Racism?

I am referring to the now infamous picture of Spanish basketball players with their fingers pulling their eyes into "chinese eyes". Was this racism? Was this inappropriate? This photograph has sparked intense debate all over television, radio, and the web. In this post I will address just my feelings on the photograph and later I will address my attitudes about race and diversity. I don't have time for both now.

I tend to think that the Spanish players were not being "racist" as we use that term in this country. It is hard as an American to understand the cultural background of these people and it is necessary to do so to understand their motives behind their action. Spain does not have a large population of Asian people. They are much less diverse than my country and so most people have not been raised with the same kind of issues that children in America are raised learning about. In more homogeneous countries I believe that many people never consider the impact a certain joke or gesture might have on a person of another ethnicity because they have never had to before. Another factor is the Spanish attitude toward all types of labeling that might be offensive in America. I have visited Spain in high school and I noticed that the Spanish are much more likely to call a person fat or point out his big nose. This is not always meant to be insulting. The deaf community in the U.S. also uses physical traits like this to label people. I would never call a stranger fat to his face but my upbringing has taught me that to do so is rude. We have to remember that not everyone is raised the same way. Some of the thought behind the action of the Spanish team might have been along these lines.

Now does the fact that they might not know any better mean that people that do have a problem with it shouldn't say anything? No of course not. How does anyone learn if no one is willing to teach? I think if Spain wants to interact more globally it will have to address attitudes and actions like this in the future. The players need to know that everyone does not find their actions acceptable and that that is a valid feeling. It was inappropriate for them to take that picture and publish it. They should be more understanding of some of the negative reaction they are getting. The guys from PTI (yes I watch ESPN sometimes, my mom calls me a traitor for it) had a good point. Several of the Spanish basketball players actually live in the U.S. now and play for the NBA. They should know better. They should have known this would not go over well and said something. Maybe they didn't pay attention to the problems with racism we have in this country but they are a little hard to ignore. Hopefully now they will wake up a little to the world around them. I hope this incident will help engender learning about other cultures and attitudes around the world. Then maybe all the attention this has brought to Spain will help everyone. What do you think?