Klackner: Letter to Chronicle
A Fan's Letter to the Chronicle
by Erik Klackner
06.10.05 -- In the wake of the San Francisco 49ers Training Video fiasco, the herd of cattle that is political correctness has been given a loud "YEE-HAW" and begun its latest stampede down our throats. And for what? A 15-minute video with a few cheesy stereotypes? I'm completely baffled by the reaction to this tape, and apparently, so are the 49ers, because I have never seen any organization (regardless of field) in scramble mode at the pace Dr. York and company are currently maintaining. Apologizing to this group, setting up diversity training with that group, taking suggestions from another. Over the tape?
Let me get this straight (no pun intended): an Asian man willing to take part in a skit where he pokes fun at the stereotype that some Asians struggle with the letters L and R is racist. Kirk Reynolds recommending to Jeff Ulbrich that he "not drop the soap" is homophobic? Those jokes have been around since the dawn of bad comedy, and they are as 'not all that funny' now as they were then. And yet, you would have thought that they kidnapped a small boy, set him on fire, and rolled him down Lombard Street the way people reacted.
Stereotypes are what they are; every group has them. I saw a commercial just yesterday for a beer company, with a white guy dancing rather clumsily, before being handed a beer from the spokesman, and the catchy slogan for the ad was, "Helping white people dance for over 70 years." Now, I'm a white guy, and I actually dance reasonably well. Can someone explain to me why I'm not supposed to be offended by this? A national commercial? But a video made to be seen by a PARTICULAR audience that contains similar stereotypes about other groups is grounds for what we've seen in the last week? Is it because San Francisco has a large Asian population and and a large gay population? America has a large "white guy" population, so what exactly is the difference? I'll be waiting by the phone for someone to answer that.
Or, I can answer it myself: discrimination happens to individuals, not groups. No matter what group you associate yourself with, that group is going to have something said about it that can be considered disagreeable. But until you experience it personally by the party in question, leave it alone. The beer company didn't send me an e-mail saying "you can't dance because you're white." They made a commercial playing off the stereotype that white people generally dance poorly. Kirk Reynolds made a video playing off the stereotype that Asian people sometimes substitute the letter L for R, and the stereotype that sometimes in prison, men will resort to homosexual activity for a number of reasons., which, whether we want to admit it or not, happens enough for it to be considered a stereotype. It does not mean you have to believe the stereotypes; I've known plenty of Asian people who did not fit the stereotype portrayed in the video, just like I can dance. So, until a member of the 49ers organization personally calls you on the phone and insults you or your group, do what Paul McCartney's mom always told him, and "Let it Be.
by Erik Klackner
06.10.05 -- In the wake of the San Francisco 49ers Training Video fiasco, the herd of cattle that is political correctness has been given a loud "YEE-HAW" and begun its latest stampede down our throats. And for what? A 15-minute video with a few cheesy stereotypes? I'm completely baffled by the reaction to this tape, and apparently, so are the 49ers, because I have never seen any organization (regardless of field) in scramble mode at the pace Dr. York and company are currently maintaining. Apologizing to this group, setting up diversity training with that group, taking suggestions from another. Over the tape?
Let me get this straight (no pun intended): an Asian man willing to take part in a skit where he pokes fun at the stereotype that some Asians struggle with the letters L and R is racist. Kirk Reynolds recommending to Jeff Ulbrich that he "not drop the soap" is homophobic? Those jokes have been around since the dawn of bad comedy, and they are as 'not all that funny' now as they were then. And yet, you would have thought that they kidnapped a small boy, set him on fire, and rolled him down Lombard Street the way people reacted.
Stereotypes are what they are; every group has them. I saw a commercial just yesterday for a beer company, with a white guy dancing rather clumsily, before being handed a beer from the spokesman, and the catchy slogan for the ad was, "Helping white people dance for over 70 years." Now, I'm a white guy, and I actually dance reasonably well. Can someone explain to me why I'm not supposed to be offended by this? A national commercial? But a video made to be seen by a PARTICULAR audience that contains similar stereotypes about other groups is grounds for what we've seen in the last week? Is it because San Francisco has a large Asian population and and a large gay population? America has a large "white guy" population, so what exactly is the difference? I'll be waiting by the phone for someone to answer that.
Or, I can answer it myself: discrimination happens to individuals, not groups. No matter what group you associate yourself with, that group is going to have something said about it that can be considered disagreeable. But until you experience it personally by the party in question, leave it alone. The beer company didn't send me an e-mail saying "you can't dance because you're white." They made a commercial playing off the stereotype that white people generally dance poorly. Kirk Reynolds made a video playing off the stereotype that Asian people sometimes substitute the letter L for R, and the stereotype that sometimes in prison, men will resort to homosexual activity for a number of reasons., which, whether we want to admit it or not, happens enough for it to be considered a stereotype. It does not mean you have to believe the stereotypes; I've known plenty of Asian people who did not fit the stereotype portrayed in the video, just like I can dance. So, until a member of the 49ers organization personally calls you on the phone and insults you or your group, do what Paul McCartney's mom always told him, and "Let it Be.
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