[quote=“Xeno”]
Watch out for those sly foreign devils![/quote]
Is this billboard in Taiwan? I have never seen it.
Looks like it’s on a bus. From the picture used, I’d guess in Taipei, though not necessarily the 236 as pictured.
Damn, I didn’t look close enough. The bus picture should have made it clear that this is indeed in Taiwan. :s
I can’t figure out exactly what’s going on with that sign, probably because I don’t know Chinese, but it appears to have something to do with a private bus company called Shin-Shin ( share.youthwant.com.tw/D62066929.html )
To judge by this article, not everyone was satisfied with the innovation: ettoday.net/news/20130613/222091.htm
I think its commendable that bus companies in Taipei try to find new ways to make bus trips more enjoyable. The whistles are more a warning to potential molesters than a practical weapon for the molested. Don’t think anyone has ever blown or will ever blow those whistles.
CJ, you like to start your posts out with “I don’t know Chinese,” but you do an excellent job at understanding all the Chinese stuff you post. I’m starting to get suspicious.
Thanks, HKW! 
You made my day! I really do know almost no Chinese, but I’m hoping your post will motivate me to learn more.
Nobody is ever hesitant about sitting next to me. I don’t believe such discrimination exists in a sizable way. If people are always avoiding you, it’s you. Buy yourself a bar of soap and a proper pair of shoes.
The number of foreigners I see on the MRT sporting that “just got outta bed” look or “I had a massive night last night” look is unbelievable. I’d avoid sitting next to them too.
Thanks, HKW! You made my day! I really do know almost no Chinese, but I’m hoping your post will motivate me to learn more.[/quote]
Yeah CJ, I can imagine your old courtroom cases.
'Your honor, I am but a humble born servant of your court and have none of your esteemed legal prowess and lacking in your respectable wigness.
I do believe that the defendant that is on trial today could not be guilty of said armed robbery, as his official prison record indicates he was incarcerated in St Quentin on the night in question. Of course I have not personally asked the warden yet. I could be wrong.’
Judge : harrumph
Thanks, HKW! You made my day! I really do know almost no Chinese, but I’m hoping your post will motivate me to learn more.[/quote]
Yeah CJ, I can imagine your old courtroom cases.
'Your honor, I am but a humble born servant of your court and have none of your esteemed legal prowess and lacking in your respectable wigness.
I do believe that the defendant that is on trial today could not be guilty of said armed robbery, as his official prison record indicates he was incarcerated in St Quentin on the night in question. Of course I have not personally asked the warden yet. I could be wrong.’
Judge : harrumph[/quote]
Thanks for the self-esteem boost and the endorphins!
In Taiwan, both this:
and this:
are considered “proper.”
.
[quote=“Charlie Jack”]I can’t figure out exactly what’s going on with that sign, probably because I don’t know Chinese, but it appears to have something to do with a private bus company called Shin-Shin ( share.youthwant.com.tw/D62066929.html )
To judge by this article, not everyone was satisfied with the innovation: ettoday.net/news/20130613/222091.htm[/quote]
+1 informative.
And yes, this is an advert on a Taipei area bus I was taking from Jingmei up to Gongguan or thereabouts. I seem to recall there being some whistles hanging from strings at various points along the bus but that might only be the power of suggestion…
Thread is a bit of a grave dig, but this picture is in the current Carrefour brochure:
Now, as an oblivious Canadian I only recently became aware that advertising with watermelons and fried chicken and certain racial types is … delicate. This picture’s well into that delicate territory, right?
EDIT: link here, although I’m not sure that’ll direct to the right page:
The blurb on the left explains that he (歐蒙, an African man who married a local woman) is the farmer.
I was wondering a) how Carrefour would know about this peculiarly US racist trope b) why they would use it in their ad if they did c) why a black man was holding a watermelon in their ad, so this makes sense.
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Ah, thanks for the explanation for that. I’m glad I phrased my post as more questioning than condemning. (And yeah, it did seem a peculiar level of trope knowledge.) OK, so that’s cool.
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Can non-americans know what’s racist in a watermelon??
It’s still a bit odd to me - I wasn’t aware of the very old tropes until fairly recently, but I assume that’s because I grew up in Vancouver. (Just like I knew next to nothing about the American Civil War until recently, and most of my knowledge about the American Revolution has come from Hamilton and curiosity sparked by it.)
Here’s a quote from the third link below:
But the stereotype that African Americans are excessively fond of watermelon emerged for a specific historical reason and served a specific political purpose. The trope came into full force when slaves won their emancipation during the Civil War. Free black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons, and in doing so made the fruit a symbol of their freedom. Southern whites, threatened by blacks’ newfound freedom, responded by making the fruit a symbol of black people’s perceived uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence. This racist trope then exploded in American popular culture, becoming so pervasive that its historical origin became obscure. Few Americans in 1900 would’ve guessed the stereotype was less than half a century old.
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OK, OK, I know that Taiwan is under the influence of the USA. I suffer it. But…
… is there any Taiwanese aware of those stereotypes? Perhaps the marketing department of Carrefour Taiwan is run by an ABT that hates black people?
I never knew of this stereotype.
1 Like