COLLEGIAN TIMES
24
2021 SPRING-SUMMER
CHO IS SO SERIOUS; SHE MAKES YOU LAUGH Margaret talked about her new podcast, her sexuality and the violence Asian Americans face today.
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BY WILLIAM B. TORRES SEE CREATIVE COMMONS CC HTTPS:// CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/3.0/ GRAPH BY BEATRICE ALCALA
I AM THE BIGGEST FAG HAG. I LOVE MY GAY MALE FRIENDS SO MUCH. BUT WHEN I WAS A LITTLE GIRL I ALWAYS WISHED I WOULD BE CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY GORGEOUS GUYS. AND I AM. AND I SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SPECIFIC.
tand-up comedian and human rights activist Margaret Cho makes people laugh, at least that’s what the Grammy Academy voting members say. Cho has been nominated five times for a Grammy for Best Comedy Album. She has earned more than 250 television credits according to IMDB.com and is in the spotlight once more for her voiceover role in the Oscar-nominated movie “Over the Moon.” Cho spoke to culture reporter Will B. Torres about her podcast, her sexuality and the issues AsianAmericans face today. Technology allows for a virtual video chat with anyone from anywhere in the world. Zoom video conference application enabled Cho to chat with Torres while he was visiting Antigua, Guatemala, while Cho was at home in Los Angeles, CA. During the Zoom chat, Cho’s Korean heritage is reflected in the background by a prominent Buddha situated behind her along with a blanket depicting an Asian woman placed on her couch. The 52-year-old comedic actor earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in 2012 and has a dozen executive producer credits to her name. But Cho’s talents and interests extend beyond performing stand-up and acting. Besides being a fashion designer and an author, Cho uses her celebrity to speak out against anti-Asian hate and violence. The second season of her podcast, “Margaret Cho: Mortal Minority,” focuses on the crimes committed against Asian Americans in the last two centuries. “From the gold rush until today, we discuss Asian history and then reflect on what is happening pretty much on a daily basis,” Cho said. “It’s really shocking to see all the violence directed at Asian Americans, especially in the last year.” With “Mortal Minority,” Cho moves away from her comedy comfort zone and tackles issues that plague the Asian community. She sits down to discuss the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings and stories like it with Asian comedians, journalists, authors and other voices committed to stop the hate directed at Asians. “It’s [the podcast] very well-researched, and it is
going to be more of a true-crime podcast,” Cho said. “Because it’s really delving into these crimes that a lot of people don’t know about.” Cho says the podcast series increases awareness of the injustices that confront the Asian community today. “Some are very important toward AsianAmerican history,” she said. “Whether the Chinatown massacre in 1871 or the Vincent Chin murder in Detroit in the 1980s. I also want to look at the present-day hate crimes.” According to VOAnews.com (Voice of America international news organization), 15 of America’s largest cities reported a 169% increase in violence aimed at Asian Americans during the first quarter of 2021, compared to the same period last year. “You see almost 4,000 hate crimes reported in the last year, which is just really crazy,” Cho said. “I’m sure that a lot of things have gone unreported as well.” Police arrested and charged Jarrod Powell with attempted murder after he assaulted the 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma, an Asian immigrant in East Harlem. The attack left Ma in a coma and on a ventilator, according to an April 26 report in the New York Times. Additionally, Powell, 49, was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime. The roots of this anti-Asian violence found a voice in former President Donald Trump. The 45th POTUS appeared to relish repeated descriptions of the coronavirus, calling it “the Chinese Virus” or “Kung Flu.” “I can’t imagine that people are really misinformed that Asian Americans are the cause of the coronavirus,” Cho said. “A lot of the casual nature of racism has a lot to do with Donald Trump’s opinion toward immigrants in general. Asian-Americans are not immigrants. I’m born in America. The majority of us are not immigrants. This is a very strange ideation of what American is and what American means, and this really insane view that we’re somehow to blame.” While she continues to stand up to racism, she injects humor into the discrimination in proper Margaret Cho form.
