People seem to forget what racism is these days, use it as a byword to justify their own backwards bigotry. It is racist to judge a person or people based upon predetermined stereotypes, to form your opinion of another before you know him, based on his skin or geography, not his individual merits. What is NOT racist, however, is to critique a culture as a culture.
As far as Japan goes, I despise most of its culture. Mind, I despise most of most modern cultures, with few exceptions (scandinavian). But Japan holds a special place of ire in my books. It is, as its base, a culture of pride and honor- concepts not inherently flawed, but when partnered with hypocrisy and cough history /cough, a little tromp through asia changes a nationalist mindset. I think the rape, the bright colors, the technology worship, the manga, the absurdist hairdos, perversion, lack of muscle, effeminate role models and horrible, horrible animation (which single handedly killed off the good parts of cartoons) and suicide are all laughably silly. On the other hand, they got it RIGHT with sushi and TV game shows. So I'll count it a fair trade.
Originally Posted by Pixelthief People seem to forget what racism is these days, use it as a byword to justify their own backwards bigotry. It is racist to judge a person or people based upon predetermined stereotypes, to form your opinion of another before you know him, based on his skin or geography, not his individual merits. What is NOT racist, however, is to critique a culture as a culture.
that is completely untrue. while usage and social perception changes racism itself does not. racism is believing that race produces superiority in particular races, it has nothing to do with predetermined stereotypes, or by coming to a conclusion positive or negative about a person(s) based on skin color geography or any other characteristic. stereotyping/typecasting is not racism.
i doubt you were directing this solely at me but im the only one who explicitly mentioned racism. and i did so directing it at Sven från Svitjod because he said people like tetsuya_shino make him sick. tetsuya_shino took a moral stance on some things and mentioned that he was black. now there was either a misunderstanding, he was joking, or he was being blatently racist. i was not using it as a "byword for my own backwards bigotry", only pointing out a potential problem with a single member.
Originally Posted by Pixelthief People seem to forget what racism is these days, use it as a byword to justify their own backwards bigotry. It is racist to judge a person or people based upon predetermined stereotypes, to form your opinion of another before you know him, based on his skin or geography, not his individual merits. What is NOT racist, however, is to critique a culture as a culture.
that is completely untrue. while usage and social perception changes racism itself does not. racism is believing that race produces superiority in particular races, it has nothing to do with predetermined stereotypes, or by coming to a conclusion positive or negative about a person(s) based on skin color geography or any other characteristic. stereotyping/typecasting is not racism.
i doubt you were directing this solely at me but im the only one who explicitly mentioned racism. and i did so directing it at Sven från Svitjod because he said people like tetsuya_shino make him sick. tetsuya_shino took a moral stance on some things and mentioned that he was black. now there was either a misunderstanding, he was joking, or he was being blatently racist. i was not using it as a "byword for my own backwards bigotry", only pointing out a potential problem with a single member.
Don't agree with your first paragraph. If I used a well-known stereotype (for instance, all black people all criminals) that would clearly be counted as racist - not in the purist sense of the word, but in the everday sense of the word. Even those definitions on the link you posted said a stereotype "represents an oversimplified opinion, [or] prejudiced attitude" and that racism was "racial prejudice". So if I use a stereotype, which represented a prejudiced attitude about a particular race (ie all black people are criminals) then that would be racism, quite clearly.
That said, I find the fact that Pixelthief despises all cultures except "Scandinavian" quite laughable (as if Scandinavia has a 'culture'!).
Never been to Japan, thought about going but entirely unsure how I would find it. I have this image where I visit Japan and expect to be blown away, amazed, but actually would be fairly disappointed with the Japanese people for doing things like shopping in supermarkets, or eating in McDonalds, or going to work in offices, or getting on buses, or the same mind-numbing shit I do in England. Whenever I see a programme about Japan I always want to scream at them "NO! DON'T EAT IN MCDONALDS! CELEBRATE YOUR OWN HERITAGE, KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE NOW, DON'T JUST SELL OUT!" but I guess it's far too late for that. I guess it's the same everywhere; all distinct and individual cultures and customs are being homogenised into one fuck-off, shit-munching, do-your-work-and-come-home-and-go-to-work-again, debt ridden, Microsoft-sponsored, globalised wankathon. In the future it won't matter where you live because every city will be the same. But, on the plus side, at least there'll be no racism (there'll be no races).
Lol, Matt, trust me, people will never merge into the same culture. Here in Malaysia, there are some cities with somewhat cultures to other cities. You get different races, different taboos. There's actually been some government attempts to merge everyone into one race, but it's as much a joke as anti-cigarette campaigns.
I still find it a little hard to imagine what makes Scandinavians so special
Japan definitely has a boring side. If you look at them from the inside, there's plenty of workplace grind. You have Japanese bosses taking classes on how to smile. Yes, you have to teach them to smile, because smiling brings in more money. It's one of the most overpopulated countries in the world. Tech worship is not so much that tech is cheap there. They get ridiculously high wages, and with high wages, gizmos stay the same price, but only food and rent goes up.
Their entertainment reflects a fantasy of escaping from all that. Just like Indian entertainment has a lot of bubbly, dancing, singing people to cheer up the middle class. And things like horror, gory flicks, and drama don't sell well to people who are not happy.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
It makes you wonder why people would care so much about a person's color. If a white person were completely covered in freckes would they be black? Another thing; nobody, racist or not, has ever judged their pet(s) (That we know of) by there fur color. Why should they judge humans? It's just wrong. So effing wrong. I'll leave it at that.
Also, I would love to live in Slovenia, Greece, Ireland, Sweden, or Romania. They're all gorgeous!
"Don't agree with your first paragraph. If I used a well-known stereotype (for instance, all black people all criminals) that would clearly be counted as racist - not in the purist sense of the word, but in the everday sense of the word. Even those definitions on the link you posted said a stereotype "represents an oversimplified opinion, [or] prejudiced attitude" and that racism was "racial prejudice". So if I use a stereotype, which represented a prejudiced attitude about a particular race (ie all black people are criminals) then that would be racism, quite clearly. "
well you are entitled to your opinion and you are quite right that a racial stereotype CAN be inherently racist. but know this, stereotyping in and of itself even in regard to race is NOT racism, unless you are claiming superiority from one race to the next. your example fails because it is only racist unless you are also claiming criminals to be inferior to non criminals, and social perception is what determines that. only someone who already thinks criminals are inferior to non criminals would find that racist. thats where pixelthiefs backwards bigotry comes in to play.
"I'm not saying white people ARE better im saying BEING white is CLEARLY better." you would think that statement is racist but it is not. figure that one out.
Originally Posted by Ebenezer Cecil "I'm not saying white people ARE better im saying BEING white is CLEARLY better." you would think that statement is racist but it is not. figure that one out.
When you get to this point, semantics say it isn't, but decency says it is. Reminds me of the whole thing with Obama and Harry Reid. Even if intentions are "good," it's rude to point it out. Like telling a wheelchair-bound person that they're missing out on having usable legs. I would imagine it would be accompanied by a raspberry and something along the lines of "nah nah nah nah boo boo."
I think for the most part, we respect each other here. Thank goodness for that.
Originally posted by Muz Lol, Matt, trust me, people will never merge into the same culture.
I disagree. The fact that there are big cities at all in Malaysia is a testament to that; oversees investment, statehood, industrialisation and the resulting commercialisation of everyday life. In fact would you not say (far from me to prescribe to you things about your own country) that Malaysia's 'culture' is simply a mish-mash of foreign cultures that have amalgamated into one broadly defined one (albeit it with regional differences)? Do not most of the youngsters in Malaysia like rock music, American TV and western restaurants? Are you not talking to me on a forum based around the creation of computer games, in English of all languages (and I assume you aren't a unique case in Malaysia)? No, in fact I think Malaysia sums up pretty much in one the homogenisation of everything into one vast Facebook-status-updating, cash-hungry mass. And you and me both are in it.
Originally Posted by Muz things like horror, gory flicks, and drama don't sell well to people who are not happy.
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Thank goodness for that.
But that's assumed.