I personally don't get offeneded easily, and always have a hard time understanding why so many individuals can be affected by what some athlete says. That being said, I don't appreciate the double standard that is presented. But like some one said, if you don't have Cochran, Jesse Jackson, or Sharpton to make a big fuss about it, then people tend to consider it a harmless joke.
Thanks mackomon. You spoke the words out of my mouth. It's just too stupid and ignorant to say that if Yao doesn't care, chinese americans should shut up.
So your saying it offends you because of his professinal status. i dont know about that, the man is just as capable of making mistakes as the man on the corner with no money and no fame is. Im sure looking back Shaq knows it wasnt the smartest thing to say. Let him learn from it. and about the average joes, chinese people who may be insecure about thier accents, media personalities and all that being negatively influenced by Shaq. Well their problem is not with what Shaq says, but their problem is that they allow their minds to be influenced in anyway, negatively or positively, by a big fat dummy. Thats a very limited persepective on life. Maybe the intelligent thing to do would stop reading the dummy sport papers and watching the dummy sport channels if one is going to offended by an insensitive goofball. These guys dont owe society anything special, they're profesional sport players not humanitarians. And If one's kid has a brain that is especially receptive to what sport figures say then hey become more involved in his life and become his real role model and explain and talk about why some people may say idiotic things. Sounds pretty simple to me.
Ok if Brad Miller told Shaq.. "Tell Shaq 'Wussup dawg, lets me ride yo dubs to tonights game" is Brad Miller racist? He's mocking the language associated with Black/Urban Culture.. I think that is similar to what Shaq said to yao.. He didnt say anything bad about Yao or his culture.. just mocked their language. I can't tell you how many times ebonics is mocked by white people.. or black people mock white people by over exagerrating eloquence. It's trash talk, let it be trash.
If Miller said that to Shaq, and if that's not the way Miller usually talks, it would be patently offensive. No question. He would probably be suspended by the league.
There is a double standard because Rome blasted Payne Stewart for making the exact same type comments mocking the way asians speak. I didn't think it was a huge deal but Rome blasted Stewart saying he should apologize which he did. Rome is biased towards Shaq because he is a LA guy and like most people is affraid of him.
Trend Lott is just as capable of making mistakes as the man on the corner with no money and no fame is. Im sure looking back Trend Lott knows it wasnt the smartest thing to say. Let him learn from it. and about the average joes, african americans who may be negatively influenced by Trend Lott. Well their problem is not with what Trend Lott says, but their problem is that they allow their minds to be influenced in anyway, negatively or positively, by ... well, Trend Lott. Thats a very limited persepective on life. Maybe the intelligent thing to do would stop reading etc.... No, I don't want to talk about politics here. I am just saying we can do this all day with all the racially controversial statements made publicly by public figures. Of course there are differences between Shaq and Trend Lott. Of course the degrees of intensities of their statements also differ. Maybe their intentions are also different. But both are controversial. I don't care Shaq is an "insensitive goofball". As long as he said those statements publicly and could get away w/ it w/o even an apology, then that doesn't sound OK to chinese americans just like Trend Lott's statement didn't sound OK to african americans.
i listened to the entire rome show today, and jim just said that it was a racist comment (in my opinion it was) and that there was a double standard on this type of thing. he went on to say how black players have been quoted to calling their fellow white players/coaches "honkies" and "crackers" but if that same white guy reversed that role there would be hell to pay. rome also said that he KNOWS shaq is "one of the good guys" and just made a mistake. he said if ANYONE bashes the culture, language and/or heritage of another race then it is racism, which i agree with. rome knows just like most people do that shaq isn't a racist, and was just trying to make a joke that turned out bad. you have to remember that it may be okay to tease and "talk trash" about people in america but now the NBA has 1 billions screaming chinese fans to worry about. i also think if the tables were turned and Yao based the black culture that he would be crucified, and you would have reggie jackson, al sharpton, and a hundred other prominent black politicians call him out on it. so basically the controversy on the jim rome show was more about the double-standard then anything, because jim cut many a caller off today who tried to make shaq look like a racist. by the way, you can download and listen to all of his shows at www.jimrome.com
Whites joke about blacks. Blacks joke about whites. Asians make fun of White people. Men make fun of women. Women make fun of men. C'mon people. You act like this stuff doesn't happen everyday in your life, in your office, or on the field. You act like you have never gotten a good laugh out of it. You act like racism doesn't exist. It exists in every part of every corner of this world. And thank god it does. People are different. They are diverse. And groups of people do share qualities. The question is whether or not his comment was malicious. It wasn't so get over it. When Jim rome said there was nothing funny about it I say my ass. There is lot of funny stuff about it. We make fun of the way people talk in all kinds of media and laugh. So that's just dumb. People laugh at jokes just like all the freaking time. Normal people. Asian American people. If I see a man with no legs trip on the sidewalk and fall into a pile of slime that is funny. It may not be right to laugh because he his handicapped, but it is still god damn funny. Even during the OJ trial people made jokes. It happens. Even murder is funny sometimes. It's really dependent upon the context. This is not something to get worked up about. There was nothing malicious about it. If people are hurt by his comments then I feel bad for them, but that has nothing to do with Shaq, that has to do with their problems and issue. Shaq did not mean to hurt them. It sucks you hurt. It really does. But that does not mean somebody has to take a fall. If I take an elbow in a basketball game it hurts. It sucks. But I don't blame the guy that hurt me. I just keep playing.
sorry, but if 95% of the non-asian houston workforce came into their jobs making fun of a fellow chinese employee in this way, you would be fired in a heartbeat.... if the company didn't fire you then the chinese employee could sue the crap outta of them. the bottom line is basketball is a business, they aren't playing on the blacktops in the inner-city. all this crap about crackers, honkies, and making fun of the chinese language is freaking wacky. once again, if a white guy turned around and did the same thing he'd be hung out to dry and there would be hell to pay. the double-standard has to stop.
Texas Stoke, Thanks for your compliment. But I'm sorry I think my point is not exactly the same as yours. In fact they maybe opposite. I was trying to say it was not OK w/ Trend Lott when he said that and he paid the price.
The question basically comes down to how offensive those "ching-chong" type taunts are. I think it is probably the case that most of the time those types of taunts are in fact used in a malicious and hurtful way such that "ching-chong" type taunts have started to take on the odious qualities of the "n---" word for African Americans. Words by themselves are just a bunch of sounds put together but the history behind it gives it power and potency. Maybe Shaq didn't intend it this way but I can also relate to how some Chinese Americans would feel offended if you understand that for many Chinese Americans, those "ching-chong" type comments are exactly like using the "n---" word.
Svpernaut. I don't know what world you live in. Racial jokes happen all the time and nobody gets fired. We'd have no workforce is that were true. It's all about the context in which a joke is told. I made a joke about the Axis of Evil yesterday to an Iranian and nobody fired me and most people thought it was humorous. Not only that, but it opened up a whole conversation about the politics in Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq. So it was a way to break into a serious discussion about something that might not ordinarily be discussed. Context is the key. Racial jokes are common. They are a good way to break the ice in a lot of cases.
There is a huge difference between making jokes in the privacy of one's comfortable confines and making them in public for the entire world to hear. Everyone says things in private that they wouldn't say in public. But when you say those exact same things in public, you open yourself to scrutiny.
Maybe I wasn't clear when I said if it doesn't bother Yao, it doesn't bother me. It DOES bother me but like Yao is probably doing, I just shake my head and move on with my life. People are going to say and think ignorant things and there's nothing we can do about it. And yes there IS a double standard, that's not even an opinion it's a fact. Look at John Rocker. He said something moronic and now he might as well be SATAN. Shaq says something moronic and well..he's just trash talking. My thing is I care less about what people SAY and more about what people DO. I just wish the rest of the country would follow suit. What's the old saying? Something about sticks and stones...
I hate racism. I really hate it. And I admit, I was the worst at making fun of white people and other races when I was 15-16 and living in Washington DC. It was just...so easy. Making fun of clothes, speech, lifestyle. It was so easy cause I was surrounded by people just like me. It's harder in life to take the high road in certain circumstances, but it ends up disastrous when you don't. There were major changes happening in my life when we moved to Houston, but I hated the idea of moving here because it meant I had to get away from my old friends, my old ways. I thought there were no black people in Houston (boy, was I wrong), and I thought I would be surrounded by a bunch of cowboys and racists (that was pretty hypocritical). Little did I know that I would be embraced by a multitude of people from all races, creed, and walks of life. I love talking about racial equality. Someday in America I hope we will all be one. Probably not in my lifetime, or anywhere close, but here's for a miracle.
god, I wish Ming would completely pimp the @#$@ out that no talent ass clown. I doubt it will happen this time, but I can't wait until Shaq gets dunked on by said..."ching chow chee whaaa" what will he say then?
So what about comedians? Is that ok? or not? Because most comedians make fun of different races. They do it in public. And they do it in front of all races? Just watch the Kings of Comedy. Why is that different. They are not trying to hurt people. They are just trying to get us to laugh at ourselves. context. Shaq was trying to make a joke. Nobody thought it was funny. But let's not kill the comedian because nobody laughed. Let's just tell him that it wasn't funny and move on.
