soapzen
01-12-2006, 11:08 AM
I just registered today, and read the whole Chinky's Steak thread. Wow.
I realize it's been beaten to death, but it upsets me totally that some Asians find this name 'no big deal'. I'm starting a new thread because the Mods said they were closing the Chinks Steaks thread.I have no idea how to categorize this note, so it's going under Rants.
If a Chinese opened a sub shop across the street from Chinks Steaks and named it Jews Steaks (note: no derogatory racial slurs here... Jews is what they call themselves and their religion). When asked why an Asian owned a shop with such a name, the reply given was 'because that's his nickname, everyone thinks he's a jew"... the outrage and uproar from the Jewish Defamation League might be heard round the world.
History or not, Chink is a word rooted in the perceived inferiority of Asians to whites, and was used during massacres of Chinese in the early part of the century, after the Chinese contributed 90+% of the labor to build the Western half of the railroads, and they were no longer wanted or needed. Many Chinese were simply slaughtered. Others couldn't establish roots... Chinese females were not allowed to immigrate and Chinese males were not allowed to marry 'whites'. The ratio at one point was nearly 4,000 Chinese males to 7 Chinese females.
Asians suffered enormous discrimination in this country, and still do today. This doesn't stop because we collectively ignore it, just as segregation didn't stop because white people realized it was the wrong thing to do. It stops when victims can do something to show the perpetrators that they have some kind of organizational abilities, and have the ability to stop the discrimination with a united front. If discrimination against blacks and jews is not OK, if using derogatory terms for them is not OK, why is it OK for Asians? Because we accept our inferiority and the labels associated with it?
I looked at the dates, the Chinks Steaks thread started in early 2004... after nearly 2 years, it seems that Chinks Steaks is still using the name. It also seems that all this 'educating' of the public hasn't been very effective. That Asians started this protest and were so ineffectual after 2 years seems to show how powerless we are. Why are we powerless?
Judging by this thread, it would seem that the first step would be educating ourselves. Why do some Asians not mind the discrimination, when we already know that Blacks, Jews, Latinas do mind and have nearly eliminated derogatory advertising and public insult across the US?
Would a Nigger Steaks or Jews Steak be allowed to open today?
Kike is an absurd insult given that it is an actual name used worldwide. Do a quick search on the word Kike. On goggle, it appears on several websites as the first name for: an afghan photographer, a freediver in Oslo, a Colombian Composer... this on page 1 of a google search.
Do a quick search for the word Chink. You can go to page 5 of the google search and never find another 'definition' for the word except as a racial slur against Chinese, or a 'nickname', aka racial slur against Chinese (besides the narrow opening definition...you know, 'chinky eyes'). No one has that word as a formal name... probably because of the derogatory association?
Another Chinks Steaks would probably be allowed elsewhere in the US, they could point to the name in Philly. It's not a racial insult, it was his nickname refering to his 'chinky eyes'... WHAT? So a Jews Steak can also refer to a stingy Asian owner's nickname?
What has been the outcome of this outrage?? I went to the PERIL site and it was last updated on 7/04.
Sorry, not the most polite first note, just had to vent after reading 25 pages of this... I feel shell-shocked by some of the posts.
I'm way past college age, and after living a lifetime of subtle and overt discrimination, married to a white american, growing up in an all white suburb and feeling much like some of you seem to in my youth (what's the big deal? If I ignore it, discrimination will eventually go away, it doesn't matter).
I'm now coming to the realization that discrimination isn't going away and won't go away til we make it go away. That starts with simple respect. When we don't demand respect ourselves, we probably don't deserve any respect. We have no one to blame but ourselves when we don't get any respect. What to do?
I realize it's been beaten to death, but it upsets me totally that some Asians find this name 'no big deal'. I'm starting a new thread because the Mods said they were closing the Chinks Steaks thread.I have no idea how to categorize this note, so it's going under Rants.
If a Chinese opened a sub shop across the street from Chinks Steaks and named it Jews Steaks (note: no derogatory racial slurs here... Jews is what they call themselves and their religion). When asked why an Asian owned a shop with such a name, the reply given was 'because that's his nickname, everyone thinks he's a jew"... the outrage and uproar from the Jewish Defamation League might be heard round the world.
History or not, Chink is a word rooted in the perceived inferiority of Asians to whites, and was used during massacres of Chinese in the early part of the century, after the Chinese contributed 90+% of the labor to build the Western half of the railroads, and they were no longer wanted or needed. Many Chinese were simply slaughtered. Others couldn't establish roots... Chinese females were not allowed to immigrate and Chinese males were not allowed to marry 'whites'. The ratio at one point was nearly 4,000 Chinese males to 7 Chinese females.
Asians suffered enormous discrimination in this country, and still do today. This doesn't stop because we collectively ignore it, just as segregation didn't stop because white people realized it was the wrong thing to do. It stops when victims can do something to show the perpetrators that they have some kind of organizational abilities, and have the ability to stop the discrimination with a united front. If discrimination against blacks and jews is not OK, if using derogatory terms for them is not OK, why is it OK for Asians? Because we accept our inferiority and the labels associated with it?
I looked at the dates, the Chinks Steaks thread started in early 2004... after nearly 2 years, it seems that Chinks Steaks is still using the name. It also seems that all this 'educating' of the public hasn't been very effective. That Asians started this protest and were so ineffectual after 2 years seems to show how powerless we are. Why are we powerless?
Judging by this thread, it would seem that the first step would be educating ourselves. Why do some Asians not mind the discrimination, when we already know that Blacks, Jews, Latinas do mind and have nearly eliminated derogatory advertising and public insult across the US?
Would a Nigger Steaks or Jews Steak be allowed to open today?
Kike is an absurd insult given that it is an actual name used worldwide. Do a quick search on the word Kike. On goggle, it appears on several websites as the first name for: an afghan photographer, a freediver in Oslo, a Colombian Composer... this on page 1 of a google search.
Do a quick search for the word Chink. You can go to page 5 of the google search and never find another 'definition' for the word except as a racial slur against Chinese, or a 'nickname', aka racial slur against Chinese (besides the narrow opening definition...you know, 'chinky eyes'). No one has that word as a formal name... probably because of the derogatory association?
Another Chinks Steaks would probably be allowed elsewhere in the US, they could point to the name in Philly. It's not a racial insult, it was his nickname refering to his 'chinky eyes'... WHAT? So a Jews Steak can also refer to a stingy Asian owner's nickname?
What has been the outcome of this outrage?? I went to the PERIL site and it was last updated on 7/04.
Sorry, not the most polite first note, just had to vent after reading 25 pages of this... I feel shell-shocked by some of the posts.
I'm way past college age, and after living a lifetime of subtle and overt discrimination, married to a white american, growing up in an all white suburb and feeling much like some of you seem to in my youth (what's the big deal? If I ignore it, discrimination will eventually go away, it doesn't matter).
I'm now coming to the realization that discrimination isn't going away and won't go away til we make it go away. That starts with simple respect. When we don't demand respect ourselves, we probably don't deserve any respect. We have no one to blame but ourselves when we don't get any respect. What to do?