I'm sure most of you have heard of the hoopla surrounding a recent publication in Details magazine titled "Gay or Asian?" (alternate link), and the ensuing petition against it. I first heard about it a couple weeks ago, and yea, of course I was outraged. But then I did a little big of digging on the internet and read somewhere that Details is a publication targeted at a gay audience (*see correction), and that they'd published other articles such as "Gay or Jesus?" and "Gay or British?" And I dunno, finding that out kinda made my rage subside. I mean, obviously, it doesn't make it right, but I think making fun of all groups equally makes it slightly less wrong. As long as you don't single out any single group, you're an equal-opportunity hater, right? And I mean, I think gay people can make fun of gays all they want, and no one can say anything. It's like there's an inherent rule that you're allowed to make fun of groups you belong to without coming off as a total bastard. Kinda like how black people shamelessly call each other the N-word, or how every once in awhile I make a comment about the slantiness of my own eyes.

But yea, I'm reminded of how when Yao Ming first started in the NBA, Shaq made a comment like: "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.'" And there was a big uproar in the Asian community over that remark, but Yao made a public statement like: "I believe Shaquille O'Neal was joking but I think that a lot of Asian people don't understand that kind of joke." I thought that showed a lot of maturity on Yao's part. I mean, no one likes being made fun of, but does it seem like sometimes we have a tendency to take things a little too personally? Take it in stride, turn the other cheek, right? ...but then you're just perpetuating the passive/submissive Asian stereotype, aren't ya? Hah, either way you lose if you frame everything in terms of racism and get too defensive.

But yea, I dunno. I'll admit forthright that I love me my racist jokes. I think they're funny; what more can I say? But obviously they must be told with a little bit of tact: you always have to know your audience, and often they have to be told under your breath. You don't go telling hispanics your jokes about Mexicans, much less publish them in a magazine. I guess if someone ever overheard, I'd tell them they were entitled to tell me a racist joke against Asians or something, haha. But yea, I guess the reason I can't hate on this Details article too much is cuz in a sense, it feels like karma. I've made fun of other races so much that I guess I had it coming. =/


*ok, correction: I found out that Details isn't a gay magazine. Now I'm angry again! grrrr... That violates the "inherent rule."