I’ve been having a discussion about a joke over at Shack’s Place. I’m trying to figure out whether or not my reaction is right or if I am over-reacting. I don’t think I am, but it is difficult to justify this feeling with some objective measure. I wonder if I didn’t fall into the trap of assuming too much on behalf of Asians. Obviously, that is the implications of some of the responses to my criticism. I just don’t know how to tell when that criticism is merited and when it is being used to excuse racist behavior.
what do you think that you assume on behalf of Asien people?
What Macon did was projecting his assumptions what Black people would prefer or think and he believes he can tell white people what Black people want to do without having any basis for his curious assumption and then even dismissing Nquest’s answers.
Basically, I assumed that the the “accent” in the joke was racist and offensive. Obviously there would be some Asians who wouldn’t find it offensive or racist, and so I’m not really sure what to do in a situation like that, where there isn’t a consensus opinion (that I know of). I wonder if I shouldn’t have just kept to myself.
I mean, I thought it was racist and offensive, but I haven’t worked out yet where my sensibilities fit into this discussion, since obviously the “humor” of it wasn’t directed at me, but rather at Asians in general (and Chinese in particular).
I had read this, but I hesitated to comment earlier, because I was worried that my comment would be weighted heavily as speaking *for* Asian and Chinese people. But I guess that’s a stupid reason not to comment, so I’ll comment anyway.
In my opinion, you articulated why it’s racist quite well.
jco2003 also conflates Chinese people in China with some foreign-born Chinese people in North America and thinks that they are the same. North Americans would hear Chinese-accented English from some foreign-born Chinese people in North America who speak English as a second+ language, but Chinese people in China are probably not going to be speaking Chinese-accented in English, so it makes no sense to link that joke to the Beijing Olympics. (And saying that he’s doing to ‘honor’ the Beijing Olympics is akin to the Spanish eye-pulling.)
It’s not equivalent to Chinese people finding Englishers’ attempts to speak Mandarin or Cantonese funny-sounding, because the targets of the joke are not Chinese people in a Chinese-majority country, but Chinese (North) Americans. Speaking a non-English language with an English accent does not have the same stigma as speaking English imperfectly within an English-speaking country.
Of course, many Chinese (North) Americans don’t speak with an accent, as one’s English ability is not tied to one’s ancestry. However, we are still viewed that way. According to jco2003’s joke, speaking with with an accent what it means to be Chinese. His joke perpetuates what most North Americans think, that Chinese (North) Americans are always going to be foreigners (since accents are indications that you come from elsewhere).
The punchline is no better. North Americans associate Chinese people with Chinese take-out, but this, again, comes from North Americans’ experiences with Chinese people in North America. Chinese immigrants set up Chinese restaurants in North America, because they can serve up pseudo-Chinese food to non-Chinese North Americans who readily assume authenticity because of the race of the people serving it, while serving better food to Chinese North Americans who can read the Chinese menu. In contrast, China’s economy is not particularly associated with Chinese take-out, as this take-out association is actually about the Chinese diaspora. Again, it makes no sense to link a Chinese take-out joke with the Beijing Olympics.
The reason that he readily does so is because he sees Chinese people as a monolith, which is also the basis of the perpetual foreigner assumption.
This would be my addition to what you said, but people would not read it presented in this way, because people think that over-analysis of a racist joke means missing the point and “not getting it”. Also, it would probably be too complicated for them, because reality is so different from their simplistic racist worldview of what Chinese people are and do, which lumps all Chinese people into a ball of illogical associations.
I feel sorry for offlinejco2003’s friend’s adopted Chinese kids, who will probably grow up resentful.
To Restructure and jwbe,
I think now I understand why I was hesitant. I fell into a different sort of race trap (not the one I mentioned). I’ll try and post on it today (or tomorrow if things don’t go my way).
[...] and this can only be measured by those associated with the group being potentially offended. My own self doubts about recognizing racism were the other side of this same coin, since I was concerned that I was [...]