Technicalities of whether “race” can even be applied to humans aside, how many people here find the icon to be racist? I was staggered today to be informed by someone that they found it offensive, and that I was insensitive to be using it.
Given the right frame of mind, I can see how someone might want to see the eyes as reinforcing the old stereotypes from less enlightened times. However, I’m still flabbergasted that someone would take it seriously enough to request that I never use the icon again.
And while we’re on the topic, where did the smilies here come from? The copy I have is from a larger collection left at my company by a former graphic artist. I wonder if he lifted them from Jelsoft, or if they have a common source.
I find it to be horribly offensive to Martians. I have a lot of Martian friends, and not only are they a much prettier shade of green, but they do not have big ol’ Osmond teeth like that.
Well, you might be able to throw the argument back into the lap of your accuser, Cerowyn…
An anecdote:
A (Black) friend of mine was watching a basketball game on TV with her (White) hubby and Mother in Law. Apparently the mascot for one of the teams was a monkey.
The MIL kept going on and on about how RACIST it was to have a MONKEY as the mascot for a (mostly-Black) basketball team!
My friend and her husband pointed out to the MIL that her noticing this “discrepancy” and making the association between monkeys and (stereotypes of) Black people could arguably be MORE racist than the monkey mascot.
Watermelon growers are hideously insensitive, offensive, and racist. The fact that they grow a food that I associate with little black Sambo is such a violation of my piece of mind that I find it hard to sleep at night. If these people can’t find a way to make an effort to grow something that every person in the world is comfortable with, than I have to believe that those farmers curse their mothers, beat their children, and generally spit on all that is vanilla and watered down for the more caring and sensitive side of the population.
And don’t even get me started on the NBA. Nothing but a simile for cotton farms in the 1800’s.
It’s hard to refute the ‘no shared experience’ argument, but I can’t believe that someone would be so over-sensitive as that. To make it worse, this person reports to me, so I’ve got to tread very carefully.
As an Asian American, multicultural educator, and published author and editor of multicultural educational materials, I hereby declare the idea that the is racist to be one of the goofiest pieces of business to come down the pike this week.
Um… the eyes aren’t supposed to be “slant-eyed” like an Asian stereotype. Look at somebody who’s making a big-ass goofy grin and see? The cheeks scrunch up - and the eyes squinch shut - and that’s why it looks like that.
Oh, no! I didn’t meant to give you the impression that the little story I shared represented my “take”. I agree with you that on many occasions, people need to unclench their asses a little!
However, the original argument about the smiley seemed so… so… ODD (and a little over-sensitive) that I thought such a counter-point might be a good way to make the person (Cerowyn’s friend) hush up.
Don’t worry – I got it that it was the mother-in-law’s opinion.
What I called “your take” was this:
Still, it was technically your friend’s take, not yours. Since you offered it up, though, it seemed reasonable to me that you agreed with your friend’s opinion in this instance.
Cerowyn, I think your friend is envious of the Jewish smiley, and wants an Asian smiley for himself. He looks at what’s available, and realizes, with its lines for eyes, the big-grin smiley is the closest match, but only interpreted offensively. Still, it’s worse not to have a smiley than to have a racist one, so he adopts it as his own, and then complains about it.
icon to be racist? I was staggered today to be informed by someone that they found it offensive, and that I was insensitive to be using it.
;j :wally
oops I didn’t mean that smilie and I apologize to any who took offense to it, or I don’t so nahhhh.