Chinese stereotypes about themselves as athletically inferior

[lucky]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/08/international/asia/08letter.html?ex=1095307200&en=22764b09d98b8739&ei=5006&partner=ALTAVISTA1

"...."It is a kind of miracle," Mr. Liu, 21, exulted at a post-race news conference after tying the world record and winning gold in the 110-meter high hurdles. "It is unbelievable - a Chinese, an Asian, has won this event. .....In many countries, particularly the United States, this kind of racial stereotyping often touches a raw nerve in society. But among Chinese, the proposition that genetic differences have made Asian athletes slower in sprinting than their American, African or European rivals is a widely accepted maxim, if an unproven one."

what do you think (immigrant, or american born perspective)? personally (as a native born chinese american), i would never think of myself as racially inferior to other ppl. That's because growing up in America, i had to fight for basic respect as an Asian/Chinese person----living in a big city made that a little easier (more asians=ppl "acclimitized" to presence of asians.)

[asvenus]

stereotypes like this are so stupid...its like my dad is Black and he is the most scrawny ass dude i have ever seen...he is 50 and he doesnt even have a gut or anything...tiny tiny man...then my uncle who is Asian is enormous...really....i mean for goodness sake

[Seamus]

I read this article this morning and am either annoyed at the Chinese for holding negative racial stereotypes about themselves, or at the article for exaggerating the degree to which they hold them.

The most annoying racial stereotypes are the ones that are self-imposed. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard Asian people making self-deprecating remarks because of their Asianness. People need to think of themselves as human beings first, not as members of a race.

I'm not denying that members of different races may on average have slight differences in physical characteristics that are good for different sports, but those differences must be slight. Also, I don't know whether this is true or not, but just as Europeans and Africans tend to be taller on average, my personal observation is that pound-for-pound, Asians tend to be a little stronger and bulkier, perhaps because our people have lived on a cold continent for so many thousands of years.

The bottom line is, the degree of variation within populations swamps--bya wide margin--any differences in the mean. People are people, and we're all basically built the same way.

[BigLew]

Sick man of asia.

[Seamus]

I thought Turkey was the "sick man of Europe." But Turkey's also an Asian country. But the sick man of Asia prize has got to go a country like Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Burma, or some other country in really bad shape.

[BigLew]

I was more refering to view of self. As the thread implies.

[moser]

Wonder where that thinking came from.

[truMp]

I don't think the PRC supported his comments; Mr. Liu probably said it because of his repeated losses to the black racers in previous events and finally found it amazing that he actually won, provoking his crude comments.

[ellsworth81]

it's not like chinese people have been training for this shit for the past 30 years, so if anything china should be proud.

[hooligan]

You're speaking to the Ron Jeremy of Asian America. I've got the stamina of ... Ron Jeremy AND Peter North.