Asians protest stereotype on Adidas Shoe
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...041301886.html

Image of Shoe

http://japundit.com/images/fong.jpg

oddly enough for my globalism class I just read how Adidas was specifically reaching out to Asia via their marketing skills, similar to how Puma focused on Europe. I guess this one seriously backfired! Someone's getting fired...

I'm thinking of buying it.

-Rudey

So the artist who is half-chinese draws a caricature of himself in the 8th grade? That's racist?

Someone is really stretching to find a cause here.

Re: Asians protest stereotype on Adidas Shoe
 

That's not cool at all.

Looks kinda like a chipmunk

actually, they're not...because whether or not this guy is half chinese....this caricature perpetuates ignorant and negative stereotypes of asian people.

From reading the article, I can understand the caricature from the artist's point of view, HOWEVER, if I saw a sneaker with a caricature of Buckwheat on it, I might have a problem. So I understand both sides of the argument. I think I'm more offended it's connected with the 'Yellow' line moreso than the caricature.

I don't see any stereotypes at all. I'm not really aware of too many asian stereotypes not having to do with tricked out Hondas and good grades.

Which ignorant stereotypes are portrayed here?

Kinda like calling people black or white?

This is such a huge injustice - buck teeth and yellow skin. Too bad this is the image of the artist and too bad that injustice really is...nothing?

-Rudey

well expose yourself to more asian folks. though i doubt there are any in oklahoma. this looks like the charlie chan caricature.

bucktoothed, slant-eyed, and bowl-haired.

your intellectual inadequacies are too profound to wrap around this concept.

No, not like calling people black or white. I personally don't describe Asian people as 'yellow'. Maybe you do, my bad. I already said I'm not offended by the caricature because from the artist's point of view, that's how he looked when he was young. Unfortunately, it's a stereotype of Asians, which is why some people are upset.

A handful of Asians are upset and maybe a couple of pacific islanders, who are looked down upon by Asians, here or there.

Really it's not much of an issue.

The shoes will sell to people who like them just because people are willing to pay for shoes, especially limited edition ones. Just like how bape shoes sell so well here :)

-Rudey

I think they'll probably sell too. WTH are bape shoes?

The problem is that your point of view requires that a person actually find out the whole story before they start getting all offended, and people don't want to do that.

I remember in college we did Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado", which required the entire cast to "dress yellowface". We had a person write a letter to the school paper about us being racist for doing "yellowface". The problem comes when you actually do research on the show, at the time it was written in England, Japanese was a "fad". Many British had the screens and fans in their homes as decoration. The show even includes a joke where the entire chorus sings "The Japanese equivilant for Here! Here! Here!". So, it was making fun of someone - the British. They were making fun of their own culture.

Oh, and later in that person's letter, they included - if you had done Porgy & Bess, you wouldn't have dressed in "Blackface". Ummm...yes, we would of, Porgy & Bess would NOT make sense with WHITE people!!!!!

Hah

http://www.bape.com/
http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/shop...penings/10734/

-Rudey

this is proof positive that white people discount asian's views on racism as paltry.


i wonder what would happen is they had an arab on a shoe and called it "camel jockey - 2000"

actually, a large amount of asians are upset about this.

your perspective on what asians find offensive is irrelevant. who are you to tell people what they should be offended about considering the fact that this is an old stereotype/caricature that was originated long ago.

If my perspective on what Asians find offensive is irrelevant, then your perspective on what blacks find offensive is just as irrelevant, and yet you persist that you are an expert in that field. Either way: :rolleyes:

i'm pretty sure a lot of black folks think my opinion is irrelevant. either way, that's neither here nor there so nice try at changing the subject, twit. actually, i don't act as if i'm anything....you're the one who does that. but your severe ignorance shows that you don't have the capacity to actually even comment on either subject.

Knowing that, I wouldn't think it was too bad...but if I had just randomly seen it on a shoe I would probably have thought it was in poor taste. Well, I still sort of think it is--not everyone is going to know that it's not just some non-Asian guy's interpretation of what Asians look like.

I repeat: :rolleyes: Especially at the "twit" comment. At least I don't have the "ignorance" to resort to childish name-calling. Keep on living.


Oh, and even though I'm "unqualified" to say what should and should not offend Asians, I believe that if you know the back-story, this is not offensive. But people don't take that kind of time to find out the back-story, therefore it is offensive.

So you think that it's okay to expose your own ignorance while decrying someone else's supposed ignorance?

Oklahoma City has an extremely high population of Vietnamese (one of the highest per capita in the nation). We also have a substantial number of chinese. OKC due to its lower cost of living has been a favorite destination point for new immigrants for quite some times, but especially in 1975 when many evacuees of South Vietnam ended up in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, eventually migrating here.

So, I guess ignorance is cool with you so long as it's not a self-portrait drawn by a fellow asian?

:cool: Duh ktsnake. He can say whatever he wants on this topic, because he's Asian, and it's Gospel. Our "cracker" opinions don't count.:p

Could the high numbers also be attributed to the fact that most Asians stayed after being at Fort Hill for the required stay at internement camps during WWII?

I find it hard to believe that company like Adidas didn't do some kind of focus groups to determine that Asians would be offended at this caricature when the prototype was made. If Asian-Americans don't agree, they have every right to speak their mind and with their wallets not to buy the shoes.

actually, ignorance and prejudice is never cool with me. regardless of who draws it. and for adidas to actually profit from prejudice shows what kind of company they are. not sure about you, but i have a problem with it. how am i exposing my own ignorance? this is a historical caricature that has been used in the white media for decades. research it.

Is there not ignorance shown by Your Many Posts?

We all may make jokes about Color or Religion, but not to an extrem as You Do.:confused:

So some one makes jokes about Honkeys? Do I care, Not a Whit Twit.

Get with the real world of working together or get the hell out of it!:mad:

Oh Sorry, this is the kinder and genteler Me not trying to spake!

Rascist, who is more racist, DAR!:rolleyes:

not offensive to whom? obviously from your posts, you have no concept of prejudice or bigotry. regardless of what the backstory is, plenty of asians find this offensive. if you knew the backstory of the prejudice that has been prevalent throughout the history of this nation, you would find this offensive. irrelevant of whether or not the artist is asian.

i didn't make jokes about white people, moron. get a clue.

thats exactly what it is. whether or not the artist is half asian.

I agree, the artist being Asian has nothing to do with it. People, both Asians and non-Asians, can still take offense to it. That's their right. The part that makes me understand it a little more is the fact that he was drawing himself. Unfortunately, that fit a stereotype that is offensive to many people. Adidas should have researched this more.

The guy who designed the shoe is an artist. Puma does the same thing, get some beatnik artist to design a tennis shoe and sell it for $500. Artists are always blurring the lines between what is and isn't acceptable. And for Adidas, a company trying to win the cash of the hipsters and trendsetters, censoring an artist would not work in their favor.

Its a tennis shoe....who gives a flying shit. And starang21, you exposed your ignorance with your dumbass comment about there not being any Asians in Oklahoma. The fact that you obviously really like to hear the sound of your own voice, coupled with you incessant rants on a completely ridiculous subject is really quite sickening. Do you act/think/talk/present yourself like this on a regular, every day basis? If so...you need to be bitch slapped.

who gives a shit? asians, twit. but then again, from an individual who makes comments about "typical" black strippers, your stupidity and ignorance make sense.

you're a simple individual who can't hang on any sort of mental plane for more than two seconds without drooling at the mouth. don't be mad because your mental deficiencies prove that you're not able to even contribute anything to the topic at hand.

while i agree, in this instance....the picture itself long jumped over the line.

this is reminiscent of the abercrombie incident in '02 when ignorant t-shirts hit the shelves.

Well, guess You Just Made Your Point oh Great Sage!:eek:

Who in the hell cares?:rolleyes:

define extremely high. in 2000, there were approximately 12500 vietnamese in OKC. that's less than 1 percent of the total vietnamese population in the united states. hardly what i'd call substantial. approximately double of what the chinese population is. which is also less than a quarter of a percentage of the total population.

if you don't care, don't click the link, idiot. there's a red x at the top right of the screen.