Tell Michigan Politician to Drop Racist Ad
Peter Hoekstra's campaign for a U.S. Senate seat hit a new low on Super Bowl Sunday, when it began airing a racially charged ad, complete with an Asian-American actress speaking in broken English.
The advertisement, which will continue to run in Michigan for two weeks after the Super Bowl, features an Asian-American woman with a conical straw hat riding a bicycle through a rice paddy. "Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good," the actress says. "You borrow more and more from us. We take your jobs."
The Hoekstra campaign has argued that "it's not a racial overtone to compare yourself to competitors on the global stage." The ad, though, draws on some of the most common stereotypes of Chinese people to make its point.
Act now to tell Hoekstra to stop running the advertisement immediately and to apologize for perpetuating racist stereotypes.
We the undersigned urge you to stop running the racially charged advertisement that features an Asian-American actress speaking in broken English.
The ad draws on and perpetuates some of the most common stereotypes of Chinese people, as the actress wears a conical straw hat while riding her bicycle through a rice paddy.
We call on you to apologize for this insensitive depiction of Chinese people and to stop airing the ad immediately. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
