Raising memories of the yellow peril during the 1800’s, animator Sven Stoffels proudly defended his animation of Asians with exaggerated slanted eyes and sinking their bucked teeth into a live bat.
AsAmNews has learned YouTube has since removed the video saying it violated YouTube’s policy on hate speech.
According to We Are Resonate, which grabbed the screenshot below before the social media platform banned the video, Stoffels continues to flaunt the video as a “freedom of expression.”
“Awww white lib offended by the toon toon. Poor bawby, need me to call your mommy?” Stoffels responded to one critic.
A Twitter user who identifies as Yilan Il urged her followers to also report the video to Twitter.
However, Twitter has yet to act and the video can still be seen on that platform.
Those who wish to report the video can do so by following these simple instructions.
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RE: Racist coronavirus video removed by YouTube, but still can be seen elsewhere: He is a disgrace to his race. And with all the violent damage and destruction, murder and ethnic cleansing his people have wrought around the world? – he puts his talents to this? Shame on his ignorant self!
RE: Racist coronavirus video removed by YouTube, but still can be seen elsewhere: I’m an American of Chinese descent and while I do find the cartoon tasteless, I also believe he has the right to post it. It is offensive, but sometimes that’s the point of things. Maybe he did so because he thought it was funny and pushed a few buttons, as any comedian would try to do, but the joke landed really flat. As difficult as it is sometimes for people to accept, feelings should not trump free speech. He should have the right to post his speech and people have the right to respond accordingly and legally (could boycott him, debate him, etc). If it’s a terrible idea, it should be shown for what it is and not covered up because it offended some people. This is my worry about censorship in general, as the line gets moved the more and more people’s feelings get hurt over things. Free speech is uncomfortable, but it is a right that should be protected.
RE: Racist coronavirus video removed by YouTube, but still can be seen elsewhere: I’m a third generation Chinese Canadian and this isn’t freedom of speech. This is disgusting and even worse when I found out the animator has a bad case of yellow fever.
Blatantly fetishizing Chinese women while mocking them makes me feel creeped out. I already have to deal with men cat calling/harassing me on the streets every time I’m alone.
Stoffels thumbed his nose at those who took issue with his cartoon, accusing them of being Chinese Communists. As if one has to be Communist to have reservations about it.
At best, it’s a lazy way to paint your detractors. At worst, it’s a lie. Not all Asians who spoke out against Stoffels were Communist. Far from it. But they were concerned that this attempt at humor would create more anti-Asian sentiment. Sure enough, anti-Asian attacks spiked at that time and have hardly abated ever since.
It’s unfortunate that some of the blowback to Stoffels included death threats, but the other criticism is par for the course, given the content of the work in question and the context in which it was posted.
Stoffels was defiant about the backlash, even invoking the late Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, and his defense of freedom of expression to justify his stance. But Liu was imprisoned for his beliefs and died while still a “guest” of the Communist regime. Stoffels wasn’t.
Plus, it’s rather tasteless to use a prominent Chinese as your poster boy for your work when it does not cast Chinese in a positive light.
YouTube later banned his channel and he’s whined about it. (See his accusations of Communism above.) That was ironic, since he mocked his critics for being too whiny. That’s also when you know he’s lost the argument.
Maybe he’ll feel better if someone calls his mommy to soothe him.