6 ms·

As someone with an Asian background, it's not offensive at all, and I can't think of an Asian person who would find it offensive. This is just cancel culture p

As someone with an Asian background, it's not offensive at all, and I can't think of an Asian person who would find it offensive. This is just cancel culture playing out. Weak, risk-averse executives cowardly bending the knee to a small group of malicious, narcissistic activists. This reminds me of the "What is the problem with Apu?" fiasco. No Indian I knew cared, but a small number of sociopathic activists forced the hands of the cowards in charge.

refurb 6y ago
It’s clear as an Asian person you need the insights of white people to determine what you should/shouldn’t be offended about in the depiction of your own race.
VRay 6y ago
As someone with an Asian background, you should go read some of Seuss' newspaper comics where he argues for Japanese internment, and then look at that picture again in that context
- hntrader 6y ago
  That seems like confirmation bias. The book was published before WW2, and the white people in that picture look just as ridiculous and caricatured as the Asian, with dots for eyes and absurd costumes and postures.
kart23 6y ago
I care. Nearly every kid in middle school watched simpsons except me (my parents said it was bad, I had no idea why at the time), and every day I would have to deal with the same Apu jokes and stale imitated accents. At the time, I didn't even know what it was a reference to, and I just took it as kids being kids. But when I grew up, I realized that all that bullshit was pretty much just because of this one character. And I don't want any Indian-American kid to ever have to deal with that stuff again. Its about education and making sure there are real depictions of Indians on screen (not played by other races), not just outright banning media. > forced the hands of the cowards in charge So you support a white actor voicing an Indian character, and don't want some Indian-Americans added to the show? Change is good when something is messed up. Our problem wasn't with the show itself, its how the show influences the behavior of society negatively, and the fact that there was simply no other representation of Indian-Americans in media at the time.
- hntrader 6y ago
  The problem here are the bullies, not the show. South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy and all the greats are packed full of racially-adventurous humour and that's part of what makes these shows great. Scottish, British, Indian, Japanese, Jewish, Muslim and virtually everyone is picked on. They're equal opportunity offenders. If you don't like it, that's your prerogative, but don't force your preferences on the rest of us.
  - kart23 6y ago
    I don’t support hank azaria voicing the character, and i believe an indian writer should be deciding what apu says. I’m not saying things should be cancelled, we just want representation. You can make fun of cultures and people, but just recognize when jokes are having a negative impact on their targets in the real world. it’s incredibly disheartening that so many other problematic representations and things like yellowface are being addressed, but apparently nobody cares about this.
    - allturtles 6y ago
      > and i believe an indian writer should be deciding what apu says This seems to belie the entire concept of fiction writing. Must that writer also be a straight married male with children and own a convenience store? Can a male writer write a book with female characters, or vice versa?
      - kart23 6y ago
        https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/988991809723318272 https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/98899180972331827... Hank literally agrees with me. Of course I'm not saying that in general, but in this specific case its absolutely the right thing to do.
        allturtles 6y ago
        I understand Hank as saying there that there ought to be south Asian voices in the writers room, not that they should have complete control over what Apu says. I don't know what's special about this case. I mean I understand what's of special importance to you, but if writer <-> character matching is required here, I don't see what would prevent it from becoming a universalizable rule that would turn "write what you know" from a piece of hackneyed advice into a moral principle.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

refurb 6y ago

It’s clear as an Asian person you need the insights of white people to determine what you should/shouldn’t be offended about in the depiction of your own race.

VRay 6y ago

As someone with an Asian background, you should go read some of Seuss' newspaper comics where he argues for Japanese internment, and then look at that picture again in that context

hntrader 6y ago
That seems like confirmation bias. The book was published before WW2, and the white people in that picture look just as ridiculous and caricatured as the Asian, with dots for eyes and absurd costumes and postures.

kart23 6y ago

I care. Nearly every kid in middle school watched simpsons except me (my parents said it was bad, I had no idea why at the time), and every day I would have to deal with the same Apu jokes and stale imitated accents. At the time, I didn't even know what it was a reference to, and I just took it as kids being kids. But when I grew up, I realized that all that bullshit was pretty much just because of this one character. And I don't want any Indian-American kid to ever have to deal with that stuff again. Its about education and making sure there are real depictions of Indians on screen (not played by other races), not just outright banning media. > forced the hands of the cowards in charge So you support a white actor voicing an Indian character, and don't want some Indian-Americans added to the show? Change is good when something is messed up. Our problem wasn't with the show itself, its how the show influences the behavior of society negatively, and the fact that there was simply no other representation of Indian-Americans in media at the time.

hntrader 6y ago
The problem here are the bullies, not the show. South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy and all the greats are packed full of racially-adventurous humour and that's part of what makes these shows great. Scottish, British, Indian, Japanese, Jewish, Muslim and virtually everyone is picked on. They're equal opportunity offenders. If you don't like it, that's your prerogative, but don't force your preferences on the rest of us.
- kart23 6y ago
  I don’t support hank azaria voicing the character, and i believe an indian writer should be deciding what apu says. I’m not saying things should be cancelled, we just want representation. You can make fun of cultures and people, but just recognize when jokes are having a negative impact on their targets in the real world. it’s incredibly disheartening that so many other problematic representations and things like yellowface are being addressed, but apparently nobody cares about this.
  - allturtles 6y ago
    > and i believe an indian writer should be deciding what apu says This seems to belie the entire concept of fiction writing. Must that writer also be a straight married male with children and own a convenience store? Can a male writer write a book with female characters, or vice versa?
    - kart23 6y ago
      https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/988991809723318272 https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/98899180972331827... Hank literally agrees with me. Of course I'm not saying that in general, but in this specific case its absolutely the right thing to do.
      - allturtles 6y ago
        I understand Hank as saying there that there ought to be south Asian voices in the writers room, not that they should have complete control over what Apu says. I don't know what's special about this case. I mean I understand what's of special importance to you, but if writer <-> character matching is required here, I don't see what would prevent it from becoming a universalizable rule that would turn "write what you know" from a piece of hackneyed advice into a moral principle.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]