Start with a bang

So -- this post originally began life when I tried to comment on Empty the Bench, but there was apparently some sort of technical glitch. Since I had already done the work, I figured, what the heck, might as well make a blog and post it my own damn self.

And, just to be clear, this post will contain approximately 1472% more racial epithets than I might use in the next ten years of posting. Just one of those days, I guess. (You should really read that Empty the Bench link if you want this to make sense -- the gist is, an NBA commentator used a racial slur and nobody seemed to really mind.)

Full disclosure -- I'm Caucasian, Canadian, and a 33 year old male. When I discuss slurs, it's through a ludicrously sheltered lens, so I apologize in advance for any inadvertent offence.

So -- I don't really have a strong feeling one way or the other on this issue. I'd probably like to be more offended -- you know, a slur is a slur no matter what, and they should all be treated with similar disdain. Honestly, I'd be okay with any excuse for a short respite from Rick Kamla's shtick, but for some reason this particular word didn't push any of my buttons. I get that it has some historically bad connotations, but so do 'gay' and 'queer', and those have been claimed and become pretty acceptable when the speaker isn't using them maliciously. I'm also allowed to use Frenchman or Irishman, so I could legitimately see myself letting Chinaman slip into my vocabulary in this context. I would absolutely apologize if I realized someone had been offended, and knowing now that it would cause a fuss, hell no would I ever use it on National TV -- but if I had, I would still think an apology offered in good faith would be sufficient reparations.

And, just because I have too much free time on my hands, I tried an experiment. I went to Google and searched combinations of prominent athletes' names with the, uh, appropriate slur. (You know, quote-unquote appropriate. Moving on.) It's ridiculously unscientific and fraught with logical holes, but I just kinda wanted to get a feel for what slurs might be more prevalent, and I figured number of Google hits might do the trick.

(And this is where the post gets NSFW-ish, no graphics, but words that might trip your IT guy's alarm bells. Proceed with caution.)

"Yi Jianlian" chinaman -- 4190 pages
"Yao Ming" chinaman -- 4460
"Yao Ming" chink -- 15700
"Ichiro Suzuki" chinaman -- 793
"Ichiro Suzuki" "jap" -- 1750
"Rik Smits" dutchman -- 8400
"Tony Parker" frenchman -- 6690
"Michael Jordan" nigger -- 34300
"LeBron James" nigger -- 20200
"Kobe Bryant" nigger -- 31800
"Jason Kidd" nigger -- 4510
"Shane Battier" nigger -- 411
"Larry Bird" honky -- 1930
"Dirk Nowitzki" kraut -- 790
"Martin Gortat" polack -- 7870
"Andrei Kirilenko" commie -- 313
"Pau Gasol" spic -- 115
"Andrea Bargnani" wop -- 1160
"John Amaechi" fag -- 5010
"Michael Beasley" addict -- 11500
"Delonte West" nutcase -- 1570
"Ron Artest" "batshit crazy" -- 3390

*"jap" is in quotes because Google returns results for Japan/Japanese otherwise.

So yeah. I think the n-word can probably still be considered the gold standard in this area. Judging by the 3-to-1 ratio of 'ch*nk' to 'ch*naman' to describe Yao Ming, it looks like Kamla didn't exactly let rip the average internet lone gunman's go-to insult for Asians, either. I guess, I'd be inclined to believe someone who didn't realize the severity of the word ch*naman when they were talking about a man with a Chinese passport. Just my opinion.