Guest Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yup. Words aren't offensive. Intentions and context are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 As a sidenote, was Lin himself outraged and offended by this or have people just been outraged and offended on his behalf? And if the latter is true, were the offended people on his behalf solely the Asian-American community? I can see the potential for offence in this, but it sounds like the wrong people are throwing their arms up in horror. Were it a deliberate slur, then yes, everyone call ESPN on overt vindictiveness. From where I stand, it seems like a dubious pun has been picked up by the media and played out to the point of hyperbole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Yeah, like I said, I've never even heard of "chink" being a racial slur until now, and I have a lot of Asian family. I'd say it's much safer to assume it was an accident than to fire the multiple people who all ended up using the same line before they realized it was offensive, one of whom is married to an Asian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Just because you never heard of it, it doesn't make it less racist. The guy who posted it was fired by the way. I think SNL handled the topic pretty well last night in their skit about the Linsanity puns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 It's racist and the fact the sub editor didn't think it was, or thought that it was an amusing pun is more than half the problem. The defence that it's a common term is utterly ridiculous. I agree with the guy on Gawker, they should have gone with "You Lin some, you lose some". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Given that there's stuff like this happening, I don't think it's a complete overreaction on ESPN's part. You DO kind of have to be aware of these sorts of things and what you're saying, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Just because you never heard of it, it doesn't make it less racist. Yes it does, because there's a very good chance that whoever used it also was unaware of its usage as a racist term. There's a decent chance that were I in his position and thought of "chink in the armor," I'd have used it, completely unaware of its racist meaning. Then I'd lose my job because of some arbitrary meaning that I wasn't aware of. How is that fair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Don't you think it's a journalists responsibility to be across socially accepted forms of language and terminology? On a side note, I was impressed with Lin's press conference after the loss, basically saying if he was given the credit for the past run of wins, then he has to take the fall for the loss as well. Pretty classy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 The person who wrote that headline has been fired, and an anchor was suspended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothian Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I can't really comment further until my initial questions get answered - was the guy in question reported to be offended? If so, did his offence cause the pun-crafter to lose his job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I can't say. All I know is the information presented by ESPN after it apologized for the headline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Don't you think it's a journalists responsibility to be across socially accepted forms of language and terminology? As much as possible, but there's no way to be perfect in that regard. Considering how incredibly commonplace the use of that phrase is, it's not worth someone getting fired over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Sure...it's no different than watching a football receiver run like crazy and saying "he's running like he stole some hubcaps!" You really didn't know that "chink" is no different from "wop," "spic," "nigger," or "kike"? It's a pretty common racial slur and the writer knew it. Or he's an idiot. Worst case scenario, lots of people have been fired for being idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Reminds me of that scene from Casino. "Listen, if you didn't know you were being scammed you're too fuckin' dumb to keep this job, if you did know, you were in on it. Either way, YOU'RE OUT! Get out. Go on, let's go." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 You really didn't know that "chink" is no different from "wop," "spic," "nigger," or "kike"? No, I didn't. I don't think it's common everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 The Most Interesting Man in the World has died. Career highlights: Age 9: got in a pistol fight by stealing his Scoutmaster's pistol Age 13: ran away to the jungle Age 20: attempted suicide by jaguar Got apprenticed to a pirate Mom didn't like that, so he temporarily became a mink farmer Got bored with piracy, decided to row across the Atlantic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chops Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 New "Star Wars"-esque prosthetic arm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chops Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Democrat party of Lake County Florida fly altered American flag. All politics aside, what was she thinking? I hope she gets fired from her position as the party chairwoman in that county. Desecrating the American flag is stupid and the worse way to go about sending a message, and any point you were trying to get across is going to be lost in the negative backlash. This is something you would expect at an independent rally, not in front of a political headquarters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 There is nothing wrong with it. She's not actually trying to pass it off as an American flag because she still has a real American flag flying above it. It's private property, so why should we care? She shouldn't have backed down because it's her right to do what she wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chops Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Actually there is something wrong with it. Federal flag code states: -The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature. -The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever. The Obama flag was also, based on the pictures, larger than the American flag flown above it. Flying a larger flag also is against federal flag code. Also Florida state law states: "No person shall, in any manner, for exhibition or display: "(1) Place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or this state; or "(2) Expose to public view any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement." Like I said this isn't about politics, I was just as upset when the Tea Party flew an altered flag in 2009. The flag means a lot to vets and it symbolizes something important to a life spent fighting for it. I'll just have to respectfully disagree with you on this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 Ditto. If it were just an Obama flag, that'd be a weird kind of hero worship, but it'd ultimately be fine. But making the American flag into something else is symbolic perversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 The code is not law, and we break it every time we wear clothes with a flag on it. And it is not an American flag with Obama on it because it has no stars. It is just a a flag with Obama on it. This, on the other hand, would be illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 What's the difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chops Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I understand the point Jack is getting at, with the absence of the stars. However, anyone who sees that flag, because it has all the elements of the American flag, minus stars, is immediately going to think it's the American flag, stars or no stars. I guess my outrage is because, same as the vets in the original article, this hits close to home for me. As a vet myself, the flag and what it stands for takes on a special meaning to me, an intangible sense of pride and devotion that is hard to express in words. I've lost friends who paid the ultimate price for what the flag meant to them, so stars or no stars, that Obama flag and others like it such as the Tea Party's and the John Wayne one you posted make me rage when I see them. It's like people who burn the flag, I understand that the Supreme Court ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment, but that won't stop me from punching someone in the face for doing it. To vets, the American flag represents the backbone of a life spent defending something, and to see it used as a punchline in any way by any person will always cause anger in me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 I personally think all flags everywhere should be banned around the world as they are more often than not associated with something bad, namely wars and blind patriotism. As for this piece of news, its just people getting uppity. How is it any different to a million uses of the flag on stickers, ballons, etc with a company logo across it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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