Posted on 10/16/2015 4:19:09 PM PDT by Starman417
This showed up in my FB newsfeed today, regarding something that occurred earlier this week while I was in Colorado:
Things got awkward on Monday when Donald Trump asked an Asian-American college student if he was from South Korea.A 20-year-old Harvard economics major identified by NPR as Joseph Choe had launched into a query about South Korea during a question-and-answer session at the No Labels-hosted Problem Solver Convention in New Hampshire.
"I just had a really quick question about something you said earlier this summer," Choe said in video captured by C-SPAN. "Basically, you said that South Korea takes advantage of the United States in terms of the defense spending on the Korean peninsula. You said that they don't have to pay anything. However, I just want to get the facts straight and say that --"
Trump interrupted to ask, "Are you from South Korea?"
"I'm not. I was born in Texas, raised in Colorado," Choe responded.
The GOP presidential candidate shrugged as awkward laughter from the audience escalated into full-blown cheering for Choe.
"No matter where I'm from, I like to get my facts straight, and I wanted to tell you that that's not true. South Korea paid $861 million," Choe said before Trump cut him off again.
I don't believe Trump's question was totally unreasonable. Watch the video. In context, the student is defending/standing up for an Asian country. Choe looks rather Asiatic. Is it completely unwarranted to question motive and bias through possible ethnic ties? After all, people all the time do show loyalty, favoritism, connection, etc. to their ancestral country/ethnic origins.
Incidentally, this isn't the first time Joseph Choe has spoken out on behalf of Korean interests. He seems to be involved in Korean politics and interests. Back in April, he confronted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe regarding Korean comfort women:
A Korean-American Harvard University student is gaining attention in South Korea for a question he asked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe regarding comfort women.Harvard student Joseph Choe put the Prime Minister on the spot during his April 27 visit to Harvard University’s Kennedy School when he asked him to clarify his position on the Japanese government’s involvement in coercing Korean women and girls into sexual slavery during World War II.
Yes. Joseph Choe is an American, born in Texas and raised in Colorado. But he is ethnically tied by ancestry to Korea; and seems to have an interest in Korea. Whether it is relevant to the larger point or not on American military expenditure and bases in Korea, it at least provides Trump with a contextualization for where the source of Choe's interest in the topic may be coming from.
So basically, Trump's instincts were correct and he had Choe's number correct.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
It is racist because the perpetually offended twitter mob says it is.
I wonder what box the little SK puke checked on his Harvard app?
“Oh no! Trump said Macaca again! That’s the end of his campaign time to sell your Make America Great Again hat.”
I used "Jewish" deliberately to emphasize the fact that Trump was accusing the kid of being a traitor who puts Korean interests over American ones, despite the fact that he merely stated the simple fact that Korea pays almost a billion dollars a year towards the cost of the GI's stationed on the peninsula. The issue isn't that he's racist, but that his first resort in response to a query about his errors of fact is to launch a personal attack on the person asking the question. This isn't the first time Trump has said this - he previously stated his erroneous opinion as fact in 2011.
You’re interpretation of Trump’s remarks are, if I may be polite, is lunatic. Absolutely lunatic.
There was no personal attack either, my FRiend.
You are suggesting that this kid is a traitor to the US. If a Jew suggested that Israel is worth its $3b annual stipend in response to criticism about Israel getting undeserved freebies, would you say he is basically a traitor? The kid merely said that South Korea pays some of the cost of the GI presence on the Korean peninsula, to correct Trump's statement (first made in 2011) that the US protects Korea for free, much as it protects Israel for free (moving to DEFCON 3 during the Yom Kippur War), and since the Camp David Accords, hands $3b a year to Israel.
Your competence at evaluating lunacy is an open question, whereas an accusation of dual loyalty is indubitably an accusation of treason. That is why people who attack Jews for defending Israel are accused of anti-semitism.
It's kind of amusing that your devotion to this godhead has led you to the impression that calling someone a lunatic is good manners. Etiquette is obviously not what it used to be.
Ironic, I was.
I don’t think Trump is a god. Hardly. But accusing him of all the things you’ve accused him of, is looney-tunes. He simply asked where the brat was from and then went on to discuss South Korea’s ingratitude. Since when is that an insult? Only in pc-America. I’m surprised to find it on FR.
He said nothing, did nothing to suggest either dual-loyalty or treason. You Trump-haters are crazy or, either that, are liars.
Where did I say “traitor”?
You aren’t going to deny, are you, that most people’s race influences their thinking on certain issues? One’s race is one’s greatly extended family—it is not something to be shunned as a consideration, except in the dream world of the Left, where everyone pretends that everyone is interchangeable—perhaps the ultimate insult to all peoples.
“hat most people’s race influences their thinking on certain issues?”
I’d never even considered thinking by race... quite frankly!
I guess its a racist thing
If you have never noticed the obvious, I suggest you look at the published polls, which show very large differences in opinions among definable racial & ethnic groups, etc.. You do not define the world by what you choose to never consider.
stuff that doesnt cross my mind just simply is not considered
see how terribly easy to GET...that is/?
no?
You have to have been there. I can usually distinguish among Thais, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese. Not 100%, but usually. Seeing them side by side over an extended period helps.
it aint racist to ask where someone is from. Who doesn’t do that?
this guy was defending Korea, so the question would have been prudent regardless of his race. In any case it doesn’t harm anyone to ask.
And Trump is ethnically what?
English?
German?
French?
What does it matter?
‘But why does it matter why the kid asked the question? He asked the question, so why not just answer it?’
Imagine the above questions asked in a petulant, high-pitched, whiny voice.
That’s how they come across.
‘People of the northeast past a certain age will remember that there were ethnic blocks throughout the northeast and asking people where they were from or what was their ethnicity is (asked as What are you?) was commonplace.’
This reminds me of the museum curator in Ghostbusters II who spoke with a weird, heavy accent, looked foreign, etc. One of the Ghostbusters, probably Vinckman, eventually asked the guy where he was from.
The curator stared at Vinckman nonplussed, and said, “Upper Vest Side.”
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