"Fry Rice" posters in an 'Asian Font' in support of a HS BBall team offend someone

The Caledonian Record of St. Johnsbury Vermont wanted to help pump up St. Johnsbury Academy HS as its basketball team played in the state finals against Rice Memorial High School. Well no one is going to forget the poster editors came up with. 'Fry Rice' -- in Chinese calligraphy.

The Asian American Journalists Association has a problem with this.

"We sought a simple play on words in support of an extraordinary group of local student athletes. Indulging our critics for a moment, the outcry reminds us that racial and ethnic stereotypes can offend — regardless of intent," a follow-up editorial from the paper read. "We don't concede, however, that the use of imagery with any racial, ethnic or religious inference is to inherently debase that race/ethnicity/religion. A fair accusation of racism would at least pre-require the reference to actually be demeaning or degrading. Simply invoking ethnic customs (food, dress, design) doesn't do that, nor does it suggest any kind of characteristic about the culture, its people or a history of oppression by the majority."

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