Sweet Zombie Jesus that was hilarious. I know I’m going to racist hell for laughing, but it was worth it.
I thought this was the Pit. I’ve seen much worse before anyone was told to “calm down”. I’ve seen vitriol commended in a lot of threads actually and concerning much lesser things that don’t even effect the OP in any practical way.
I’m also inclined to believe that CanvaShoes is rather skeptical of my dilemma. I mean, everyone but middle aged white guys experience discrimination, right?
Again, why am I being told how upset I should be about this? Why do I need to take a break?
(To be completely honest, I’m not even that angry, I just curse a lot when I can get away with it)
I thought your comeback was pretty witty. You acted like you didn’t even make the Asian connection and just stated the obvious; that you wouldn’t like people shooting at you either.
I am a little puzzled on the North Korea thing. I don’t know if you’re actually from South Korea or your ancestors are from South Korea. If you are from there, and people know it, isn’t asking questions, like do you have any family in the North, for example, reasonable?
I thought, and I very well could be wrong, that North and South Koreans historically have a shared heritage.
It’s just that this is not really coming across as a good healthy FUCK THAT RACIST ASSHOLE Pit thread, but a defensive YEAH, I’M ASIAN. GOTTA PROBLEM, PUNK? one. And that’s fine too, I guess, but to me it looks like you’re assuming you’re going to get piled on, when people are actually going to be on your side for the most part. Read the second sentence in your OP, and you’ll see what I mean. My response to that was, “Holy shit already. Let me read the damn OP first.”
That’s all. It was just the phrasing maybe, that made you look edgy and playing the victim rather than righteously angry. I’m sure you’re not, and that’s cool, but it did appear a bit that way.
We do, but no one in my generation is going to remember any family members who are still in North Korea. The split was quite some time ago (in the 1940s). Plus asking about family members still in the North can be a painful and/or touchy topic.
Slightly off-topic, but I have to say, it makes me laugh when people ask me, “So, are you from North Korea or South Korea?” The average North Korean isn’t allowed to leave the country, and meeting a North Korean outside of North Korea is so rare that the ones living in South Korea are reported on in the media. Also, North and South Korea are two quite distinct countries at this point - our language is different enough that we have trouble understanding each other (I guess the closest analogy I can draw is an American trying to understand someone from the Shetland Islands in Scotland or Wales or something), not to mention our cultures. I understand this would not be common knowledge to someone who isn’t from Korea, and usually people are quite open to learning about the differences between the North and South and apologetic as to their ignorance. Rarely do I meet someone who doesn’t know and doesn’t care.
Actually, I was expecting more “Yeah racists suck! Fuck 'em” replies then “Why are you so angry? Calm down, it’s ok.” replies. The reason I started off strongly is because it seems like we can’t even be called what we want (Oriental vs Asian) on here without a bunch of people telling us otherwise. There is something called the “Model Minority” stereotype and people just assume everything’s just dandy with Asians, especially regarding discrimination. I don’t think it’s a stretch for me to have thought that many replies were questioning the legitimacy of my dissatisfaction. And I’m not completely convinced I’m wrong to assume so at this point. The first reply to the thread was in support, which I have no problem with (obviously) but the rest was more along lines of “sheesh calm down, it’s no big deal.”
I’m not completely sure how I looked like a victim. I thought the flavor of the OP was “righteous indignation”. Meh, more cursing would probably do the trick…
Fair enough, dude.
And yes, more cursing is always the best option when you’re in doubt. For fuck’s sake. 
I love it when people who haven’t experienced your discomfort or persecution tell you you’re overreacting.
I’ve posted many times on these boards about microaggressions - those incidents that aren’t always conclusively outright racist, but bothersome enough that one expends psychic energy discussing, ruminating, and responding to it. Total that shit up over a day, a week, a year, a lifetime - it’s a huge waste.
I don’t even think the things that r4nd0mNumb3rs are discussing even count as microaggressions. They’re straight-up racial incidents, and I don’t understand how anybody who hasn’t experienced what he has experienced can even opine about how appropriate his anger is. It’s presumptive and sounds to me like an extension of White privilege: to dismiss racial violence, physical or psychological, as nothing significant that one can just “get over.” Hell, I’m a person of color, and I can relate to an extent, but even I don’t know what it is like to live as an Asian person in America.
I know it makes some people uncomfortable when people of color speak out and display the ugliness of racism. You know what I say? Tough shit. Work to eradicate racism, and get some friends to do the same, and actually do something about it. It’s similar to how we feel in the West about seeing starving African children. The correct response is to get off your ass and do something about it, not whinge about how we’re made to feel uncomfortable by seeing human tragedy, and could we see something pretty and sparkly instead?
r4nd0mNumb3rs, I certainly am very cautious about engaging in racial discussions on this board, because for every person that “gets it” there are ten who don’t. YMMV. Two great blogs that have excellent commentary on race that you might dig are Racialicious and Angry Asian Man.
Anger is worthless. The racist can not be reached. It is not a position arrived at with thought processes but through training. When I encounter racists I feel sorry for them. They openly show stupidity and don’t even realize it. I feel sorry forn them carrying that around with them where ever they go. Sad.
If that spray was in reference to me, you’re completely misrepresenting my attitude, and claiming to know what’s going on in my head, and from a distance of many thousands of miles.
As I mentioned before, I have experienced racism myself (though I forgot to mention the time my Chinese wife and I got hate mail. Oops). I’ve also (hopefully) come to an agreement with the OP about the sentiment behind what he wrote, and right now I don’t need some PC stormtrooper gliding in and lecturing me. Beyond having an Asian son, I could list a whole page of non-racist credentials. But I refuse to on principle.
Oh, so now you know what’s going on in my head the “PC stormtrooper,” from a distance of many thousands of miles? I love how you announce that you have non-racist credentials, but you won’t list them on principle. :rolleyes:
If you really got it, you wouldn’t feel compelled to trot out the “I’m not racist” argument. I never said you were. My point is that the OP has a right to be pissed and annoyed about what he’s experienced, just as you have a right to be pissed and annoyed at what I wrote, which you somehow decided was directed at you. He doesn’t have to have permission, and if you truly have experienced racism, I think you would get this. Is the OP going to go off the rails, start drinking, drop out of school, and kick his dog over this? I hope not, and I suspect he won’t. But if he wants to express frustration and anger on a freakin’ message board, why should it even be suggested that he hold it in?
You also presume to know the thoughts of the entire SDMB as well:
If you’ve experienced racism, I am amazed that you feel comfortable assuming that thousands of strangers who post anonymously to the internet are somehow in the clear here.
Hippy Hollow, thank you for the support. I’ll keep in mind what you said about race topics on here.
Hey, no prob. My first ever discussion on this board was about a bank that apologized for its role in slavery. I was pretty shocked that folks had strong opinions against the gesture. Even if it was done with the most self-serving motives in mind, I still think it was the right thing to do. But not to rehash stuff.
I’d like to see us have some good conversations, and they occasionally do take place in threads, but we all have our sensitive spots, I suppose, so I’ve learned to approach these threads with caution. That’s just me though.
The threads that appeared from the guest pissed me off, too, BTW. I see that he’s been banned… Good.
JeeeeeZUZ.
I (and at least one other person) thought the OP looked a little shaky or something based on his words. We mentioned it, the OP assured us he wasn’t. Problem solved. And problem solved or not, it was about the post, and NOT about the incident with the guy that tried to threaten him. And all along, nobody thought that incident was anything other than suckworthy.
Then YOU come along, after the OP and I have worked out what was probably the tiniest of misunderstandings, and start raving about “people having problems with being confronted by the experience of people of colour… blah blah…” WTF?
I had mentioned incidents of racism I am exposed to. You chose to ignore that. You steadily pushed me towards the tried and true corner in which I am to suddenly find myself, and have to bleat, “No, I’m NOT racist. In fact, some of my best friends… etc” and I refused to be drawn into that. I still do.
And you’ve somehow managed to insinuate, in this completely unrelated discussion, that I am unmoved by images of poverty in the third world. The flying fuck? That is beneath contempt.
It looks like I’m not the one hung up on race, here.
Ironically, some of the most racist cities / countries I’ve experienced are Asian - who are also the ones that scream loud and long when they encounter racism elsewhere.
As to the “all look the same” thing, wasn’t there a study done, that proved that to a caucausion, asians really do all look the same? and vice versa.
Wasn’t it something to do with not looking in the correct place for variance? If I recall the study showed that the places caucausians look to to recognise people (like the eyes) are all very similiar in asians, so it is difficult for us to recognise people.
As a white guy, I have also expereinced racism in other countries - from the oohh you can use chopsticks (which drives me batshit insane) to people not wanting to understand my accent to being hounded on the streets as a tourist, when I have been living here for six years.
TheLoadedDog, to be fair, it did seem like you were among those questioning and undermining my complaints. And I looked “shaky”? :dubious:
Hippy Hollow’s post wasn’t even directed towards you specifically and his/her (sorry don’t know your gender) “blah blah” actually rang true to me, at least.
But let’s try to bash racists, not each other in whatever case.
And helpmewithaquote, fuck off and make your own thread then.
Uh… sorry about that, Chief. I should have thought of a better word.
As Hippy Hollow quoted your response which was half aimed at me, I assumed HH’s post to be likewise, so I responded as such. Anyway, to you HH I’m sure you mean well. That’s not meant to be condescending, but is likely as far as we’re going to agree, so let’s leave it there.
Look dude, you somehow decided that I aimed my post at you and you alone. On this board, I have no problem calling people out by name. If I found your post particularly problematic I would have responded to your post, like I’m doing here. See how it works? I’m speaking to the OP in my first post.
I am responding to the meme that tells people of color that they should moderate their anger, that they should not appear to be angry or annoyed at stuff like the threads that the jackass poster planted in IMHO. There’s a great film called the Color of Fear by Lee Mun Wah about a bunch of men of different races having a conversation about racism. One of the participants is a Black man who gets very passionate about the issue… and this other guy, who happens to be White, constantly tells him to not get excited, that the issues aren’t worth getting that angry over, people don’t mean it that way… and then the Black guy explodes. Just goes off, yelling, screaming, because this guy is so interested in having him calm down… but never suggests, “Dude, now that you’ve explained this experience, I can see why you’re pissed!” Or something moderately close to such.
Now I’m not a hairsplitter, but it seems that the situations you alluded to are more “breaking balls” than what the OP mentioned. I make a comment in the thread, you take umbrage, and I’ve bullied you into a corner, where you had to throw out “I’m not racist! Not me!” bit? Seriously?
Read my post again, and try to follow the analogy. Nobody claimed that you aren’t bothered by starving African kids. You apparently felt some twinge of discomfort from what I wrote, because you seem to be taking a lot of it personally. Whatever. You’re the one who called me a “PC stormtrooper…” and I called you… nothing at all. Sounds like you’re the one with a problem.
I live in a society where racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism, to name a few -isms, are rife. (Never been to Australia, maybe y’all have addressed these ills.) So while I would disagree that I’m “hung up on race,” I am certainly aware of it. (And just so nobody asks, yes, I think there are good people in the world; no, I don’t hate White people; and no, I don’t wear an Afro and a dashiki. Not anymore; it’s springtime.)
I’ve had some classes with Chinese students who had arrived recently and still had a great deal of difficulty with English. Almost universally, their fellow students were quick to lend them any assistence, and especially in Speech 101, offer them encouragement. I don’t recall any instance where a student mocked or showed disdain for the Chinese students. The closest they might have come was with statements like, “That’s ok, you speak better English than I do Chinese”.
To answer your second question, yes, people do that with other races as well. I read an article recently about African Americans who teach Classical Studies, and one of the black Professors says he is constantly asked, “Do you really know how to speak Latin,” but that question is rarely asked of his white colleagues.
Some people are just assholes. Hell, I had a pretty funny joke, but seeing as how this is something that sticking in your craw I thought I’d hold off on it for a while.
Marc
That is the nub of our argument. I am NOT that white guy. In this, I actually agree with you. I think the OP should go to town with anger, if he likes. Hell, if I were there in person, I’d supply the sound equipment. My concerns were about the post itself, and that’s been fixed up nicely.
As you were.
Peace.