idea? No.

Also, this. ^

I suspect Bendis is primarily being included for being too inclusive toward blacks. :(

I lol'd.

Will boycotting Bendis and Vaughn stop the Blacks and Whites from abusing the OP? No. Quit telling people who they should read or not read.

Possibly. But he never says that. If it bothers him so much, wouldn't he have said it?

And, hey, I agree there aren't enough non-white, non-male characters in comics. But can we at least acknowledge that it isn't the Golden or Silver ages when almost every single character created was a white male? It has gotten so much better since then. We have white, male, female, black, Asian, gay, straight, bi, etc. Granted it isn't as diverse as we'd like.

But one thing I've noticed about being diverse, is that whenever companies decide "Hey we're gonna change this white, male, straight character" that they get a ridiculous amount of outcry against it and people say its "diversity for the sake of diversity." So its kind of like "Why change our characters in this way, if the fans are gonna complain about it?" And they already have plenty of characters. Its not like "Create new characters!" is much of an option. Its likely easier for them to use an established character in a new way, than to create a new character.

I'm 37 years old, Caucasian and I've been bullied by blacks and whites and robbed at gunpoint by Asians. Every race, creed or nationality has racist tendencies. Get over it.

This.

@fodigg: YES, YOU'RE HERE!!

@fodigg: to be honest, though. There isn't any need to point fingers at any ethnic group... I mean, to do such generalizing and finger pointing on a scale so wide....I mean, put simply it's never okay.

I don't even think that the ethnicity of the authorsis really that important because, personally, if I didn't find a joke Okay because of its nature, I wouldn't care the ethnicity of the author that made it.

...for some reason, I want someone like Vance Astro or SC to come. Not to lock it, but just for their thoughts. ..or Lykopis.

Personally, I have many things to say regarding this guy.. some a little agressive because of his misguided notions, others more understanding because I can see his situation almost completely

@cameron83:

Lol troll harder

@frankthelance:

Bendis did write the Ultimate Spider-Man game, however I'm pretty sure that he didn't do art/designs for the gang members.

Not that I'm defending the guy ( I hate Bendis' writing ) but didn't he make the Ultimate Spider Man a hispanic/black guy? If he were racist he wouldn't do that I think. And yes welcome to the new world where everyone is sensitive, victimized, wrongly accused and grab rifles and guns and decide to go kill people. All of you dismissing this guy... Be careful. He might be genuinely disturbed or just plain hating on two comic book writers.

And quit telling me that I can't organize a boycott.

Your argument is invalid. He can be racist against Asians while sucking up to blacks. There are plenty of black superheroes and black heroes in general in the media, yet there are virtually no Asian heroes (a few examples do exist, though). If he really was trying to help people in need, he would have helped Asians.

@frankthelance: my argument is invalid? Really? Did I say YOUR argument was invalid? Ok you don't agree with me but don't ever tell me what I say doesn't have any value. It makes you a hypocrite.

It's kind of silly to write a topic only 'for' certain people on a general discussion forum. Just figured I'd mention that.

And while the anglicizing of names really does suck, some people are really, really awful at pronouncing things. Like me, for example- if my father's name hadn't been anglicized I likely wouldn't be able to pronounce my own last name. I...kind of don't want to comment on the rest of this post, as I'm not sure I'm qualified and have nothing really interesting to say.

I don't read anything by Bendis, but for a different reason:

His books suck.

You can't organize a boycott.

I want to say...

I hear crying about it helps.

But you already did

And you might call me a racist for saying that so....

Welcome to ComicVine, hope you enjoy your stay. :)

LOL.