[quote name='mykevermin']Well, the problem stems from your assertion, like that of others, that this is just something that is (1) objectively not racist (though you can't rationalize that), and (2) nothing to be offended by, because that's how it is in the real world. Spoken like a person truly oblivious to, yet simultaneously comforted by, white privilege. The fact of the matter is that both Unity (a multicultural journalists' association) and the Asian America Jornalists' Union issued statements expressing their outrage, offense taken, and demanding an apology/retraction.
Rarely do people express outrage and demand apologies when something not offensive is said.
Now, hiccupleftovers made the point that no malice was intended, so it can't be racist. Now that's a very common and often assumed notion. To be racist, it has to be intentionally racist. I will respectfully disagree (as opposed to being my usual self) simply because ol' hiccup wasn't insisting that it was X or Y, and not backing it up. Kudos for an explanation.
Nevertheless, I disagree on the grounds that ideas and actions known as "benign racism" exist. Several years ago, and I kid you
ing not, Food Lion (a market chain that exists nowhere near where I live) had a month-long "Black History Month Sale" on fried chicken and watermelon. Now, we assume that a person who made this decision, being an employee of the company, is most likely someone who wants to help the company make money and attract store traffic (we could also assume "bitter employee who wants to get fired," but things such as sales and marketing can be tied back to the individual, so I imagine the fear of it backfiring on the marketer rules that out). So we're stuck with a sale on food items that are very stereotypically "black."
I'd say another example, one that might be better, is racism that suggests people are better than others. Take, for instance, the immense amount of psychological and sociological research on Asian-American children, and the pressure put on them by their teachers and other students because of the domineering belief that they are all amazing at mathematics.
Racism doesn't have to be ill-intentioned to be racism. Charlie Chan films (and the "Chan Clan" cartoons, if you're unlucky enough to have seen them) can attest to that as well.[/quote]
^^^^^^Best post of the thread right here folks. Forget the rest and just read this. Oh and don't forget my post because they go hand in hand.
Ahh the bouncy. Always able to make me smile after a killer day of finals.
