Did you step up?

[thaite]

I'm going to Dallas in a few weeks. We'll see what kind of trouble I can get in there. :twisted:

[sandra]

good topic. i was just going to start a post on this.

at the meeting, angela oh said something that i thought hit home. she was lamenting on how our generation of asians are ignorant and apathethic towards many issues. then she went on to say that perhaps it was a good thing--because we probably would not be able to "stomach it" anyway.

and she may be right.

we don't want to know. and if we did, we wouldn't be able to handle it.

i noticed very few girls commented on the issue of domestic violence and rape in the forums. the chances of them being victims of such, however, are extremely high in our society. but it hasn't happened yet. so we don't want to know. and so we would much rather comment on what is in our purse, or other self-promoting topics. yes, self-promoting because you're the only one who gives a fuck.

it's kind of difficult for people to separate what's important and what's not. and am i simply imposing my views on others? i think not. there is something objectively wrong in not caring and looking for a remedy, a solution, when people of your ethnicity are being degraded and taken advantage of.

some of us feel that we can divorce ourselves from this identity. i'm not talking about self-haters. rather, just people who don't believe that being asian entails a duty. that's what many koreans thought before the l.a. riots. it wasn't until after the riots, some argue, that the korean-american identity was born.

anyhow, i apologize for the controversial post. i didn't mean to offend anyone. and i definitely don't hate anyone. only ideas.

[sandra]

okay, so i totally got sidetracked in my last post. tying what i just said to the topic of this thread...

what i was trying to say was that it is so socially unacceptable to "care too much" about issues, if you know what i mean.

so what do you do when your friend says something offensive about your race--especially if it isn't blatantly so--or if is borderline or can be interpreted in many different ways? you hesitate. then you [i:a783aeaa10]shut up[/i:a783aeaa10].

some things are so important to make clear, but most of us, including me, usually avoid sharing too much of our thoughts on these things...in order to avoid being annoying or boring or preachy.

i used to stay quiet on the issues because i thought how i felt was a general understanding among people. that's actually how naive i was. once you start sharing your thoughts and open up the lines of communication, you may realize how differently some issues are perceived.

like some people actually think calling an asian person a 'chink' is not so bad.

[achtungbaby]

[quote:1f4a568c52="kasia"]we don't want to know. and if we did, we wouldn't be able to handle it.[/quote:1f4a568c52]

Welcome to "Why I Didn't Go Into Politics."

[quote:1f4a568c52="kasia"]i noticed very few girls commented on the issue of domestic violence and rape in the forums...so we don't want to know.[/quote:1f4a568c52]

And there's nothing intrinsically wrong with not wanting to know, I think. It doesn't make them evil or bad; the challenge lies in explicating to them [i:1f4a568c52]why[/i:1f4a568c52] they should know or care.

[princess]

last time? a few weeks ago. it was one of my chinese "friends." i dont think i handled myself very well. :x

[achtungbaby]

Really? What happened?

[princess]

i juss gave her a piece of my mind like only asian women can :wink: but i had class -- no racial slurs or anything were thrown back in her face the way she used them against me.

[wylin]

[quote:bf2d823b79="princess"]last time? a few weeks ago. it was one of my chinese "friends." i dont think i handled myself very well. :x[/quote:bf2d823b79]

ironic, thinking bout racial slurs what is a racial slur i mean if i was to go"Dumb commie ders (chinese) or dam them koreans" is it a racial or ethnic slur or on the other hand is just a reaction to the groups own nationalist slant? what im trying to spark is a discussion what is racist comments and what is nationlistic or anti-nationalistic comments. when are u just being ignorant and when are u saying just sumthing bout a nation. it also goes to the question what is racE? is a korean person or taiwanese person totally different race or are we all just grouped as asians? denno random thought!

[princess]

[quote:752634a407="wylin"]

ironic, thinking bout racial slurs what is a racial slur i mean if i was to go"Dumb commie ders (chinese) or dam them koreans" is it a racial or ethnic slur or on the other hand is just a reaction to the groups own nationalist slant? what im trying to spark is a discussion what is racist comments and what is nationlistic or anti-nationalistic comments. when are u just being ignorant and when are u saying just sumthing bout a nation. it also goes to the question what is racE? is a korean person or taiwanese person totally different race or are we all just grouped as asians? denno random thought![/quote:752634a407]

okay, ill start. racial slurs are demeaning phrases which have no real...cant think of the word...basis in truth i guess.

we are all part of the human race, subdivided by our ethnicity. just as we think of ourselves as, for example, californians and united states citizens, i think of myself as japanese and asian because of course im both.

[wylin]

okay, ill start. racial slurs are demeaning phrases which have no real...cant think of the word...basis in truth i guess.

we are all part of the human race, subdivided by our ethnicity. just as we think of ourselves as, for example, californians and united states citizens, i think of myself as japanese and asian because of course im both. [/quote:ee7b0b4800]

i disagree some what w/ ur 1st statement even tho racial statements suck everyone can or will rationalize a reason behind being so demeaning. There is truth in every thing people say some truth maybe not happy truth but sum truth. i mean stereotypes themselves come out of someones perception of another. they arent outright lies.

my 2 cents

[sandra]

why is this a men's issue?

[achtungbaby]

Good point. Originally, when I started the thread, I was thinking in terms of racism >> men >> fighting and kicking ass. I'll move it over to Rant.

[princess]

[quote:3e25def194="wylin"]

i disagree some what w/ ur 1st statement even tho racial statements suck everyone can or will rationalize a reason behind being so demeaning. There is truth in every thing people say some truth maybe not happy truth but sum truth. i mean stereotypes themselves come out of someones perception of another. they arent outright lies.

my 2 cents[/quote:3e25def194]

yeah i know what ur sayin and i was thinking the same. good point. to clarify, by basis in truth i meant that it doesnt necessarily apply to everyone. one observation of a single person can progress to include an entire population, tho it may not apply to everyone.

[sandra]

[quote:48f91ee1d7="princess"][quote:48f91ee1d7="wylin"]

i disagree some what w/ ur 1st statement even tho racial statements suck everyone can or will rationalize a reason behind being so demeaning. There is truth in every thing people say some truth maybe not happy truth but sum truth. i mean stereotypes themselves come out of someones perception of another. they arent outright lies.

my 2 cents[/quote:48f91ee1d7]

yeah i know what ur sayin and i was thinking the same. good point. to clarify, by basis in truth i meant that it doesnt necessarily apply to everyone. one observation of a single person can progress to include an entire population, tho it may not apply to everyone.[/quote:48f91ee1d7]

hm. but by that explanation, all stereotypes would be racist. and intuitively, i don't think they are.

[princess]

of course not all are racist. i was applying that definition simply to the original dicussion question. keep in mind that stereotype is often associated with a negative connotation of the word.

[wylin]

[quote:473a593240="kasia"][quote:473a593240="princess"][quote:473a593240="wylin"]

i disagree some what w/ ur 1st statement even tho racial statements suck everyone can or will rationalize a reason behind being so demeaning. There is truth in every thing people say some truth maybe not happy truth but sum truth. i mean stereotypes themselves come out of someones perception of another. they arent outright lies.

my 2 cents[/quote:473a593240]

yeah i know what ur sayin and i was thinking the same. good point. to clarify, by basis in truth i meant that it doesnt necessarily apply to everyone. one observation of a single person can progress to include an entire population, tho it may not apply to everyone.[/quote:473a593240]

hm. but by that explanation, all stereotypes would be racist. and intuitively, i don't think they are.[/quote:473a593240]

honestly stereotypes have basis racist or not, in social science classes such as sociology theres just cultural stereotypes used for education. the Aborginees of mongolia typically are a shy and tender people who hunt dogs, when stereotypes are done under the guise of science...or to try to get a greater understanding it ok in my book. u gotta generalize sumtimes and see that yes everythings relative but not be so nit picky.

i think stereotypes can be either benificial or detrimental. depends how u view them or am i just the rampant racist MRAZTRE declares he is!

[wylin]

sorry to take this tread off topic. but honestly i remember the last racist comment pretty well. it was by sumone at work u orientals are all smart and ur family structure is so good compared to the mexicans and blacks. From this white guy whose a consultant for us....im like...good job DUM FUK! i think i lost alota respect for him and just said those stereotypes and assumptions arent nessesarily true and that he should just learn that there are sucessful and unsucessful asians and maybe to address them by nationality not one all encompassing race.

will

[ChinaLama]

I don't remember when was the last time someone SERIOUSLy insulted me directly about my race. Maybe like in elementary school when some guy (he mighta even BEEN Chinese) pulled his eyelids and made a chinky face.


But as for random insults, well, me and my friends make fun of each other all the time. So, I can't really go off on racial slurs since I make so many of them myself. I remember when I was younger my Korean-American friend used to go all out on how bad China was and how his dream was to go to China and start gunning down people and all the jokes he made about Chinese technology versus Korean stuff. But now he's fairly tame on China while I'm always trashing gooks.

and someone in my hs was actuallY OFFENDED by my views of taiwan--he thinks I'm racist against the Taiwanese. But, hey, this is like religion: if you can bring it to your heart to accept Chairman Mao like some people accept Jesus, then you're home free. Ain't nothin' wrong w/ being Taiwanese, or Vietnamese, or Korean, or Irish, as long as you can find your Chinese light, you CAN BE SAVED. Yes, even if you're a lowly Jew with your demonic powers and evil tendencies to destroy the world of all things good, you CAN be saved by finding your inner Chinese light!

*now THAT's off-topic*

[sandra]

[quote:8755e5b8f7="achtungbaby"]Good point. Originally, when I started the thread, I was thinking in terms of racism >> men >> fighting and kicking ass. I'll move it over to Rant.[/quote:8755e5b8f7]

well, once i was with a guy friend in east oakland. we were getting gas at a parking lot. along comes a car; the driver, black, asks why we didn't take the space in front. chink. my friend explains to him that there was another car getting gas there. the driver says, 'dumb chink'. my friend yells, 'step out of your car, nigger.'

we were in east oakland, where lots of blacks hang out at the gas stations. i immediately locked my doors.

i guess i didn't step up. but i watched somebody else do it :D

[achtungbaby]

When was the last time, if ever, someone made fun of your race or ethnicity? And I don't mean merely an insensitive comment -- but someone was talkin' smack to your face.

I guess I've been fortunate to live in areas where there are quite a few Asians -- and hence, have to put up with less idiocy. The last time I can honestly remember something blatant was from high school, during football games. To be fair, racial expletives are thrown out at everyone on the field though, I guess.

[artsfartsyjanet]

My parents own a restaurant, and my dad chooses not to accept checks. Anyway, a firefighter one day called and ordered some food. He's given us business ordering our food, but I guess he neglected to read a sign posted near the cash register that says "No checks accepted." The reason why my parents decided to not accept checks is because we've had a bad experience with them. Anyway, when we denied his check, he yells out, "You should go back to China!" Funny because my family's mainly from Vietnam. Everyone except for my grandfather was born in Vietnam. I was probably 11 years old. Another time I was teased was back in grade school. It was only a couple of people ignorant enough to call me "Ching chong" and pull their eyes into a slanted direction. Because I got along with mostly everyone at school, I knew karma will bite them in the butt later. =)



<!--EDIT|artsfartsyjanet|Aug 9 2002, 01:42 AM-->

[SunWuKong]

the last time someone told me to go back to china was back in high school i think. i told him to stick his finger up his ass and spin.

[sandra]

i don't really step up. i just use my voodoo dolls. i've been told i'm passive-aggressive. :huh: