There comes a time when a writer, no matter how big or small, has to swallow his words. I believe that time has come for me.

Last week, I posted an article about Asians on the big screen, and how we need to lay off them for accepting insignificant or degrading roles. To prove my point, I specifically mentioned Ken Jeong, a rising star in Hollywood with 10 movie/TV appearances this year alone. Something I deemed an admirable effort.

I was even planning to go so far as to write an article about the remarkable life of “Dr. Ken,” but it seems I overlooked some of his roles. Sure, I figured that his humiliating (yet hilarious) role as a gay gangster in The Hangover was offset by his role as the king in Role Models, but I never thought that he (or Asians) would suffer such a disgrace as described in his new movie, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard. Here is a description of that scene, which is featured in the trailer:

A character played by Jeremy Piven addresses an audience and says: “Don’t get me started on Pearl Harbor—the Japs flying in low and fast. We are Americans and they are the enemy! Never again!”

A man looks at the Asian American character played by Ken Jeong and says, “Let’s get him!” which results in a mob of men beating the Asian man. Piven’s character then says, “All right, stop! We have all just participated in a hate crime. Let’s get our stories straight. Dang came at us with a samurai sword, fire extinguisher and Chinese throwing stars.”

Brilliant comedy right? Well, let’s break this down a bit. Piven starts by throwing out a racial slur (classy) and the joke ends with a mob beating on Ken Jeong, who happens to not be Japanese. While I don’t personally feel the full effects of the word “Jap,” I do believe that it should be held with some regard and not thrown about willy-nilly in an effort to get some cheap laughs. It does remind many of their time in internment camps or when facing other severe racial profiling. Some liken it to the “N-word” for African Americans.

Paramount has responded to the criticism and public outcry by releasing this statement: “The Goods satirizes and exaggerates the extremes of the sales and celebrity culture” and “is in no way meant to be mean-spirited, disparaging or hurtful to any individuals and we regret any offense taken. We understand that when presented out of context, jokes and situations in the movie about a variety of topics might be offensive to some people.”

I say that they released this statement and not an apology because frankly they don’t believe they did anything wrong. They could have also said “We regret the use of internment camps during WWII. In no way did these camps mean to disparage or hurt any of the individuals involved and we regret any offense taken. We understand that the situation might have been offensive to some people.” I understand that I’m exaggerating the wording here, but let me move to a couple stories that require no embellishments.

Let us consider the story of Vincent Chin. For those who don’t know, Vincent was a Chinese American man who was beaten to death in Detroit after being mistakenly identified as Japanese during the height of anti-Japanese sentiment in the early 80’s. The two Caucasian men responsible for his death were left off with a slap on the wrist: no jail time and three years probation for manslaughter… for a hate crime. It took years and the help of the Asian American community for some semblance of justice, and this in civil court.

Over this past weekend a similar hate crime was carried out, this time in Australia. 23-year-old Caucasian male, James Anthony Dean-Willcocks, was drunk while celebrating his birthday when he encountered 67-year-old Magno Alvarado. Witnesses say James called Mr. Alvarado a “Jap” and told him to “F--k off to Japan” while beating him. One witness attempted to stop James who responded simply, “Mate, he is Japanese and he deserves it.” Though rushed to a hospital, Mr. Alvarado died the next day. He was a man of Filipino descent.

After hearing these two stories, scroll up and read the excerpt from The Goods again. If that doesn’t put a fire in your ass, I don’t know what will. This is not the playful use of stereotypes that Hollywood (may have) intended, but a full blown outrage.

So what do we do now? First off, like alcoholics, we need to understand and accept that this is a problem. Then we must take action.

I’m not one to take command or give direction, but if you were upset or offended, start by telling someone. Tell anyone, including your friends, family, neighbors, or household cats. Direct them to the article describing the hate crime in Australia. Then continue to voice your opinions to those responsible: Paramount, Neal Brennan (director), and even Ken Jeong. Write a letter, send an email, tweet, or Facebook message them. Allow them to see for themselves the wrongs they have committed. Let your voice be heard.