Is this casual racism? Along the lines of ching chong jokes?

[Cimcardishan]

I'm BBC (British born Chinese) and feel that it seems more permissible to be casually racist about Chinese than other racial groups. A few years ago there used to be a Chinese tea advert with a kung fu monk and really bad accent which just felt wrong to me. I don't think that kind of advert would have been made about jerk chicken or naan bread for example.

Someone just posted on my FB jokes with Chinese accent, one liners, eg.Tie my shoe Tai Mai Shu

OK, thats pretty rubbish but it was a long list of them. It wasn't to me personally.

I found it old fashioned and un PC. I feel if someone posted this with Jamaican or Indian accents it would be disapproved of.

Am I being oversensitive?

Perpetuating the notion that an Irish person is overly fond of drink is a harmful stereotype that sways over into discrimination all too easily (do you want a drunk employee? A nanny who isn't sober?)

ego agreed with me that a group of mixed ethnicity mixed sex mixed ability group kicking each other isn't the same as straight white men doing it. That's what we do. Hardly anything to get annoyed about

I don't quite think Ego then went on to say it is alright. You don't seem to understand the concept of normalisation.

If a joke is racist or sexist it doesn't stop being racist or sexist because some members of the minority groups don't mind it. If anything that reinforces the normalisation.

Lass

I actually find your point of view quite patronising. You are telling people who are the subject of the joke that their opinion doesn't matter and that you are offended on their behalf. You're devaluing their opinion and claiming their views don't count.

Which is a bit offensive

I actually find your point of view quite patronising. You are telling people who are the subject of the joke that their opinion doesn't matter and that you are offended on their behalf. You're devaluing their opinion and claiming their views don't count.

The key word was some. You seem to be incapable of realising that just because the joke is being made by a member of the group that it can still be offensive to that group.

You don't mind Irish or Welsh jokes and because you don't mind them you can't see such jokes perpetuate ignorant stereotypes.

Lass different people find different things offensive. Some will always be offended.

If people from a group are telling you x doesn't offend them personally, then they're not wrong to share a joke with their friends and to suggest otherwise is patronising

Your friends then are presumably equally incapable of considering the desirability of perpetuating tired racial stereotypes.

I think you thought the OP was overreacting. She wasn't.

Or Lass you're unable to see that people have different opinions of what offensive is and instead try to force your view on others.

Laughing with something is different to laughing at if

However I personally don't find "racist" jokes when done with the intent of humour offensive

You said this ^ Tali I agree with the Outaboutnowt's comment

Wow, what a thing to write. You don't find racist jokes offensive.
Well if they're done with the intent of humour then that's ok

Oh and Tali I'm hiding this thread now as I have no wish to engage with you further.

Fine

I don't understand what is so hard to get that not everyone is offended by the same thing. Others have also said that too. But carry on being patronising and insisting that certain groups must find it offensive despite their feelings on the matter

I think the point someone made above about equality/percieved equality is pretty key.

Generally in the UK most "jokes" of the type discussed seemed to be based on the premise that everything apart from white English is somehow lesser. Maybe some of the arrogance from Empire still remains.?

Tali, don't bother. The people you're trying to reason with (mainly ego and sooty) have no ability to reason, they are utterly convinced not only that they are in the right, but also morally superior to others who don't agree.

Horror, shock! With my friends and family I tell racist, homophobic, sexist jokes, and we all find them funny. We even tell rape jokes. Surprisingly none of us have turned out as any of those things, because you know? The INTENT does count, and the recognition that they are jokes and that they play on exaggerated stereotypes.

You are most welcome now to get aggrieved, shocked and offended on the behalf of every racial/gender/disabled minority you can think of. It is actually fun to watch. Unknowingly, you are really making caricatures of yourselves.

Do not worry, people like you and people like me will never mix, because I like to live my life without that massive chip on your shoulder you seem so proud of. I laugh at everything, because I choose to believe most people do not tell a joke to laugh at a real situation, but at the absurdity of the joke itself. I am a woman and I laugh at (and tell) sexist jokes. And I laugh at the image of you two fuming at the ears reading these comments and reaching the top levels of offence.

Professional offendees ARE funny. For others who listen to them occasionally, that is. For people having to share space with them, they suck all the joy out of life. And funnily enough, they usually are the racist, homophobic, sexist ones inside. because in their condescendent way, they appoint themselves as the "saviours" of those "poor minorities" who are not even intelligent enough to decide what they laugh at, or get offended about.

I laugh at everything, because I choose to believe most people do not tell a joke to laugh at a real situation, but at the absurdity of the joke itself.

EXACTLY. I completely agree aurynne

("you" on my post equals ego, sooty, lass and all the professionally offended bunch, what a joy must be to share the festive season with them!)

*However if someone is making a joke based on accents like the OP said I wouldn't have thought that was harmful, as it's not perpetuating unpleasant ideas about someone (like tranny does for example) and it's clearly a joke so not something that people really think.

I mean, I laugh at jokes about all sorts of things; doesn't mean I find the subject matter funny if the scenario were to occur.

Live and let live*

This is very clearly passing judgment on what the OP, as a BBC person, should and shouldn't find offensive. Stop trying to make out people are solely criticising you for not personally finding jokes about Welsh and Irish people, directed at you, offensive. Your posts are dripping with 'I'm a better minority because I don't get offended, aren't I big and clever'.

I don't know whether you work aurynne but Tali says she's halfway through a teaching degree yet appears not to understand why associating with people who perpetuate racial stereotyping and endorsing that behaviour is unlikely to enhance her professional credibility.

I always find it interesting when people mention the word intent. If someone makes fun of every worst stereotype of certain groups there is no question of intent. However when casual racism is discussed the OP is always questioned e.g.. "are you sure... it could be... May be .... Because the obvious denigration of a non white persons accent, colour,langauge, culture is not offensive enough.

aurynne what a load of bollocks

'Professionally offended' = code for:
I'm a bigot but don't want to admit I'm a dick and that my attitudes are utterly backward so I'll turn it around on you and make out you are the unreasonable one

I don't think jokes that are racist, sexist, disablist, homophobic or about rape are funny, no.

I've met a few folk with attitudes like yours and I'm pretty pleased to say they're not in my life, for a reason.
If that makes me miserable and boring in your book then that's fine by me.
I'd rather be boring than be a cunt.

Just to make it clear I don't find it funny if you mock my accent,name or ask me where I'm from, or act like my name is too difficult to for you to say or when you behave like I am not speaking the same language as you. I don't find it funny or flattering when you ask me if you can touch my hair or when you scrunch up your face when you smell my food. It's not funny when your patronising even when my role/job outranks you. I dont find jokes at my expense funny, even if you have Black friends or your mum's aunts grandmother is mixed race. I also dont appreciate you making assumptions about where I'm from, because maybe I was born here or because you have never travelled further than your home town. Just a few examples of casual racism.