The tech-savvy comic strip User Friendly (October 8-11, 2003) is to be commended for its acknowledgment of the everyday racism and ignorance faced by Asian Americans.  Even so, there is a disturbing artificiality about the series. 

By portraying the presence of an Asian American employee as an atypical occurrence in a high-tech workplace, the strip trivializes the major contributions of Asian Americans to the industry.

The series also positions the character of Ting Kuan out of the range of any possible collisions with the glass ceiling, as the "new intern" who is only too happy to be earning $6.15/hour under the patronage and management of the established white characters. In so doing, the series largely ensures that racial discrimination will continue to be understood as the blatant behavior of a socially isolated individual (Stef), rather than as a subtle and pervasive social practice, and that no difficult questions of status and pay inequality will be raised during his future employment at Columbia Internet.