Tag: racism

I’m pretty sure this was the blackest conversation ever

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’m tired, groggy, and agitated that the lines at Starbucks are quadrupled since the start of the school semester, and my favorite barista girl has quit.  My head still hurts a little bit in combination of the hangover from the day prior, and not having a good night’s sleep.  And then a guy gets in line behind me, and is on his cell phone, and propagates black stereotypes by speaking as loudly and as animated as he can.

So it’s no surprise that I overhear his conversation; I’m pretty sure people at Piedmont Park could hear what he was saying at this point.  But being right in front of him, his words are crystal clear, and I’m trying my best to ignore it until I hear his idea for a business model: A sneaker bar.

A bar that instead of serving drinks, serves shoes.  Sneakers.  Kicks.  Cruisers.  Jordans.

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Calling out an obvious attempt to get rich

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

When I first heard this story about how this Korean guy was suing Hooters because of a racist incident, I was ready to get up in arms and pull out my Korean card and start flinging them around like Gambit or a fed Twisted Fate.  But after reading and seeing all of the disclosed facts, I’m kind of somewhere in the middle of the situation.

I don’t think Hooters should get out of this incident completely scot-free, even if the perpetrator has already confessed and quit.  The restaurant still holds a modicum of liability for hiring someone like that in the first place, but they’ve really done all they can do to make sure that this was an isolated incident, and not a situation where hundreds of minorities were left with discriminatory jabs that went undetected.

But at the same time, I don’t think Hooters should be tagged with a $150,000 lawsuit that this Korean guy and his Korean lawyer are pursuing.  If these guys want to sue anyone, it should be the 20-year old tramp that wrote the racist remark in the first place, not Hooters.  To me, this whole scenario just reeks of people trying to exploit the system and just trying to get paid.

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O PILSUNG KOREAAAAAAAA

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

South Korea mops floor with Japan, 2-0; wins Olympic Bronze medal in men’s soccer

Third place has never felt so awesome.  Seriously, sometimes fighting for the bronze medal seems more prestigious than getting a silver, because in most versus Olympic events, silver is the consolation prize for being the guy who lost to the gold medalist.  Bronze medal events are the ultimate tests for redemption; the losers get no medals, and only in the act of winning can you earn your spot on the Olympic podium and walk away with a medal at all.

The fact that the Koreans beat Japan for the bronze medal is just icing on the cake.  The cherry on top.  Gravy.

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Olympic ping-pong is funny

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

First off, I think the Olympics are as irrelevant as ever these days, and I can’t say that I’ve watched anything beyond the 25 minutes a day that I’m running on the hamster wheel.  But I have noticed that there is a whole lot of television coverage focused on a whole lot of volleyball, soccer and shit like rowing.  I guess the marquee stuff like basketball point shaving and women’s gymnastics is saved for times when people are actually capable of watching it.

But today, I caught a glimpse of Olympic ping-pong.  Doubles, no less.  With great amusement, I kept the television on the event, so I could see what ping-pong at the highest level looked like.  For about 35 seconds, the players on both side of the table would position themselves intricately, bob up and down and Hulk themselves up, preparing for the serve.  The serve would come, and the point would be decided in less than five seconds.  There would be fist pumps, roars of victory and high fives for every single point.  And then it would repeat itself, the preparation that takes longer than the payoff.

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It’s funny how things turn out in time

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Last weekend, I was up in NOVA during the trip I couldn’t get back from, and I went to a baseball game with my dad.  During the drive up to Frederick, Maryland, we got stuck in the typical I-270 traffic, due to the fairly abrupt ending of the third lane.  It’s not like my dad and I have a ton of things to talk about in the first place, especially with the language difficulties between us in the first place.

For whatever reason, my dad decided to start a topic which was akin to my mom and aunts always badgering me about how I need to get married and start popping out grandkids.  The fact that it was coming from my dad was a little strange, but I guess deep down, he too wants to have some mighty grandchildren to carry on the Hong family name and bloodline, but truthfully my dad is fantastic with babies really.

It started with him bringing up a girl I went to elementary and high school with and even the same church, who is the same age as I am, and her dad is friends with my dad.  And how about she’s now engaged, and that he was invited to the wedding as guests of the parents I guess.  But then he said that she’s marrying a Vietnamese guy, and I just kind of snort-laugh, you know the sound I’m talking about.  A Korean girl marrying a Vietnamese guy, it’s laughable to me, kinda.

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Guess which player Alabamans love?

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Brad Coon is a player on the Montgomery Biscuits, and people really love to cheer for him.

The strange thing is that Brad Coon is not a supremely talented baseball player.  Brad Coon is 29-years old, and in his seventh year playing exclusively minor league baseball.  The Montgomery Biscuits are a AA-level minor league team, and the typical age for AA players with legitimate futures is typically anywhere from 20-23 years old.  In years prior, Brad Coon played for AAA-level affiliates for the Angels, Dodgers and Nationals, but upon landing with the Rays, they assigned him to AA.

So Brad Coon is considered way old for his level of competition, but his current statistics indicate that it’s fairly appropriate in terms of skill.  Which is another way of me saying that Brad Coon isn’t exactly the most talented baseball player in the world.

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The sad modernization of Family Feud

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Steve Harvey is a pretty funny guy.  I haven’t heard much of his actual standup, but from what I have heard, he’s pretty good.  Good enough to where he’s a pretty familiar name to most people these days.  But quite frankly, not even he can really save what has become of the once popular game show, Family Feud.

I used to love Family Feud, back in the day it was hosted by Richard Dawson.  My parents speak very little English, but even they enjoyed watching Family Feud.  I have a lot of fond memories actually watching Family Feud together with my parents and sister, like a real, stereotypical family.  The questions were basic and general, and just about anyone watching at home could have a fighting chance if they were remotely third-grade educated, or had been simply living for a while.

When I have lunchtime workouts, I’m running on the treadmill at right around the time when today’s Steve Harvey Family Feud reruns are running on what used to be TBS.  I used to watch ESPN, but for a channel that’s supposed to cover all sports, they can’t seem to not stop talking about NFL, NCAA football, golf, or NBA.  It’s almost as if they’re resentful that MLB has their own network, just like the NFL and NBA has, and does whatever they can to Rosa Parks the shit out of baseball coverage.  Needless to say, Steve Harvey Family Feud episodes are a lesser evil, and I’ve been watching them for a few weeks now, prompting me to finally post something about how much it sucks and how wrong it is these days.

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