Shaq's racial comments toward Yao

hi ffcow,

i see your point. if yao said that to shaq, i'd consider him a racist and i'd be disgusted by it. i don't know how else to interpret it.

i think one is a subset of the other. that is, one implies the other but not necessarily the other way around.

 

i normally don't even look at threads titled with the words racism and i normally don't like to talk about it. because there is no clear cut definition that ignorant people can agree on. i've tried to hold back on my opinion cause i know arguing with idiots is r****ded in itself. But what has become overly apparent to me over the years is that america has a double standard for racism. when it happens to african americans, it is always taken seriously. but when its any other race, asians, native americans, indians, and middle eastern people, it's tolerated and laughed off as a joke. part of the reason for this is the black-white paradigm, which ignores every race in between.

the other reason is people's lack of awareness of what racism's true nature is. it is any sort of prejudice that is used to disrespect or ridicule another race and it also includes all forms of stereotypes used to belittle a race. shaq didn't need to say he doesn't like yao cause he's chinese. what he said was clearly a stereotypical ethnic joke used to disrespect yao's race and his language. and what shaq did was a blatant example of disrespect toward chinese. he doesn't need to hate chinese to be racially prejudiced. but it is clearly evident that he has no respect for them.

a kkk member can say they don't hate black people but they have no respect for them either when they make jokes about them that belittle them. (there are real life examples of kkk members saying this and how they try to explain how they're not racist) now i don't want to resort to name calling and calling some of the people who posted before dumba$$es since i haven't read every f**king post and i don't intend to. and if i did call anybody a dumba$$, i think it should be taken as a compliment cause it doesn't truly illustrate how dumb some of the messages posted are. but if the above quoted message is any indication of the general opinion of some of the people who've posted, then "YOU" need to learn what the f**k racism really is. otherwise, don't even bother arguing about it cause its pretty clear you've never experienced it.

i could go into a more in-depth explanation, but somehow i feel it would be pointless to explain since this thread will probably be closed sooner or later anyway. thank you for wasting my time. this public service announcement was brought to you by your friendly neighborhood ch!nk.

now just to be perfectly clear, i don't actually care about what shaq said. cause what he said isn't anything new. chinese people have been putting up with this type of racial crap since they immigrated here, and it doesn't shock me or have any effect on me anymore, so i'm not exactly pissed about it. but what does kind of annoy me is the ignorance that people have continually demonstrated over the years and how they don't even acknowledge this type of racial prejudice as wrong and how people like shaq and countless others of multi-racial backgrounds (blacks, hispanics, caucasians, pretty much every freaking race) continue to make racial jokes about chinese and can act like they are innocent of any wrong doing. what's annoying is that they say this is just a joke.

i really hope i don't need to post a reply to any other dumba$$es out there and i hope people can stop talking about race. cause it wastes my time.

 

I still believe that if you look at this with an open mind, you would see that there are stereotypes or racial slurs for every race on earth. Of course that doesn't make it right, but it is the way it is. Not one race can say that they are victims only and do not believe at least one stereotype or have uttered racial slurs about another race.

 

Just wanted to point out that the thread title should say "racist," not "racial," as they are two different things.

racist:
1. Of the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Of, or relating to, discrimination or prejudice based on race.

racial:
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of race or races.
2. Arising from or based on differences among human racial groups: racial conflict; racial discrimination.


Having cleared that up, shaq's comments were racist.

if dey wudn't racist, well den lemme aks you dis, ya hea. ams i bein racist rad 'bout now? mboote mfume mbutu mfutu. (any of you shaq apologists out there that think the ching chong **** is acceptable, then translate this for me real quick.)

 

SINCE NONE OF YOU GUYS WHO ARE PROTECTING SHAQ ARE CHINESE YOU DON"T KNOW HOW IT FEELS SO UNTIL YOU BECOME CHINESE SHUT THE HELL UP!.....

though i think shaq is a good guy...he just said something stupid.

 

Vince Carter, you are da man.

Blastoff, what are some racial slurs for German people? How about Samoan people? There's not too many racial slurs. The most racials slurs are for oriental people. I am pretty sure everybody has said something or thought something racist.

 

I agree with DavidS that free speech and communication should be promoted, but sorting out potentially inflammatory words based on intent is highly idealistic because it assumes everyone knows how to convey their thoughts (i.e. miscommunication is nonexistent), and everyone else would have to know how to interpret it.

What can you say of Tony Bruno's role in this? He was promoting and inciting ethnic jokes even ringing in callers to join in on the fun. All for a cheap laugh. Comedy does not have to come at the expense of one specific group. Stereotyping and racism are forms of ignorance. They might not be mutually exclusive all the time but they proliferate the same thing. And what kind of people would do you want to foster out of this "free speech"? People like the callers?

I've always thought freedom of speech comes with great responsibility. The responsibility lies on the recieving end to convey why these remarks can be hurtful. They mainly do not come from the words itself, but from taunts and gestures that these words also manifest from. They come from other experiences that were blatantly hateful and malicious, such as from school, on the street, or a public place such as a restaurant. Is this called hypersensitivity? It's only a sensitive issue to begin with because of the wounds it opens up. But it also depends on the way the recieving end deals with it. By telling the other guy why it is wrong and potentially hurtful, you define the lines of intent. Violence and anger is never justified. This is not a call for PC. It's a call for eliminating ignorance.

Shaq comes off as some innocous rube in this, but he should know better, and I hold him in an even lower regard (He's like a dumber Barkley who spouts mysoginistic, homophobic, and racist comments among his assclown comments so many times that now is considered "endearing"). Besides, trash talk has started fights on and off the court. Just look at those boxing press conferences...

What can be said about our culture is that dialogue can only be expressed by "comedy" because it's apparently a safe haven for PC. This is the most gross perversion of racial understanding as is what political correctness has become. It relies on stereotypes that almost every American is familiar with and promotes it upon our future generations. Blacks have their hip hop culture, and Asians have their Kung Fu Zen thing. Blaxploitation films of the 70s to the 90% of all black comedies now characturize blacks as baffoonish clowns. "Hip pop" is now mostly about materialism and robbing the pride of other black men and women. It is not what rap was originally about. Asians are beginning to be characterized in their own right.

The race card has become blind in light of sensitivities and growing ambivalence. It has also become corrupted by politics, money, and dogma. There are many who will exploit their own race out of lack of self-respect just for greed and fame. It is the rest of us who have to deal with the brunt of this cultural preversion to stand up, raise awareness, and restore what MLK originally envisioned.

 

My take on Shaq's racial slur is racist, not necessary making him a racist though. We all make some stupid comments one time or the other, but that doesnt make us stupid. Right? What really makes someone a racist is his consistency and intent. Consistency is obvious to spot. If Shaq continues to make those insulting comments, then he is a racist. On the other hand, its more difficult to decipher someone's intent. I dont know if Shaq is a racist, just basing on 1 or 2 statements. But what Tony Bruno did is real racism. He is a racist.

 

I'm not going to reply to all the messages, just going to respond to what I can remember...

Why are we arguing semantics? Forget about it, the man said something he shouldn't have said because he didn't know any better. No matter what DavidS says, its within our rights to say "Hey you shouldn't say that because..." whether its on a internet message board or not. Its brought out discussion on a topic that i've (and other Asians/Asian-Americans) may have never had a chance to share.

I've made it a rule to stand up against "supermarket bullies", those that have shouted racial slurs to me and my family in public places. To take the highway, be quiet and ignoring them is not a language these neaderthals understand. Saying nothing is basically giving them the thumbs up to do it to the next Asian family. And again, contrary to what DavidS says, making it known that its unacceptable to slur you and yours will certainly make them think twice the next time they get any good ideas. And that people, is respect. Change doesn't always have to be proactive and huge in scope, get real.

Just because Shaq said a couple great things about Yao, it does not excuse him from being irresponsible about saying the things that he has said. What does that matter?

STuart

 

Racism and stereotyping happen everyday.

It is not right, but is considered a blase` thing to do if you're a certain race. There are repurcussions if a white individual cracks jokes about a black individuals or individuals, he is called racist. Yet a black individual can crack jokes about white individuals and its called humor.

******, Cracker, Kike, Spic, Beaner, Honkey, Monkey, Wetback, Guinea, Gook, etc, etc, etc. How many times do we hear it a day? On television, at the movies, the radio, down the street, at work, at the club, at the mall, at the comedy club, at the ballpark. People say what they want when they want. Isn't America about freedom of expression. If someone wants to be narrow-minded enough to be a bigot and blast a race, thats there perogative. I've been called many things in my life, when I walk into a nice department store I notice store personnel keeping an eye on me because of the way I look, its ridiculous, but it happens. You have to have a thick skin. Don't let it get to you.

When I heard Shaq's comments it made me mad, because Shaq is ignorant. He doesn't know Yao Ming, and everyone was into dogging Yao saying that he couldn't play NBA-caliber basketball because the CBA isn't known for aggressive play. And that was the powder keg that started the whole thing, because it jumped to dogging him about not speaking english too well (which they were later surprised at how well he does know english), and then sterotypes on the Chinese.

Unfortunately thats the way the world is right now. Muslims are called terrorists because of the WTC disaster. Germans are still referred to as Nazis. I've been told my yard looks nice because I'm a spic and its in my blood. I say so what? It doesn't bother me. The people who crack racial jokes say them because its the hip thing to do; take it with a grain of salt, that is what Shaq did. People who say racial slurs and dislike people for their race or religion are ignorant.

The important thing is Yao is a very humble person and just smiled and nodded when informed of Shaq's comments (the elbow thing and the jibberish). Yao knows that he still has much to learn and looks forward to his meeting with Shaq. My estimation is that Shaq feels a little threatened because there is another actual true center in the league. Let Shaq talk, its usually something out of the other orifice on his body so I along with most people either laugh it off or take it with a grain of salt.

 

Originally posted by moomoo
Just wanted to point out that the thread title should say "racist," not "racial," as they are two different things.

racist:
1. Of the belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
2. Of, or relating to, discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Having cleared that up, shaq's comments were racist.

You know it's amazing that some of you could be looking up the definition of the word and still not have a damn clue.

if dey wudn't racist, well den lemme aks you dis, ya hea. ams i bein racist rad 'bout now? mboote mfume mbutu mfutu. (any of you shaq apologists out there that think the ching chong **** is acceptable, then translate this for me real quick.)

I'd translate that into your acting like a goof and failing miserably to make any point at all. A lot of us on this board have made fun of the way Shaq speaks and more recently how terribly Tim Hardaway speaks on ESPN. That's hardly cause for us to be considered racists.


This thread should be locked, it's gotten silly.

 

Wish granted.

But, before I go, Timing, let me just point out that you seem to be very quick to pull the race trigger when it is directed at African Americans and I'm usually very quick to defend you as well. I don't begrudge you that.

However, you never seem to take seriously the issues others have with discrimination against women or other races. YOU may not think it is the same thing or as serious, but it most certainly is.

Something you should consider.