Ryu2.mind

DATE: 10/07/2003
12:05:46
The important thing is that in MODERN-DAY Asia, most people don\'t dress like that, ride rickshaws, or whatever, any more so than most people in the US today ride horses, wear cowboy boots, etc (other than to put on shows to impress tourists). And I assure you that no restaurant in Asia (I\'m not talking about Asian restaurants in the US, but Asian restaurants in Asia) have take-out little cardboard boxes.

I don\'t mind them featuring Asia, and I think it\'s a great thing they\'re at least attempting to give kids a exposure to other cultures. As to what I\'d like to see, I actually would not mind so much if they explicitly identified the setting as \"ancient/historical\" Japan, and actually incorporated some cultural material into their curriculum that teaches about Japan/Asia (after all, it\'s one of the most unreached countries in the world to this day), rather than just as a \"theme\". As it stands, the impression that kids are getting is that most Asian people today are like that.

DATE: 10/06/2003
11:19:25
I agree that not all Asian ride rickshaws, wear kimonos, karate uniforms (thank all those martial arts studios for continuing to use those), or eat from paper boxes (how about all those Chinese restaurants here in the states that serve their food in paper boxes?), but as I\'m sure you know, those are all things that exist in some parts of Asian culture.

Just out of curiosity, would you prefer that they not make something referencing Asia? If not, what kind of images would you rather see?

(I\'m not the same anonymous person that posted the other comments, but I too am an Asian Christian and don\'t see what\'s wrong with it.)

DATE: 09/24/2003
12:38:10
Well, just like most white people aren't "rednecks", most people in East Asia these days don't ride in "rickshaws" either (nor do they wear kiminos, karate unifirms, and they don't certainly eat from paper boxes). It may not be racist or mocking in the sense that they're not explicitly degrading Asians as inferior or elevating whites as superior. Like I said, I wasn't really offended. But they are promoting stereotypical views of Asian culture, and that needs to be remedied.

Therefore, if the term "redneck" promotes stereotypical views of whites -- that's exactly the point I'm trying to illustrate.

DATE: 10/06/2003
11:54:11
I\'m guessing then that you view the term \"redneck\" to be on the same offensiveness level as \"chink\" or \"nip\".

Maybe some people share your views, but I personally have seen the term \"redneck\" used on multiple occasions in mainstream national media including Time and Newsweek. Of course, in comparison, they would never use the term \"chink\"/\"nip\"/etc. Thus, my impression of the term \"redneck\" is that it\'s a word that pokes fun in a light-hearted manner (which is the intention of the VBS parody), rather than a real racial slur.

Are there any white people reading this? What do you think?

DATE: 09/27/2003
06:12:59
Actually, I think your use of the term redneck would be appropriate if they used the word chink or nip.

DATE: 09/24/2003
06:08:13
I am Asian and a Christian and see absolutely nothing wrong with that. I didn\'t see any mocking or racist over/undertones. I did think that your use of the term redneck was in poor taste...just my opinion.