For readers, read my next version. I could not delete my post response because this lst version has grammatical and spelling errors --from shootingstar

I actually do not quite understand your statement, especially to references to tennis playing, violin playing, finishing school women, etc. vs. comedy about race/culture, racism.

I'm sure a bunch of these young Asian-Canadians (Vancouver), had for some of them, had music lessons and the ilke in their background.


http://www.aznlifestyles.com/ On the right side of this website, halfway down its page are some little clips these younger folks have done. Samurai Girl is a very tame, simple parody on kung fu, samarai traditions...from an Asian-Canadian who was raised most of their life in Canada/United States. (At least to me, they don't have an Asian accent. Now isn't that so awful, that I should judge my own folks on this. But I do it unconsciously..I can't help it...since I was there as a child learning English, a long time ago.)

I don't know your friend, but I can only guess the Asian proportional population base in your city in Arizona is much smaller, than San Francisco or New York City. It may be similar in proportion to my childhood city now, with more Asians but still alot less than Toronto and Vancouver where both Asian Canadian communities are highly diverse and there's greater freedom and self-expression in the arts...to be and showcase Asian-Canadian art. And good comedy even about one's own cross-cultural background, is an art form. And requires often, a person who reads alot across different politics, arts, news regularily to....make a good joke.

I think my father, who's educational level is only gr. 12 high school would be mildly amused by Samarai Girl. He finds the kung fu movies from Hong Kong just corny and plots shallow. But he could laugh....at his own cultural traits and icons.

Be just as amused as his children who all have university degrees (but did not play tennis, nor have music lessons, whatever. Oh yea, I forgot I have a sister who's a doctor who would be amused also and her Caucasian who would snorting away at the kung fu parodies).

I actually do not quite understand your statement, especially to references to tennis playing, violin playing, finishing school women, etc. vs. comedy about race/culture, racism.

I'm sure a bunch of these young Asian-Canadians (Vancouver) featured in AZnet lifestyle, for some of them, had music lessons and other finer living activities, etc. in their background.


http://www.aznlifestyles.com/ On the right side of this website, halfway down its page are some little clips these younger folks have done. Samurai Girl is a very tame, simple parody on kung fu, samarai traditions...from an Asian-Canadian who was raised most of their life in Canada/United States. (At least to me, they don't have an Asian accent. Now isn't that so awful, that I should judge my own folks on this. But I do it unconsciously..I can't help it...since I was there as a child learning English, a long time ago.)

I don't know your friend, but I can only guess the Asian proportional population base in your city in Arizona is much smaller, than San Francisco or New York City. It may be similar in proportion to my childhood city now, with more Asians but still alot less than Toronto and Vancouver where both Asian Canadian communities are highly diverse and there's greater freedom and self-expression in the arts...to be and showcase Asian-Canadian art. And good comedy even about one's own cross-cultural background, is an art form. And requires often, a person who reads alot across different politics, arts, news regularily to....make a good joke.

I think my father, who's educational level is only gr. 12 high school would be mildly amused by Samarai Girl. He finds the kung fu movies from Hong Kong just corny and plots shallow. But he could laugh....at his own cultural traits and icons.

Be just as amused as his children who all have university degrees (but did not play tennis, nor have music lessons, whatever). Oh yea, I forgot I have a sister who's a doctor who would be amused also and her Caucasian husband who would guffawing away at the kung fu parodies).

part of the problem is a fine line between cultural (not racial) traits and racism. Bad and good comedians walk that tricky line.

The website I gave, the shows, etc. produced by people in the Vancouver area. If Dotsie brought her Korean children to Vancouver, they ...would get lost in the sea of black hair in various parts of the city. Too many Asians --both Canadian born and from overseas. And I am not kidding! People come from Seattle to get a better buzz on North American-born Asian culture since Seattle's community is much smaller than ours.

a few thoughts . . . dancer, did i really say everyone is racist? i might have. but i can't know what everyone thinks or has in their hearts. if i said such a thing i might have been referring to cultural specifications people receive and unconscious racism or ethnocentrism. i do believe everyone receives tacit messages from the culture and not everyone deconstructs all of these messages and some of them are racist, ethnocentric.

i think class has risen its head here . . .elitism. the idea that super educated or rich people can't be racist . . . my take on this is that maybe it is thought that super education and lots of money makes a person superior, better than . . . hence, no racism.

on the issue of comedy, i like smart people and satire. i will laugh at almost any humor that i find smart or clever. i think a lot of the humor about race is very smart because it notices nuance. and i like that. i appreciate it. it makes me feel less alone to know that other people notice the same things i notice and that they actually step out of political correctness for a time, on stage, to say what would be forbidden in normal everyday life and would be dangerous and/or foolish to say in everyday life.

dancer: i asked you previously about your ethnicity because i didn't understand why you don't feel you are white and you did not respond (your choice, of course), but now when i read about your french and italian mother also putting down whites and not thinking of herself as white, i am again curious. and of course you do not have to respond but i just wanted to put it out there that i would love to hear about this if you are inclined to write about it.

Have gone to "The Comedy Barn" is various tourist traps. I enjoy
Comedy Central on TV sometimes. Those Blue Collar guys go to the
extreme, some. But some of their stuff is actually funny.
I think it's the cable guy who's a bit wacko! He yaps about
stupid stuff. But you laugh!

Seek,
I think it must be mildly absurd for you to take out of my text that I think people that are monied are not racist! LOL.
That would be a silly statement and I am not silly.

(**Note: I said IT would be absurd, not you.)

You must walk a mile in my shoes, seek, before you judge and we must remember that.

But, to say all are racist is to judge, and, in essence, to "name call."

I am positive I am not racist.

I am not a "proud French/Italian," either. There are things about my culture that are plain worn out. But, I know my place in this big world I truly believe.

I would add that to "pigeon hole me," has never been done so it might not be the best way to go about knowing me. It's better to know my by my own characteristics.

As to my mother, it was simple to see that we were not accepted by our "white," neighbors. It was glaring. When lice swept the school, our family was accused of bringing them! My mother stomped to the family spreading the rumor, knocked on the door and shouted, "my children to NOT have LICE!" Money did not matter.
My mother was responding to her surroundings and how she was treated.

Dancer

P.S. My mother was, indeed, correct, Seek, I DID look very stupid in those hair ribbons and fishnets and still do.

dancer: i think you misunderstand me or what i have written. i did not say you are racist and i tried to explain my thoughts on the subject. i must have misunderstood also when you said that doctors and lawyers and whatevers with money had too many important things to think about and therefore would not laugh at racist jokes (my take on what you said).

early on in the discussion you explained your heritage but then said you did not identify as "white," and that confused me, so i asked you about it, just wanting to hear your experience around the issue, if you cared to share it.

thank you for sharing a bit about your mother and her experience. that must have been very painful.

just to clarify: i have not judged you and i am not sure why you think i have, so if you care to say, i would be interested.

i don't know how much racism is about skin color. for some groups, it might be a big deal. i don't know.

i think racism and classism get mixed up in cultural biases.

differences are perceived between ghetto poor and rural poor (even though both may be "people of color").

the threat of violence makes people much more racist, i think.

Maybe so seek, but I disagree.

A threat of violence has also brought people of all colors, nationalities, together...

Because a common danger can and does threaten all of mankind and brings us together in a common cause...Remember 9-11???

But then I see things as the glass being half full!

i was just talking about racism related to being afraid to walk in a certain poor neighborhood, known for violence, say, compared to walking on a country road where the people may also be poor.

not sure about 9-11 related to this discussion. don't know what you mean, but when i think of 9-11 and racism, i think of the people who bought into bush's lies related to iraq and 9-11. i guess some people just lumped all middle easterners and terrorists in together.

While it's learning experience for us to share past experiences (including myself), it is useful to remember some current stuff is happening right now. I suspect it's the well-educated, English-speaking folks (as described below) who would be able to voice immediately incidents of racism. Folks who cannot speak/understand English, unless they have a translator, cannot even have the power to voice any such incidents in North America.

Published in Orlando Sentinel newspaper

AirTran defends misunderstanding with Muslim passengers
Staff and wire reports
January 3, 2009
AirTran Airways defended itself Friday after reports that the Orlando-based airline kicked a group of Muslim travelers off a flight from Washington to Orlando and refused to let them get on another flight.

In written statements, the discount carrier apologized to the group but sought to ward off charges of racial profiling by insisting it "had no discretion in the matter."

The controversy erupted after a group of nine Muslim travelers -- all but one of whom are U.S. citizens -- were kicked off AirTran Flight 175 after other passengers said they overheard someone in the group make a suspicious remark about airplane safety.

One of the family members told The Washington Post, which first reported the incident, that the confusion began because his brother was talking about the safest place to sit in an airplane.

Federal security agents eventually determined the incident was a misunderstanding and released the travelers. But when six of the nine approached AirTran's customer-service counter to book a new flight to Orlando -- where they were headed to attend a religious retreat -- they were refused, they said.

Kashif Irfan, a 34-year-old anesthesiologist from northern Virginia, told the Post that he thought he and the others were victims of racial profiling. AirTran insisted that was not the case.

Members of the group were dressed in traditional Muslim attire, the men with beards and the women with head scarves.

The airline said it did not book the group on another flight because the airline had not yet been notified by authorities that they had been cleared to fly. The airline also said one member of the group "became irate and made inappropriate comments" and had to be escorted from the counter by local law-enforcement officers.

The group eventually bought separate tickets on a US Airways flight to Orlando.

A spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration said the situation was handled appropriately. Still, AirTran on Friday afternoon issued an apology to everybody aboard Flight 175.

"We apologize to all of the passengers -- to the nine who had to undergo extensive interviews from the authorities and to the 95 who ultimately made the flight," the airline said. "Nobody on Flight 175 reached their destination on time on New Year's Day, and we regret it."

AirTran said it refunded the airfares of the nine passengers and agreed to reimburse the costs of their tickets on US Airways. It also said it had offered to transport them home to Washington free of charge.

Jason Garcia of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.