Is apu a racist character?? VOL...THE PROBLEM WITH APU

[Mark Antony]

Wow at that brush off response. Typical of white folks telling minorities what to be offended of and when.

 

[jape]

why are people pitting each others racism against each other?

"ours is worst so you have no right to be offended"
did i do it right?

 

[6pac]

why are people pitting each others racism against each other?

"ours is worst so you have no right to be offended"
did i do it right?

who said this

all i see being asked is what makes it offensive so we know where the outrage is coming from

if anything you were the first one in here who just tried to make one ‘worse’ than the other

 

[ahat]

i remember you mentioning that you were middle Eastern or something

please explain what you find offensive about it

because i think its clear to see whats offensive about the idea that all black people are thugs vs. the idea that there are alot of successful gas station clerks that happen to be middle Eastern

when people say they dont see whats offensive about confederate flags, black people being typecasted as thugs, etc. theyre usually being disenginous (sp?) but no one in here has brought up whats potentially offensive about someone simply being a gas station owner/clerk

Yes, I am middle eastern.

Well first off... Apu is Indian, he is south asian not middle eastern.


"Simply being a gas station owner "

That's it. For the longest time he was the only Indian character on TV. People associated and assumed all folks of that background work at a kwik-e Mart, which isn't the case. Similar to how you're offended when black folks are portrayed as thugs, when clearly that isn't the case.


Personally, I think the Simpsons fell off hard. Been trash for bout a decade if not more, shoulda ended it a long time ago.

 

[ahat]

who said this

all i see being asked is what makes it offensive so we know where the outrage is coming from

if anything you were the first one in here who just tried to make one ‘worse’ than the other

I mean...you did.

Racist but its not “all black people are thugs” racist.

 

[Mark Antony]

I mean, an entire documentary is cited in the first post if yall are truly interested in finding out why it's offensive.

 

[maxelite]

Ask yourself this, how many Indian/South Asian people have been prominent characters on mainstream TV in America since the Simpsons started?

 

[6pac]

Yes, I am middle eastern.

Well first off... Apu is Indian, he is south asian not middle eastern.


"Simply being a gas station owner "

That's it. For the longest time he was the only Indian character on TV. People associated and assumed all folks of that background work at a kwik-e Mart, which isn't the case. Similar to how you're offended when black folks are portrayed as thugs, when clearly that isn't the case.


Personally, I think the Simpsons fell off hard. Been trash for bout a decade if not more, shoulda ended it a long time ago.

so is it moreso about the character himself or the lack of diversity in representation

do you/yall still feel that way now that presumably more characters of Indian descent are on television (are they?)

 

[beacon ave south]

Always the same bs with some of you

Thread isnt even about you but you feel the need to throw in "well we got it worse" pity remarks. Then got the damn nerves to call anyone sensitive.

Nt is the land of the double standard and people who thrive off playing the victim.

 

[RustyShackleford]

For anyone dismissing the criticism of the Simpson and wondering why it is offensive, please stop being lazy and do some research. I mean someone literally made a documentary explaining why. Even if you look up a trailer of the doc they give an overview......

 

[hand2handking]

Always the same bs with some of you

Thread isnt even about you but you feel the need to throw in "well we got it worse" pity remarks. Then got the damn never to call anyone sensitive.

Nt is the land of the double standard and people who thrive off playing the victim.

@ them

 

[beacon ave south]

Then of course you got people who play dumb and all of a sudden act like they don't know what the **** is going on.

 

[ahat]

so is it moreso about the character himself or the lack of diversity in representation

do you/yall still feel that way now that presumably more characters of Indian descent are on television (are they?)

I assume you mean Indian people when you say "you/y'all"

I stated in the post you quoted I am middle eastern and not Indian. I don't relate to an Indian character same way I don't relate to a Black, Asian, Hispanic, or White one.

Or are we (middle eastern and Indian) the same in your eyes?

 

[oidreez]

who said this

all i see being asked is what makes it offensive so we know where the outrage is coming from

if anything you were the first one in here who just tried to make one ‘worse’ than the other

You literally on the first page said it wasn't as racist as depicting blacks as thugs

 

[6pac]

I assume you mean Indian people when you say "you/y'all"

I stated in the post you quoted I am middle eastern and not Indian. I don't relate to an Indian character same way I don't relate to a Black, Asian, Hispanic, or White one.

Or are we (middle eastern and Indian) the same in your eyes?

you were the one speaking from the perspective of being offended so i just said “you/yall” referring to the groups of people who felt they were being misrepresented but going back and reading you do say youre middle eastern i guess you never explicitly say youre offended about indian stereotypes so thats my bad

 

[vood99]

Simpsons been trash for damn near 2 decades. The show has been satirical so you can't fault them for typecasting Apu.

 

[6pac]

You literally on the first page said it wasn't as racist as depicting blacks as thugs

i still dont get how it is

from what dude explained its mostly about how there were no other indian characters on tv and less about the character himself

 

[AZwildcats]

Yes, Apu is definitely a racist depiction of Indians

 

[tay1]

the answer to the thread title is obvious. What tall arguing about?

 

[SC kid]

It's just for title sake lol

But like I said...where was this in the 90s

 

[htg designs]

Ask yourself this, how many Indian/South Asian people have been prominent characters on mainstream TV in America since the Simpsons started?

Hmm Mindy from Mindy project I think fox/hulu
Obed I think his name was on Community. Nbc
That Quantico chick. Abc
I could be wrong bout all this, just going off top. Whatever Aziz be on, formely Parks n Rec...
Is Kumar still eating? Or Harold or whatever? The tall long nose one. He prolly on some show. I dunno

 

[tay1]

It's just for title sake lol

But like I said...where was this in the 90s

I'm pretty sure some were still offended. And we are in a more sensitive time

 

[Comparison Ford]

It's just for title sake lol

But like I said...where was this in the 90s

Different times, man. Think about how many things that were thought of as okay in the 90s/early 2000s that wouldn't fly today.

You think The Man Show would go unchecked if it came out in 2018? You think Norm MacDonald would be successful/get major gigs if he was an up-and-coming comedian now?

People are definitely more socially conscious these days, which is in part due to social media giving people a platform--something that wasn't around in the 90s.

 

[maxelite]

htg designs

Point remains , it's an extremely small number. Of all those characters you've named, Apu is probably the most well known. And he happens to be a convenience store owner? There aren't a lot of other depictions of Indian/South Asians over decades of television. Where's the balance?

 

[chucktwnsfinest]

Wait waaaaaiiiittt wait

So there are big budget movies and tv shows from the south east region of Asia with ethnically diverse casts? Put. Me. On.