Last weekend, my bro and I were discussing and wondering how Fukodome feels about all the headband wearing and bowing in the bleachers. Well, he doesn't need to worry about pondering the more subtle aspects of racism because he has a large shining beacon of ignorance to concentrate on now! I said before the season started that I knew the play on words with Fukodome's name was inevitable, but congratulations Cubs fans, you have once again managed to surprise me by sinking to an all-new lowest common denominator!
Look, I am no prude and I'm not a radical leftist who's worried about offending everyone. In fact, I think that racial humor can be absolutely hilarious when done correctly (great examples are Chris Rock on blacks, Jon Stewart and Lewis Black on Jews, Stephen Colbert on Catholics, Dave Allen on the Irish) and I don't even necessarily subscribe to the belief that you have to be a member of a particular group in order to make fun of it. But it is really all about context. Most of the time, racist humor is derived from taking a stereotype of an existing group and either applying it to something unexpected or grossly exagerrating it for effect. But to be truly funny rather than offensive it relies on the understanding that the intended audience knows that you don't really believe that stereotype applies to every member of that group. And there is also the tacit approval granted from going to see a particular comedian live or choosing to watch them on TV. You can always walk out or you can always change the channel if it offends you. But when you decide to break away from that and make something public, you aren't giving the rest of us that choice and can put us in an uncomfortable position. I am going to Wrigley tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll see people wearing this shirt. Let's say that I'm next to someone who is and on the other side there is an asian. I now am in the position where I either have to get confrontational and tell this guy his shirt is offensive, or I say nothing and appear to approve of it by my silence.
Now I want to be crystal clear here that I am an absolutely adamant supporter of free speech and I don't believe that the shirt should be pulled off the market or even banned from Wrigley. However, that doesn't preclude me from thinking less of someone who chooses to wear it in public.
But why am I worked up about it? After all, I'm not asian. I am, however, a Cubs fan and I think that the jist of the problem is summarized nicely in the Sun-Times article: "The image feeds not only ugly, arrogant, and ignorant Japanese stereotypes, but also the stereotype of the obnoxious, profane, drunken, booing, garbage-throwing Cubs fan. How much truth is there in either image? How funny is either one?"
Fukodome, to his credit, is taking the high road so far. ''I knew I was coming to a different country, so I expected something like this. Maybe not necessarily racial, but that anybody could take any context of my words and degrade me if they wanted to. But if I make a big deal out of it, it's not going to benefit me, so I'm not going to make a big deal of it.''
I'm glad that Fukodome was prepared for this and seems relatively unfazed, but I'm just disappointed that we couldn't surprise him.
And by the way, the name of my fantasy baseball team is "My Fuk'n Sori Team" and I still think that's hilarious.
4 comments:
From the suntimes today:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/903754,cubshirt041808.article
They didn't pull the shirt because it was offensive, but because it violated trademark laws.
1. I agree with you that racial humor, if done correctly, can be hilarious (in addition to your examples, see Chappelle's Show. The racial draft that opens S2 is hilarious.)
2. Silence does not indicate approval. To change your example a little, if there was a shirtless douchebag screaming obscenities at the first base coach, just because you don't stand up and chastise him doesn't indicate your approval. Of course, when the issues get bigger than a racist t-shirt at a baseball game, the coin flips (see: WWII, Darfur, etc...)
3. A personal story. In high school we had an Asian dude on our basketball team named Alvin. We would, on occassion make funny and/or motivational posters to hold up at games. In class, a couple of us sketched out a poster idea of a sterotypical asian caricature guy, hands together like he's bowing, with a karate kid type headband, and some asian looking lettering that said 'Asian Sensation.' He was also wearing a basketball jersey with Alvin's number. We showed it to him, he thought it was hilarious, and people more artsy than me produced it. Before the game even started, when they were announcing the lineups, my buddy held up the sign, and we were almost immediatly chastised by 'security' and told that if we held up the sign again we'd be asked to leave. We asked why, and they said because it was offensive. When we explained that it had been approved, they didn't care. It was funny that a couple midde-aged white people were deciding on what was offensive. The next game they were checking posters at the door, so we took two, taped them together so the 'offensive' one couldn't be seen, and were let into the game. Then we showed the poster, and security showed us the door.
(That was a long and mostly pointless story.)
Anyways, while I find that shirt offensive, I also chuckled the first time I saw it. Does that make me a bigot/racist? I really don't care. People are too easily offended, but this is one case where I think it was rightfully so.
Want something to write about next? How about congress once again spending time and money arguing about the BCS? Who proposed legislation that says the BCS is exclusionary and illegal? Idaho, Hawaii, and Georgia.
Check it:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=174843&src=289
Hmm, looks like this isn't as fancy as I thought.
Suntimes article about the T-Shirt
Is the BCS illegal?
Ching, ching! I rikie you bike!
"This post is likeable."
Hilarious.
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