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Featured Asian American Christians Ask Churches to Stop Stereotyping

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Jerome, Nov 7, 2013.

  1. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    While we're at it, we should tell the lost that they need to grow up before we present the gospel. :BangHead:
     
  2. pinoybaptist

    pinoybaptist Active Member
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    MY Filipinos. Phrase used by one caucasian PB minister when referring to some Filipino Baptist preachers who converted to PB doctrines under his tutelage. nice, dontcha think ?
     
  3. preacher4truth

    preacher4truth Active Member

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    No one has come close to stating that BB. Why twist what was said? You need to 'win' somehow in your own mind? Perhaps you yourself should take Aaron's advice?
     
  4. preacher4truth

    preacher4truth Active Member

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    I hope dogs don't become PC like some on here. I'd hate to tell a Chihuahua he's perhaps 'Mexican', might offend him. I wonder if an English Bulldog would get mad if I called it 'English'?
     
  5. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    No, I was using an exaggeration to point out the folly in Aaron's statement.

    Yes, people need to grow up. But we can't change other people. As Christians, the ethic of love should be to cause no offense, unless it is for the sake of the gospel.

    Misrepresenting someone else's culture does cause offense to some people - especially those who have experienced quite a bit of discrimination. We need to be mindful of that.

    I had two aunts who considered me a "mixed-race" child and treated me as inferior because my mother was not born in the United States. (My mother is of Austrian descent.) Even as a young child, I could tell that I was not cared for as much as my cousins. When my grandparents died, we stopped associating with that part of the family until the day that those aunts died.

    In an online poker game I play (Zynga Poker), I use the avatar of an African-American male because all of the "white" characters look like punks. Rarely does a day go by that I don't get racial taunts/attacks. I know that in the mind of a racist, it is inconceivable that a white person would use the avatar of a black person, but I keep using it because it makes me keenly aware of how much prejudice is in the hearts of people that gets expressed in the semi-anonymous internet world. My African-American friends often experience the same contempt from behind smiling faces.
     
  6. jonathan.borland

    jonathan.borland Active Member

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    This is so funny to me and shows that these Asian American aren't really Asians anymore. Having lived in the largest Asian country the last 12 years, I can honestly say that the people most prone to stereotyping not only other peoples but also every aspect of other cultures are . . . wait for it . . . ASIANS! These Asian Americans crack me up for losing their true cultural heritage, really they do.
     
  7. Inspector Javert

    Inspector Javert Active Member

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    Here's the salient point that my fellow Anglo-Caucasian American males are not catching:

    1.) You are most likely a spoiled-rotten person who was handed everything in life, and you've had it easy.
    2.) You are likely to be an insensitive racist or bigot...

    And here's the kicker:

    3.) You don't "really understand" as others do what it's like to deal with racial stereo-types.
    :thumbsup::thumbsup:
     
    #27 Inspector Javert, Nov 9, 2013
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  8. jonathan.borland

    jonathan.borland Active Member

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    Javert, don't know if you've actually lived in a culture not your own for a third of your life. If not, try it, you might learn a thing about the differences between Americans and other cultures. Between Americans and Chinese in particular, I've found that Americans in general are far less guilty of stereotyping other cultures and far more accepting of the wide diversity of other cultures than their Chinese counterparts. It is the definition of America, a melting pot of all cultures. China on the other hand is perhaps the most homogenous and one of the most ethnocentric countries on the face of the earth (from my 12 years of intense personal observation and experience), and they have a stereotype for or explanation of almost every other people, their food, government, lifestyle, habits, work ethic, etc. It is what they do, based on perceived causes and effects (whether true or not, whether the product of a massive propaganda machine they don't even realize they are subject to, etc.). It is who they are. No matter the contradictions with actual facts and stats. The traditional stereotypes passed on by means of friends, neighbors, media, gov't propaganda, school indoctrination, etc. rules the day.
     
  9. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    First, I am offended by the terms of Asian-American or any other (fill in the blank) American.

    An Americian is a citizen of the United States.

    Of course the one that is the worse is Homo$exual-American. ( I am extrmely offended by the term "Gay" instead of the correct usuage of hom$exual.

    I am offended I can not use terms such Eskimo, Orientnal, ect -
    Oh, acutaly I use those therms - respectfully.

    We worry way too much about minor things.

    Call me what you want - just dont call me late for Supper.
     
  10. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

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    Not to worry, Aaron will cheer up in six weeks when he puts the Santa hat on his avatar of Moses.
     
  11. Inspector Javert

    Inspector Javert Active Member

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    Oh yes....I'm aware of how heavily many Asians stereo-type. It also doesn't bother me!....I've lived in other cultures (not a third of my life or anything)! Don't know if you caught that my post was toungue-in-cheek, designed to demonstrate a larger point that, well....us Anglos are racists and bigots....(and we also don't understand what it's like to live with a stereo-type!)....absurd.

    "Stereo-typing" does not inherently bother me unless it is used to generate bigotry or a feeling of superiority. It doesn't bother me because it is a natural and normal human cognitive process.....It is little more, nor less, than reasoning and categorizing from the particular to the general. IT'S SIMPLE INDUCTION!

    What if I said: Asians are typically very academically accomplished and good at Maths and Sciences....

    Would I be "Stereo-typing"? Certainly. Would I be a "bigot"? Of course not!!!

    Why? because it's a provable generality....they are in fact generally good at it, (at least here in the U.S.) and they work very hard to be. It probably has more to do with work ethic than anything, but it's statistically provably true. Generalizations and "stereo-types" exist because they are GENERALLY true!

    You're right though, I have at least heard before that Asians are well-known for stereo-typing...my mother says that and she lived in Korea for years. She LOVES the Korean people....but, she maintains that they commonly stereo-type. I say, good for them: What you shouldn't do though, is make generalizations and use them to create racism and bigotry.

    Dynamite was a good thing: Poor Alfred Nobel was simply trying to help the Railroad Industry...it wasn't HIS FAULT we made weapons with his technology!
     
    #31 Inspector Javert, Nov 9, 2013
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  12. agedman

    agedman Well-Known Member
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    Just as the ears function in "stereo" to sense direction, one can get a good understanding of the heart by how they respond or initiate cultural characteristic conflicts.

    It is now very well understood that folks vote based upon looks.

    The first televised presidential debate showed that as self evident. Those of Kennedy's staff that only heard the debate on the radio thought he was blown out of the water by Nixon. It wasn't until after they saw actual film footage that they realized "presence" superseded the words. That "actions (do) speak louder than words."

    From the time of Babel's tower, humankind has been divided, and the coming "world peace" is only a smokescreen.

    I find it distressing that offense was given, even though not meant.

    I also find it distressing that forgiveness is lacking, even when meant.

    Typical of humankind of all cultures.

    It is ultimately pride, envy, and lust that drives the bus of humanity from conflict to conflict.
     
    #32 agedman, Nov 9, 2013
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  13. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

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    We've had to deal with this to some pretty bizarre extents, depending on where we've lived. One day I'll be able to tell the whole story of just how far it went.

    My children have had the interesting experience of growing up in various parts of the country and their physical features were fun to watch as they grew up! Sometimes there was no doubt about their race, at other times, it was anyone's guess. :D (at one point, I had a two year old with very Asian facial features and bouncy bleach blonde curls, people stopped me in the streets over that beautiful girl and some just straight out asked me what race she was, lol!)

    We got used to a certain amount of silliness, but nothing really prepared me for the Baptists we ran into the last round. When the time is right, I'll go into that.

    In the meantime, the ignorance and stupidity needs to stop. Seriously. When people trip over themselves to show how accepting they are, it is just as hurtful as being mean, because what on earth is going on inside someone if they have to work that hard accept another human being based on their physical features?

    And for the love of everything decent, don't ask what country someone's kids came from! Why do people do that, and why did they always look offended when I asked the same thing about their white kids? :laugh: (totally diff if asking about Chinese, Filipino, Korean, etc., that's a great question and is actually appreciated)


    Anyhow, the church isn't the place for such insanity. It's the LAST place this stuff should exist, so why does it seem to be the place where it is the most obvious and persistent? Why is the church so racially divided in so many parts of the country? Most of the IFB churches I've been part of? Mostly white. No matter where I live, finding a Baptist church that isn't racially divided is weird. It's like a Caucasian stronghold once you get off the West coast, with any racial diversity mostly being seen in the kids brought in on buses. I used to ask if there just weren't a lot of Baptist believers in other races, but then I watched people come and go and kept seeing what happened. Had to try to help my own family through the ignorance that was perpetuated by white people. Saw the dumb stuff. Nobody WANTS to stay and deal with that. So the churches stay "majority white?" That's what it seems like to me, from watching over the years in various states.

    Churches are very racially divided, whether they're Baptist or not. Some are obvious reasons, like for language, but there's no good reason for the Baptists to be divided by race. That's just crazy. Doesn't seem like it will ever change though. What it was before is probably what it is now and probably will be 50 years from now, with a few token whatevers here and there. (the last family I talked to in a prior church...we joked about being tokens and one day we got to why we each stayed - he said his was to keep people having to face their prejudice and put a face to it. So when you stop and think about how open your church is because you have "a" family or maybe a few, they may not be staying because the church is just so wonderful)

    But I'm sure your church is the exception.
     
  14. HAMel

    HAMel Well-Known Member
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    GinaB, I for one would like to hear about your "certain amount of silliness".

    Otherwise, there's an old saying that goes like this. "Birds of a feather flock together". That's normal and is the rule of nature.

    For sure, anyone who attends any church should feel welcome..., especially in a Baptist Church but that doesn't always happen.

    My wife and I have belonged to several churches over the years as we found ourselves relocating from one state to another quite often. While we always felt comfortable in attending any of these churches it didn't take long to realize that we really didn't fit in. Didn't fit in, in the fact that we simply were not members of the original family or two. Some of these churches were more profound than others but the pecking order existed never-the-less.

    ...we attended our last church for 10 years before moving on and once gone, not one single person called to ask why we left. Not one! We didn't leave because of any heart burn but rather, just felt the Lord urged us on. Not one person seemed to care that we left the fold.
     
  15. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

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    I'm sorry nobody contacted you. That must have hurt!

    The parts I can talk about now, just the silliness, including things that were just that. Silly. Though some silliness can be painful too when you're a kid, or a child's parent/guardian. But mostly silly little things you just deal with on a regular basis when you're in a mixed race/culture family.

    The automatic "let's introduce the Asians to each other" with the assumption that every Asian looking person must be the same culturally and would instantly bond.

    Stuff like saying "oh, that's okay, we've had lots of other races here before. We even just had a black family that joined for almost two whole years!"
    As if not being white was something that needed forgiven.

    Automatic assumptions that the kids were great and math and science and were the go-to people for everything on those topics. Oh, and they were masters on the culture of China, Japan, Korea, you name it. ROFL Because there's just no difference at all and they all eat the same foods, speak the same language, etc.. Forget that they were actually born in the United States. They were raised for a good time in a sub-culture, but also in American culture and definitely in a specific one, not in some generalized "Asians of the world Unite" culture. :eek:

    People thinking it was funny to come up and talk to the kids in an accent.

    Thinking they'd be interested in doing mission work in "their own countries for their own people" when they got older. Yeah, that's my goal. I played dumb and asked someone if that meant going to parking lot of the local department store or what. "Hey, my PEOPLE, gather round and listen!" ROFL

    The ignorance that goes on when people are off guard and you first join and they're not in the mindset of watching what they say. That's usually very telling, but I actually appreciate it because honesty is better than hiding it. I like to know what I'm dealing with.

    Being treated like exotic toys to be admired and exclaimed over for looks instead of little kids. No, that Japanese garb you saw in the postcard is not an appropriate present and no, we won't have a photo of them in it. They don't wear that at home. And they're not of Japanese descent anyhow.

    Stuff like that. There are probably a million dumb little things of that nature. Some isn't even meant to be rude, which is why I use the term "silly."

    When they were little, some little things were big for them. Some big things were little or not noticed.

    It probably helps that I'm really quiet and calm, but also can be smart alec to the nth degree and can shut down stuff pretty fast while still smiling and being relatively nice about it while still making my point. It got us through a number of silly comments and behaviors over the years.

    Though I've noticed the best bet is simply staying in certain areas of the country. There is a major difference, though the church seems to lag in that area. Still, there's a marked improvement in this area the further out one goes. I won't say where. Everyone will think I'm....prejudiced. :BangHead: :tongue3:

    But wait...birds of a feather? LOL Isn't that more about stuff like what we believe, what we think, if we like the same music, if we both like painting, stuff like that? Not about sticking together based on skin tone? What kind of a reason is that?
     
  16. HAMel

    HAMel Well-Known Member
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    I'm sorry nobody contacted you. That must have hurt!

    It really didn't bother us. The folks in that church were nice but you just never could fit in unless you were family. No biggie and we didn't lose any sleep over it.

    As for the rest of your post..., yes, people are often unable to adequately relate to those outside of their comfort zone. It's just the way we are, I suppose.
     
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