Blixy Sticks

No, but my experience has been that most are.

Monkeybot

*shrug* And one of the laziest bastards I ever worked with was a Korean. Stalemate.

Monkeybot

Actually, I apologize for my cheeky comment above. To respond more thoroughly: Asians may be stereotyped as hardworking, obedient and docile. However, they are also stereotyped as a number of other things, such as geeks, wimps, sneaky, and kung fu masters. IMO, you can't accept one stereotype without implicitly accepting the others. Or rather, you're going to have to demonstrate why one stereotype is valid and another is not.

It gets much more complicated when you look at the stereotypes different Asian nationalities have of each other. In Japan, Koreans and Chinese are stereotyped as lazy, violent criminals. The Taiwanese consider themselves a distinct group; Chinese think Taiwanese are deluded (to grossly oversimplify the issue). I'm not sure what the exact stereotype of Japanese is in China, but I'm pretty sure it's not flattering.

So who's right?

Blixy Sticks

Not necessarily a stalemate. You are using one example to generalize the entire population. I am using multiple examples to generalize the entire population.

The stereotypes were formed for a reason. Surely, they are not fictitious. That is the issue that needs to be discussed. Are stereotypes inaccurate and ridiculous, or do they have some rational and credence, because the fact remains and will most likely remain that most people stereotype, regardless of their race.

Blixy Sticks

Very good points. I've heard of this , as well. There is no love lost between the Koreans and the Japanese, or the Japanese and the Chinese. It's funny how so many Americans refer to any Oriental as Chinese. Perhaps, it is because Chinese food is so ubiquitous.

Monkeybot

Edit: Oops, we seem to be crossposting like crazy here! My apologies.

Well, first of all, I certainly don't take that one guy I knew as indicative of Asians everywhere, just to be clear. It's just that stereotypes can be deceiving.

More importantly, your multiple examples are not particularly relevant unless they are part of a scientific survey. In other words, do you have a control group? Are you sure you're not counting the hits and ignoring the misses? Do you have a random sampling of the population? Etc.

I think it's extremely telling that Japanese have extremely similar stereotypes about Koreans that whites express about blacks in the USA: lazy, violent, stupid.

On the face of it, it might appear that that stereotype about Koreans in Japan is true. They're often on the bottom rungs of society, they actually form significant segments of the Japanese mafia, and they tend to run pachinko parlors, which are well-known for being on the seedier side of things. Well hey, case closed, it must be those Koreans eh? Of course, the real answer (or part of it) is that Japanese society discriminates so heavily against Koreans that it's exceedingly difficult for them to advance in society. Since so many avenues are closed to Koreans in Japanese society, they're often relegated to jobs like running pachinko parlors and joining the mafia. And the poor, violent Korean stereotype marches on.

I actually think it's pretty funny that in America, both groups fall under the "Asian" rubric and are regarded as essentially the same. In Japan they are poles apart.

Although not necessarily a good one Look at how Japanese were stereotyped during WW2 -- a "nation of fanatics," according to one propaganda film I saw. Surely the kamikaze attacks and ruthless prisoner marches were reason for thinking the Japanese a race of merciless zealots?

Of course, by today's standards, such ideas are rightly regarded as racist and repugnant. But you can see why people came up with them.

You think all stereotypes are true? Or -- which ones do you think are true and which false? How do you determine which ones are? (I'm speaking mostly rhetorically here, BTW)

Fair enough. Of course, I also think it's preferable to err on the side of the individual and not the stereotype.

Monkeybot

LOL. I used to work at a sushi bar... I can't tell you how many requests for Chinese food we got!

I guess part of the issue is the whole "melting pot" phenomenon. I guess in Europe different nationalities are all very pronounced. In America they just get swallowed up in the general category of "white" or "European American". Ditto for Asians and Latinos.

Loren Pechtel

How about inter-library loan?

Loren Pechtel

Originally posted by Monkeybot
[What do you think those "real problems" are? I'm curious.

There have been other threads discussing this.

Even if your "uncommon name" theory is correct, doesn't that still speak to a problem with regards to race relations?

It certainly is at least partially correct--people *DO* remember the familiar better.
There's no way that this wouldn't have some effect in a tough hiring environment.

No, you have it backwards. The target was blacks, who overwhelmingly vote Democratic.

The point was to knock out Democratic voters. Blacks tend to be Democratic and therefore being black is a way to identify ones to target. This isn't racism, though.

Monkeybot

Originally posted by Loren Pechtel
There have been other threads discussing this.

Humor me?

The point was to knock out Democratic voters. Blacks tend to be Democratic and therefore being black is a way to identify ones to target. This isn't racism, though.

Targeting a specific race for disenfranchisement isn't racism??????????????