By Diana Michele Yap May 16 at 9:00 AM In middle school, Simon Tam was jumped by four older kids on the playground. They hit him on the back of his head with a basketball, then pushed him down hard into loose gravel. One of them threw sand at his face.
Tam is still standing up for his principles. His compelling memoir, “Slanted: How an Asian American Troublemaker Took on the Supreme Court,” is about keeping true to his punk-rock heart and making history through an eight-year fight to get a trademark registration from the government for his all-Asian American band’s name, the Slants. “Nobody starts a band thinking that they’re going to go to the Supreme Court,” he writes.
With a catchy Depeche Mode-inspired sound, the Slants sing politically pointed lyrics and are known for their community activism. In 2012, in a Portland, Ore., coffee shop, a rep from a major-label record company presented Tam with a $4 million offer. But there was a hitch: He must replace the lead singer with someone white.
“No one. Not a single person,” his friend said. “But they did cite UrbanDictionary.com, and there are photos of Miley Cyrus pulling her eyes back in a slant-eye gesture.”
Ppl are always gonna cry about shit that they'll give a shit about
Slur would’ve been a cool name though 🤔
I prefer the band zipperhead
Who cares? His choice his prerogative.
Reminds me of how Rich Brian changed his name recently.
It's an old idea... It seldom has the desired outcome. Many misinterpret it, and racists see it as further justification to use the slur.
News flash: nothing is approved by everyone. Nothing.