A comedian named Carlos Mencia was once asked, “Why do you have to joke about race so much Carlos?” He simply replied, “Because race makes things funny.” I believe Carlos Mencia is right because every person on the earth has experienced something that has to do with either their own or some else’s race and can therefore relate to his jokes. What is race? New Keywords describes race as “a politically charged and ambivalent word that has evaded precise definition.” It is not a fact, but rather a concept that humans have invented to categorize and differentiate between the different people around the world. We separate each other according to our regions of origin, the language we speak, and the color of our skin (the least telling trait of what any one person is capable of).
I am a Japanese American. I do not speak Japanese, nor have I ever been to Japan, though I would love to go. But what makes me Japanese? I am Japanese because my ancestors originated from Japan, but I feel no different than my “white” housemate. I speak English just as well as him and put my pants on one leg at a time. Even still I have been told repeatedly how much I fit the more modern stereotypes that Asians portray: short, smart, and a bad driver. I would say I consider everyone else taller rather than I’m shorter. I wouldn’t say I’m the smartest person in school, but I try my best and succeed most of the time. And, I have received a few traffic tickets, but everyone makes mistakes once and a while. Anyone could say the same about themselves no matter what color their skin. So, race is not fact or set in stone. It is only an ideology that has allowed for people of common physical traits to justify what makes "us" different than "them."
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3 comments:
Sorry for such a late post, as my Internet Service Provider has been giving me troubles and I didn't have internet for the past two days. The better news is my entry is up.
I too ponder what makes us the race we are. I think while it is accepted that it's based on where our ancestors were from or born, what about a person of race X and hangs out or acts like a person of race Y. As comedian Dave Chapelle said in one of his shows "African Americans (blacks) are one of the most copied people", which I believe is true. White artists such as Eminem are picking up rap and dressing accordingly, while even Jpop or Kpop videos show imitation of the dancing, rapping, or dressing of the African American race. I do agree that race is not set in stone, although many people derive their identity from the concept of their own race. I must confess that I am guilty of laughing at racial jokes and stereotypes. Although I do not always agree or believe in them, I can't help but to think sometimes they carry some truth and are just outright funny.
Your post is so great. It really is amazing that people will maybe continue to place those stereotypes and attach those trait to you.
I've experienced a friend assuming I was savvy and good with money and grad-school bound because I was jewish. Of course, that's not necessarily a "look" that you've described and identified with but it was a weird thing for someone to assume. It wasn't meant as an insult, but was weird to have someone assume your future and goals.
maybe next time I hear something like that I should try to haggle with their assumptions and beliefs.
Cool post!
This is both an excellent narrative post and a great commentary follow-up from Peter and Paris. You might look at Ashley Tang's blog for an interesting corollary post on race and humor. This question of copying (and not being "set in stone") very important to think about: understandings of 'race' require both reproducibility (for legibility) and uniqueness (for individual embodiment). Somewhere in this schema the concept breaks down.
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