Racism...Forever?

Again, the jokester isn't a Sikh and I doubt he gets harassed. And by all means any Sikh should stand their ground. American's would be supportive, just like they are rejecting the SYG defense currently in the news.

 

Ugh.

Why do we HAVE to consider other people's perspectives and experiences?? I find it funny, therefore there's nothing wrong it. See how easy that is?

Reflection is such a drag.

 

The Simpsons have been on the air for 30 years (or so it seems). The writers make fun of everyone, yet suddenly Abu is the reason there is a lack of violence against Sihks. FUBAR.

 

Yeah, I remember an article of a black male in Florida successfully using it against a white dude, but when I googled everything that came up was the resent case of the shot for parking in a handicap space story.

The PBS story compares the successful rate between races, so that means black people have used it successfully, it was as close as I got after a quick search, but your link is definitely better.

 

Thought I'd chime in since I married into a South Asian family. Every kid of South Asian heritage growing up in the 80s-90s got harassed to some degree on the basis of the Apu character. Every single one. Apu, especially as it was written earlier on wasn't exactly blackface, but he was more or less the character "Buckwheat" from the Little Rascals/Our Gang.

My wife's level of "cultural Indianness" is very low, which basically means she misses the hell out of certain family dishes because she doesn't cook. There are women in the South Asian community that have a problem with "cultural appropriation" with respect to fashion, to which she says, "Who the hell cares?". You get the point.

She likes the Simpson, but can't stand Apu. Plenty of memories of the teasing/harassment/slurs growing up.

 

In other news, Simpsons' character Groundskeeper Willie is the reason Scots are being held back in America.

 

Give me a break. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we are doomed. Every character on the show is a stereotype.

 

The kids will use something against East Asians, because kids, and that something turned out to be Apu. If not Apu, it would have been another thing. Way back in the day, I lived for a year as a 5th grader in a foreign country, no other American within 50 mile. For them, the something turned out to be singing Yankee Doodle when I walked by. All the damn time.

 

I lived in Mexico when I was a kid and they used to pretend to be speaking English (mocking me). They called me Pinche Gringo. This one older kid attacked me for no reason because I was American (my brother beat his ass the next day). Another big kid flipped me over in gym because he was jealous that the girls in our school liked me. Maybe I should demand a formal apology from a Mexican celebrity who has ever made fun of Americans. Such a silly mindset.

 

Probably out of tune with a foreign accent on top of that?

 

It was in tune by my standards. Everybody signs better than I do. Thinking back on this ... Yankee Doodle? Who thinks about Yankee Doodle? I guess it was bigger in the Seventies.

 

It's pretty clear you haven't bothered to actually listen to the excerpts or podcasts or interviews of what you are criticizing. He covers this ground pretty extensively. Difference between Willie and Apu: by the time the show came out, there had already been several depictions of Scottish characters in American entertainment. Apu was the the first and sole depiction for a run of about 13 years. The character is also unique in that the show has lasted for this long. What would have normally died within 4-5 years that we'd look back on today and cringe over is still around.

I agree. They're going to use something. But that song isn't a lazy racial/cultural stereotype. The kids were merely using it that way because kids are going to be kids. The difference is that they created a South Asian minstrel specifically for the show. It was the only character depicting an entire cultural group of people on television for years. Kids and going to be kids but in the case of Apu they actually built a character that informed the kids of the stereotypes. It's like saying kids are going to throw rocks and hurt each other so lets give them some knives so they can do a better job of it.

Imagine it's 1990 and there have been no depictions of African Americans or Native Americans in media. Along comes a show written by white people introducing us to these cultures via the character Sambo or a Mammie Two Shoes type (played by a white person) or Tonto. That's part of what is a bit uncomfortable re: Apu. We'd like to think that we came really far from the 30s/40s to the 90s, but the character is problematic in the same way.

 

Well'aye! Yuh be-ur nae fockin loo' a me again oor ahm gunna knock yuur fockin teef enn! Grooondskepur Wellie ess joost a focken stereotype. He drenks hess age in paints. He hass guurls every nate. Bu he doan really exest!

 

Specials rep.

 

Lighten up Francis. The entire show is based on stereotypes from Ned Flanders to Smithers, from Cletus to Luigi Risotto, all stereotypes. If you are offended I suggest you use the remote and change the channel.

 

One of my favorite Simpson gags.

 

Except the British, Scottish, Italians, white Christians (for Flanders), aren't racialized minorities and don't suffer discrimination. Indians do.

If everything's fair game, maybe the Simpsons should ridicule black Americans too. There are certainly a bunch of dark and black jokes and put downs in our collective imagination. Black American speech, dark skin, stereotypes, there's loooooots of stuff there.

After MUCH education, it seems white Americans have gotten the point that ridiculing blacks in public isn't acceptable. The point is that maybe we should extend this civility to other nonwhite minorities.

But to many, it seems like holding back against black people is already taking such a toll that to do it for all the other darkies is asking too much. Just lighten up! (no pun intended)

 

College tennis player suspended after telling black opponent 'at least I know my dad' during match https://t.co/Ci7lKrfrwZ pic.twitter.com/kAHLjG43ni

— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) January 30, 2018

What the actual ********?

 

If you're from the South and have a last name as a first name...you might be a racist

 

So apparently, you can't poke fun at any minority - no Jew, Asian or Indian jokes anymore regardless of their affluence and success.

Indians are the most educated and wealthiest minority in the country. The interesting part of this line of thinking is that the only groups that can be mocked are white.

 

@Dominican Lou
So it is okay for The Simpsons to stereotype gays via Waylon Smithers simply because the character is white? All people of color need to be erased from the show. Got it.

 

OK. Let's have a Sikh character where his turban gets yanked and he spins like a top. It's all just harmless, jokey stereotyping right?

OMG this is HILARIOUS! Two recent attacks in Central California.

Sikh man says his turban saved his life
In an incident on July 31, Surjit Singh Malhi, 50, was attacked as he was putting out political signs in Stanislaus County, 25 miles south of Manteca.
Malhi said the two attackers yelled, "Go back to your country," and then began beating him.

"My turban saved me," Malhi told CNN affiliate KCRA. "The way they were hitting me, (I thought) maybe I would die."

Before leaving the scene, the attackers spray-painted Malhi's truck with a white nationalist symbol and wrote "go back to ur country."

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said it is investigating the assault as a possible hate crime.

https://www-m.cnn.com/2018/08/08/us/sikh-attacks-in-california-trnd/index.html?r=https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/08/08/us/sikh-attacks-in-california-trnd/index.html?usqp=mq331AQECAEoAQ%3D%3D&amp_js_v=0.1

 

They don't coon black people on The Simpsons. The doctor is Cliff Huxtable. No typical Whitelandian caricatures of black people. I wonder why.

 

We had a show called the "Braboneger". Black guys immerse themselves in typical Dutch activities etc. This one is about how white people deal with spare time, a barn party in the rural area

 

I don't, Blacks are underrepresented. Because some racial humor is taboo The Simpsons simply ignores African-Americans altogether. You have Dr. Hibbert and his family, who as you already noted, are an obvious spoof of the Huxtables. There is Carl, but he comes with Lenny as a salt'n pepper pair of Homer pals. "Bleeding Gums" Murphy is your stereotypical jazz musician. Judge Snyder and Officer Lou are the only other black characters I can name. Just about every black portrayed on The Simpsons could easily be drawn as white.