Jose Calderon & Gasol & Crew..Racist???

[simonarea]

found a funny.. article and a pic...
spanish basketball team... with slanted eyes for the photo shoot


http://www.interbasket.net/news/415/...advertisement/


was it offensive? sure it was
was it "cute"? sure it was

[Phanuthier]

Funny, but not necessarily the smartest thing to do in the host country. Hope they don't get shot.

As pros with expectations, I do expect a little more professionalism. But I don't think its offensive at all, and if you do I think its being taken too seriously as its obviously light-hearted humor.

[PIMking]

You know if that was the Germans or Americans that they would of been thrown under the bus.

[flip]

I don't know how that can be deemed offensive.

Is it offensive that asian people are born that way? So then how is it offensive to mimic them in a very friendly way. It's not like it had any racist undertones to it at all.

I'd be like the team dressing up as cowboys before coming to an olympics in Calgary being deemed offensive.

This world is WAAAYYY to PC.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Funny, but not necessarily the smartest thing to do in the host country. Hope they don't get shot.

As pros with expectations, I do expect a little more professionalism. But I don't think its offensive at all, and if you do I think its being taken too seriously as its obviously light-hearted humor.

Is it really light hearted humor? In my opinion they are mocking a distinct facial feature known to Asians.

In the past the Spanish have been left in no doubt as to the sensitivity of racial issues internationally, especially since Spain's football manager, Luis Aragonés, made his infamous remark about Thierry Henry, monkey chants greeted England's football players in a friendly game in Madrid and the formula one driver Lewis Hamilton was subjected to abuse in Barcelona.

Seems like Spain has some problems with racism.

[corporatejay]

Europeans are racist? Stop the presses.


To be fair it sounds like they were asked to pose like that.

[Gozer]

Now the women are in on it!

[Gozer]

Personally, I think its no big deal. They're eyes aren't as round as white peoples.
OMFG!!!!

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

Is it really light hearted humor? In my opinion they are mocking a distinct facial feature known to Asians.

Mocking? Is all imitation necessarily mocking? I always thought imitation is the sincrest form of flattery.

I see nothing in that ad suggesting that the fact that Asians have differently shaped eyes is negative. To me it is saying "the Olympic games are great for China, we'd love to be Chinese." Or is the dragon on the basketball court racist too? The people who are calling this "racist" are the one who are making the value judgement. They're pretty much saying "don't point out that our eyes look different". Well why not, unless you don't like your own eyes?

[arloiginla]

This world is far too PC.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by flip

I don't know how that can be deemed offensive.

Is it offensive that asian people are born that way? So then how is it offensive to mimic them in a very friendly way. It's not like it had any racist undertones to it at all.

I'd be like the team dressing up as cowboys before coming to an olympics in Calgary being deemed offensive.

This world is WAAAYYY to PC.

Well, as a Chinese kid growing up in a small town in Southern Alberta, I can you why that motion can be offensive. Its all in the intent. I remember there were kids back in the day who used to chant:

"Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these" and do the motion with the slitted eyes.

Was that meant to be offensive? Hell yes, it was. I remember it hurt when I was a kid. Because the people who did it meant for it to be offensive, and to make fun of me for being Chinese. Did the Spanish team mean it as a offensive gesture? I have no idea. But if not, why would they be doing it other than try to mock a specific Asian feature? What was the purpose of them doing it in the first place? To be funny?