Tag: racism

A Side Order of Context

gordsellar6 Comments

  Something I find fascinating is how people talk and talk and talk about diversity as if it only means different races, and not different cultures–that different cultures and the frame of reference in which they operate ought to be transparent to anyone without the slightest bit of effort or context. For example, the above image has apparently started doing the rounds on Facebook… at least, I assume so. I’m not tracking the trends, but a friend shared it. Is it racism captured in a nutshell? I don’t think so… but I’m guessing a lot of Westerners would. Don’t get me wrong. I’m …

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Bev, Gandhi, and Chinese Drivers

gordsellar2 Comments

The other day, I posted this video on Facebook: The responses on Facebook were interesting: Note that it was in the second response that the discussion suddenly focused on stupid things Koreans say to white people, like, “Wow, you can use chopsticks!” or “Please marry someone from your own country.” The second comment. It’s interesting because, as outsiders in a culture, people often tend to try fit their experiences into an understanding of that culture. Which, you know, is skewed by the fact that people tend to remember most clearly, the most offensive and idiotic exchanges they’ve experienced.1 In other …

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Flashback!

gordsellar2 Comments

I’ve been busy for a while now, sorting through things, getting writing done, and so on. I’ve wanted to post about the Sewol Ferry Disaster for a while, but finding an appropriate way of saying what I think about this horrifying and heartbreaking situation is hard work, and I’ve been busy with other very pressing things, including sorting through my “piles of crap.” Those “piles” are digital, mind you: hard drives of accumulated photos, files, and so on. (And that’s besides my writing, and work on the Daerijeon soundtrack, and getting some exercise, and so on). But I didn’t want …

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About that MBC Parody Video

gordsellar30 Comments

A good long time ago, James at The Grand Narrative urged me to write about the things I discuss below. I thought it was a good idea, but relented at first, thinking that maybe I might get fired the way Gerry Bevers was for posting about Dokdo. Then I got busy, and stayed busy. Then I left Korea. And here we are. But this video came up again, where I live now, as part of a discussion about sexism and racism in Korea, and I realized that I’d never gotten around to it, and that I should. Because I learned …

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New Term: “White Endorsement Monkey” and “White Defamation Monkey”

gordsellar17 Comments

Well, I’ve googled it and don’t see it out there, so I’m going to call dibs and coin this term: White Endorsement Monkey. What is a White Endorsement Monkey? Well, if you’re a white person living abroad, you might experience this. I certainly have experienced it in Korea. Don’t get me wrong: as stomach turning and ass-kissing as this book cover looks to me: … I’m not calling this author a White Endorsement Monkey, because I’m not actually talking about what foreigners themselves do — but rather to a pressure that is sometimes imposed on non-Koreans by some Koreans. That …

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