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Call for Boycott of "Banzai" Sponsors

By Kok Heong McNaughton | A/PI Caucus of DRUUMM
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Is negative racial stereotyping of ethnic minorities in the media harmful to our society and to our children as they grow up in a nation which is becoming increasingly multi-racial? Is such stereotyping merely entertainment fun? A few laughs then forgotten by those who are not the targets? Do they plant the seeds of racism and racial hate crimes in this world? You decide.

A case in point is FOX's first inter-active prime-time weekly show, "Banzai," which began airing on Sunday, July 13th at 6:30 PM MST, following "The Simpsons." Much has been written about the rising
protest from Asian/Pacific American organizations around the nation,
including our own Asian/Pacific Islander UUs (http://apiuu.org), and the call for boycott http://www.modelminority.com/article464.html) of sponsors of this show. A petition to FOX to stop the show is
available at http://www.petitiononline.com/banzaitv/.

I urge you to watch the program on Sunday with a critical eye, find out more from these websites and decide for yourself whether you wish to join the boycott. It's not easy. The boycott lasts 2 months for every show that FOX is intending to run. Six. That means a whole year without Pizza Hut pizzas, no Nike products, no Smirnoff Ice, no Sony
Pictures Entertainment, to name just a few.

A newcomer who found out about our UU faith asked about our religion, "All this seems too good, know what I mean? To find a 'religion' of sorts that is open-minded, philosophically liberal, intellectual, open to skepticism, believes in the power of the human spirit, etc etc...and I'm just wondering, what's the catch?"

The catch is, "It's not easy being a Unitarian Universalist. No one tells us what to do. Each of us have to work on our own spiritual transformation. If we truly live by our Principles and Purposes, to honor the inherent worth and dignity of all people, to live in a society free from racial violence, to affirm and uphold multi-cultural diversity, to make this world safe for all, we know how
difficult this work is cut out to be."

I invite you to join me in this boycott. You decide.