Of course I can ignore the stereotypes. I've grown up and I have my own view of the world. I know when some things are a joke and when some things are serious. I feel good enough about myself to not let it get to me. But what about kids who can't ignore it. They come home from school and some other kid was making fun of the way they talk and slanting their eyes at them. Sure, you tell them that those kids are foolish and don't know any better. Surely adults don't think that way. And then that kid turns on the TV and sees a buck-toothed Asian running around spewing broken English while everyone's laughing. Now I understand why black kids chose the white doll in Brown vs. Education.
Racism - that is being descriminatory, demeaning, rude, or hurtful solely because of race - is inexcusable in ANY way shape or form. I agree completely with bonfirebook that Shaq, Tony Bruno, the Miami heat, etc. were completely out of line and are using Yao's ethnicity to make fun of him and thus make fun of Asian's alltogether. Imagine (as someone posted earlier) if Bruno made fun of African-American slang or the Miami Heat gave away collard greens to their fans when LeBron James came to visit next year. All hell would break loose (as well it should). I speak of this from experience being hispanic AND the product of a bi-racial household. My whole life I have heard jokes about my my Cuban mother and her "tire-raft" and that I should make sure she isn't a communist. This hurts me tremendously because my entire family has tried hard to fit in, be accepted by the American culture, and contribute to said culture as much as possible. To vwz... don't nit-pick bonfirebook's post for misspellings, etc. becuase it's obviously not the point of the post. He admitted at the start that he was posting to ask how accurate his information was and how other posters felt about it. To DavidS... being African-American or any other minority doesn't give you the right to be a racist. You assume and insist that Shaq's comments couldn't be racist because he is African-American, but the comments were racist, rude, and should not be tollerated, no matter who's mouth they come out of. Sports is the one medium where race shouldn't matter... it's all about what happens on the field, court, etc. I personally will never listen to the Bruno Show again (and I WAS a regular listener) and I have already told Fox Sports radio about that (I encourage everyone who feels the same to call or email your Fox affiliate). I'll add the fact that Shaq is now my least favorite player and I am praying Yao just "posters" him. I think that he will and I hope Shaq chokes on his own words
jlaw, you points are well taken here. and i think vwz's underlying meaning is that...the mispellings are more important issues than what people have to say when one group is made fun of racially.
davids, everyone is free to make fun of and even insult other culture's languages (as you said, spanish, french, german, etc.)--but if you are clearly doing it to hurt people, either public opinion will turn against you or you will be attacked in some fashion. irwin tang is not trying to "censor" anyone--he's trying to make people aware that "ching chong" is NOT considered funny by some people, no matter what you might think. the hope being, people will eventually realize that there are consequences to bashing asians, much as americans are now consciously aware of not bashing blacks in public (despite their private beliefs). in the end, no one's freedom of speech is being compromised. if one wants to say "******" or "chink" in public or on the air to insult blacks and asians, you are perfectly free to do so. just be prepared to face consequences without whining about "political correctness".
So, how has Shaq discriminated against Yao? Has he taken away his money because of his skin color? Has he beat him up because of his "hatred" of his color? What? You are confusing racism with stereotypes. Also, you said that no one has the "RIGHT to be a racist." A right? How about the right to free-speech. When that is gone then we have censorship. Take your pick. Endure the voice of the "racist," OR have no voice for anyone.
sorry to beat a dead horse, but. since we are all seemingly in love with poorly thought out metaphors, here's one. "censorship in society"--can't talk about blacks or hispanics, etc., on the air, print, because you will be fired, ostracized, etc. (consequences) some people consider this "un-american" and "censorship" and use the banner of fighting "political correctness" as their justification. okay, if you walk down the street and call a hispanic person "spic", that person will want to severely beat you, naturally. so that is what keeps people from flinging around racial epithets constantly--the consequences, whether it is being fired or getting your ass kicked. as poorly as this metaphor is being developed, i think the point is clear: are you going to whine to the hispanic person about him censoring your views by threatening to beat you up? um, no. can you equate the poster's concern and plan to act as "censorship"? i guess you could, but you might be considered somewhat of an idiot, to be blunt. again, this metaphor is not exactly perfect but the jaywalker/murderer metaphor wasn't so great either, you gotta admit.
Racisms and Stereotypes come in many forms and one sometimes lead to another. Hey, you'll never know. Yao is properly p!ssed now at what Shaq have says about him. We know Yao is very proud of his nationality and I'm sure he'll let his actions do the talking!
So, Shaq WANTED to "hurt Yao?" Or was he trying to be funny? Like I said at the beginning. A misunderstanding and misinterpretation. And political correctness has created a VEHICLE for people to cry for every little thing that is said that seems like a "racial or gender remark." ASIA, mj230, gsd99rhc, derock, eric.81, I hear your point of view. But, please be decide the direction of your own lives. Not external. Else you will get knocked down by what others think of you, and you will be fighting stereotypes for the rest of your life. Remember, pick free-speech over censorship. Always!
Gotta agree with DavidS...the greatest weapon free people can have is free speech? But endure the voice of the racist? Never because we have free speech too. Look at the Masters and the women advocate groups. Because of the ability to protest, they have sponsors, major networks, and professional golfers wondering what's the correct thing to do next. Many a people greater than Shaq or Tony Bruno have seen their careers tumble for doing similar insensitive things. So bravo to those wanting to protest at the next Roxs-Lakers game. Bravo to those calling FOX and telling them they aren't listening to Tony Bruno anymore. Bravo to those even calling the sponsors who endorse these two idiots.
Just as I said, racial slurs are not allowed in PUBLIC against African Americans, but perfectly fine against other minorities. You know, with the intention of NBA to extend to Asia markets, NBA certainly does not want to see this issue. If there are enough people, people can always choose to boycott Lakers game, stop buying Shaq-T-shirt, tell advertisers not to advertise Shaq in Asia. It is an image problem NBA does not want to have! Shaq should realize it is the fans that pay his salary!
davids, thanks a bunch for the life advice and the information regarding our constitution. this is a REALLY obvious point, so apologies everyone else on the board, but anyway. one person's "funny" is another person's "insult". here's another crappy metaphor: person no. 1 "those asians talk funny--ching chong, ching chong" person no. 2 "ha ha ha, you are so right" person no. 3 "what did you say, mother****er (etc.) you ****ing (insert racial epithet of your choice)" is this perfectly clear now? i mean, really, this has got nothing to do with politics (or basketball for that matter). yes, i know, everything is political, but come on.
So Trent Lott shouldn't step down just because of his speech? Right to free-speech. Anyway, he is a hypocrite, no matter what he says.
No, you are talking about political correctness on the corporate level. Thus, this affects the "free-press." That example is just picking a fight and would be considered agaist the law if you tried that (kicking someones ass) in a college, news program, or walked into a news paper company and punched someone. What you are fighting agasinst is not being able to print insults, forget about racist remarks! Printing insults should not be banned. Else, we get rid of op-ed pieces. You can call the hispanic a name in the streets, and get the same resutls. So, it's not about cencorship, or free-speech, or politically correcness in your example. It's just about insults for the sake of insults. My metaphor was in regards to comparing jaywalking and stereotyping to murder and slavery. But, you want the same punishment for both.
Also, don't say that Shaq is not a racist because he is an African-American. That is a very flawed logic. It is like saying if, after their marriage, Ben Afflect sleeps with another girl, then Jennifer Lopez will never comit adultery because she was a 'victim' of adultery. Of course that's totally hypothetical. But you want to bet?
davids, well, obviously, no one is going to change their minds (as is usually the case in any discussion). can anyone claim to have learned anything in this discussion? i definitely haven't but yet i found the time to contribute several worthless posts.
Now, he IS a RACIST! All you have to do is read the history of Mississippi politics and Trent Lott. And to answer your last question. Yes, he has a right to his free-speech. Stepping down has nothing to do with it. That's another issue. His career is over, though. He actually believes his racist remarks. Tisk, tisk... But, to equate Shaq's comments to Lott's is not the same.
