CNN Anchor Mocks Indian-American Spelling Bee Champ

Many people are giving CNN some heat this morning after two anchors asked a national spelling bee champion to spell covfefe and then went too far with a racist joke aimed at the twelve year old of South Asian descent.

In an on air interview, CNN anchors, Alisyn Camerota and Chris Cuomo , asked Ananya Vinay, the recent Scripps National Spelling Bee champion to spell covfefe. For those who recall, earlier this week, our articulate President coined this word to discuss how he was being treated by the press .

Thats not the shocking part of this interview, however. What was shocking was co-anchor Alisyn Camerotas blatant display of white privilege vis-a-vis a twelve year old AMERICAN girl of Asian descent.

After asking Vinay to spell covfefe, Camerota then goes on to give some origin of the word covfefe and says this to Vinay:

But it is a nonsense word but were not sure that its root is in Sanskrit which is probably what youre used to using.

Ive got some choice alphabets for you, Alisyn:

W. T. F.

First of all, newsflash to the CNN anchor nobody really speaks Sanskrit anymore. Its like telling an Italian its not like Latin, that youre probably used to speaking.

But, considering that we have very low intellectual expectations for CNN news anchors nowadays, Ill let this one slide.

Racist jokes further perpetuate racial privilege.

Ive said it before and I will say it again its not okay to make racist jokes , especially when you are targeting someone who is not of the same race.

Its especially not acceptable to make racist jokes when you are the blonde-haired anchor of a national news network and you are interviewing a girl who could be the same age as your daughter.

Luckily, Camerotas co-anchor Cuomo tactfully diverted the situation and congratulated Vinay for her success.

Its easy for the joke teller to say relax, it was just a joke. But thats whats ultimately wrong with the situation that you simply cant understand whats offensive to another if it doesnt relate to you.

Its the theory of naive realism the idea that because we perceive it so, it must be. This self-centered viewpoint over racist jokes essentially takes away from the other persons feelings and sensitivities.

In short by saying relax or lighten up, you are desensitizing yourself and perhaps others around you to the offense caused by the joke. These behaviors can have the effect of desensitizing full communities against the minority.

National news anchors need to be more tactful

Whats perhaps the most shocking in this blatent display of racial arrogance is the fact that Camerota is a national news anchor. Of course, the bar is really low nowadays for what we expect out of mainstream national news anchors. For women, the bar is even lower show a toothy grin and toss your hair. Gone are the days of Christiane Amanpour and Soledad OBrien. Now, if you look good in front of the camera and can speak clearly, youre in. Bonus points if youre a D cup or higher.

But at a bare minimum, national news anchors should exhibit tact on air. After all, a news anchors job is not just to speak, but to address difficult issues and deflect difficult questions.

I commend Cuomo for displaying brilliant tact. But again, Camerotas joke bleeds of white privilege Im white and blonde and can say whatever I want and nobody can do anything about it.

Shame on you, CNN. You arent FOX News and youve tried to build your reputation around some semblance of centralism and diversity. You host brilliant shows addressing diversity of race and religion. You have brilliant hosts like Anderson Cooper , W. Kamau Bell, and Reza Aslan.

Yet, if you allow anchors like Camerota to continue airing racially insensitive gaffes like this, youll inevitably lose credibility. The effort you put towards embracing diversity and inclusion will be lost.