Rosie's ching-chong comments

[michelle2677]

Oh and mike>yes. I think you should send the letter to AARP. you should be ashamed of yourself!

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

First off, Michelle Malkin is a f&**ing right wing Auntie Tomasina c*nt! She is an utter disgrace to the human race. I wouldn't p*ss on her if she was on fire.

Okay... being of Asian extraction, I think I can add some insight to this... For one thing, I don't think Rosie was intentionally trying to be offensive. The fact is that for some reason it has always been "okay" to mock Asian people, especially Chinese people, in the most patently offensive ways- pushing the corners of the eyes up, sticking out the front teeth and making fun of the language with all of the "ching chong, ching chong" crap. It's classic playground behavior. And apparently Rosie has plenty of that kind of immaturity to get over.

And for those who don't really understand it, I guess this is another one of those "it's an Asian thing; you wouldn't understand" topics. I don't think most people here know what it's like to have been taunted by gangs of thugs as a kid while they hurled rocks at us doing the whole "slanty eye" "ching chong" thing. They threw rocks at my grandmother! I don't think most people here know what it's like to attend a hick mostly white private school and being the only minority and being taunted constantly with the "slanty eye" "ching chong" thing. And most of you don't know what it's like to have your white trash ignorant history teacher patronizing you by calling you his "little Asian connection," which totally exacerbated the whole "ching chong" thing even more. And it isn't like I was some walking encyclopedia of Asian stereotypes: I don't have really slanty eyes and I have always spoken perfect unaccented English (I would dare say, better than most native born Americans). As a result I went through a very long time of being ashamed of my ethnicity; almost as if everybody managed to convince me that, indeed, there was something wrong with being Asian and that Asians were inferior to whites. I guess you can say I wrestled with my cultural identity issues for a very, very long time. My parents made a point of trying to assimilate us into the mainstream rather than settling down in some Asian ghetto, and I'm very, very glad they did this. But, unfortunately, this is the price we paid. Do you think enduring all of this as a child was deeply hurtful and offensive? You'd better believe it.

I am glad that Asians as a community finally "grew a pair" and started denouncing this sort of thing in the media. If people think this is being excessively politically correct, then I'm all for being excessively politically correct. And for someone like Rosie doing the whole "ching chong" thing on national television brings back some very bad memories. Shame on her! Especially for someone who is supposed to be THE role model for gay parenting. I hope she is not teaching her children that intimidating minorities with this type of offensive conduct is okay, especially since she is part of a persecuted minority as well.

Thank you for this most articulate explanation.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

You haven't told me anything yet.

Moreover, Timothy McVie was an American, white, Christian - yet, we ain't locking those up are we.

In the end, I get that few people other than Middle Easterners have ever bombed planes. However, that fact does not in any way support locking up American citizens and taking their Constitutional rights away because of the acts of like maybe 1,000 non-American Muslims total out of the tens of millions of them around the world and here who live in a peaceful manner. I mean the whole reason the ones that hate us hate us is because of that very reason

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

First off, Michelle Malkin is a f&**ing right wing Auntie Tomasina c*nt! She is an utter disgrace to the human race. I wouldn't p*ss on her if she was on fire.

Okay... being of Asian extraction, I think I can add some insight to this... For one thing, I don't think Rosie was intentionally trying to be offensive. The fact is that for some reason it has always been "okay" to mock Asian people, especially Chinese people, in the most patently offensive ways- pushing the corners of the eyes up, sticking out the front teeth and making fun of the language with all of the "ching chong, ching chong" crap. It's classic playground behavior. And apparently Rosie has plenty of that kind of immaturity to get over.

And for those who don't really understand it, I guess this is another one of those "it's an Asian thing; you wouldn't understand" topics. I don't think most people here know what it's like to have been taunted by gangs of thugs as a kid while they hurled rocks at us doing the whole "slanty eye" "ching chong" thing. They threw rocks at my grandmother! I don't think most people here know what it's like to attend a hick mostly white private school and being the only minority and being taunted constantly with the "slanty eye" "ching chong" thing. And most of you don't know what it's like to have your white trash ignorant history teacher patronizing you by calling you his "little Asian connection," which totally exacerbated the whole "ching chong" thing even more. And it isn't like I was some walking encyclopedia of Asian stereotypes: I don't have really slanty eyes and I have always spoken perfect unaccented English (I would dare say, better than most native born Americans). As a result I went through a very long time of being ashamed of my ethnicity; almost as if everybody managed to convince me that, indeed, there was something wrong with being Asian and that Asians were inferior to whites. I guess you can say I wrestled with my cultural identity issues for a very, very long time. My parents made a point of trying to assimilate us into the mainstream rather than settling down in some Asian ghetto, and I'm very, very glad they did this. But, unfortunately, this is the price we paid. Do you think enduring all of this as a child was deeply hurtful and offensive? You'd better believe it.

I am glad that Asians as a community finally "grew a pair" and started denouncing this sort of thing in the media. If people think this is being excessively politically correct, then I'm all for being excessively politically correct. And for someone like Rosie doing the whole "ching chong" thing on national television brings back some very bad memories. Shame on her! Especially for someone who is supposed to be THE role model for gay parenting. I hope she is not teaching her children that intimidating minorities with this type of offensive conduct is okay, especially since she is part of a persecuted minority as well.

I totally get what you are saying and think it is valid. Yet, you call another class of people hick in another stereotype - how is that different? I get that some, but not all, hicks are the ones doing the mean things, but I think until we get away from that, it will never end. Just an academic point I guess.

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by Brwn_eyes0511

Let's see.. why exactly do you use that term "Auntie Tomasina"..

Because he is articulate and was using humor to illustrate a point based on Uncle Tom.

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Because he is articulate and was using humor to illustrate a point based on Uncle Tom.

I know what the term means, silly man

I just find it to be a very insulting and racial/prejudice slang.

[Brwn_eyes0511]

for all the "uncle toms", "aunt tomasinas", "house n*****" and "aunt marys" out there .. thought this was quite funny indeed..

http://www.cafepress.com/utoi

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Moreover, Timothy McVie was an American, white, Christian - yet, we ain't locking those up are we.

In the end, I get that few people other than Middle Easterners have ever bombed planes. However, that fact does not in any way support locking up American citizens and taking their Constitutional rights away because of the acts of like maybe 1,000 non-American Muslims total out of the tens of millions of them around the world and here who live in a peaceful manner. I mean the whole reason the ones that hate us hate us is because of that very reason

Just so you know, Im not condoning concentration camps. I never said that in any post. When Chris asked me if I supported locking up Muslims in camps, I responded by saying that the issue of my feelings for the Muslims (specifically the terrorists by the way) is the one area where I deviate from my normal Liberal leanings. I categorically hate them.

That said, however, I do NOT condone any sort of forced lockup, and Im not happy about the treatment of prisoners at Gitmo or Abu Ghraib (sp?).

oh and Jason? Tim McVeigh was KILLED for his crimes. Much different than a concentration camp............you're comparing apples and oranges again.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Brwn_eyes0511

for all the "uncle toms", "aunt tomasinas", "house n*****" and "aunt marys" out there .. thought this was quite funny indeed..

http://www.cafepress.com/utoi

are you specifically naming ME, Brandon?

[Brwn_eyes0511]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

are you specifically naming ME, Brandon?

no, of course not!

Aunt Mary is a common slang for a gay republican.

I'm the Aunt Mary dear.. not you! haha

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Brwn_eyes0511

no, of course not!

Aunt Mary is a common slang for a gay republican.

I'm the Aunt Mary dear.. not you! haha

D'oh! thanks for clarifying....I dont know a lot about the Gay slang culture unfortunately....

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

Ive been on the receiving end of racism as a minority myself, believe it or not!

Oh geez... I think I'm going to start a race war on the Ledge even though it is not my intention. All I can say is that:

In this day and age, there is no such thing as racism against white people.

And this is hardly an original concept. I believe it was Spike Lee who got into some hot water by stating his opinion about this in the media many years ago... and it was largely dismissed by the (mostly white) media.

But I happen to believe it is true. And it's hard to make this point without sounding like some kind of white-hating radical activist, which I am not (hullo, music does not get any "whiter" than Fleetwood Mac ). It's just that in the western world, caucasians are in a position of dominance- culturally, economically, politically, etc. This means that they are not exactly in a position of being persecuted, marginalized, criminalized or otherwise at a disadvantage in life because of the color of their skin or the language that they speak. So yes, I do realize that there are instances in largely ethnic neighborhoods where whites are technically in the minority. And I do realize that there are white stereotypes perpetrated in the media, e.g., that straight white boys can't dance, all white girls talk like Valley Girls, etc. But this is not the same as calling black people the "n" word or calling Asians "slanty eyes" or, again doing the "ching chong" thing. Historically, those derogatory terms came from a much darker place- they were a means of putting people of color down in their place- basically to remind them that they were different and were not equal to the (superior) whites. During the last World War, the Asian stereotypes were put out in the war propaganda to fuel the American zeitgeist against the Japanese (and, of course, to the vast majority of Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc. are all the same ) Conversely, there are no such derogatory terms in our language today that imply that [my race] is superior to caucasians, and caucasians are nothing but lowly _______. It's just not possible; caucasians control every aspect of western society. I'm not saying that it is right or wrong... it's just the way it is. Therefore, in my own estimation, it seems that any sort of derogatory terms about white people are either a) done in jest b) made up by one group of white people to feel superior to another group of white people, e.g., redneck, or c) crafted as an angry response to being oppressed, e.g., Jesse Jackson calling NYC "Himeytown."

Yes, it does sound like a double standard. But this is why it has been socially acceptable for black people to use the "n" word but totally forbidden for white people to use it. Accordingly, to a large degree, I have carte blanche to poke fun at Asian stereotypes, and trust me, I do (along with Margaret Cho, Amy Tan, etc.)! But for whites to do that... not such a good thing. In general, any time you are in a position of dominance, it really is your noblesse oblige to take the highroad when it comes to dealing with people who are at a disadvantage in society. That is why there is a double standard for white people- it is acceptable to knock white people down a peg or two, but it would be racial harassment if the tables were turned.

Let the flames begin!

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

you call another class of people hick in another stereotype - how is that different? I get that some, but not all, hicks are the ones doing the mean things, but I think until we get away from that, it will never end. Just an academic point I guess.

Well, I don't think "hick" necessarily falls along racial lines. For me "hick" is not about the color of one's skin, eyes or hair. For me "hicks" are people from the south who are ignorant about the world at large and retain a bullheaded unwillingness to embrace anything/anyone different from them, whether it's food, music, religion, "family values," etc., thereby becoming blinded by their own myopia. Their counterparts in the north are called "philistines." Their counterparts in Europe are called "the French." What can I say... I grew up in the south...

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by Brwn_eyes0511

Aunt Mary is a common slang for a gay republican.

I'm the Aunt Mary dear.. not you! haha

Well then... I guess Aunt Mary needs no introduction to Auntie Tomasina.

[markolas]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

Let the flames begin!

There won't be any flames from me; I agree with everything you've said. And I'm white, FWIW.

I've stayed out of this thread because I couldn't articulate what I wanted to say, but you seem to have done it for me.