LogFAQs > #951257418

So... Ummm... Here's a question. It mentions things like 'a Chinese man who eats with sticks'. What... is actually wrong about saying that? The vast majority of China and Japan eat with chopsticks.

Like, I get the idea they're going for, and I know full well he WAS a racist especially against asians (I've seen some of the WWII posters), but I'm wondering what depictions can actually be done of a people group now when it seems like any depictions of a non-white people group get lamblasted as racist regardless of what they actually say or do. Like, they were complaining that the Karate Kid didn't have an asian teaching martial arts IIRC but now they're mad that a childrens book mentions a chinese person using chopsticks?

I'm not gonna defend the art but you can change the art easily. I certainly get why the 'wear their eyes with a slant' is offensive. It's just the 'Chinese man who eats with sticks' that confuses me when I've had to ask for a fork multiple times at japanese and chinese places because I can't, for the life of me, use chopsticks. Not to mention that that's... sort of what they do over in those places. Like, should I refuse to watch Naruto now because it reinforces racial stereotypes every time Naruto scoffs down a bowl of noodles with chopsticks?

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I am the gentle hand who heals, the happy smile who shields, and the foot that will kick your ***! - White Mage