[u][url=http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/03/08/guest-post-keeping-whites-and-c... U-Washee; America's most racist laundromat?[/url][/u]
"Keeping whites and colors separate"
Thu, 2009-03-12 04:26
#1
"Keeping whites and colors separate"
Thu, 2009-03-12 07:20
#2
Ugh!! Horribly written piece. Seriously. And come on, the blogger makes excuses for the clearly racist owner because first the owner is "too poor to change signs" then when the owner is offered money the blogger uses the excuse "the owner is too emotionally attached to the signs" to remove them? Then he asks "what can we do to meet in the middle? Are you kidding (not you Ze, this is rhetorical)??? Then it's the same old caca - that's just the way it is.
I cannot believe this is okay with anyone, at all. And how the hell would this blogger know that the .08 percent of Asians "don't care"? Don't poke the nasty white folks, they apparently may bite.
Thu, 2009-03-12 07:42
#3
I think the blogger was just making the point that there have been no complaints on any blogs or newspapers in town. But you're right, that doesn't mean that the Asian-Americans in town "don't care", and the blogger should have realized that. Considering that they make up such a tiny part of the population, and that this blatant racism is completely accepted in that town, I can see how, if they DID care, it would be very difficult to speak up about it.
I remember the reaction in Kingston, Ontario, when the "Chinese Laundry Cafe" was confronted about its racist name. Everyone screamed "political correctness" and freaked out. There were tons of letters to the editor from the good white citizens of the town who insisted that they're not racist and they don't mind the name, so everything must be okay.
Eventually it was renamed "The Laundry Cafe", and the sky didn't fall, the world didn't end, none of the white citizens of town died, and I have no idea whether the cafe is still there now on Princess Street or not.
Thu, 2009-03-12 09:22
#4
Maysie
I read the article, and the comments.
My only comment is that the blog writer, in trying to demonstrate the racism of the signs, reveals his own priorities when it comes to oppression:
From the comments where the author responds:
While there’s obviously no excuse for condoning racism, how do we also make sure that we don’t act callously towards our fellow human being?
So, racism isn't (among other things) acting callously towards our fellow human beings? Or is "fellow" human beings only about the nice white older man who owns the laundromat?
Grrr.
Thu, 2009-03-12 09:29
#5
He probably meant to say 'folks.'
Thu, 2009-03-12 10:49
#6
Maysie
While there’s obviously no excuse for condoning racism, how do we also make sure that we don’t act callously towards our fellow human being?
No, what this comment indicates is that the writer doesn't see the connection between racism (individual, systemic and institutional) and harm to people.
He's personally against racism, he thinks it's a bad thing that should not be in our society, but since he personally doesn't experience racism he doesn't see that it harms real people in real ways. Not all people who don't experience racism have this disjuncture, but many do and he's one of them.
It's as though racism is a concept, a bad idea that was enacted a while ago by bad people.
"Bad racist people in the past that manufactured and displayed those signs! Bad current owner who refuses to take them down! Okay he can't afford it so that makes me, the writer feel sorry for him. Oh, it's so complex!"
There's no question that those signs are offensive. If the owner is refusing to remove them, then, as one suggestion in the post mentioned, customers can choose to go elsewhere. That's pretty much all anyone can do in the here and now with this situation.
And focussing on this level of racism is a wee bit on the trivial side.
P.S. The fact that white folks allegedly haven't objected in the past and aren't objecting now to these displays of racism is is no gauge of its offensiveness. I will venture to say that using the reactions of white folks to guide one's anti-racist actions is a highly flawed premise.
Thu, 2009-03-12 11:00
#7
Yes, the track record of polling white people to determine the way forward on issues such as segregation, civil and human rights, etc didn't show much promise either. And confederate flags flying over state legislature buildings are part of the cultural heritage which must be preserved.
Thu, 2009-03-12 13:30
#8
Ugh!! Horribly written piece. Seriously. And come on, the blogger makes excuses for the clearly racist owner because first the owner is "too poor to change signs" then when the owner is offered money the blogger uses the excuse "the owner is too emotionally attached to the signs" to remove them? Then he asks "what can we do to meet in the middle? Are you kidding (not you Ze, this is rhetorical)??? Then it's the same old caca - that's just the way it is.
I cannot believe this is okay with anyone, at all. And how the hell would this blogger know that the .08 percent of Asians "don't care"? Don't poke the nasty white folks, they apparently may bite.
I came across this on the "Angry Asian Man" blog and linked to the reprint in the opening post, rather than to the original blog, largely because of the comments. So yeah, I think the way he's approached this is as interesting as the (literally) cartoonish racism of the laundromat. Implicit, even well-meaning racist assumptions confront a case of what looks like overt racism .... The writer's update on his "lone efforts" (how does he know no one's complained etc) is also interesting -- he approached the owner, and the owner doesn't want to take down those signs because his late wife took such good care of them and they remind him of her. So it's not an economic argument at all, as the original blog post assumes.