Shaquille O'Neal who thinks his sh*t doesn't stink is at it again. And this is a little more serious than referring to the Sacramento Kings at the Sacramento Queens.

I think he should be suspended.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketbal...10/shaq_yao_ap/

[ January 10, 2003: Message edited by: amazin12 ]

Memo to political file: if ever accused of bigotry, refuse to answer charges on grounds that "people who know me know I'm not a bigot."

Too bad Shaq's attack didn't arrive in time for Lott to use it as a defense. What's that line about the best defense being a good offense?

One more reason why I can't abide pro hoops.

GET A LIFE! What is the big deal? Shaq is a jokester; don't try to make a mountain out of a mole hill!

He may not be a racist but that joke was in very poor taste.

Racism works in all directions. As Woody Allen said in Sleeper as Miss Montana, "I would use my title to bring peace to all the people of the world...be they black, be they white, be they yellow, be they...whatever."

I would consider someone like Terrell Owens a "jokester" or a clown. And I'm not sure he would do this type of act.

It's just inappropriate and unprofessional of a adult pro athlete. It would be like Boomer Esiason on NFL Today imitating Deion Sanders. You know he'd be suspended by CBS or fired.

Problem is David Stern is well known for sweeping stuff like this and the Allen Iverson record thing under the carpet. He's so gutless.

Shaq may not be racist but the statement, whether or not Yao Ming was offended personally, was in poor taste, disrespectful and insensitive to all of Chinese descent.

gmginsfo, behavior like this is not rampant in the NBA alone. Do you recall a guy named John Rocker? If not, there's this new kid named Jeremy Shockey. Check'em out. You might want to not abide any sports after that.

And if the roles had been reversed and Yao burst into a thick black imperssion mocking Shaq, just how tolerant do you suppose Shaq (or maybe other black activists) would have been?

[ January 11, 2003: Message edited by: George_vikingfan ]

Theo, yeah, I know it's in many sports, but to me it just seems to be the worst in the NBA. Junk like this is a major reason why I prefer college and Olympic sports over all the pros.

[quote]Originally posted by amazin12:
It's just inappropriate and unprofessional of a adult pro athlete. It would be like Boomer Esiason on NFL Today imitating Deion Sanders. You know he'd be suspended by CBS or fired.

---

Maybe a more appropriate penalty for Shaq would be two semesters of learning Mandarin with his grades publicly announced.

gmginsfo wrote, "Junk like this is a major reason why I prefer college and Olympic sports over all the pros."

Touche! I'll second that.

[quote] why I prefer college and Olympic sports over all the pros.

---

I totally disagree. The colleges are corrupt, yet hide being this facade of "student athletes." The Olympics try to stress purity under the guise of nationalism. The pros are refreshingly upfront--it's a business and all about money. Much less hypocritical.

Money and corruption had nothing to do with my agreement with gmginsfo, Jim. But at least with college sports I don't have to be bombarded with all the bigoted foolishness of;
1. Jason williams' verbal attack on Bay Area fans.
2. The media given to Reggie White.
3. John Rocker.
4. Jeremy Shockey.
5. The Cubs pitcher, who was so irrelevant that I've forgotten his name.

AU Tiger are you thinking of Julian Tavarez?

All I remember was that it was one of the Cubs.

Jim, Upfront, yes; refreshing, hardly. Not all college sports are so jaded; my own team went to the Sweet 16 of the Div. III playoffs this Fall and it was Mom 'n' Pop boosterism all the way. But I agree with you to the extent that some of the bigger programs in Div. I are pre-pro.

This isn't the first time Shaq's "joking" has gotten him into trouble: remember his comments that he had sex with Cindy Crawford & Janet Jackson which made it to the cover of one supermarket tabloid before he apologized.

One aspect of the current--Yao--incident that disturbs me (and hasn't been mentioned) is the reaction his jokes induced from the hosts of "Best Damn Sports Show" & later (on radio) "The Dan Patrick Show." ALL the hosts laughed & thought it funny...not one chided Shaq for being even in questionable taste. Someone should have.

~Adam

I think that simply brushing it off and saying "....Shaq isn't a racist...." further allows stuff like this to happen. If you look at his track record and some of the things he has said about people (i.e. Doug Christie's wife, Janet Jackson, just to name a few), his not participating in some charitie events because he feels that he wasn't being paid enough, and other incidents I know I would put him in the category with people that aren't "good guys". Too many times we allow black members of society to take racial jabs at people and simply saying that they can't be a racist because of who they are. It would be one thing if this were the first insensitive comment that Shaq has made, but he has a sordid history of this. Had any white person have the history of making such statements as Shaq they would be called a racist in a heartbeat and would have to start looking for a new job. I do understand that Shaq tries to be funny, but when all (or most) of your funny statements are hurtful and/or insensitive, then you need to check yourself. I wouldn't label him a racist because I don't know him personally, just as I wouldn't label Trent Lott a racist because I don't know him personally. But I will say that they both fall in the same category of people and should not be beyond reproach. That all I have to say for now.

Da Kid

Shaq got Venus Williams angry too! He is not a racist! Perhaps he has "foot-in-mouth-desease"

Shaq and Venus Williams are both black. You can't use that as proof he's not a racist--just a sexist pig.

Shaq, like Charles Barkley, has become one of those larger than life characters who seems to get a free pass in a case like this. They're considered "good quotes" by the press. If Allen Iverson had said this, he'd have been raked over the coals. Its weird how the press selects their targets like they do.

Let me make it clear, I have never stated that I believe Shaq is a racist, please read what I right more carefully next time. What I am so though is that he should not be given a free ride on this issue and should be under the same type of scrutiny as others who have made racially insensitive statements because he has a history of making statements that offend people, whether that be black or not.

Da Kid.

Let me make it clear, I have never stated that I believe Shaq is a racist, please read what I right more carefully next time. What I am so though is that he should not be given a free ride on this issue and should be under the same type of scrutiny as others who have made racially insensitive statements because he has a history of making statements that offend people, whether that be black or not.

Da Kid.

I know it's a different thing when a public figure does it in public, but be honest . . . who among us has NEVER used mock-Chinese gibberish or a mock-Chinese accent?

Probably our language sounds pretty goofy to the Chinese as well.

Just because some people do a "mock Chinese" accent doesn't make it right. Plus Shaq is a paid professional athlete and with that comes certain responsibilities.

I'm looking forward to the Rockets/Lakers game, sounds like Yao can take care of himself:

"Perhaps grasping at straws, some NBA team executives speculated that because he had not indicated he would defect, he wasn't strong-minded, and that would be reflected on the floor. Instead, he used his recent tour of North America to exhibit not only toughness but a healthy nastiness as well. During China's 94-66 exhibition loss to Canada on Aug. 16 in Vancouver, he broke the wrist of 2.03-m forward Andrew Kwiatkowski during a rebounding skirmish. Then, with a wave of his long fingers, he dared 2-m guard Prosper Karangwa to attack the basket during a two-on-one break-whereupon Yao hip-checked Karangwa a good 10 feet, bruising the Canadian's ribs so badly that he required a flak jacket throughout the rest of the worlds. Make no mistake, Yao is not a gentle giant."

Yao article

As Da Kid said, this is not the first time that Shaq has shown himself to be an ass****, and I do believe that if a white person had done this, he'd (or she'd) have been excoriated.

Also, college sports and the Olympics are also riddled with problems; none of these tiers of amateur or professional sports is clean or anything to get that excited about anymore. I guess we need something, though, to take our minds off a war we're already in, and another we're being driven into, despite all good counsel to the contrary....

jaydeenyc - couldn't agree with you more about "not being right" in regards to the use of mock chinese accents - or any other mock accents. there's a fine line between imitating an accent and mocking an accent but there is a difference of intent.
did anyone read yao's response to shaq's remarks? i thought he took the high road in accepting shaq's apology or excuse that he meant no harm, but he added a nice twist at the end - i'm paraphrasing this, but they were words to the effect that neither he nor most chinese speaking people would think the remarks were funny.

Here are Yao's exact words:

Yao quickly said: "The world is getting smaller, and I think it's important to have a greater understanding of other cultures. I believe Shaquille O'Neal was joking, but I think that a lot of Asian people don't understand that kind of joke."

Here's the column from today's NY Times:

All-star voting: Yao v. Shaq

[quote]Originally posted by fantomas:
Also, college sports and the Olympics are also riddled with problems; none of these tiers of amateur or professional sports is clean or anything to get that excited about anymore. I guess we need something, though, to take our minds off a war we're already in, and another we're being driven into, despite all good counsel to the contrary....

---

FT, I disagree, especially in reference to the Div. III programs and amateur sports. When was the last time you read of a scandal in Masters Swimming, for example? And college sports were around a long time before Iraq was even a country or Korea was divided by Communist aggression. People with perspective are able to enjoy life and not get hung up on negativity; don't badmouth them or be a killjoy for their doing so. To help you relax, I suggest viewing "Knute Rockne, All American," starring you-know-who as the Gipper!

Apropos the discussion re: corruption in sports, this article from today's NYTimes re: problems on the USOC. Link to NYT article

In today's (1/19) LA Times, Shaq claims the media made way too much of his comment and that it (the "joke") helped to ensure that 300,000,000 watched the game. He added that people just don't understand his "marketing skills" & that this is why he doesn't talk to the press very often. I find this alibi almost as disgusting as his original offense.

~Adam

[quote]gmginsfo:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by fantomas:
FT, I disagree, especially in reference to the Div. III programs and amateur sports. When was the last time you read of a scandal in Masters Swimming, for example? And college sports were around a long time before Iraq was even a country or Korea was divided by Communist aggression. People with perspective are able to enjoy life and not get hung up on negativity; don't badmouth them or be a killjoy for their doing so. To help you relax, I suggest viewing \"Knute Rockne, All American,\" starring you-know-who as the Gipper! [/quote]Talk about inducing negativity: a Ronald Raygun movie? Puh-LEASE!

How many people actually WATCH masters' swimming? I was talking about sports that more than a few people actually watch, as well as participate in.

Yes, most amateur sports are not riddled with corruption. I have been involved with amateur sports activities in several different parts of the country and no, there wasn't, as far as I could tell, corruption. Division III college football, at least, has experienced some turmoil, as some institutions have rethought the necessity and cost of fielding teams, while their peers pour small institutional sports budgets into doing so. This hasn't involved corruption, but things aren't as rosy as you depict them either.

The Olympics, Division I and even II, and most professional leagues, have lots of problems, though.

My overall perspective is that in the scheme of things, with regard to sports anything beyond recreational, amateur participation and enjoyment is not important. When we are facing life and death national and global issues, I really can't be stressed out about the shenanigans of greedy professional owners or mercenary Division I college coaches and players.

found a great commentary on the recent Yao Ming story on another list-serve, it's rather long but worthwhile. Peace.

"Asian America's Response to Shaquille O'Neal Riddled with Racial-Sexual Anxiety"
By Tamara K. Nopper (tnopper@yahoo.com)
January 18, 2003

By now, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Shaquille O'Neal's racial comments about Houston Rockets' Chinese-born (and recent immigrant) Yao
Ming has become well publicized. On June 28, 2002, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming." and then made what are described in Asian American circles as racial "Chinaman noises." That is, he made sounds that reflect what the non-Asian public would characterize as the sounds that Asian people speak. In short,O'Neal relied on common racial characterizations of Asian Americans, which,in this case, emphasizes what is considered the "foreign" and therefore "unintelligible" aspects of Asian American culture and language.

Recently, O'Neal's comment has been played over and over by different radio stations, sports commentators have chimed in on news radio programs and in the printed press, listservs have bounced around different responses, Asian American publications such as AsianWeek and Asian American Movement E-Zine,have commented on the situation, and there is currently a petition letter addressed to National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern circulating among Asian American listservs. As of this writing, there were 4,317 signatories to this letter.

This writer was not one of them.

It is not that I am not concerned by this racial characterization of Asian Americans. My own life as an Asian American woman is certainly shaped and
structured by this racial characterization. So too, of course, are the lives of many people who are structurally situated similarly to me as Asian

Americans. Further, I am not supportive of any ideological sentiment that reflects and reproduces American ideology, which to me, is not about freedom and liberty, but is one of violence and containment through various dimensions of racism, (hetero)sexism, classism, and homophobia.

I say all of this to say that I am not in support of O'Neal's comments about Yao, just as I was not in support of O'Neal calling the Sacramento
Kings "queens" because both comments reflect a reliance on an American logic that demonizes that which is non-normative racially and sexually.

So why did I not sign the petition letter? Why am I not joining in the calls for O'Neal to apologize or to be properly punished?

My reasons have to do with my concerns about how Asian America is framing Blackness, Black people, and Black politics in their response to O'Neal's
comments. These concerns have to do with the ways in which the criticisms of O'Neal reflect Asian America's racist and sexist anxiety about Black
people generally, and in this case, Black men specifically.

Overall, writers have relied on a racist and sexist image of Black men in their analysis of O'Neal's comments. For example, in his widely circulated January AsianWeek column
(http://www.asianweek.com/2003_01_03/sports_yaoming.html), author Irwin Tang calls O'Neal a "brute." In a January 14 circulated op-ed, Sacramento Bee writer Diana Griego Erwin describes O'Neal as "hulking."
(http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/columns/erwin/story/5884849p-6848642c.ht
ml).

The fact that O'Neal has a large build and is tall-standing at seven feet-is not the point. What I find disturbing is that in order to provide
a certain image of Yao, who we are to understand is representative of Asian America as a political entity, Asian Americans (and our supporters) must
rely on racist and sexist images of Black people, and in this case, Black men specifically.

What is most disturbing is that I do not even think we consider how violent our considerations, perhaps our fixation with Black men's bodies are in our Asian American claims. Yet we rely on the image of Black people as loud, aggressive, and physically and politically threatening in our depictions of Blacks "attacking" Asian Americans. As such, it is necessary for the writers to depict O'Neal as "hulking" and as a "brute" in order to convince the readers that Asian Americans have a just claim. Yet we read or hear
little of the fact that O'Neal is actually five inches shorter and therefore, physically smaller than Yao. This physiological fact would not
serve our racial and sexual imaginations, which attempts to depict a struggle between a Chinese David in the face of a Black Goliath, and in the
process, create a story of racially weak person versus racially strong, even scary giant.

The subsequent result of this framing is that we turn a blind eye towards the fact that the image of the Black man as hyper-masculine is racist and
sexist. Instead, we believe this image is really true and rely on this image in order to situate ourselves as "vulnerable" and "politically weak"
Asian Americans. As such, we do not challenge our racist and sexist construction of Black men, nor do we deal with the fact that we, as Asian
Americans, have helped to reproduce a structure of violence against Black male bodies. But it is precisely the image of Black hyper-masculinity and
beliefs in Black male physical prowess and violence, an image that affects Black straight men and queers alike, that victimizes Black males.

Not only are Asian Americans careless with the use of this racist and sexist imagery of Black men, we also appear to envy it. This is evident in broader discussions of Asian American masculinity generally and in the responses to O'Neal in particular. For example, Tang's AsianWeek column ends with the author issuing the following challenge to O'Neal: "Come down
to Chinatown, Shaq. You disrespect Asian Pacific America, and we will break you down."

Remember, this is from the same man who labeled O'Neal a "brute." What is interesting is how Tang strategically uses Chinatown as an image of both Asian American "emasculization" and Asian American power. To do so, he must "hyper-masculinize" Chinatown in much the same way he does O'Neal. To me, this shows a sexual-racial anxiety that characterizes most discussions
of Asian American masculinity and sexuality more generally. That is, it appears that not only does Tang accept the racist and sexist image of
O'Neal as a Black male brute, but he also must make Chinatown (and Asian American men) appear as also potentially violent and hyper-masculine in
order to "break down" O'Neal.

The result is that Tang does not challenge racist and sexist constructions of both Asian American men and Black men. Instead, he relies on both to
make his argument. Yet Tang must rely on the racist and sexist construction of Black men to masculinize Chinatown as a site and symbol
that can take on the "brute." This is not to suggest that Chinatown is not a site of violence, whether due to it being a place of international
division of labor, gentrification, lack of viable housing options,containment by police agencies particularly Immigration and Naturalization
Services and Licenses and Inspections, along with all of the terrible aspects of hyper-masculinity that characterize patriarchal family structures and capitalist arrangements. Nor does it suggest that there are not individuals who indeed identify and are committed to a patriarchal,
heterosexist and capitalist identity in Chinatown (or in Asian America, for that matter). What I question is how Tang must masculinize Chinatown in
order to see it as a symbol that can appropriately "take on" a "brute" like O'Neal with the anticipated result of "breaking" him down.

This racist image of Black male sexuality also informs the idea that Asian Americans are not viewed as threatening enough, an idea that Tang
discusses, as do others. For example, consider a statement made in a letter to the editor posted recently on the Asian American Movement E-Zine
(http://www.aamovement.net/news/attackshaq.html?.html): "I am going from one Asian site to another in hopes of arousing anger and a sense of disgust
to provoke Asians and sound minded non-Asians to wake up and realize that unless we are actively vocal and tenacious about our plight in America,
Asians will always receive the second-class treatment and viewed as weak wimps and nerds by rest of America."

What I wonder is, Asian Americans are not threatening enough compared to whom? It appears that the answer is Black people. Asian Americans seem to think that we need to be more threatening, just like Blacks. As such, we
do not question the function of racist and sexist image of Blacks as threatening for the expansion of state violence through policing, prisons
and state-sanctioned death. Instead, we appear to desire the very aspect of Blackness that we also appear to hate. That is, we want to be more
vocal, more aggressive and more powerful just like Blacks, because supposedly, Black people have been able to do so successfully. Indeed, the
desire by many Asian Americans for Yao to do well in the NBA comes from both a racial and sexual desire for Asian American men to break into what
is considered a "Black men's game," and in the process, prove that they are "real men," i.e., hyper-masculine.

Unfortunately, this image of Black people is not only racist and sexist, it also reproduces a certain image of reverse racism against non-Blacks by Black people. This idea of Black racism is evident in the responses to O'Neal. For example, the aforementioned writer of the letter that appeared in the Asian American Movement E-Zine says, "I think for too long there has
been a double standard in American media when it comes to blacks and the racist comments they make. If an Asian or white or any other group would have made similarly racially insensitive comments about blacks, the black community (i.e., Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the NAACP, by the way it should be NAABP because really they only represent the blacks and not all people of color like their acroynyms [sic] suggest "National Association of Advancement for Colored People") would be in an uproar. Why isn't Jesse Jackson or the'honorable'Al Sharpton up in arms when blacks make racist comments? Just pure hypocrisy, that's why!"

Not only does this writer need a history lesson to understand the establishment and trajectory of the NAACP and the term "colored." Not only
does he make an implicit attack on Black political leadership, which is often viewed as too showy, disingenuous, selfish, and subsequently too successful by non-Blacks. What we also have is an image of Blacks as the
"true" or "new" racists. This is exemplified by the likening of O'Neal to the recently retired Senator Trent Lott (who praised Dixiecrat Strom
Thurmond's anti-desegregation platform) that has been made in different commentaries, notably those by Tang and Erwin.

Yet I do not think that Black people have become less the subjects of racist-sexist comments or depictions, or that Black political leaders have
been met overwhelmingly favorably. Nor do I think that Black people's position as the most detested, despised and contained racial group since the foundation of the US has changed, even as the positions and placement of other ethnic and racial groups, including Asian Americans, have. Nor do I, unfortunately, think Asian America as a political project, really cares
that this is the case, and if anything, must resist this analysis to make its political claims.

Subsequently, the image of Black racism against non-Blacks seems to shape Asian America's racial claims, as it does the rest of America's. The
country has become even more neo-conservative as it moves towards a so-called color-blind perspective in the post-1965 era that has anchored
contemporary racist projects by whites (and some Asian Americans and Latino/as), such as the current dismantling of affirmative action.

Yet this neo-conservativism is not just against the consideration of race and racism, per se. This neo-conservativism is also inherently anti-Black. The impetus for doing away with race and for ending talks about racial power, discrimination and oppression was, and is in response to the aggrandized fears of Black mobility, access and power. This fear of
Black power, or more aptly put, of Blacks actually experiencing some aspect of non-slavery, has always been met with retaliatory violence, whether it was in the forms of lynching, the shutting down of Reconstruction and the
movement of Union troops out of the south, the burning and murdering of Black towns and economies such as Rosewood and Oklahoma City, legal mandates such as the Dred Scott decision, hyper-segregation, or the creation and expansion of the current police state and the prison
industrial complex.

One major component of this anti-Black neo-conservativism is the belief that racism against Blacks is a thing of the past or has been
remedied. Therefore, we assume that Blacks should be grateful for the institutional gains they now have. An implicit aspect of this perspective
is the idea that Blacks now have political power and therefore have the same power as whites to be racist. As such, Blacks can now be just as
racist against Asian Americans as whites can be.

This understanding of racial power is clearly evident in the claims made against O'Neal. What has been overwhelmingly demonstrated with this
situations is that if anything, Asian Americans need the racist and sexist image of Black people, and in this case, Black males, to make their
claims. That is, we need a group to both chastise and hold up as models of how one makes political claims. Black people are that group. The result
is, we have both hatred towards Blacks for being too loud, too pushy, too vocal, too visible, and for overall, taking up too much space
politically. We talk about how Blacks don't share, or we say statements such as, "people need to realize that a lot of groups are racially
oppressed" or, "Blacks aren't the only ones who experience racism," or, the popular "we need to go beyond black and white." We even hijack Ralph
Ellison's consideration of Blackness as invisible as he wrote in 1952's Invisible Man to make our claims against Blacks, who we purport to be
successfully visible (never considering whether they are actually viewed as human). Consider how many times Asian Americans have been able to
successfully get resources, whether it be college programs, funding for non-profits, or sometimes just sympathy for our causes by using these
claims. In short, consider how often Asian Americans have attempted to make claims in opposition to Blacks and subsequently how we have been fairly successful at doing so. It appears that Asian America cannot leverage our claims without relying on the image of Blacks as over-powerful and selfish.

In the process, we lay out the following agenda for Asian American politics: we must be more aggressive, more physical, more "scary," and more
"threatening". The fact that we rely on the racist caricatures of Blacks fails to concern Asian America. The fact that these racist caricatures help organize and structure the lives of Black bodies-even rich people like O'Neal, who, as the editor of the Asian American Movement E-Zine puts it, "is not just another African American on the street"-seems to be of little
concern to us. The fact that Black men are the victims of this racist and sexist caricature as clearly shown by the containment they experience
through state violence such as police violence, imprisonment and death seems to be of little concern. The fact that Asian Americans have yet to
figure out how to make our claims against white supremacy, capitalism and(hetero)sexism (if we have these claims at all) without attempting to
silence, displace, and in some ways, hijack Black political claims seems to be of little concern. The fact that despite supposedly not being heard
effectively, we have somehow been able to live lives structurally different from Blacks in terms of state violence, racial and sexual characterization, etc. appears to be of little concern.

Nor does the fact that Asian Americans work with white institutions and white people to police Black people (and many times can be successful at
doing so) seem to be a concern of ours. Yet this is precisely what Asian Americans are attempting to do in this case. Calling on NBA Commissioner
David Stern, a white man who also has institutional power, to chastise and punish O'Neal is a form of policing Black men just as Asian grocers calling on police to protect their stores in Black neighborhoods is.

And who says women can't police Black men? Think about California Democrat Assemblywoman Judy Chu's letter to Stern, in which she demanded the
commissioner "prevent and publicly punish" racist behavior from players. The desire to have O'Neal "publicly" punished by a white man is
disgusting, as is Chu's suggestion to Stern that O'Neal be forced to perform community service in LA's Chinese American community.

In closing, it is not that I am not concerned or bothered by O'Neal's statements. Nor do I want Asian Americans to not fight back against
capitalism, whites supremacy,(hetero)sexism, and homophobia. I am just not interested in promoting a response and a political agenda that reproduces racist and sexist constructions and treatment of Black people generally, and in this case, Black men specifically. I am seeking for an
Asian American response to O'Neal that can put forth a claim and an analysis that does not reproduce, and call for violence towards Black
people. Perhaps, though, this request, rather this plea, may be unanswerable.

Copyright ?2003 Tamara K. Nopper

Thanks, Aznbutch. That's the 1st time I have read a well-thought comment (besides here on Outsports.com) about African-Americans that communicates that the writer, as an Asian-American, considers us as human beings.

Incidentally, I attended an entire series of bi-cultural events held at the Japan-America Society to make reparations for the then-egregious remarks made by Japanese polticians regarding the "place" of African-Americans.

The series was serious, well-meaning, and trustworthy; yet, it was an APOLOGY, and therefore: lacking.

It will be nice when, oen day, we can SEE AND FEEL more involvement of Asian-Americans who conceptualize themselves as confident in their U.S. citizenship and life experiences to speak from their minds and hearts about how they see their American destinies.

I have read it some (scholarly) books, but that is not the same as experiencing in media, society, and in the greater world.

Maybe then, a good portion of trust can be developed. I know that this burden does not fall entirely on the shoulder of the Asian-American community, but MOST of it DOES.

[ January 28, 2003, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: bluebird48234 ]

BTW (was just reviewing what I wrote), Shaq should still be held accountable for what he did - I would consider it racist, and he - like everyone else, should not be allowed to get away with sentiments like that.

Any news on this?

[ February 10, 2003, 07:31 AM: Message edited by: bluebird48234 ]

Shaq just can't seem to shut up can he?

Coming under the heading "We Reap What We Sow", seems a Kings fan scrawled "Shaq is an ass****" on the ball used in the game in which O'Neal scored his 20,000th point. From ESPN.com:

Boo hoo Shaq! Boo freakin hoo!

I would (label Shaq a racist, or at least who doesn't care about other people's feelings), Celtics4Life!

At his level (i.e., he's getting multi-million-dollar endorsements, is a homeowner, and a wealthy man), he should be taking responsibility for his visibility.

He could have found out (VERY EASILY) that although the "ching-chong foo-goo"-type of joke exists in our community, probably from kung-fu movies, this type of joke not only is not understood by Asian people (taken from above), but it's just stupid.

Plain asinine, stupid, and not representative of a professional ANYTHING (Don't pro b-ballers do their taxes as "entertainers"? Even if they don't, they are still doing what is considered a "professional" job).

Just because you have money, it doesn't give you the right to trample on people's feelings WHEN IT CAN BE AVOIDED.

Shaq wasn't even making a decent point.

- - - - -

There can NEVER be enough "calling it as one sees it"; and Shaq, as you say, needs to check himself.

- - - - -

BTW, I really like Yao. A LOT. He has such a sweet, heart-wrenching, and honest smile.

- - - - -

And the Shaq Attack burger (on awful, cheap, sourdough bread) is Y U C K Y ! frown