Nicole Burkett, a Spanish and career guidance teacher at Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California, making a video call. She is posing with slanted eyes, a gesture that belittles East Asians. Photo by YouTube video capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] A teacher in California, USA, has sparked controversy for making a 'slant eyes' gesture belittling East Asians during an online video class. It is reported that the teacher received death threats after the video became public.
According to ABC10 News in the US and the British daily Daily Mail on the 2nd (local time), Nicole Burkett, a Spanish and career guidance teacher at Grant Union High School in Sacramento, California, recently made the 'slant eyes' gesture during a video class. The 'slant eyes' gesture, where the corners of the eyes are pulled upward with fingers, is a representative Asian racial discrimination act mocking East Asians by Westerners.
In the lecture video, Burkett made the slant eyes gesture and told students, "If the eye corners go up, it's Chinese; if they go down, it's Japanese; if horizontal, I don't know."
When controversy arose over this behavior, Burkett reportedly stated that the gesture was meant to explain the racist aspects of the English nursery rhyme 'Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees.' 'Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees' was a playground song prevalent in the 1980s that contained derogatory meanings toward Asian children.
However, Burkett's class video spread across various social networking services (SNS) and online communities such as Twitter and TikTok, drawing criticism from netizens. Burkett also posted on her personal Instagram account that she was receiving death threats.
Some netizens shared a post on the global online petition platform 'Change' titled 'We must condemn anti-Asian and racist behavior' and urged participation in the petition. The petition, which requires 7,500 signatures, demands an apology from Burkett and 200 hours of community service. As of the afternoon of the 3rd (Korean time), 6,900 people had signed.
In response, the school district board to which Burkett belongs issued a statement saying, "We are shocked by the insulting and racist remarks of the staff member," calling it "a very serious issue."
Several politicians also expressed regret over Burkett's behavior in the video. Mai Vang, a Sacramento city council member, stated, "Racial stereotypes against Asian Americans are harmful in any situation, but especially serious at a time when anti-Asian racism and violence are at an all-time high."
Richard Pan, a California state senator, also said in an interview with foreign media, "For many Asians among us (California residents), the gesture in the video is not unfamiliar. Unfortunately, we have repeatedly seen this throughout our lives."
However, according to local media, some students defended Burkett, saying the video was taken out of the overall context of the class at the time.
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