Slyfinger Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Yeah. I don't know about Billy but I watch sports, and I have to say that this one just doesn't pass the smell test. It's subtle, and I don't know if it's malicious, but it's there (though the guy's shit-eating fratboy grin tells me he thinks he was getting away with something).And the only reason to display a shit-eating fratboy grin is when you think you've said something obviously offensive in a cleverly vague way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraPrime Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 The Vancouver Whitecaps have a Chinese striker named Long Tan. Our meathead supporters group thought it was pretty clever to chant "oh, me so horny. Me love you Long Tan" when he was on the pitch.I didn't do anything about it last season, but if it happens this season I will make it my mission to stop it.Good luck on that. I'm sure you'll be accused of being an overly-sensitive humor-killer, amongst other things, along the way. But every little bit helps, to show others that hey, you know, some of us find that kind of shit offensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yagathai Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Personally, I don't find it so bad. But really you'd want to see how Long Tan feels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrogant Bastard Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 You're a little off on point number one. The guy who apologized and made note that his wife was Asian was not fired, he was suspended for saying "chink in the armor" when discussing basketball over the phone with former Knick Walt Frazier. Some other ESPN worker used that as a headline and he was fired, rightly so. I saw the clip of the ESPN anchor who was suspended for 30 days for using that phrase, and it didn't appear to me that he was trying to make a lame joke/pun. I think he just used a common sports phrase--they say it all the time on ESPN--in a bad context, and his suspension seemed too severe to me. I also think it'll be interesting if someone who's good at the race issues for Asian Americans and who has a deep knowledge of NBA do a comparison between the treatment of Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin. It almost seems to me that Lin got more racist responses, and he's an American (born in L.A. and grew up in the U.S. but maybe we need to demand to see his birth certificate?)! Odd, isn't it? I don't remember a whole lot of racist attitudes towards Yao when he entered the league other than Shaq stupidly calling him "Wang Zu" and speaking Pidgin English on some sports show. I think a lot of the surprise with Lin that wasn't there with Yao is because Lin came out of nowhere. Nobody but maybe Knicks fans had even heard of Jeremy Lin before the Super Bowl. Yao was the number one pick and is also seven foot five, so I think for most people it wasn't such a surprise that he was good considering his massive height. Lin is 6'3, attended Harvard and went undrafted and suddenly exploded in the week after the Super Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Greguh Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 WRT Lin vs. Yao, yeah, I think it's somewhat silly to expect an equivalent focus on race when Yao brings to the table a much more glaringly obvious thing to focus on: the fact that no matter what the guy's skin color is, he's goddamned seven foot five.From the further description I'll accept the hypothesis that the "eyes" comment was racist, too; I'll watch the video once I get back to the hotel tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempra Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 This is another key point. Lin's rise has been very unusual, especially in today's basketball world where the future stars are so often identified at a much younger age. It's not unheard of for a guy who played at a smaller school to finally get a roster spot and maybe even playing time after years of hard work. It's pretty much unheard of for such a guy to explode onto the scene in dominant fashion. Obviously his ethnicity is fueling the story here, but this would be a huge story in the sports world no matter what.I think the Lin-sanity is also fueled by the million puns you can make out of his name. That's ok, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraPrime Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 The surprise and unexpected rise, I get. Yes he was virtually unknown on the field 2 weeks ago. But how does that transition into subtly (or not) racist comments? Do these people not realize that these things they say/do are racist? Or is it that they do, but think that it's not a big deal because they're not malicious? Ostensibly many of these peoples are fans of the Knicks or are professionals in sports who would respect players with talents. What makes it okay in their mind to use these sorts of language? At any rate, I do think it's nice event that shines some light on racism and racial stereotypes against Asian-Americans. These comments demonstrate the prevalence and in some circles, the acceptance, of some of these comments. People who don't make the effort to follow Asian-American issues may not be aware of how common these types of things are, because there're fewer reports of it. So in the spirit of lancing a broil, these comments do serve some positive purpose.Oh, another angle, too, is that Lin's story illustrates how discrimination and racism can be present in areas where the physical abilities are demonstrable and evident. I think some people assume that just because something is clear-cut, like athletic ability, that there can be no biases at work against people. I mean, after all, if someone can hit a home run or if someone can throw a big touch down, why wouldn't they be given a role of prominence in a sports team? Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas! Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Personally, I don't find it so bad. But really you'd want to see how Long Tan feels.He hasn't commented publically, afaik. Stanley Kubrick's ghost is already threatening a lawsuit, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It is odd that Lin does seem to be a much bigger story than Yao ever was. I don't think that's true at all. The hype around Yao reached a fever pitch before he even came into the league. I think the difference here is that Lin came out of nowhere. He's like the Kurt Warner of the NBA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My favorite thing about the Lin story and the "chink in the armor" thing in particular is all the self-righteous middle-class white people who are lecturing other people about being oversensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Greguh Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 By asserting that sports should be based on objective things independent of race, one erroneously grafts logical thoughts into the heads of most sports fans and commentators. Sport has always been a hotbed of racial divides and continues to be one to this day. One could probably write a doctoral thesis on the underlying causes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhole Eunuchsbane Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 What kills me regarding this story is my Warriors had him and they rarely played him due to the fact that they are loaded at Guard. They never knew what they had. :angry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demonblade Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I don't think that's true at all. The hype around Yao reached a fever pitch before he even came into the league. I think the difference here is that Lin came out of nowhere. He's like the Kurt Warner of the NBA.Either that or it's more about people realising that he's from LA and holy shit, you guys got Asian kids who were actually born in the US, too. It's racist exclusion at its finest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Wolf Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 My favorite thing about the Lin story and the "chink in the armor" thing in particular is all the self-righteous middle-class white people who are lecturing other people about being oversensitive.Careful dude. Someone is going to bust out an "my asian friend" counter argument to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edda van Heefmstra Ruston Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I call dibs on Terra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yagathai Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm my own Asian friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xray the Enforcer Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm my own Asian friend.I thought you were your own ethnic sidekick? can sidekicks truly be friends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 By asserting that sports should be based on objective things independent of race, one erroneously grafts logical thoughts into the heads of most sports fans and commentators. Sport has always been a hotbed of racial divides and continues to be one to this day. One could probably write a doctoral thesis on the underlying causes.Sports, and allegiance to your town's team, is the most open link to primitive tribalism in people's daily lives. It's where all our basest lizard-brain impulses come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteGabriel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Careful dude. Someone is going to bust out an "my asian friend" counter argument to this.Already seen it in numerous Facebook "discussions" of the topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Wolf Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I thought you were your own ethnic sidekick? can sidekicks truly be friends?Only in the bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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