Never Had to Deal with 'The Donger'

I don't recall Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles causing me to be victimized by any racial stereotyping when I was in grade school, but that might be because I don't look obviously Asian to some people. I do remember, however, hearing "What's happenin', hot stuff?" and "Oh, no more yanky my wanky" directed at a few of my classmates who moved here from China and Japan.


Adrian Tomine obviously had a mich different experience, however, and has nursed quite a grudge against Gedde Watanabe for propagating offensive Asian stereotypes. Being the brilliant cartoonist that he is, Tomine used pen and ink to release that pent-up aggression, resulting in a comic titled "The Donger and Me" for NPR. It's funny, thoughtful, and beautiful, like all of Tomine's work.

In addition to Tomine's comic, there's also a story on this at the NPR website. And hey, I see Dave linked to it de.licio.us style, too. How about that?

(via The Beat)