Not all racism is measured equally. If
you disagree with this, odds are you didn’t see anything wrong with Yuli
Gurriel’s racist gesture after homering off Yu Darvish in the MLB World Series
Game between the LA Dodgers and the Houston Astros.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
You’re not right, but you’re certainly
not alone.
While I really don’t think Yuli Gurriel
is a racist, what was racist was the gesture he made of pulling his eyes so
they looked slanted. It was an unsportsmanlike mess up and there should be
action, but say it with me, that doesn’t make Yuli a racist. Ignorant to some
and typical to many fellow Cubans (as seems possible after several discussions I’ve engaged in
online because I didn’t know any better). Still, he didn’t make a gesture or
communicated anything indicating racial superiority. He also didn’t
discriminate. All he did was do a stupid gesture that is brushed to the side
way too often to not be addressed because for way too long, people have made
fun of Asians in a variety of ways that baffle the mind and don't expect there to even be a major reaction. What he did do was
demean in a way that is all too familiar to Asian people. If you don’t believe
me, then by all means, ask an Asian person and see what they think.
In this situation, Yu Darvish is an
Iranian Japanese major league baseball pitcher. Yuli Gurriel is a Cuban major
league baseball player. One of my best friends (let’s call him Tian) and some
other close friends of mine are Asian. My Mother is Cuban. This paragraph is
exclusively to establish context of who is writing this post. Tian wrote me to
get my thoughts on the event and I have a lot of thoughts on it. During our
conversation, he reminded me of Chris Rock doing Asian jokes at the Oscars and
how Sacha Baron Cohen followed it up by jokes that were even more tasteless and
that offended a lot of Asian people. That really brought to light how many
scales of racism there are.
Want a perfect example? Then read the
next three words.
Chink
Spic
Nigger
Now tell me, which one made you flinch
the most? It’s OK, you don’t have to lie and we just have to see the day-to-day
treatment of minorities to understand that little exercise. People brag (BRAG)
about never using the n-word. “I was taught to NEVER use that word.” Fantastic.
You can still be an asshole, but as long as you don’t use a word, you’re good
to go. YOu're exemplary even. Although this is its own topic of debate, it does make it abundantly clear
that anti racial education is limited to black people or at least they are the
ones people need to offend the least, for some reason. I’m NOT saying that it’s OK
to call a black person nigger or to use any pejorative language for that matter.
What I do wish to illustrate is that people are taught to fear retaliation for
using that word, while other words are far less scrutinized.
Spic, chink, gook, dike, faggot, kike,
towel head, slant.
None of these words has the particular
zing that nigger has.
Let’s further put it in context, if
someone calls someone else the n-word and the person who got told that
physically assaults the other person, people can and often do say, “well he
asked for it. You just don’t say that.” But if you change the nationality to
Asian, Indian, Native American, LGBTQ, Hispanic, or any other category you can
think of, there’s a difference… there’s a divide.
Just to be clear, I am NOT saying black people do not get
discriminated against and severely at that. That would not only be ignorant, but false. My friends who
happen to be black have to deal with situations that I can’t comprehend simply
because my shade of brown is a little lighter than theirs. That still doesn’t
change the fact that if me and an equally qualified white person get offered
the same job that my race will have an impact (be it negatively or
positively). But instead of such a tired, tried, and true comment, why don’t we
ask a simple question: why should I face a higher mortgage rate because of my
race? My credit score could be impeccable, but just because I’m Puerto Rican,
my mortgage rate will be higher than a white person. No rhyme or reason. It’s
just the way it is. This is to establish that I also know a bit about
discrimination, but that even if what I face is different to what others face,
that shouldn’t be considered lesser.
With Asians, they have to face a variety
of challenges but none more painful than the whole indifference and the
expectation that they should let it slide. It’s so common that people become
numb to it and if you don’t believe me, please feel free to check this link to
see all the examples of people making offensive gestures against Asians and how everyone is expected to laugh along because hello, it's just a joke.
Coming from Puerto Rico, I’m not going
to laud my country as being the most racially sensitive and can extend this to
most Latino/Hispanic countries. In the case of Puerto Rico, calling someone
Chino (Chinese) is borderline cultural, it’s that common. It’s not used in a
pejorative manner, but it can be, and by saying chinito (small Chinese man),
that makes it even more insulting. And again, it’s common to attach an –ito or
–ita to most words, though again, that’s a cultural thing. Putting things in
diminutive is so common that some people use it in every sentence and if you're wondering, yes it can be annoying. That they
apply it to how they refer to people is basically spillover, but that doesn’t
make it any better or any less wrong. Common should not be synonymous with
acceptable.
The reaction to this incident was a bit
higher than most others, but still, it didn’t register as much. Talking to
Tian, he mentioned that he thinks people don’t see a threat in Asian people, so
they have at it and go hog wild, because, hello, of course there won’t be
repercussions. Meanwhile, with other races, people are taught at a very early
age to A. avoid them at all costs, and B. don’t antagonize them because it’s
dangerous.
I think that’s an interesting and valid
point. Think about it this way, take the same scene, but replace Yu Darvish
with any black player. Now instead of the slanted eye gesture, make a gesture
sticking out their lower lip or take a page from Muhammed Ali’s page and call
him a monkey. Suddenly the scene becomes grim and borderline unreadable. It’s
the same exact situation, except we changed races. My question is, why isn’t
the reaction as vicious? Why is it expected to be OK to let this one slide? And
then another. And another. And another.
Gurriel got suspended for 5 spring games in the
next season. That’s a good first step but doesn’t deter people from such
unsportsmanlike behavior because these games are not of consequence. Some people suggested a suspension from a World
Series game would have driven the message much better… and I agree. It’s not
that I don’t like Gurriel (I don’t even follow the sport all that much). It’s
the fact that people look up to these players and if that’s the example and
those are the repercussions, then what’s the lesson? Why should we care? Why should
we worry?
As a Latino, I know all about being told
that racism against Hispanics is not as bad and that I shouldn’t complain, as
if there were some scale of racism or a competition. To me, all racism is
silly, childish, dangerous, and unacceptable. I’m not even saying I don’t
understand it; I’m saying we should be better than racism. Some people may
speculate that I’m writing this because one of my best friends is Asian. The
fact is that as a Latino, I feel the need to call bullshit when I see it in
regards to someone other than a Latino.
After Hurricane Maria, it’s become clear
that Puerto Ricans are looked by many circles as lesser second class citizens.
There may be those who don’t see things this way, but we can’t say there aren’t
people who think Puerto Rico in general is a waste of time. I know the
frustration of only seeing Latino people making a case for Puerto Rico, which
is exactly why I write this in defense of my Asian brothers and sisters. I’m
Latino by birth but a friend by choice, and Tian has proven to be one of the
humblest and thoughtful people I know along with one of the funniest. He is
good people and I stand by him calling bullshit when bullshit is made,
especially by someone who shares roots with me.
We live racially charged times but we
must look past race and see the human aspect in all of this. Yuli Gurriel made
a human mistake, he tried to man up which I applaud. That said, if I were him, I would
do much more for the Asian communities in Houston and the nation. After all, he is
being given the opportunity to show the best humanity has to offer and to show that sportsmanlike behavior can prevail.
Peace, love, and maki rolls
