Aerothorn on 7/1/2010 at 22:01
I've gotten to the point where if someone I am speaking to accuses someone or something of being racist, I immediately demand that they explain exactly what they mean by that and expand on their idea rather than a throw-away dismissal. 'Racist' is such a loaded term and tends to derail legitamite critical discussion of race/society/prejudice/etc. It's just not constructive.
People also tend to use it as sort of a guilt escape hatch, i.e. "THEY ARE RACIST AND I AM NOT."
Muzman on 7/1/2010 at 23:16
I reckon the fact that and Australian ad airing in Australia was pulled because some silly Americans don't get it, has to be some sort of first.
There's some crazy fundamentalist Imams somewhere going "Much respect".
(It would be kinda hilarious if this was held up as an example of Australian racism, when actual Australian racism is fairly easy to find. But hey: KFC! :thumb:)
Renzatic on 8/1/2010 at 01:10
I just had the best idea ever...
THE RACE RELATION QUESTIONNAIRE?The questionnaire to determine what brand of bullfuckery you belong to across the entire racial viewpoint spectrum
Question 1.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see this picture?
Inline Image:
http://users.chartertn.net/greymatt/punch.jpgA. A blonde haired, blue eyed white guy punching a black guy while a group of white people cheer him on? Oh my god. This is, by and far, the most racist thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Tears of rage stream down my face at this obvious exploitation of a minority for the entertainment of White America. I need to bring this to attention on my blog so everyone in the world knows just how NOT RACIST I am.
B. Black dude obviously gettin what he deserves! YOU DON'T FUCK WITH A WHITE MAN'S WALLET! Wait, that background looks like New York City...AKA HIMEY TOWN! What in the name of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints is a white man of obvious proud aryan stock doing there? Probably being brave and voting Republican, is what I say.
Now excuse me while I go clean my first amendment right (muh gun).
C. Street Fighter 2! :D
The fine people in the above link who whined and groaned over a rather inoffensive chicken advertisement are obviously going to choose A here. To me, it seems like they're outraged over a perceived racial injustice not because there's an actual racial injustice to be outraged about on display here, but rather because they like hopping on the progressive moral high horse every chance they get. While preferable to the B types, they're ultimately just as damaging to the whole racial solidarity thing they claim to be working towards.
In short, shut the hell up and let all those black people enjoy their fried chicken!
Oh, and also let all Asian people keep being short and good at math while you're at it.
And lastly, I now respect cricket a little more, knowing a guy can lose a tooth playing it and all.
SubJeff on 8/1/2010 at 01:32
If there are black people in it, its racist.
Tocky on 8/1/2010 at 02:17
There is a town called Water Valley my inlaws are from that was founded on the production of watermellons. Every year they have a festival celebrating the harvest and on one building there was a scene painted of black and white children being given slices off the back of a train loaded and ready for shipment. Yeah. The black children were painted out after outrage built.
I wonder if black kids get watermellon slapped from thier hands by the indignant. Poor kids.
I've also misloaded my deer rifle when I heard a woman refer to Africans in Africa as African Americans on the news. Almost missed the teaparty rally.
Kolya on 8/1/2010 at 02:54
Actually when I saw the (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvF6fVTzZ0) Streetfighter II intro on AMIGA I also thought it had a racist touch. Mainly because these two guys have no connection to the actual game. They're not game characters and the fight does not resemble the game in any way.
So who are these guys? Why are they fighting? Is it some kind of preliminary story? How?
In any case this didn't keep me or my friends from beating the hell out of each other. And despite the fact that the game's characters were made up of ethnic stereotypes this never bothered any of us (Chun Li, I'll never forget your rotating legs!). Because this was the depiction of a sport, with rules and consenting participants.
The Streetfighter II intro lacked that
context and that's why people including me feared the worst. I wasn't sure back then. And I'm not saying it was justified. Just how these kinda things come along and could be avoided.
june gloom on 8/1/2010 at 03:17
It's racist in that Japanese think America is predominantly entirely black guys and blonde white guys.
Shug on 8/1/2010 at 04:05
I'm deeply offended by how shit that youtube link was, those stumbling idiots are meant to be some kind of online chat show panel? awful
icemann on 8/1/2010 at 08:11
And the fact that they don't even watch the cricket and yet attempt to make an opinion on something they know nothing about.
Its alot like how politians in the US and elsewhere (here in Australia also) jump on certain video games over things when they`ve not even played them.
The scene in the ad was a guy at the cricket trying to fit in, nothing more. Skin colour had NOTHING to do with it.
Times like this I`m very happy to be living in Australia and not in the US. God, white people wont be able to wear black clothes on over there without being called racist soon.
ercles on 8/1/2010 at 08:20
Although I don't think that ad was particularly bad as far as racism goes, it is times like these when racial issues join the public forum that I am embarrassed to be in Australia. Anytime we do something that could rightly be misconstrued as racist (e.g. the Hey Hey it's Saturday skit) the knee-jerk defensive reactions (black people need to move on!) combined with the outright ignorance the deep-seeded problems Australia has in regards to race relations really disappoint me. The amount of politicians (especially those in cosmopolitan electorates) who come out and talk about how Australia lacks racism because they love having a chat to their Vietnamese greengrocer is fucking shameful.
