Is Shaq a racist? or just naive?
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Is Shaq a racist? or just naive?
This article was forwarded to me and it brings up some interesting points. Personally I don't take Shaq seriously, I mean the Big Aristotle? The guy played Shazaam? Well anyways it's a long article so read if you want and voice your opinion if you wish.
SHAQ IS A RACIST
An AsianWeek Column by Irwin Tang:
Tell Shaquille O'Neal, "Come down to Chinatown."
Call Shaquille O'Neal the Big Racist.
In his most recent racial taunt of Yao Ming, Shaquille O Neal told a
reporter, "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.'" No, the superstar
center of the LA Lakers was not trying to speak Chinese. Shaq was, in a most
derisive tone, aiming a racist barb at the rookie center for the Houston
Rockets.
Ironically, just days before this racial taunt was aired nationally, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had
honored O Neal with their Young Leaders Award. We can only hope that the
NAACP had no knowledge of Shaq s previous racial taunt of Yao Ming and LA
Clippers center Wang Zhi Zhi, broadcast on June 28 on Fox Television s Best
Damn Sports Show Period. When Yao Ming was brought up, Shaquille O Neal
spoke with a mock Chinese accent and made mock kung fu moves.
Also in June, Shaq announced that he would test Yao s toughness by taking an
elbow to Yao s face. This comment, combined with Shaq s racist taunts are
particularly disturbing, as Asian Americans often suffer racial taunts while
being assaulted or physically intimidated.
But Shaquille O Neal is not a stupid brute. That is, he may be a brute, but
he s not a stupid one. He knows the media is on his side. National and local
news organizations have consciously ignored Shaq s racist comment. I know,
because I called the LA Times, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, and
other news organizations and offered them information about this story. They
did not want to write about it.
The only reason anyone knows about Shaq s latest taunt is because Fox Sports
Radio s Tony Bruno Morning Extravaganza played a recording of the taunt
several times to its nationwide audience on December 16 and 17. On the
latter day, Bruno commented that Shaq s comment was "not racist," and then
invite! d listeners and radio commentators to call in jokes making racist
fun of Chinese. For hours, people cracked jokes, such as offering free bike
parking to increase Chinese attendance at basketball games.
On Christmas Day, while calling the Celtics-Nets game for ABC, veteran
sportscaster Brent Musburger s lamented that "the hordes of China" might
stuff the All-Star ballot box and vote Yao Ming in as the Western Conference
s starting center, rather than Shaquille O Neal.
How Kafkaesque, and how familiar, it is that the interests of the American
media and those of Asian America are diametrically opposed. The media has
betrayed their own dedication to controversy by making nothing out of
something that deserves much ado. Rather than slam celebrity racism, as it
has in the past, some media organizations obviously wish to reserve the
right to revel in their own racism.
Will the NBA punish racist speech, as it has in the past? The Association is
too busy passing out fortune cookies. In "honor" of Yao s first game in
Miami, the Miami Heat on December 16 passed out 8000 fortune cookies to
spectators. Yao found the promotion amusing but pointed out that fortune
cookies have nothing to do with him. He said that he was not angry because
he was not familiar with American stereotypes of Chinese.
Let s not beat around the bush. If a white player had, for instance, made
monkey sounds to taunt a black player, it would have been a national
controversy. But Yao is Chinese. And Asians are fair game. For evidence,
watch TV for a couple of hours.
Asian America cannot, or will not, demand as much respect as other minority
groups. What do sports commentator Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, NBA Head Coach
Dan Issell, and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Trent
Lott have in common? They all lost their jobs due to comments offensive to
blacks or Hispanics. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, baseball pitcher John Rocker, and
basketball star Isaiah Thomas were all forced to apologize for racially !
insensitive comments.
Spit on me once, shame on you. Spit on me twice, shame on me. What will our
Asian American leaders do about this potentially explosive issue? In the
past, our national leaders have tended to shy away from the harsh lights of
TV cameras, nicely fitting our stereotype as quiet, obedient people. As
media-hound lawyer Johnny Cochran single-handedly forces the NFL to consider
more black head coaches, what will our Asian American leaders do about Shaq
s offensive taunt? Write a letter?
Forgive my bitterness. I grew up in Texas, facing those "ching-chong" taunts
daily while teachers averted their ears. I love basketball, and when Yao was
drafted by Houston, I had to suppress my excitement, lest he turn out a
complete flop. I went to see the Rockets play the LA Clippers on December
12. Yao is a huge young man with huge skills. But he s also a kid in a
foreign land. You can tell by the way he carries himself when the ball is
not in play. My heart goes out to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming is our Asian Jackie Robinson, though he does not face the intensity
of animosity Robinson faced. Unfortunately Shaquille O Neal is the
modern-day Ty Cobb, the rough-playing baseball superstar who used the n-word
on Robinson.
"I look forward to breaking down that mother------- s body," Shaq said of
Yao Ming. "He said my name three times, two in Chinese and one in American.
You don t ever call me out. I m from LSU." Yao has never "called" Shaq out.
But I am calling Shaq out. Come on down to Chinatown, Shaq. You disrespect
Asian America, and we will break you down. Perhaps when you and the Lakers
come to Houston on January 17 to play Yao Ming and the Rockets, the Asian
American community will have a press conference waiting for you. Perhaps
there, before a national audience, you can apologize to Yao Ming, forfeit
your NAACP award, and implore young people not to follow your example.
Or perhaps nothing will happen. Another racial slur will be left to sink
slowly into the Asia! n American collective unconscious and ferment as
self-loathing. And then we ll only have ourselves to call out.
SHAQ IS A RACIST
An AsianWeek Column by Irwin Tang:
Tell Shaquille O'Neal, "Come down to Chinatown."
Call Shaquille O'Neal the Big Racist.
In his most recent racial taunt of Yao Ming, Shaquille O Neal told a
reporter, "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.'" No, the superstar
center of the LA Lakers was not trying to speak Chinese. Shaq was, in a most
derisive tone, aiming a racist barb at the rookie center for the Houston
Rockets.
Ironically, just days before this racial taunt was aired nationally, the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had
honored O Neal with their Young Leaders Award. We can only hope that the
NAACP had no knowledge of Shaq s previous racial taunt of Yao Ming and LA
Clippers center Wang Zhi Zhi, broadcast on June 28 on Fox Television s Best
Damn Sports Show Period. When Yao Ming was brought up, Shaquille O Neal
spoke with a mock Chinese accent and made mock kung fu moves.
Also in June, Shaq announced that he would test Yao s toughness by taking an
elbow to Yao s face. This comment, combined with Shaq s racist taunts are
particularly disturbing, as Asian Americans often suffer racial taunts while
being assaulted or physically intimidated.
But Shaquille O Neal is not a stupid brute. That is, he may be a brute, but
he s not a stupid one. He knows the media is on his side. National and local
news organizations have consciously ignored Shaq s racist comment. I know,
because I called the LA Times, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, and
other news organizations and offered them information about this story. They
did not want to write about it.
The only reason anyone knows about Shaq s latest taunt is because Fox Sports
Radio s Tony Bruno Morning Extravaganza played a recording of the taunt
several times to its nationwide audience on December 16 and 17. On the
latter day, Bruno commented that Shaq s comment was "not racist," and then
invite! d listeners and radio commentators to call in jokes making racist
fun of Chinese. For hours, people cracked jokes, such as offering free bike
parking to increase Chinese attendance at basketball games.
On Christmas Day, while calling the Celtics-Nets game for ABC, veteran
sportscaster Brent Musburger s lamented that "the hordes of China" might
stuff the All-Star ballot box and vote Yao Ming in as the Western Conference
s starting center, rather than Shaquille O Neal.
How Kafkaesque, and how familiar, it is that the interests of the American
media and those of Asian America are diametrically opposed. The media has
betrayed their own dedication to controversy by making nothing out of
something that deserves much ado. Rather than slam celebrity racism, as it
has in the past, some media organizations obviously wish to reserve the
right to revel in their own racism.
Will the NBA punish racist speech, as it has in the past? The Association is
too busy passing out fortune cookies. In "honor" of Yao s first game in
Miami, the Miami Heat on December 16 passed out 8000 fortune cookies to
spectators. Yao found the promotion amusing but pointed out that fortune
cookies have nothing to do with him. He said that he was not angry because
he was not familiar with American stereotypes of Chinese.
Let s not beat around the bush. If a white player had, for instance, made
monkey sounds to taunt a black player, it would have been a national
controversy. But Yao is Chinese. And Asians are fair game. For evidence,
watch TV for a couple of hours.
Asian America cannot, or will not, demand as much respect as other minority
groups. What do sports commentator Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, NBA Head Coach
Dan Issell, and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Trent
Lott have in common? They all lost their jobs due to comments offensive to
blacks or Hispanics. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, baseball pitcher John Rocker, and
basketball star Isaiah Thomas were all forced to apologize for racially !
insensitive comments.
Spit on me once, shame on you. Spit on me twice, shame on me. What will our
Asian American leaders do about this potentially explosive issue? In the
past, our national leaders have tended to shy away from the harsh lights of
TV cameras, nicely fitting our stereotype as quiet, obedient people. As
media-hound lawyer Johnny Cochran single-handedly forces the NFL to consider
more black head coaches, what will our Asian American leaders do about Shaq
s offensive taunt? Write a letter?
Forgive my bitterness. I grew up in Texas, facing those "ching-chong" taunts
daily while teachers averted their ears. I love basketball, and when Yao was
drafted by Houston, I had to suppress my excitement, lest he turn out a
complete flop. I went to see the Rockets play the LA Clippers on December
12. Yao is a huge young man with huge skills. But he s also a kid in a
foreign land. You can tell by the way he carries himself when the ball is
not in play. My heart goes out to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming is our Asian Jackie Robinson, though he does not face the intensity
of animosity Robinson faced. Unfortunately Shaquille O Neal is the
modern-day Ty Cobb, the rough-playing baseball superstar who used the n-word
on Robinson.
"I look forward to breaking down that mother------- s body," Shaq said of
Yao Ming. "He said my name three times, two in Chinese and one in American.
You don t ever call me out. I m from LSU." Yao has never "called" Shaq out.
But I am calling Shaq out. Come on down to Chinatown, Shaq. You disrespect
Asian America, and we will break you down. Perhaps when you and the Lakers
come to Houston on January 17 to play Yao Ming and the Rockets, the Asian
American community will have a press conference waiting for you. Perhaps
there, before a national audience, you can apologize to Yao Ming, forfeit
your NAACP award, and implore young people not to follow your example.
Or perhaps nothing will happen. Another racial slur will be left to sink
slowly into the Asia! n American collective unconscious and ferment as
self-loathing. And then we ll only have ourselves to call out.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 19,257
Likes: 19
From: San Diego, CA
I really hate it when people when people cry racism at the slightest hint of racism (I'm not saying that's what the author did), and since I don't have enough facts to form a proper opinion on the matter (haven't heard the recording myself, don't really follow basketball etc), I'll give Shaq the benefit of the doubt.
Having said that, I've heard from friends that Yao Ming has been doing quite well in NBA. In fact I'll be watching one of his games here in United Center soon. I hope things continue to go well for him.
Having said that, I've heard from friends that Yao Ming has been doing quite well in NBA. In fact I'll be watching one of his games here in United Center soon. I hope things continue to go well for him.
Moderator
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,904
Likes: 93
From: Big Box suburb, IL
I'm willing to bet if Yao in a return interview mocked Shaq with some hip-hop lingo while adding a couple of "Yo Ni--az", he'd get banned from the NBA.
But oh well, what are you going to do....? Yao is new and unsung, Shaq is the NBA darling (he's makes the NBA and associated media so much money, like MJ did back in the day).
Asians for the most part always just "grin and beared" it when it came to things like this. Peaceful non-action did more for Asians than aggresive retorts. Look at what Asians in this country have achieved just within a one or two generations as compared to other minority groups who have been in America for over 6 generations (and even been here since the birth of the political nation).
My parent's inaction gave them opportunities in fields that were never occupied by Asians and allowed people like me to get so much higher education to allow me to have prosperity. I'm not alone...there are another 1.2 million Indians in the Chicagoland area that have enjoyed similar successes.
Maybe Yao is doing the same as our parents did...don't act upon the naive aggressions, and let your ethics speak for you. Maybe Yao will become the first roll model for Chinese Americans kids to strive for more than the stereotypical Docter, engineer, chinese restaurant owner roles kids have now.
One more point of information, I'm not too worried about the NAACP award being given to Shaq. In my eyes, that's been an organization that caters to only one segment of "colored" people, and it's the blacks. If NAACP doesn't find Shaq's comments offensive, then no bother. What is the value of NAACP when they themselved reward ignorance while they are trying to erase it?
But oh well, what are you going to do....? Yao is new and unsung, Shaq is the NBA darling (he's makes the NBA and associated media so much money, like MJ did back in the day).
Asians for the most part always just "grin and beared" it when it came to things like this. Peaceful non-action did more for Asians than aggresive retorts. Look at what Asians in this country have achieved just within a one or two generations as compared to other minority groups who have been in America for over 6 generations (and even been here since the birth of the political nation).
My parent's inaction gave them opportunities in fields that were never occupied by Asians and allowed people like me to get so much higher education to allow me to have prosperity. I'm not alone...there are another 1.2 million Indians in the Chicagoland area that have enjoyed similar successes.
Maybe Yao is doing the same as our parents did...don't act upon the naive aggressions, and let your ethics speak for you. Maybe Yao will become the first roll model for Chinese Americans kids to strive for more than the stereotypical Docter, engineer, chinese restaurant owner roles kids have now.
One more point of information, I'm not too worried about the NAACP award being given to Shaq. In my eyes, that's been an organization that caters to only one segment of "colored" people, and it's the blacks. If NAACP doesn't find Shaq's comments offensive, then no bother. What is the value of NAACP when they themselved reward ignorance while they are trying to erase it?
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,784
Likes: 1
From: The Beach
Boy oh boy. Some people can take it and some can't. It is a game people and I am quite sure the real OWNERS of the team now how to control their property. Shaq is just another "player" who creates publicity for his owner. When they start fist fighting in after hours bars on a "regular" basis over racial over-tones then you may want to label someone as a racist. Until then..life goes on....
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,464
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From: Moorestown, NJ
i completely agree with luder94. this is the first time i've heard about this and i find it disturbing that shaq would make threatening and race-related comments about yao ming. it hurts me to know that racism is always going to be around even if it's only in small form.
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Registered User
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,784
Likes: 1
From: The Beach
One day you guys will get it, it is funny how no one speaks of the racial pictures (dark skinned figures with big lips and tails) commonly found in Asian countries (especially on cartoons). People racism is everywhere the quicker you know this the better. Hopefully, one day we all will be able to sing a song together but right now there are a lot of elements in the world that unfortunately make people "think" they are better than others.
As for Yao being better than Shaq....please. If I did not know better I would think you are only choosing Yao b/c of his race not his performance. Yao has a LONG LONG LONG way to go to become a SERIOUS threat in the NBA.
As for Yao being better than Shaq....please. If I did not know better I would think you are only choosing Yao b/c of his race not his performance. Yao has a LONG LONG LONG way to go to become a SERIOUS threat in the NBA.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 12,904
Likes: 93
From: Big Box suburb, IL
[QUOTE]Originally posted by My R2
[B]One day you guys will get it, it is funny how no one speaks of the racial pictures (dark skinned figures with big lips and tails) commonly found in Asian countries (especially on cartoons).
[B]One day you guys will get it, it is funny how no one speaks of the racial pictures (dark skinned figures with big lips and tails) commonly found in Asian countries (especially on cartoons).