That's really cool. Not to be on your jock or anything (I think RM95 has that covered ), but it says a lot about you that you went out of your way to try and bring attention to something like this. I doubt kerr did it on purpose, but avoiding terms that are demeaning or hurtful to others is an easy thing to do. Now that he knows the connotation, I assume he'll avoid using the word in the future. Now that you brought out a politician to shine a light on the term will hopefully educate others and prevent them from making the same mistake. very cool.
I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it, but i think it's just the fact that people are questioning why Asians find it offensive. Yeah, some people are just curious and wondering why, but others are arguing with us about it. We find it offensive.. what you say or do to reason with us won't help.
i don't think Yao'd be offended, at least not as much offended as Chinese Americans. he's only stayed in the country for less than one year. he probably doesn't understand the connotation of chinaman. even if he does, he wouldn't feel as insulting as Chinese Americans since he grew up in a different country where people speak another language. I'm Chinese. I don't understand why Asians other than Chinese find it offensive. I don't know much about American history and English isn't not my first language. so please excuse my ignorance.
How many times do you need to be told? No one wants to "hang" Kerr (or Stockton? whichever). The guys are even saying that they dont believe Kerr is racist. But still, it was an ignorant mistake. And Kerr should apology. That's it. Do you still not understand? However, if you consider that making an apology is equivalent to being hung, then go ahead and keep arguing.
How many people on this thread have trashed Stockton? If anything we are giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was just ignorant. I think the central theme of the thread has been that Stockton or Kerr, whoever said it, and TNT, need to apologize. When I accidentally hurt/offend someone, I apologize. It's only the right thing to do. And to equate a myth about Caucasians and fish eyes to using the term "Chinaman", wow, you truly have to walk a mile in my shoes.
RocketForever, That was an analogy. It's all about the frenzy that political correctness can impose on someone in the media. It's not always a good thing. At times, it can go overboard. I'm not saying that's happening to Kerr. But it's just something to watch out for.
Why thank you Easy I'll try not to let it go to my head. Looking back over this thread I'm actually glad this issue has come up because it tells me that even though as Americans we've made a lot of racial progress we still have a long way to go. I find it troubling that many posters are getting upset that Asian American posters and others like myself are taking offense at this issue. I've can try to convince you of this is to consider the situation if the tables were tables were turned and a Chinese broadcaster called a Caucasian player "whitey" on a broadcast but I can see that that doesn't work. The sad truth is that IMO most of you honestly cannot understand why even an innocent mistake has such resonance to those of us. Many of you like DavidS are complaining about this as this is just another example of political correctness gone amuck. What you are forgetting about is why is there political correctness in the first place. Political correctness as a movement is largely the creation of Caucasian guilt to assuage the angry minorities. Consequently many Caucasians in particular are bothered by political correctness because as openminded modern people find it offensive that they should feel guilty in the first place or have to mind their language because afterall minorities are succeeding like never before and in the society we live in we are all equal in law and fact. That's an easy thing to say from the majority standpoint but from a minority standpoint it is harder to accept when for most of our history we haven't been equal and in either law or fact. From our standpoint its hard to forgive and forget that up until barely thirty five years ago one group lorded it over others with the blessing of the law. For Asian Americans it is even harder when to this day we are continually reminded that to many Americans we can never be truly considered American. When people automatically assume that you were born somewhere else and think they are complementing you by telling you how good your English is. True most of these people aren't racist and think they are trying to be considerate but that is a consideration born out of ignorance that in many ways is worse than overt racism. At the Holocaust memorial is it written "Never Forget" because the fear of Jews is that the Holocaust will be forgotten and that anti-Semitism will creep back innocently through a misplaced remark here or a thoughtless statement there. To those of us whose not so recent ancestors have experienced racism these words resonate with us too. We can never forget that our parents, grandparents and greatgrandparents were denied the same opportunities as others, were given less rights than others, got less justice than others, were considered less valuable than the railroad ties they worked on and were even outrightly owned by others. These are things that we can never forget and because these things came from something that we cannot change American society will not let us forget. This is why even an ignorant remark like calling a Chinese man a "Chinaman" is something that gets our attention because if a racial slur made under even under the most innocent situations is tolerated that tells us that not only is the struggle against racism and prejudice is forgotten but its not even known. I'll close by saying that I'm glad we cleared it up that it was Steve Kerr and Dick Stockton who said it and I'm glad that he has apologized and understands that "Chinaman" is offensive and that he won't use it again. I'm sure there are also many of us who owe Dick Stockton an apology for tarring him when he didn't say it.
I hereby authorize all of you to call me GerMAN. No offense will be taken and I will not call any councilmen, or TNT.
I am really glad that most people are not so sensative like you. The problem is that you let something like that get to you too much. Do you think that because I am white people understand everything about me? No .. Every person is different and deals with different ignorances which I am sure you and I both have and probably don't even know it. I am from Houston and now I live in San Diego, and people ask me if I owned cows and rode horses. That is born out of ignorance too, but is it a reason to get upset ... No If someone comments on how good your English is, I agree that it is a dumb thing to say, but if you claim yourself as a victim there then you are going to be a victim your whole life. In as much of a melting pot as America is, I think we are all going to have to deal with ignorances. I have no problem with someone saying something to someone like Kerr to let him and everyone else know that its not a good thing to say, and now we will all know it and change. Racism is a different story, and I believe it should be treated differently. To say that ignorance is worse than racism is rediculous. When someone deals with racism they are a true victim.
You really are ignorant. Whats owning cows and riding horses gots to do with this issue? What your talking about is "stereotyping". Theres a big difference between "stereotyping" and "racial prejudice". You're absolutely right. MLK claimed to be a victim and still is. Beause of MLK blacks still sit in the back of the bus, not allowed to share public restrooms and my momma bought a slave @ the grocery store. Ignorance can be dealt with many ways. We can promote public awareness in schools, colleges, the work enviroment and bbs forums So ManJosh the term "Chin*men" is considered a racial slur amongts people of the Asian Decent. Its not proper to use the term in any way, shape or form. So, DONT USE IT.
Ummmm ... Did i ever say that term was not a racial slur? And as a matter of fact was I even talking about that term? As for the stereotyping, stereotyping is a result of ignorance. His post said that he was offended when someone stated that he spoke english well, which is a stereotype that many Asians deal with. My point was that people should not be so offended by other peoples ignorances otherwise you are going to be upset your entire life. There is nothing wrong with letting someone know that they said something was ignorant, and if they continue to say what it then it is no longer ignorance, it is racism. What MLK responded to was blatant racism. Blacks were required to sit in the back of the bus not out of ignorance, but out of hatred and racism. I think all victims of true racism should be offended that you believe you are a "victim" of someones ignorance when they are the true victims of hatred. BUT OBVIOUSLY you didnt read my post, otherwise you would have known that I was not even talking about the term you are telling me not to use.
But anyway ... I am done. I'm sorry if I offended anyone .. I was mainly just trying to get the point across that educating people and letting people know when they say or do something wrong is what needs to be done in order to improve society, and getting personally offended any time anyone says anything ignorant is going to make life more painful. I try to be as understanding as possible with anything that anybody says to/about me and give people the benefit of the doubt. As far as what happened with Kerr I think most people here were tolerant enough to know that he had no idea it was wrong, you let him know, and he apologized and I am sure it wont be said again. All of us that were ignorant now know. That is the way it should be done.
Your post is an example of what I meant that we have a long way to go for racial understanding. Coming from Texas and having lived in California, Boston and now Minnesota. I hear the stereotypes about Texans too and I'm bothered by the too. The difference between regional and racial stereotypes is that in America as a white American you can escape that stereotype and blend in if you find it harmful. For people like me we can't because for better or worse we are always judged by how we look. In many ways we are never allowed to assimilate no matter how much we try. Regarding victimhood that is simply a more polite way of saying "stop being a baby." This is again another example of misunderstanding between the races. This isn't a matter of victimhood but it is an understanding that racism was a fact and still exist and should be confronted. Just saying that well its an innocent mistake let it slide is the same as saying if a national broadcaster called a Jewish player a "Heb" or called someone gay a "Homo" (afterall those are just short for Hebrew and is just homosexual) is fine as long at it was done in ignorance. So by the strictest standard yes I am a victim but how bad is to point out that someone has said something that many find offensive and that person should at least be aware that that is offensive? The reason why I've been so passionate about this issue isn't about Steve Kerr but about the attitude that this should be ignored and those who are upset are really just PC cry babies. If we can't at least agree that a racially offensive term even used in ignorance is still offensive I'm not sure if any progress can be made on these issues.
OK, I finally found something I don't agree with you now. I don't consider ignorance worse than overt racism. When I first came to the US, many Americans still thought that all Chinese could do Kung Fu fighting, like Bruce Lee. That was, of course, a very ignorant notion. But I did not feel very offended (not just because it would help staying off bullies ). I was more amused than offended by their ignorance. Maybe it's my personality or something, I don't take offense easily. Unless it's really overt, I usually just give people the benefit of the doubt and shrug it off. I understand some of the posters here annoyed by the overuse of PC. I, too, feel that some minority people cry racism too readily. Asian Americans don't make as much noise as blacks and hispanics about discrimination. I personally think it is a mixed blessing. Political activism surely has helped racial minority a lot. But playing the race card, so to speak, too much creates an unhealthy victim mentality. It can take away the fire of self-sufficiency in an ethnic culture. The Asian culture, on the other hand, is such that you don't make noise or complain. You get ahead by working harder than the other guy. If you look at the Chinese American history (which a lot of people here seem to be ignorant of ), you see that the Chinese were virtual slaves and were looked down to as subhuman. They never had a civil right movement. But after a century, very few Chinese Americans are still in the poverty vicious cycle. They have done it with next to none political help. BTW, affirmative action in academic context (schools, universities), does not consider Asians as minority, because Asians occupy an unproportionally high percentage there.That fact, to me, speaks a lot about the Asian mentality.
fyi... Not sure if this particular statement is completely accurate because Chinese Americans or rather Asian Americans have "had" a civil rights movement. IMO, It's called the African American movement. Asian Americans along with all other minorities have greatly benefited from African American racial equality movements.
