<p>Who's that Asian guy in the Girl Next Door? I can't remember any Asian at all, weird. I agree with mallomarcookie, although I don't find it really offensive. It's not really a good satire, though! A good one would use something that is true or slight true and then just greatly exaggerate it. BUT they just make up this weird type of slang, although he perfectly knows how to articulate himself. Making stuff up really isn't that funny, it just kinda shows that the authors were too dull or lazy to think about something that they could use. It's bascially like saying that Tiger Woods is a bad golf player, which is simply wrong and strange.</p>
<p>"but the fact is that many people do, and society expects that you will behave accordingly."</p>
<p>ahhhmmm.... I'm sorry, but have you heard of freedom of speech? Personally, I don't give a you-know-what what society expects of me or my speech. I will respect other people's convictions, (as in, I would not have written the Jian Li article - I didn't even think it was particularly funny), but if and when I censor my speech it will be because I choose to, not because I want to be politically correct or because I care who will be offended. The author of this article chose not to censor his/her speech. You can be mad or offended, but you can't suggest that the "Prince" shouldntve printed the article.</p>
<p>^^^as in, you CAN suggest it, but you won't be taken seriously...</p>
<p>Yeah they definitely had a right to print it but that doesn't mean it's not racist. And it's definitely not making the university look like a friendly place that's willing to look beyond stereotypes--and demands jokes that are actually dependent on more than tired and offensive ethnic stereotyping. Pathetic. The Prince shouldn't have printed it--it's 100% legal and 100% stupid.
It's not even about political correctness. Half those stereotypes aren't correct, period (forget "politically" correct). Did you see that crack about taking one writing course and calling yourself liberal arts? I imagine the hundreds of thousands of Asian humanities majors in the U.S. collectively cringing.</p>
<p>You're confusing two different issues here. Yes, the newspaper's right to print this article is constitutionally protected. The author's right to express anything he wants through this particular newspaper is not. Anyway, I can definitely suggest that the Prince was wrong to have published this article. The column is stupid and offensive and the Prince's editors are under no obligation whatsoever to publish every piece of trash that comes in front of them, and they are certainly not exempt from criticism if they choose otherwise.</p>
<p>Fine, its not correct. Most stereotypes aren't. But then again, so is 50% of the stuff you watch on the news every day lol.
I agree with you that it was a stupid article. But I am just soooooo sick of political correctness and speech codes...</p>
<p>"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire</p>
<p>sledge hammer, I agree with you. But if I was the editor, I would have published the article.</p>
<p>Wow. I just checked in today and saw this thread along with the article. As a Princeton alum, let me say that this article is offensive, indefensible and does not reflect the views of students on campus or of the administration. I'm embarrassed to see that the Daily Princetonian has made such a terrible blunder and I and other alumni (including former writers for the Prince with whom I've spoken today about this) are outraged that such a racist and sophomoric piece has cheapened the journalist reputation of a great college newspaper. This is not the Princeton that we know and I personally hope that there will be some soul-searching about the 'joke issue' among the current writers for the newspaper. I also hope that any other alumni or current Princeton undergraduates on CC will add their voices to mine in denouncing this.</p>
<p>Good--I always worried that Princeton was not a good place for minorities and this article only added to my concern--thankfully, ever Princeton person I've had the opportunity to converse with has been truly different and very appreciate of diversity</p>
<p>Darn. Such a fuss over a little article. This is what I hate. Did you guys hear about that JHU student who was suspended for posting an "insensetive" invitation to a party on facebook? That is simply insane! MallomarCookie, two things: 1) Asians aren't minorities, as you implied. 2) Attacking the Prince for publishing an (according to you) off-color article does not guarantee that one is "very appreciate of diversity" as you implied. It just shows that the person happens to agree with your views on diversity.</p>
<p>i knew this was going to happen... lol I am clairvoyant.. :D</p>
<p>I still do not see the big deal in what they wrote....IMO</p>
<p>To whomever asked, you know in The Girl Next Door the Asian guy from Cambodia that the high school students are trying to "adopt"? And he speaks English kind of badly? That's what it reminded me of -- the speech problems, not the guy in general. He's not really a major character. </p>
<p>So question...if the article had made fun of all races (African-American, Hispanic, Asian, white, etc.), would it be "OK" then? I, for one, think that if somebody is making fun of their OWN race then it is OK, basically. Not necessary, but OK. Or if you're making fun of EVERYBODY. </p>
<p>That's how SNL and MAD TV survive. Nobody is safe from being made fun of. They "discriminate" against each race pretty evenly, they make fun of political figures on both sides, they make fun of EVERYTHING. I think that in those venues, satirical pieces that may involve race are OK. However, in this article only ONE race was being pinpointed.</p>
<p>I know the article says that it was written by Jian Li, but it obviously wasn't. What if the article was written by an Asian student, though? It probably still wasn't right to publish it, but was it OK to write it? </p>
<p>I'm not really saying anything here, but rather bringing up a lot of questions. So sorry for that.</p>
<p>it wasn't the fact that they were making a joke based on ethnic stereotypes--come on, if we weren't allowed to do that then Mencia and Russell Peters and all them would be jobless! it was the fact that they were injecting real opinion into it, and quite obviously at that. that is what made me feel uneasy. if you hear someone on Mad TV joke about Indians owning gas stations or Borat saying that Jews have horns, it doesn't matter b/c they couldnt possibly be making a point out of it. But the fact that smug people loyal to Princeton are portraying an Asian spurned by Princeton--that's not a coincidence. quite frankly I agree with that Princeton grad earlier in the thread.</p>
<p>Oh yea, thx j07! Now I remember, lol... That guy was hilarious, but yeah he does remind me of the fictive narrator of this article, as well. But still, I just can't find this article offensive, because it's so poorly done. It's pretty dull and does not exhibit any deep thinking or critical analysis at all. I mean would you be offended if somebody called you a dwarf, when you're actually 6'4? Making up things about a person that are simply wrong, imo, is not really offending.</p>
<p>I'll admit that I smiled a little... and I'm Chinese... some of the jokes were sort of offensive, but overall I'm pretty tolerant of it. Besides, what's a joke issue for, if not to say terrible things?</p>
<p>To be funny, perhaps?
It'd be one thing if these allegations came from nowhere, but pretty much everything making fun of Asians in that article stems from derogatory stereotypes, which once were--if not still are--believed. I'm definitely inclined to believe that writer has some latent racist issues.
As a current Princeton student, this is seriously disappointing. I expect better from my fellow students and the Prince.</p>
<p>Well, whether it's racist or not is clearly dependent on personal opinion but everyone agrees it's unfunny, sophomoric, and lame...Princeton can do better</p>
<p>
[quote]
Well, whether it's racist or not is clearly dependent on personal opinion but everyone agrees it's unfunny, sophomoric, and lame...Princeton can do better
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Agreed. Perhaps if read within the context of the annual humor issue it might seem more amusing, but as it stands it comes across as a bit sad.</p>
<p>Who cares? If the person were black, people would have laughed harder. Seriously, and I am black. It is part of a joke column, and honestly, any assertion that Princeton is racist is false. Jian Li, went to LHS, the same high school in which I am a junior currently. Also, it would be interesting to note that the 2 Asians who applied early from Jian's own school got accepted. (100% yield) Now, was the article something I would have done, nah. But lets think this through, in my opinion Jian was the first racist (he assumed that Asians are smarter, and thus held to a higher standard) More importantly, a black guy can say the n-word while a white guy cant. Chances are an Asian wrote this article. </p>
<p>As a side note: Jian really doesnt like Yale that much (according to a teacher he was close with)</p>
<p>So Jian is a prick...that makes this article OK?</p>