Ironic double standards

November 26, 2012July 3, 2020 ~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I get accused of being a racist a lot, but to be perfectly honest, I deserve it. I derive an immense amount of humor out of politically incorrect things, and I love to point out when things seem racist in my opinion. I say a lot of politically incorrect things around those I have confidence around, but when the day is over, I’m not going to act on my racism, because that would be bigotry, and that, I do think is pretty wrong.

But today was an example of why I get the impression that I’m generally disliked by my fellow Koreans, in an ironic case of I guess, self-racism. There are a lot of Koreans that work in my building in general. I’ve made their smoking habits the subject of my observations of people, but for the most part, I have no ill-will towards them. I don’t necessarily think it goes the other way though; the impression I get from these Korean people are about the same as I tend to get from most other Koreans who have immigrated to the United States; an overwhelming desire to stay away from me.

I’m a very observant person, if it’s not well known to those I know. Whether I like to or not, I tend to recognize faces, recognize patterns and tendencies of people, whether I know them or not. Especially with a building where everyone sees everyone on a long enough timeline, I’m fairly good at remembering little, inconsequential and unsubstantial details on a sporadic basis.

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Calling out an obvious attempt to get rich

September 13, 2012July 2, 2020 ~ 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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Why do so many people think they’re above McDonalds?

August 27, 2012July 2, 2020 ~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’m sitting in my cube, and I overhear some of my co-workers talking about their weekend. One of them is bitching because he’s concerned that his in-laws are going to make his kids fat, because they went to McDonalds over the weekend. And then the inevitable statement that he never goes to McDonalds, and that they’re somewhere along the lines of the worst stuff on the face of the planet.

Firstly, his in-laws did what all stereotypical red-blooded, all-American, salt of the earth white grandparents do with their grandkids – spoil them and feed them unhealthy foods. A trip to McDonalds isn’t going to destroy the health of two toddlers if the everyday parenting is good.

But back to the point, why do so many people think they’re above McDonalds?

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How ‘bout them apples

May 8, 2012June 30, 2020 ~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I kind of want an iPad. The new one. The one called “The New iPad.” Regardless of if it’s going to one day have an awkward transitional phase to something other than “The New,” when it’s technically no longer new. In fact, it’s been around long enough to where I wouldn’t consider it very new anymore, already.

But no matter, I still kind of want one. I’m very much aware of the fact that it’s very much a glorified and extremely expensive toy, but it doesn’t change the fact that I would still like one. It’s not going to replace my netbook or my laptop as something I could actually brog substantially from, and I don’t even know a whole lot of function I would get out of it. Maybe I’d play every single Angry Birds level again, pursuing three stars. Supposedly Final Fantasy Tactics is re-released for iOS, which I’d probably get. I guess it has substantially better life than my netbook could to watch movies on. But not much else. It’s a toy, I know.

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The racial double standard

March 31, 2012June 29, 2020 ~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I kind of wish the day would come when humanity meets the Turians, then the Salarians and Asari. Because I get the impression that until there’s something so radically different for people to become prejudice towards, like aliens, racism will never go away.

The photographed vanity plate on the Ford Explorer pictured says “BLKNPRD.” Black and Proud. In an ironic way, it’s actually amusing to me that the driver side brake light is also busted, and being held in place with packing tape.

But no matter, this is the kind of vanity tag that exists all over Atlanta, at any given time. I’ve seen plates or bumper stickers that allude to one, being black, and any variety of being successful, rich, debonair, female, or some sort of leader or revolutionary. What I’m curious about is that if we live in such a supposed progressive and tolerant society, why is it so imperative to indicate their ethnicity?

It doesn’t really matter, because we all really know the answer to the question. But the fact is, no other race could really get away with the way the black community does. White people have it the worst; imagine seeing WHYTNPRD on a vanity tag? That car would be on blocks and destroyed for being supremacist within 24 hours of putting the tag on the car. If I put AZNPWR on a car, I’d be labeled a racist and likely laughed at, well before the car would ultimately be vandalized in discrimination. But BLKs put BLK all over their tags, ironically pointing themselves out, and nobody seems to bat an eye.

Except for me. They’re racist too.

So am I Chinese or Japanese?

December 17, 2011June 28, 2020 ~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Now I’ve been assumed to be many different races in my life; Hispanic, French, black (yes, seriously), but this morning was a new one. Chinese or Japanese I can sort of get, but why black people don’t ever assume Korean as one of the first three options is completely beyond me. Stereotypically, Koreans are the ones who do all the grunt work of modern commerce – dry cleaning, manning the liquor stores, convenience stores, gas stations, delis; where they happen to serve black people on a regular basis! Chinese people seemingly solely work at Chinese restaurants or their respective areas’ Chinese regions. Japanese people are fewer and further but are a lot like the Chinese, except there are lot more doing pretty high-tech, high-importance stuff, because the rest of the world seems to think the Japanese can do no wrong and blows their culture like its shit don’t stink.

But I’m getting off the point. This morning, on a sunny beautiful Saturday afternoon, there’s a ring at the doorbell. Since I now assume all doorbell rings as a sign of casing the joint, I answer immediately. It’s two pleasant black women who are trying to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. I listen to their spiel for a few minutes, but then respectfully decline their literature, because I’m a soulless human being who doesn’t particularly care for organized religion. But before they leave, they ask me “where I’m from.” Since I know this is a pointless question, I tell them the truth – Virginia.

“Oh, well you look like my son in law. He’s half Laotian.“

So now, I look like a cross between Dikembe Mutombo and Kahn Souphanousinphone. Wonderful.

Secondly, I’m ashamed of these religious zealous. The ninth commandment states thou shalt not lie, but it seems like every single black person I meet who wishes to relate to me seems to have an Asian in-law, or they know an Asian closely, that they feel the need to tell me, as if I’ll suddenly allow them into my home or accept them more for disclosing this tidbit of information, which is as useful to me as an asshole on my elbow. I don’t go around bragging about the black friends I have in my life, why others feel the need to share their stories of the Asians they know is completely beyond me. Fuck that.