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War Eagle
Joined: 15 Feb 2009
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 Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:02 pm Post subject: Korean Baseball Star Catches Heat Following Racist Remarks |
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http://busanhaps.com/article/korean-baseball-star-racist-remarks
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BUSAN, South Korea -- South Korea national baseball team member and Hanwha Eagles first baseman Kim Tae-kyun is facing criticism from fans for making what are being called racist remarks on a radio show Monday about Busan's Lotte Giants' African-American ace, Shane Youman.
During an appearance on Radio Ball, a Naver Internet baseball radio broadcast, the 31-year-old slugger was asked about the difficulties in facing Youman, who is considered the toughest pitcher in the league.
�The Lotte Giants� Youman is the most difficult player to play against,� Kim replied. �His face is too black, so it is hard to bat because his white teeth and the ball confuses me when he smiles on the mound. So, I suffered a lot."
He then went on to say, �There�s no particularly difficult pitcher, but when I play against Youman, I screw up because of his white teeth.�
Both the Hanwha organization and Kim have separately offered apologies to Youman over the incident, and there�s been no word on whether Kim will face any repercussions from the team or the league over the comments.
Kim's remarks have garnered heated debate on Korean baseball forums with many denouncing the star player.
However, the issue has so far made fewer waves than recent scandals including Nexen�s Kim Min-woo receiving a 30-game suspension and a 10-million-won fine for his involvement in a drunk driving hit-and-run incident, and LG�s relief pitcher Im Chan-gyu, who splashed Jeong In-young, a female announcer for KBS N Sports, with water during a post-game interview last month, both of which received heavy media attention.
�If these words truly came out of Kim's mouth, it's very sad to hear that in 2013," said Dan Kurtz, founder of MyKBO.net, a website dedicated to introducing English-speaking fans to Korean baseball. "Foreigners in the KBO are still not given the same respect as their Korean counterparts.�
Kurtz, who has been covering the league for nearly ten years, is puzzled why there hasn�t been more media coverage of the incident, which was knocked off the front page of the Naver baseball site within a matter of hours. The story was also noticeably absent from the official KBO site.
�Why does a water celebration involving the LG Twins and a female reporter get more attention than remarks like this or even a DUI hit and run involving a Nexen player?� he said.
Foreign Journeyman
Kim Tae-kyun, who himself is no stranger to playing in a foreign country, spent an injury plagued 20-month career in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League which ended last year�ironically with the Chiba Lotte Marines, owned by the South Korean-Japanese Lotte conglomerate which also controls the Giants.
Youman's former teammate at Lotte and fellow American Ryan Sadowski, told Haps he hopes Kim learns from his mistake.
"Sixty years ago, Korea was a homogeneous society that has advanced faster than any other place in the world in history. It has taken Americans nearly 300 years to reach a level of racial equality. I challenge Kim Tae-kyun to use this as an opportunity to educate the Korea population about racial equality so that Korea can continue to advance as quickly as it has in the past."
Imported non-Korean players have been allowed in the KBO since 1998, with many African Americans, including Tyrone Woods, the league's first foreign MVP, enjoying much success and admiration from fans and players alike.
Jasper Johnson, an African-American player in the Korean pro basketball league said that during his time playing in Korea, racism has never been an issue.
"I have never (had any) experience of any discrimination or negative vibes in Korea. Maybe it's a baseball thing. KBL players are pretty welcoming and are good people," said Johnson, who spent the majority of his three-year Korean basketball career with the KT Sonic Boom.
The response of Lotte fans to Kim's remarks about Youman will be readily gaged this weekend as the Giants play host to Kim and the Eagles in Busan for a three-game series at Sajik stadium. |
Glad to see the netizens taking a stand. Seems as though he is getting a lot of support. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Am I racist for finding that funny? It was almost as priceless as the fried chicken dig from Sergio Garcia recently. |
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Waygeek
Joined: 27 Feb 2013
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| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| Am I racist for finding that funny? It was almost as priceless as the fried chicken dig from Sergio Garcia recently. |
Clearly you are...
Racism is bad enough, but if you're going to do it, please be genuinely funny, instead of stupid blackface gags and the ol' fried chicken gag. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 11:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Waygeek wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| Am I racist for finding that funny? It was almost as priceless as the fried chicken dig from Sergio Garcia recently. |
Clearly you are...
Racism is bad enough, but if you're going to do it, please be genuinely funny, instead of stupid blackface gags and the ol' fried chicken gag. |
Yep, that's me. Just call me Grand Wizard from now on. While I don't find the 'material' particularly witty or original, the sheer toe-curling awfulness is hilarious - in the same way Larry David or Ricky Gervais make me laugh.
You sound like you need to remove either a stick from your arse, or a chip from your shoulder. Most likely both. |
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PatrickBateman
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Location: American Gardens Building, West 81st Street
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:37 am Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| Am I racist for finding that funny? It was almost as priceless as the fried chicken dig from Sergio Garcia recently. |
Priceless? I don't mind a FUNNY race joke ever now and then, but Sergio's wasn't close to being funny.
You're probably a closet racist. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickBateman wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| Am I racist for finding that funny? It was almost as priceless as the fried chicken dig from Sergio Garcia recently. |
Priceless? I don't mind a FUNNY race joke ever now and then, but Sergio's wasn't close to being funny.
You're probably a closet racist. |
Did you not read what I just said? What Sergio Garcia said was appalling. That is why it made me laugh. |
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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:30 am Post subject: |
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Maybe the contrast between the pitcher's skin and teeth really does distract him, which would mean his comment was not racist, merely honest (unless acknowledging factual physical characteristics is the new "bar" for racism). It's a weird notion, almost reminiscent of that scene in the Stranger where the fellow tries to explain why he killed the Arab and appeals to the heat of the sun, but psychology is sometimes strange.
Calling this racism trivializes actual racism. We've gone from "Rosa Parks is forced to sit at the back of the bus in a systematic and institutionalized fashion," to, "Someone, in a purely individual capacity, wrote something snide on Rosa Parks' receipt against company policy," to, "Someone acknowledged that Rosa Parks' dark skin contrasts sharply with her white teeth." That's not a racist scandal, but rather, depending on the facts, somewhere between a bizarre truth and a stupid joke. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:43 am Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
Maybe the contrast between the pitcher's skin and teeth really does distract him, which would mean his comment was not racist, merely honest (unless acknowledging factual physical characteristics is the new "bar" for racism). It's a weird notion, almost reminiscent of that scene in the Stranger where the fellow tries to explain why he killed the Arab and appeals to the heat of the sun, but psychology is sometimes strange.
Calling this racism trivializes actual racism. We've gone from "Rosa Parks is forced to sit at the back of the bus in a systematic and institutionalized fashion," to, "Someone, in a purely individual capacity, wrote something snide on Rosa Parks' receipt against company policy," to, "Someone acknowledged that Rosa Parks' dark skin contrasts sharply with her white teeth." That's not a racist scandal, but rather, depending on the facts, somewhere between a bizarre truth and a stupid joke. |
I think you have a point. He never said he disliked the guy, nor did he say anything nasty about him because of his colour. There was no real malice in his statement at all. |
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radcon
Joined: 23 May 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 2:43 am Post subject: |
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| I don't understand the whole black guy-fried chicken thing. Who doesn't like fried chicken? Colonel Sanders was white. Is it racist to say Japanese people lke raw fish, Koreans like kimchee, Mexicans like beans, Russians like vodka? |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 5:14 am Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| There was no real malice in his statement at all. |
If lack of malicious intent excused all offences, then nobody would ever go to jail for drunk driving.
If you think that what he said is unlikely to cause offence then you are either ridiculously naive, grotesquely lacking in social skills, or a passive closet racist. |
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War Eagle
Joined: 15 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| Who smiles while they are (in the process of) pitching though? |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 5:37 am Post subject: |
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| Julius wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| There was no real malice in his statement at all. |
If lack of malicious intent excused all offences, then nobody would ever go to jail for drunk driving.
If you think that what he said is unlikely to cause offence then you are either ridiculously naive, grotesquely lacking in social skills, or a passive closet racist. |
You are a serial whiney bitch on this board who lives for throwing derogatory slights at Koreans, so think about what you are saying. I was just considering what Fox said, because it seemed quite a reasonable perspective.
I grew up in 1980s Britain as a member of an ethnic minority, so don't tell me what racism is and isn't. Dickhead. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| Fox wrote: |
Maybe the contrast between the pitcher's skin and teeth really does distract him, which would mean his comment was not racist, merely honest (unless acknowledging factual physical characteristics is the new "bar" for racism). It's a weird notion, almost reminiscent of that scene in the Stranger where the fellow tries to explain why he killed the Arab and appeals to the heat of the sun, but psychology is sometimes strange.
Calling this racism trivializes actual racism. We've gone from "Rosa Parks is forced to sit at the back of the bus in a systematic and institutionalized fashion," to, "Someone, in a purely individual capacity, wrote something snide on Rosa Parks' receipt against company policy," to, "Someone acknowledged that Rosa Parks' dark skin contrasts sharply with her white teeth." That's not a racist scandal, but rather, depending on the facts, somewhere between a bizarre truth and a stupid joke. |
That's basically what it is: a dumb joke. I don't think the dude is racist, just bad at making jokes. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| cj1976 wrote: |
| Julius wrote: |
| cj1976 wrote: |
| There was no real malice in his statement at all. |
If lack of malicious intent excused all offences, then nobody would ever go to jail for drunk driving.
If you think that what he said is unlikely to cause offence then you are either ridiculously naive, grotesquely lacking in social skills, or a passive closet racist. |
You are a serial whiney bitch on this board who lives for throwing derogatory slights at Koreans, so think about what you are saying. I was just considering what Fox said, because it seemed quite a reasonable perspective.
I grew up in 1980s Britain as a member of an ethnic minority, so don't tell me what racism is and isn't. Dickhead. |
Hahahahahahahahaha! lol 
Did I hit a nerve?
You're a member of a racial minority... who grew up to condone the victimisation of another, different, ethnic minority.
Isn't it time to break the cycle? |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:08 am Post subject: |
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| radcon wrote: |
| I don't understand the whole black guy-fried chicken thing. Who doesn't like fried chicken? Colonel Sanders was white. Is it racist to say Japanese people lke raw fish, Koreans like kimchee, Mexicans like beans, Russians like vodka? |
There's nothing intrinsically degrading about saying black people like fried chicken. It's really just an observation(accurate or otherwise) about a particular culture's cuisine.
However, it became widely used in negative caricatures of black people, to the point where it's now almost impossible to disentangle the two usages. The fried-chicken wasn't the degrading aspect of the portrayals, but it sorta became shorthand for the whole routine. |
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