Hawaii Democrat apologizes for ‘Asian trapped in a white body’ remark – By Diana Stancy Correll (Washington Examiner) / Jan 16 2019
Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, apologized Wednesday to the Asian-Pacific Islanders he offended for saying he was “an Asian trapped in a white body.”
Case, who told the Washington Post he is “fiercely proud” to represent a district of primarily Asian constituents, made the comment during an event Tuesday intended to commemorate Asian-American and Pacific Islander members of the new Congress.
“Like so many others from Hawaii who treasure our multicultural heritage, I have absorbed and live the values of our many cultures,” Case told the Post. “They and not my specific ethnicity are who I am, and I believe that this makes me an effective advocate on national issues affecting our API community.”
“I regret if my specific remarks to the national API community on my full absorption of their concerns caused any offense,” he said.
Nestor Garcia, a spokesman for Case, told the Post that Case was relating “what his Japanese-American wife sometimes says about him” and noted Case was an executive committee member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Case previously served on the panel when he served in Congress from 2002 to 2007, following a special election for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District after Patsy Mink died of pneumonia. He is currently representing Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District.
