An army of one

I went out to see comedian Jo Koy perform June 18 at ComedyWorks Downtown. I interviewed him the day before, so I figured it'd be fun to see him live.

As I was walking down the stairs to the main room, I could see a man coming up.

"Joe?" he asked.

I didn't recognize him, but it seemed like he knew me, so I replied, "Yes?"

"It's so nice to meet you!" he said as he introduced himself. He was someone who worked there, so I assumed it was someone who knew I was working on the story.

Well, until he said this:

"Is everything OK for you at the condo?" he asked.

At first I couldn't figure out what he meant by that, but then it became clear.

"I think you have me mistaken for Jo Koy," I said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "You look so much like him."

We've all had a case of mistaken identity. Whether it's moment when someone thinks we're someone else or we think a complete stranger is an old friend, it's happened to us all.

But this takes "all Asians look alike" to a new level.

Now before you roll your eyes, thinking, Joe's over-reacting and started on yet another rant about Asian stereotypes, keep in mind that Koy's pictures are plastered all over the building. And we don't look alike – at all.



I wouldn't mind if I was mistaken for someone who bore a resemblance to me. I mean, when I was rockin' my fu manchu and someone said I kind of looked like Chow Yun-Fat from "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," I'd be fine with that.

It’s not something I found makes me angry; rather it’s something that’s humorous in a sad, sad way. And it's not just from random people, the mainstream media's done this, too. People Magazine mistakenly used a picture of actor Karl Yune for a story about Korean pop star Rain back in May.

Heck, countries aren't immune to this either. In 2006, the Associated Press ran a story about China planning lunar missions. So, they attached a graphic with a Japanese flag planted into Dione, one of Saturn's moons.

Apparently all moons look alike, too.



"The Office" made fun of this phenomenon in its Dec. 14, 2006 episode where Michael (Steve Carell) and Andy (Ed Helms) pick up two Asian waitresses at Benihana's and bring them to the office Christmas party. But when they get there, Michael isn't able to tell them apart, and doesn't remember which one is the one who is with him. When he does, he slyly marks her with a marker.

The premise wasn't the only joke – the show used two sets of Asian-American actresses with different appearances to play the same role.

It was a brilliant move to not only make a jab at this stereotype, but to give it a full uppercut.

Sadly, I doubt many folks actually picked up on it.

Sigh, I can't wait until next week when my "doppelganger" Russell Peters performs at ComedyWorks.