Apr 9, 2009 9:44 pm US/Pacific
Yee Upset Over Racist Remarks By Betty Brown
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
A lawmaker says voters of Asian decent should adopt "new" names that are "easier for Americans to deal with." CBS13 went to find out "who" made the controversial comments and the Northern California politician now fighting back.
Some names are easy to say and other are not. But, there is one woman making her name known, Texas lawmaker Betty Brown.
During a hearing yesterday on voter identification legislation, that's now been posted on YouTube, she said," voters of Asian decent should adopt new names that are easier for Americans to deal with."
Those comments caught California Senator Leland Yee's attention.
"You would think these kinds of Neanderthal borderline racist comments would never happen ever again," Yee says.
These are strong words from the senator with a Chinese last name.
"It's an important aspect in my life; it defines a lot of who I am and what I'm about and my culture," Yee explains.
And it does for others too. CBS13 visited SF Supermarket, an Asian grocery store in South Sacramento.
"Why don't we tell her to change her last name?" says one customer.
"You know you're American Caucasian, you have hard names also and we can't pronounce it but we don't go asking you guys to change your last name," another customer tells CBS13.
Nobody we spoke with agreed with Brown's comments except one.
"I think it's a good idea," says one local citizen.
These comments really do upset people. CBS13 tried to contact the Texas Lawmaker Office, but to be fair, it was 7 p.m. and she had probably left for the evening.
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