I think this problem can be attributed to a cultural difference. When I firstly entered UK, I am totally innocent of the western courtesy. I didn't hold the door for the next person after I steped into a building. One of my senior noticed it and reminded me of my slur. I undertand that I am fully entitled to plea my ignorance, due to the cultural difference. But I followed her advice without any explanation, because I know what I did is IMPROPER and I can improve it. This ability of understanding should also be applied to Oneal's case. He can plea his ignorance, but what he did is WRONG. Making joke to a person, who cannot understand the joke and take it as an insult, is patently WRONG! Especially, while the topic is involved in the language issue, this disrespect is not only against one person, but the whole nation.
Agreed. Yes, you get what you deserve. But a lot of times the mear fact that you utter words that seems as thought it's "racist" you get a uproar from the people without first finding out what the issue is really about. That's what I don't like. It's cuts off any communcation at all before the facts are out. Jumping to conclusions in anger is harmful in regards to free-speech because then people will be afraid to say anything. I wasn't talking about good vs evil. I was talking about genetic engineering and who controls that knowlege.
not to turn this into race and semantics, but. "yo brah whats up etc." is a little bit different from "ching chong". mainstream white pop culture in our society heavily derives from black slang--therefore the "cool" connotation. in most cases, the INTENT is to say, "hey dude you are cool look at me i am trying to be cool too". whereas "ching chong" has traditionally ALWAYS had the intent of "i assume you don't know english, your language sounds stupid and i am making fun of it". now, going back to the "i gotta aks you a question" things, that would obviously be an insult. the intent would be "you don't know how to speak english correctly, you are stupid". not a hell of a lot different from "ching chong". you mentioned self-respect. i'm not sure how you define it, but anyone who doesn't stand up for themselves doesn't really have self respect, in my opinion. being stoic and bearing the brunt of an intentional slight with a ****-eating grin doesn't really do a whole lot of good.
You see, with the interrogation mark, it is a question. If it is a conclution, then it is undoubtedly an insult, as what Barry believes.
what about it white men can't jump? what about it? if white people as a group decide that it's acceptable, that is their choice. as for the motivations for accepting it, i won't try to speculate. if they (not like whites in america can be easily fit into one group) want to protest and call out the director, producer, etc., i'm fine with that also. that's my point. if someone is offended, they will make noise. and i would think that there are both white people who are totally fine with things like that movie title and people that are geniunely angry but remain quiet, so that they will not be labeled "crazy" and "over-sensitive".
okay. to reiterate, i don't really have a problem with much of what you are saying--at least not anything worth wasting 3 pages on. except for the implication that you have to "walk in the shoes" of blacks before you are qualified to be vocal about racial slurs, perceived or not (not really for you to judge if you are not the target). whether you meant it or not, that statement (if that is what you meant) is pretty much absurd.
As a white guy living in China -- a country with a great deal of racism -- I have learned that anyone living in a different culture than they are used to has to accept they will hear some comments like these, and hope they can change people's attitude. That is what is so great about Yao's success in the NBA -- he is going to teach people about China, so they realize how stupid they look and sound. Can you imagine any team in the future giving out fortune cookies now that Yao has told the world no one in China eats them, and few people here have ever heard of them (they were invented in San Fran by the way). No. The Heat looked like morons on that one, and others will learn from it. The idea that Asians are all smart, but lousy athletes will also start to disapear as Yao and others do well in the U.S. That said, I don't think Shaq, or the Heat were mean-spirited, just ignorant. They should be educated about their mistakes, but not blasted for them. The radio show hosts you mention, however, sound like a couple of morons who deserve a good slap upside the head -- but then again that seems to be the job description for so many radio guys these day.
You are an idiot. I'm black and I will admit that blacks get away with making fun of other races and it isn't fair. But Trent Lott didn't tell a joke Mr. IDIOT, he said he thought the USA would have been better off if someone who supported segregation would have been president. Thats not a joke. People died, not just black people, to end segregation. Thats not a joke IDIOT. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. Segregation wasn't about being able to make fun of what blacks ate. It was used to keep black people in a lower class in our society. I can't tell you how much of an IDIOT you are. I guess next you are going to say, "I can't understand why Jews have such a problem with the Holocaust".
As an Afircan-American, I agree that these comments/actions are insulting. But it only hurts when it hits close to home. People are ignorant sometimes...but worry not. People who have such small brains (like Shaq) usually end up living in a trailer park and working the drive-thru during the graveyard shift at McDonald's. (Its only because he's a freak of nature that basketball was able to save him from this same fate). Ignorance is bliss.
Just in case anyone wants to read more from the thread starter bonfirebook Irwin Tang: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...236030?v=glance&s=books&vi=reader#reader-link
Originally posted by DavidS He's talking trash...get used to it! So, racist-based comments are OK when trash-talking? Hmmm...right. Do you honestly believe that Shaq, and African-American, is a racist against Yao? I believe his 'chongching..' whatever was demeaning. It was making fun of another group of people. You call that stereotyping? I've heard people tell jokes in what they think is a 'black' accent and use the word 'aks'. I find that offensive also. Should I just attribute that to stereotyping, as you apparently would? Please... You need to walk in the shoes of a black person first before you boo-hoo to us! What the hell kind of double-standard are you touting here? Nothing I mentioned had to do with the fact that Shaq is black, it had to do with what he said. Are you trying to say that Shaq should get special treatment from me when he demeans others because he is black? If anything, he should be more sensitive to that crap since he doesn't need to exercise his empathy to understand, only draw upon his own experiences. You should stop trying to defend Shaq just because he's black, because that certainly is what it sounds like. (And FWIW, blacks may experience racism and bigotry more than others, but you certainly don't have a monopoly on the experience. Don't assume others cannot empathize. In this instance, you apparently are having difficulty empathizing with others...go figure.) PC has reached a level never before seen before! Really? Can't think of anything comparable? Give me a break.
I lost respect for Shaq when he came out with the 'Sacramento Queens' slur. When he's off the court I pay as little attention to him as possible, but I do the same for all pro athletes.
Also, Olowokandi was born in Lagos, Nigeria (same country as Olajuwon) and he was a #1 pick. Duncan was born in the US Virgin Islands. Im not sure if people would consider him foreign born or not. Last, maybe someone could help me out here, but wasnt Mychal Thompson a #1 pick and wasnt he from the Bahamas?
I dunno why some people think what shaq say is acceptable, say its misunderstanding n stupid **** like that. Shaq is not stupid actually becuz he said this in amercia where the meida n ppl accept this kind of jokes and may find it funny. But imagine if he was in Peking olympic or a tour to china n say chingchongxxxxxxxxx... or went to a chinese kareoke bar n say it out loud then he is stupid. He knows what this comments mean to chinese ppl but he still say it simply becuz he is racist.
