Schema Magazine

In just 30 seconds, Pete Hoekstra managed to offend a whole lot of people. It was the former Michigan congressman and current Republican candidate for Senate's aim to offend Debbie Stabenow, his rival in the race, with an ad that branded Stabenow as a big spender of public money. But instead he's got the whole of North America criticizing this ad because of its racially insensitive content.

Why? You'll see why. This controversial ad was aired during the Super Bowl in his local state of Michigan. "GONG!" and all.

This drew criticism from all sides of opinions. Some, like National GOP consultant Mike Murphy, outright pointed out that this ad was "really, really dumb."

Hoekstra maintains that there is nothing racist about his ad. Thomas Costello, president and CEO of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, hit the nail in the head; he says that "Mr. Hoekstra may believe that his ad is just a way to express his political goals. But it does so in a manner that points the finger at Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders for [America's] problems."

Xenophobic messages is nothing new to American politics. Just this year we've already had the "Manchurian Candidate", and now we have the Chinese girl speaking in a horrible mock Chinese accent, smirking over the demise of the American economy. I'm not sure which one I'm more disturbed about: the strong anti-Chinese sentiments that saturate these campaigns, or the fact that the media strategists who developed these campaigns felt that being anti-Chinese was attractive to voters.

I'm sick and tired of politicians using the excuse of being "satirical" or "humorous" in racially insensitive and politically incorrect campaigns, because the truth is they always fail in the attempt. More often than not they expose things more unsettling than being humour-handicapped, too.

Unless, that is, you can do it better than Ali Wong from Funny or Die:

Or if you could provide awesome out-takes like this:

So thank you, Michigan Senator-wannabe Pete Hoekstra. You spew so much offensive and politically incorrect messages. You encourage more and more anti-Asian sentiments by ostracizing the whole ethnic group. Your humour very weak and your political career go down the drain. Our voices get heard and we expose you as a racist.Thank you, Pete Hoekstra.

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Ada Lee is a sixth year Human Geography/International Relations student who is interested in people and what makes them tick. The list ranges from social justice to astrology. She tries to get by in life by getting high on ideas, breathing deeply, and dreaming vividly. Follow 0415ADA at your own risk.