Spanish National team makin some friends

[greenbeans]

Spain's Olympic basketball team posed for an advertisement prior to the Games which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.

The Spanish-language paper El Mundo has a piece debating whether the ad was racist that basically calls out the British press for trying to smear Spain's good name. But they miss the point. Whether the picture was made in good fun is irrelevant. It was a ridiculous idea that was bound to upset a lot of people.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijin ... oly,100152
wow, thats crazy. its hard to fathom that NOBODY there had the foresight to, yknow, maybe not do something overtly racist?? Pau Gasol impresses again

[The Corey's]

And how is it racist?

Its interpitation people.

People in this world just overly sensative.

[greenbeans]

And how is it racist?

Its interpitation people.

People in this world just overly sensative.

i dont know, if i was Asian and someone did that id imagine id be kinda bothered. and how is it supposed to be interpreted?? what is the good reason for that pic??

[The Corey's]

My point is, there is a differance between a bad joke and racism.

Maybe its a bad thing to do on their part seeing as too many people in this world will run with it but I highly doubt being racist or racism played any real part in this picture.

Just my opinion though.

[Dave_From_NB]

I can't for the life of me imagine what the point of slanting their eyes in the ad would be - this is an advertisement for a courier company - what does slanting eyes have to do with a courier company?

Calling someone from Asia "Slant-Eyes" is derogatory. No good could have come from this ad.

This is one of these cases where there is no up-side to what they did, anyone with half a brain would understand the ad would backfire. Everyone involved should be ashamed.

[SuperDeluxe]

I can't for the life of me imagine what the point of slanting their eyes in the ad would be - this is an advertisement for a courier company - what does slanting eyes have to do with a courier company?

Don't you think it would be a good idea to see the complete ad before asking what the point is?

As for the picture itself, let me ask you guys this: If some Asian youths were photographed using their fingers to open their eyes in a way that they'd look occidental, would that be racist?

I am a person who cringes at any hint of racism. However, what I see here is overreaction.

[SuperDeluxe]

As for the Yahoo article that sparked this discussion, I would like to highlight a few points:

It's baffling that nobody involved in the picture -- from the photographers to the players -- even seemed to consider that this ad would be looked at negatively.

How on Earth does the writer know that the people involved did not consider the possibility of the ad being looked at negatively? How the hell does he know that the company behind the campaign did not check with Asian organizations before giving it a go?

Did it not occur to somebody that it might not be a good idea to mock an entire continent before the world's largest athletic competition that, by the way, happens to take place on that continent.

Assuming this was indeed mocking, then what the hell does the writer mean by "an entire continent"? Who thinks the Russians, Indians, Turkish, Arabs, etc. are going to feel insulted? You really can't look any more ignorant than this, even if you tried hard.

Were they not aware of an invention called "the Internet" that allows pictures taken in Spain to be transmitted all over the world for the eyes of everyone?

This invention called "the internet" was available to the Yahoo writer too, but he preferred to look like an idiot instead. The pot calling the kettle black, if you will.

[chakdaddy]

As for the picture itself, let me ask you guys this: If some Asian youths were photographed using their fingers to open their eyes in a way that they'd look occidental, would that be racist?

Well, yeah it would!

Except from our perspective, coming from a culture where we grow up as kids seeing people mock asians but not vice versa, it would look more like an ironic, turnabout is fair play, fighting back against racism gesture...

But generally speaking, of course it would be racist. It just seems absurd and not racist if you are thinking along the lines "of course it wouldn't be racist to make fun of round eyes, because round eyes are normal! It's too absurd to be racist".

[chakdaddy]

My point is, there is a differance between a bad joke and racism.
I highly doubt being racist or racism played any real part in this picture.

But is there a difference between a racist bad joke and racism? Can a joke be racial without being racist? Maybe but I think it's pretty tough. Can the joke be racist but the joke teller not? Maybe. But anyone who is insensitive enough to tell the joke and think it's funny is probably a little racist. Not that they're necessarly a KKK member or something, but still a little racist.

I think your argument boils down to that being "racially insensitive" is not necessarily being "racist" but I don't really buy it, it's part of the same spectrum.

[6and33areGOD]

I'm not hugely bothered by this in the sense that I find it very racist, but I'm just astounded by the stupidity of everybody involved. Did the marketers really think this would be good publicity and wouldn't come back to bite them? You would think one person would realize that this isn't funny or clever and that it is offensive to some people.

[SuperDeluxe]

Except from our perspective, coming from a culture where we grow up as kids seeing people mock asians but not vice versa, it would look more like an ironic, turnabout is fair play, fighting back against racism gesture...

And that's the key here: "our perspective". Not everybody in the whole world grows up the same way. Not everybody is conditioned to think that this is racist. This is for an advertisement for the Spanish market. Maybe people in Spain don't grow up conditioned like people in the US do. Think about it.

I was born in Argentina and live in Canada, and don't find this racist at all. Would love to see what other Celtics fans from the rest of the world think about this issue.

[chakdaddy]

And that's the key here: "our perspective". Not everybody in the whole world grows up the same way. Not everybody is conditioned to think that this is racist. This is for an advertisement for the Spanish market. Maybe people in Spain don't grow up conditioned like people in the US do. Think about it.

I was born in Argentina and live in Canada, and don't find this racist at all. Would love to see what other Celtics fans from the rest of the world think about this issue.

Yeah but why should a Spanish/Argentine perspective be much different than an American perspective with regards to mocking East Asians??? Maybe in a sense of being more detached because they haven't encountered many asians and haven't had the opportunity to make slanty eye gestures...but that's more along the lines of being ignorant about how offensive something is. I think that has less to do with perspectives than the turnabout example does.

Interestingly it seems like in European soccer and so forth you always hear about anti-black taunts and racism from the fans, I think that's the same thing, they are more detached since they don't have the same history as the US with white/black relations, but that really doesn't make it any less offensive.

It seems like people try to tell the victim group they shouldn't be offended and how they should feel. but anyway how can mocking a groups racial physical characteristics be considered not racist or offensive by any perspective anyway??

[chakdaddy]

This is for an advertisement for the Spanish market. Maybe people in Spain don't grow up conditioned like people in the US do. Think about it.
I was born in Argentina and live in Canada, and don't find this racist at all. Would love to see what other Celtics fans from the rest of the world think about this issue.

That's a good point though about the spanish market; can something really be offensive in a vacuum? If martians are out there making fun of our humanoid features, is that offensive?

But everyone should know we're not in a vacuum today. But it probably wouldn't be offensive of Marco Polo to demonstrate slanty eye gestures when he returned to Italy...

[SuperDeluxe]

Yeah but why should a Spanish/Argentine perspective be much different than an American perspective with regards to mocking East Asians??? Maybe in a sense of being more detached because they haven't encountered many asians and haven't had the opportunity to make slanty eye gestures...

I assume it's because there is actually no racism against Asians in those countries –or at least not as widespread. Therefore, making slanty-eye gestures in those societies is not mocking, but more a "hey, I look like you!" thing.

Where I come from, there are plenty of Asians. All of them are colloquially referred to as either "chino" or "ponja" (Chinese or Japanese, the second one being slang), regardless of origin. Neither Chinese nor Japanese people (or even other Asians) are offended by this, because they know it's an affectionate way of people to relate to each other. If this happened in the US, things would likely be different.

Coming from where I come from, the abusive use of the "race card" here in North America is mind-boggling. It probably stems from a history of racial problems that many other countries haven't been through, fortunately.

[chakdaddy]

I just realized though, the premise some of you guys have essentially is:

"Spaniards don't find it offensive/racist to mock Chinese." Seems crazy to consider that as an arbiter of whether something is offensive or not.

It seems crazy to determine the offensiveness of something solely by the perpetrator's opinion/perspective. Yet that's what people often try to do. But once people are legitimately offended, I think that officially brands something as offensive trumps the people who think it's not offensive. And I think it's awfully arrogant and foul of people to try to tell others what they should not be offended by.

(By legitimately offended, I mean to exclude cases like the largely tongue-in-cheek things PETA does, or a mother who is offended by a pediatrician offering disciplinary tips to help her out of control kid...)

[spanish-celtic]

The sloping eyes are a feature of the people of China, sorry but it is a fact. Also you can see a dragoon, a representative symbol of China, and golden balls.

You can think that it is an advertisement that takes advantage of the recent success of the Spanish National Team, and its chances of get the golden medal or you can make a world of this.

I'd love to know what the people who has suffered the racism indeed think about this foolishness.

Sorry, no credit for hypocrisy.

If 2016 Olympics would took place in Madrid and the whole USA National Team goes bullfighters in an ad you can call hypocrite any "offended" Spanish.

That's said, I fully expect any Spanish representative in apologize mode.

[bruno sundov]

Now adays everything is about perception. Not intent, but perception. Do we know what the intent was? No. Do we know we know how it is perceived? Yes.

There was a 1,000 people outside of the new ben stiller film protesting because they use the word (Please Use More Appropriate Word) in the movie 17 times. Give people a reason to be pissed and they will take full advantage of it.

[Big Baby]

I can't for the life of me imagine what the point of slanting their eyes in the ad would be - this is an advertisement for a courier company - what does slanting eyes have to do with a courier company?

Don't you think it would be a good idea to see the complete ad before asking what the point is?

As for the picture itself, let me ask you guys this: If some Asian youths were photographed using their fingers to open their eyes in a way that they'd look occidental, would that be racist?

I am a person who cringes at any hint of racism. However, what I see here is overreaction.

Hey SuperDeluxe,

I'm ashamed that someone of your poor intellect is our mod.

Next time you see an Asian man (not some old woman or a child who's smaller than you), walk up to him, slit your eyes and say, "Hello."

Please do it. I beg you.

[SuperDeluxe]

Hey SuperDeluxe,

I'm ashamed that someone of your poor intellect is our mod.

Next time you see an Asian man (not some old woman or a child who's smaller than you), walk up to him, slit your eyes and say, "Hello."

Please do it. I beg you.

I'm not "your" mod anymore, so you can sleep tight at night.

Yours is probably the most ignorant post I've seen here in the whole summer (and the competition has been ferocious). I'm not even going to dignify it with a reply.

EDIT: I just saw that you quoted me OUT OF CONTEXT in your sig. You are not only ignorant, you are also a manipulative idiot. (Feel free to report me for this.)

[sam_I_am]

Did it not occur to somebody that it might not be a good idea to mock an entire continent before the world's largest athletic competition that, by the way, happens to take place on that continent.

Assuming this was indeed mocking, then what the hell does the writer mean by "an entire continent"? Who thinks the Russians, Indians, Turkish, Arabs, etc. are going to feel insulted? You really can't look any more ignorant than this, even if you tried hard.

You can and I am afraid you just did... sorry. There are many Russians and the majority of former Soviet republic, Turks, Indians just as there are Americans with similar eye shape to the Chinese and all would and should be offended.

This is unbelievably offensive. I would like to point out that for as hard as people try to make America seem like a racist country (Especially in Spain and Europe) this is a perfect example of how far ahead of the rest of the world we really are.