Mathletes stereotype? Again?
Interesting. So the NFL cancels the Vikings-Eagles game due to the snowstorm that hit the east coast. And Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) went on to express his tough guy stance about how Americans have become "wusses" and then throws in a comparison with the Chinese. Ohhh-kay.
"I think it's a joke," Rendell told the local Fox affiliate. "We cancel the game and there's less than 3 inches of snow … I think the fans can make their own decisions about their own safety."
"This is football! Good lord, Vince Lombardi would be spinning in his grave that we canceled the football game for the snow."
Fox 29’s weatherman John Bolaris offered a correction to Rendell's snow totals but the governor wasn't having it.
"There's really already seven inches of snow on the ground," Bolaris said.
Speaking to 97.5 FM Monday afternoon, Rendell noted that the Chinese wouldn't have canceled the game:
"If this was in China, do you think the Chinese would have called off the game?" Rendell asked host Mike Missanelli. "The people would have been marching down to the stadium. They would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on their way down."
"What do you think Lombardi would say?" the governor continued. "He would say we have become a nation of wusses."
Governor Rendell Expresses Outrage About The Eagles Postponed Game
I kind of get what he was trying to say but I'm not sure what to think. Kind of a backhanded compliment infused with racial stereotyping? That Asians constantly do advanced mathematics all the time? Or was it really a comment on how the US education system has fallen behind other nations in math and sciences?
China's rise as an economic super power, I suppose, invites comparisons--especially with a US empire that is crumbling from within (ie, infrastructure literally falling apart, economic manufacturing decline, behind in alternative energy solutions, etc). Still, what do the Chinese have to do with the NFL? Or am I being a little too sensitive? What do you think?
Either way, it kind of irked me to hear that crack about them "doing calculus" on their way to the game. That shows how strong this stereotype is about Asians. The only thing Asians and Asian Americans can do to counter it is to somehow affect western culture to change perceptions. I think of how African Americans have affected the culture with rap and hip hop to the point where you see mainstream TV commercials using rap and hip hop, white kids make up a big purchasing segment of the rap music market.
But somehow, Asian pop culture seems to get appropriated by western culture and mutated where it benefits others and does not elevate ourselves. But we should keep trying and keep fighting to control our ideas and become the drivers of our cultural engines. Although, I suspect no matter what is done, it'll get reduced to a stereotype regardless.
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But like I asked, am I being a little too sensitive? I do know what he meant but again, I was dismayed with his use of a stereotype to make a point.
I don't think he meant to offend, but is that the point? He's speaking off the cuff, in an honest way. Yet, his honesty reveals his stereotypical tendencies.
I couldn't have said it better myself. He didn't intend on denigrating Asians, but the comment was off putting nonetheless.
It's kind of annoying, because seemingly nice non-Asians will whip out some Asian stereotype or racist joke completely out of context. What does Chinese doing calculus have to do with football?
If you make a racist joke, then at least make it funny and relevant to the conversation.
It's kind of like when you look or flirt with another girl when your wife or girlfriend is around to get her to get fired up or become or dress attractive although it might not work it will get her to start thinking! Which is the same thing he was doing just looking at a hotter Girl but instead of getting his American wife fired up he got the Chinese girl he was admiring upset!
Yet, as stated before, what's that got to do with football? Why would anyone be doing calculus on the way to a football game? Are you talking politics or are you talking football?
Much of the media (publishing, Hollywood, TV) is headed by Jews. They've actually degraded black culture where blacks have lost much of their blues, jazz & gospel musical heritage.
The large studios pump out commercialized cRAP back to black people in a negative feedback loop to the point where the average black thinks acting like a gangsta rapper is a great thing. Witness the destruction of black communities all across America. There's also a reason why blacks are the largest consumer group -- the media is getting in the heads.
Jews controlling Hollywood is also why Asian males are potrayed negatively 99% of the time. The average white person never really comes in contact with Asians, but Jews often run into Asians in higher education (law, medicine, etc.) and view them as competition.
And as always, Jews use their media influence to put their perceived competition down to elevate themselves.
Blacks haven't lost any of their great musical heritage. It's just that they haven't reaped the monetary rewards from it as much as white musicians have. That's what I meant by appropriation of the cultural contribution.
There's a great documentary on it called "Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker" that discusses how black musicians don't get any consideration from the record labels and their own community disowns them because they play guitar driven rock and roll. The irony being that it is Jimi Hendrix who should be revered more in their community, the guy who changed modern rock guitar playing.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469073/
Plus, I wouldn't presume to know what the average black person thinks is cool; isn't it possible that they actually like the music and know the image is just a pose? Much like Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson is just a theatrical pose? Or are you accepting the mainstream media portrayal (run by the Jews according to you) of how the average black person glorifies the gangsta rappers?
And I dunno how you can quantify how often white people encounter Asians or not versus Jews who do.