9 posts tagged “stereotypes”

At the Desire party on Wednesday was my old acquaintance, Max:

Max on the draw

Modern segregation

Lady, you’re lucky I won’t be narcing on you because I can’t see your number plate in this shot.
   But just a word of advice about driving in New Zealand. Green means go. Starting to move your car after green turns to yellow is not correct at the intersection of Wakefield and Cuba, especially when you are the first car in the queue. Going through a red light on Cuba is also not correct.
   This message has been brought to you by the concerned citizens of Wellington.

Passat runs another light

I now know of one colleague who is cancelling her plans to visit the United States because of the Obama administration’s changes to travel requirements.
   While I am unsure whether these are a hangover from the Bush days or not, they are fatal to US tourism, and disconnect the country from the rest of the world in terms of international travel.
   As mentioned, people from countries which were once eligible to visit the US for 90 days under the visa waiver programme (this includes close allies such as the UK—excepting British overseas nationals, as the USA now practises apartheid against British subjects) now have to fill out a form with the Department of Homeland Security 72 hours before travel.
   And although the US Government claims this takes seconds, the reality is that it takes 20 minutes per person—far longer than the old system which took mere minutes per traveller. If you are the person applying on behalf of your family to travel, be prepared to be by your computer for over an hour.
   The form applies even for people transiting who have not entered the US through Immigration—which suggests to me that whomever dreamt up this policy actually has no understanding of where US sovereignty begins.
   Americans already have a stereotype of being ignorant of overseas affairs. While untrue for the most part, policies like this do not help.
   Secondly, the US Government has the right now to charge travellers not holding a passport with a chip US$545, even if they have filled out the Homeland Security forms.
   This is despite the passport being valid. Apparently, for the United States, passports valid anywhere else in the world are not good enough for Americans.
   While the charge is at the airport’s discretion, who can tell when one would get stung?
   Americans already have a stereotype of being arrogant. While untrue for the most part, policies like this do not help.
   Hang on, there’s déjà vu there.
   The US Government, even under President Obama, is as detached from everyday Americans and the citizens of the world than ever.
   I can only hope these are things that the President has not got around to sorting out. For they sound just like Patriot Act-inspired policies that restrict freedom. Or, as the President himself once put it, ‘the failed policies of George W. Bush’.

I found this on another Vox blog here and I wonder how appropriate some of this is.

You know you’re Chinese when:

1. You look like you are 18 years old.—Hmm. I looked 18 when I was, well, 18.

2. You like to eat chicken feet.—Of course, totally normal.

3. You suck on fish heads and fish fins.—I suck at eating them, or literally suck on them? The former is true. Can’t stand bony stuff. No idea why this is particularly Chinese.

4. You have a Chinese knick-knack hanging on your rear view mirror.—What? No.

5. You sing karaoke.—No, that’s the Japanese more. They invented it.

6. Your house is covered with tile.—No. And not even in Hong Kong.

7. Your kitchen is covered by a sticky film of grease.—No.

8. Your stove is covered with aluminium foil.—Underneath the elements, but again this is not distinctively Chinese, surely.

9. You leave the plastic covers on your remote control.—No.

10. You’ve never kissed your Mom or Dad.—What? Who writes this BS? Of course I’ve kissed my parents.

11. You’ve never hugged your Mom or Dad.—As I said, who writes this BS? Some racist whose only impression of Chinese people is an episode of Bonanza?

12. Your unassisted vision is worse than 20/500.—No.

13. You wear contacts, to avoid wearing your “Coke bottle” glasses.—No.

14. You’ve worn glasses since you were in fifth grade.—No. Apart from that fact I don’t know how old fifth grade is, but it sounds awful young. I wore glasses from age 13.

15. Your hair sticks up when you wake up.—A little, but it’s usually too short to do that.

16. You’ll haggle over something that is not negotiable.—No. Again, stereotype. Again, my suspicion of some racist writing these BS positions.

17. You love to use coupons.—I wouldn’t call it love. I call it practical. If you have a coupon and can save a bit, wouldn’t you? And why is this distinctively Chinese behaviour?

18. You drive around looking for the cheapest petrol.—I know where the cheapest petrol is.

19. You drive around for hours looking for the best parking space.—No way. I know when the parking gods aren’t on my side.

20. You take showers at night!—More often than in the day. Anyone remember that Palmolive Gold ad in New Zealand with the white couple where the guy had to shower at night?

21. You avoid the non-free snacks in hotel rooms.—Of course, especially if I can go to a supermarket and get the same thing for a tenth of the price.

22. You don’t mind squeezing 20 people into one motel room.—Yes I bloody well mind.

23. Most girls have more body hair than you, if you are male.—Um, no. Not in my experience.

24. You tap the table when someone pours tea for you.—Yes, it’s only good manners. So the writer of these kept his eyes open at yum char. Well done. Better than having them closed. Or ramming chopsticks up your nostrils.

25. You say, ‘Aiya!’ and ‘Wah!’ frequently.—Define frequently. So, no.

26. You don’t want to wear your seat belt because it is uncomfortable.—BS.

27. You love Las Vegas, slot machines, and blackjack.—No.

28. You unwrap Christmas gifts very carefully, so you can re-use the paper.—No. I tear into it. If it’s that plasticky type of gift-wrap that’s hard to tear, then I might be more careful. If I can reuse paper, I do. Again, why is this particularly Chinese?

29. You only buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50 per cent off.—Of course. And I have enough to last me a decade. Why not buy 10 for 40¢?

30. You have a vinyl table-cloth on your kitchen table.—No.

31. You spit bones and other food scraps on the table.—No.

32. You have stuff in the freezer since the beginning of time.—OK, I have old stuff in there. So does Homer Simpson. Last time I looked, he wasn’t Chinese, though he is yellow.

33. You use the dishwasher as a dish rack.—Don’t have a dishwasher.

34. You have never used your dishwasher.—Don’t have a dishwasher.

35. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.—Not a Thermos, but I do keep some boiled water in a jug, and some cooled boiled water in a bottle. A good habit to get into, as I discovered while travelling.

36. You eat all meals in the kitchen.—No, that’s what dining rooms are for.

37. You save grocery bags, tin foil, and tin containers.—Grocery bags, yes; no to the other two. Bags are good to put rubbish in for the recycling collection day. Again, not exclusively Chinese.

38. You have a piano in your living room.—No.

39. You pick your teeth at the dinner table (but you cover your mouth).—No. I thought in no. 36 we all ate in kitchens?

40. You twirl your pen around your fingers.—No. Again, did the writer of these just know maybe one Chinese person who did this and surmised that the other billion do this?

41. You hate to waste food.—Of course.

42. You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.—No.

43. You don’t own any real Tupperware only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, take-out containers and jam jars.—I own real Tupperware. I do have some take-out containers, which I save up and give to people I know who run take-out joints. It’s called being environmentally conscious.

44. You also use the jam jars as drinking glasses.—Who the f*** does this? Seriously. Who?!

45. You have a collection of miniature shampoo bottles that you take every time you stay in a hotel.—A few, but then I get samples at work. I certainly don’t take the hotel’s.

46. You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes). These snacks are always dried and include dried plums, mango, ginger, and squid.—No. The writer has obviously never been to New Zealand.

47. You wash your rice at least two to three times before cooking it.—A couple of times: a wash, then two rinses.

48. Your Dad thinks he can fix everything himself.—And he can.

49. The dashboard of your Honda is covered by hundreds of small toys.—I’m Chinese. That means I don’t have a Japanese car because of WWII, just like how some Frenchies don’t have a German car for the same reason (though I know a Jewish guy with a Merc). I do have great Japanese friends so my beef is not with individuals: I am just making a statement on behalf of my own kind. And why would some nut put toys inside his car like that? Stereotype.

50. You don’t use measuring cups.—Yes I do. I have a lovely orange plastic set.

51. You beat eggs with chopsticks.—Yes.

52. You have a teacup with a cover on it.—No. I thought white folks do this. Yes, all white folks. No, it depends on the person, surely.

53. You always look phone numbers up in the phone book, since calling information costs 50 cents.—Not always, but if I can save 50¢, why not? I’d rather Google a number or look it up. It’s actually quicker than trying to spell something to someone who can’t speak English.

54. You only make long distance calls after 11 p.m.—No.

55. If you are male, you clap at something funny and if you are female, you giggle whilst placing a hand over your mouth.—Clap? No, more a slap on my own thigh if it’s really good. Again: who writes this shit?

56. You like Chinese films in their original undubbed versions.—Yeah, duh. Like how French people like French films in their original undubbed versions. Like how English people like English films in their original undubbed versions.

57. You love Chinese martial arts’ films.—No more than any other genre. There are some crap ones out there. Again: stereotype.

58. You’ve learnt some form of martial arts.—Some basics. Mostly to give writers of stereotyped BS an ass-whooping.

59. Shaolin actually means something to you.—No more than anyone else who knows it.

60. You like congee with thousand-year-old (century) eggs.—I like congee; eggs, depends.

61. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and legs still attached.—Ew, no.

62. You never call your parents just to say hi.—Bollocks. When I travel, I always call my Dad. When my mother was alive, I called.

63. If you don’t live at home, when your parents call, they ask if you’ve eaten, even if it’s midnight.—OK, they do do this. Because they care.

64. When you’re sick, your parents tell you not to eat fried foods or baked goods due to 热气.—Of course: fundamental health principle. Actually, this is one thing where I am surprised that there is no western equivalent.

65. You know what 热气 is.—Uh, duh. I’m Chinese.

66. You email your Chinese friends at work, even though you only 10 ft apart.—What? I used to have some white students who did this, even when they sat behind one another. So I could summarize that all whites do this, like the writer of these points who probably knew two Chinese who did this.

67. You use a face cloth.—Yes. And, miraculously, I use it on my face.

68. You starve yourself before going to all you can eat places.—BS.

69. You know someone who can get you a good deal on jewellery or electronics.—Jewellery, probably; electronics, probably not.

70. You save your old “Coke bottle” glasses even though you’re never going to use them again.—There this writer goes again, about “Coke-bottle” glasses. First, my eyesight was never that bad. I do save old glasses, but I paid good money for them. My father does, too, and he’s been able to reuse his frames.

71. You own your own meat cleaver and sharpen it.—Yes. So I can use it on people who write stereotypical cobblers.

72. Your toothpaste tubes are all squeezed paper-thin.—Yes. Again, I know some people of other races who do this.

73. You know what moon cakes are.—Duh, yes.

74. When there is a sale on toilet paper, you buy 100 rolls and store them in your closet or in the bedroom of an adult child who has moved out.—I buy stuff on special, but I do that with most things. I bought two packs of 16 once.

75. Your parents know how to launch nasal projectiles.—What?

76. You iron your own shirts.—Sometimes, not all the time.

77. You play a musical instrument.—Yes. I guess this is so Chinese in the minds of the original writer.

78. Even if you’re totally full, if someone says they’re going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you’ll finish them.—Who am I? Joey Tribbiani?

79. You’ve eaten a red bean popsicle.—No.

80. You bring oranges (or other produce) with you as a gift when you visit people’s homes.—Has happened.

81. You fight over who pays the dinner bill.—Yes. Good manners.

82. You majored in something practical like engineering, accounting, medicine or law.—I did a law degree, so I couldn’t not major in law, right?

83. You live with your parents and you are 30 years old (and they prefer it that way). Or if you’re married and 30 years old, you live in the apartment next door to your parents, or at least in the same neighbourhood.—I lived with my folks when I was 30, or, more accurately, Dad lived with me. And this is exclusively Chinese why? And this is unusual because …? I can again name you people of other races who are equally close to their parents.

84. You don’t tip more than 10 per cent at a restaurant, and if you do, you tip Chinese delivery guys or waiters more.—I typically tip 15 per cent if I were to tip, regardless of the server’s race.

85. You have acquired a taste for bitter melon.—No.

86. You eat every last grain of rice in your bowl, but don’t eat the last piece of food on the table.—Yes.

87. You know why there are 88 reasons.—There aren’t. There are only 87 on this list.

   Conclusion: the original author maybe knew two Chinese people who exhibited some of these traits and reckoned they might just extend it to a billion people. Dumbass. Being generous, I probably could check off 30 of the above. Out of a billion-plus, there’s probably more chance of differences than in a nation of a few million. I found some of these ignorant, which is probably why I did it: to show that no race can be summarized in a few stereotypical points. 

Since India has been extremely kind to me—the people here are amazing—I owe it to this nation to bust a few stereotypes.
   First, the food. It is excellent and in two days I have had no problems with my tummy. ‘Delhi belly’ is a cruel stereotype that I was given by some friends prior to my departure, though I knew instinctively it was cobblers. The same rule applies here as everywhere else: if you are careful about what you stick in your mouth, you are fine. People do know that in rural areas things can be tougher. Nevertheless, I can make this conclusion: Indian food is fab and way better than expat Indian restaurants.
   Secondly, this is certainly not a backward country, and anyone who has read books such as The World Is Flat would know that. Here I am, surfing on wifi, and at speeds and with connectivity better than what I might find in other parts of the world, and that includes New Zealand. There is a rich–poor gap and that does mean some poverty but that also generates invention. I saw booksellers yesterday with used books alongside new ones; we should be copying some of the recycling efforts that Indians undertake every day.
   If your impression of an Indian car park is old colonial hand-me-downs, think again: the Daewoo Lacetti (Chevrolet Optra) is newer than what many countries sell, including Australia and New Zealand:

Chevrolet Optra facelift

[Cross-posted] Sonia Yee was kind enough to provide me with a preview of Part Three of her series, The Golden Tide (see earlier post here), which appears on Radio New Zealand National each Sunday at 2.30 p.m. from December 28. I’m thrilled with this episode, which airs January 11: she chose some of my better quotes and discarded my non sequiturs, for which I am very grateful. This is required listening: this is not “a Chinese programme” per se. The musical score is outstanding, as is the post work. It is a commentary about cultural identity, and about what it means to be a New Zealander. In a nation where everyone, including the Māori, can trace their roots to another land, we need to understand issues such as pigeon-holing, marginalization, stereotypes, assimilation and identity.

Dabysan has a few interesting observations about Moment of Truth, the game show airing on a Murdoch Press network in the US and, God help us, TV2 in New Zealand.
   The good news is that this show has reached the end of its run in New Zealand as of this Friday and let’s hope it doesn’t return.
   It’s basically a game show that paints a highly negative image of United States and the decline in taste and responsibility of New Zealand television programmers. The cancellation may be a sign that the Kiwis have found some sense again (as is the return of Life on Mars and the airing of Jekyll). The only reason it ever aired, as far as I can tell, is that it must be dirt, dirt cheap.
   Dabysan wrote: ‘The show is a sure sign of the coming of the apocalypse.’ How right that is.
   On Dabysan’s blog is a clip of one of the episodes:

   That is the sum total of the show but somehow through “editing” (which means using the same footage over and over again, and having really long and repetitive previews telling TV audiences to come back after the break) it lasts the full 46 minutes (i.e. a commercial television hour).
   If it were shown in this shortened format I might not think so ill of it, but for it to occupy an hour of some viewers’ lives is daft.
   I wrote in the comments:

I can’t see the entertainment value in Moment of Truth. The contestant knows what questions will be asked so she should not be surprised. She was obviously not ashamed to reveal his or her answers to a total stranger, so why should millions of strangers be a problem? As for their loved ones, the contestant obviously has no shame to have engaged in embarrassing conduct so she shouldn’t be ashamed now. If she is potentially ashamed, she should not have gone on. I am glad this show is getting killed off after this Friday’s episode in New Zealand after a very short run.

   What I did not write is that this sort of show, displaying the lax morals of certain US citizens, is an insult to decent Americans—but it has a secondary effect. There is a very real danger that all Americans are grouped in our minds as being like those idiots on the show.
   When you see this and news about how many sexual partners a typical New York woman has had or that one in one hundred adult Americans are in jail, you begin to form a very negative image indeed: sleep around, cheat, lie, dis your parents, be unfaithful, commit crimes. Meanwhile, the American newsmedia, as broadcast internationally, play down things such as Sen. John McCain’s military record or provide us with exemplary behaviours (exceptions of US shows that do include the little-watched Real Life Heroes).
   The blogs are good in that they give voice to some normal folks—but most people are still influenced by the stereotypes and the sensationalism caused by biased editing in the old media.
   It is the same effect as the casting of Middle Eastern actors as terrorists in US shows, which groups them into a negative bunch and propagates a false stereotype.
   A second danger is that young people watching this show—I forget what time it airs in New Zealand but it is not that late—might think that such behaviour is acceptable.
   The message is: you can engage in any behaviour, from sexual deviancy to outright deception, and be rewarded for it if you have no sense of shame.
   I can think of a few people already who act this way and am delighted at the distance I have from them.
   It is not dissimilar to some reality TV shows which show that connivance and arrogance are the keys to winning major cash prizes.
   The world simply does not work this way, and if it ever came to that, then civilization is in deep, deep crap.
   When some people point out conspiracy theories about Communists seizing the media, promoting a value-destroying ideology and showing that emotionally harmful behaviours are normal, it’s easy to laugh at them. Then you see just what the media are propagating and you have to really think: jeez, they have a point, regardless of what Snopes might say.
   It might not be Commies doing the dirty work, as some citizens are quite happy to go down a destructive path, exhibiting behaviours that every experience tells them is bad. There are enough of us whose lives have been rendered so valueless by our own governments or corporations that Schadenfreude pushes us to enjoy seeing others’ shame and controversy.
   A good society, a decent, honest, progressive one, would never have the time or inclination to indulge in shows such as Moment of Truth or, for that matter, gossip tabloids that depend on a declining society for their success.

I think here is the reason New Zealanders are worried about the sale of Auckland Airport to Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), a company in the United Arab Emirates. I told you the reasons go back to the 1980s. This is from The Billy T. James Show in 1984, directed by Tony Holden and written by the late Mr James and Peter Rowley. James appears with Bruce Allpress, but I do not recognize the youngest actor here. (In case anyone from the Gulf Coast thinks they have been stereotyped, I should note that so have the New Zealanders in this sketch.)

An excerpt from a discussion between some of us here on Vox and on Facebook—the part I can share. (Thanks to Ninja and Randy for their thoughts in this.)

I believe in men being gentlemen, women being ladies. I believe in respect, grace, honour, integrity and keeping my word. I believe in facts before assumptions, I believe in truth and not BS.
   I believe in self-determination of people and respecting their paths.
   I believe that no one can complete me. A relationship is about my sharing who I fully am with someone, not needing someone to complete how I see myself.
   But we real men, those of us without sex and footy on the brain, are plain not represented widely. So when mothers consider locking up their daughters, do men like me get grouped with the assholes of this planet? You know, the guys who think Ralph is sophisticated literature?
   And when a magazine domestically says that Marc Ellis is the typical Kiwi male, what heck hope do the rest of us have?
   The last time anyone close appeared in the cultural Zeitgeist was Brendan Fraser in Blast from the Past. And he was made out to be a freak who grew up in a fallout shelter.
   We now return you to our regularly scheduled programme.