• About
  • Events
  • Community Calendar
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Seattle Chinese Post

Northwest Asian Weekly

ad_wong.jpg (468×60)

  • Community
    • Names in the News
    • Local
    • Business
    • Pictorials
    • Obituaries
  • Nation
  • World
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Columns
    • On the Shelf
    • At the Movies
    • A-POP!
    • Publisher Ng’s blog
    • The Layup Drill
    • Travel
    • Wayne’s Worlds
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentary
    • Publisher Ng’s blog
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Astrology
  • Classifieds
  • Community Calendar
You are here: Home / Opinion / Editorials / EDITORIAL: Well, that was embarrassing… — Acknowledging our assumptions

EDITORIAL: Well, that was embarrassing… — Acknowledging our assumptions

July 31, 2014 By Northwest Asian Weekly

There are many ways to strangle communication. We can misinterpret, not pay enough attention, pay too much attention (to ourselves!), and of course assume. It is much too easy to do. A recent case in point is last Thursday’s hearing by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on international and foreign affairs. Freshman congressman Curt Clawson, in his first inaugural  meeting, addressed Nisha Biswal and Arun Kumar—who hold positions at the State Department and Commerce Department—as foreigners. He didn’t recognize they were government officials and US citizens, but assumed they were presenting on—well, what exactly what that was was unclear. But it was related to “foreign” affairs. Clawson reportedly addressed  questions to both Biswai and Arun about “your country” and “your government”. Confusion and embarrassment ensued.

So this is what was clear…. He was making an assumption. Granted, it was congressman Clawson’s first day and he was sitting on the subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Bless anyone who has to experience the trauma and tribulation of a new job and the miscommunication it might entail. But this situation of misrepresentation is not uncommon—it is actually prevalent. As Asian Americans we face it consistently, whether it’s being addressed by the way you look or by the last name you have. So then how exactly do we acknowledge it when we do have to face it? It’s uncomfortable and embarrassing for both parties. Does a congressional meeting keep running with awkward pauses and confused members? Mistakes can be made in innocence and should be forgiven, but constant misrepresentation is hard to ignore. Issues of identity are complicated enough and tricky to handle (see Tiffany Ran’s thoughtful commentary on page 11), so, rather than making those assumptions, we should acknowledge confusion and not be afraid to apologize for our mistakes whenever we deal with identity.

Clawson did apologize. On Friday, he told USA Today “I made a mistake in speaking before being fully briefed and I apologize. I’m a quick study, but in this case I shot an air ball.” (end)

Share:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Editorials Tagged With: 2014, Asia, Commerce Department, Curt Clawson, House Foreign Affairs Committee, State Department, Tiffany Ran, Vol 33 No 32 | August 2 - August 8, attention, commentary, communication

Subscribe to our e-news

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
© 2022 NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
412 MAYNARD AVE. S., SEATTLE, WA 98104
206-223-5559 | INFO@NWASIANWEEKLY.COM