PrinceOfCats said:
Not really. Seeing as 90% of China is Han Chinese, why would racism of the '***********' brand be something they're familiar with...
I dunno, maybe because I live in the Bay Area, which is 30% Chinese (not counting other Asian ethnicities--some who get on as well as Rosie and Donald here)--I don't see Chinese as a minority. If I were to go all "***********" on the 30 Stockton, Chinese folks would likely just look at me with pity and amusement. Chinese-Americans, maybe not so, but I doubt they'd be hurt by it. It'd be like, "Why are you making an *** of yourself?" My behavior is no reflection on them.
I like the YouTube reply you posted above, the speaker explains how he understands Rosie wasn't being hateful, just ignorant. I see his point--ino matter her lack of ill-intent, it's easy enough to apologize for being ignorant--say you're sorry and don't do it again. But well-meaning ignorance really isn't as threatening as bold-faced, open racist hate is.
Actually, about 15 years ago I was in a similar situation as Rosie. When I was in New York City, I heard many new languages, and when I came home to my all-white rural PA town, I did a mock-up of all the languages I heard on the train--a fake Spanish, Russian, and like Rosie, a fake Chinese. I was at a restaurant with high booths in a town with virtually no minorities, when the biggest Japanese-American kid I'd ever seen, he had to be 6'4" and at least 200lbs, came over to my booth and said, "Do you have a problem?"
He thought I was picking on him, when in truth I didn't even see him. I apologized, explained I had no ill-intent, and said I was just doing impressions of what these languages sounded like to me. I've seen Japanese cartoons where the characters do a fake English-sounding impression. Plus, I added, "you're not Chinese, are you?"
He wouldn't accept my apology--but did he really think a 115lb girl was picking a fight with him? He was physically intimidating me. So I just pulled down my lower-eyelid the way Japanese kids do to be rotten, and basically told him to f*ck off. I was sincerely mortified I'd offended him, but no apology was enough.
So anyway, that's why I'm studying Japanese 15 years later, to back there and tell him off in a language he admittedly didn't speak himself. I did apologize, and frankly I thought he ought to be flattered that in the middle of Podunk, someone even knew the difference between Chinese and Japanese.
Whatever.
