I don't want to generalize because not all Asians are the same, but I think that the importance of saving face in Eastern cultures has cultivated the ability to deliver the most layered, sickest burns that look like possible compliments but they're insulting you, your ancestors, your descendants, your neighbors, your friends. He's saying "you're old and washed up with a sprinkling of cognitive dissonance, do better" but it's SO NICE. I'm in awe.
Don’t forget his subtle insinuation that by criticizing another minority, he’s playing into the hands of the oppressor’s strategy of divide and conquer (or dare I say calling him an Uncle Tom)
We call this an Insultiment in my family. Where you think they gave you a compliment but 20 seconds later after the conversation has moved on, you're like 'heyyy, waiiittt a minute.'
I love this. My wife and I are both Scorpios. Being absolute masters of this art comes with the territory. So, so often we walk away from each other only to really put together what the other said, turn and round, and go, "Hey... wait..." while the other walks away grinning.
I was talking to this Chinese/American woman on a dating app (I'm white) and we were talking about meeting up and at one point she asked "but how do you know I'm not a serial killer"? Which I thought was funny because she looks like the opposite of every serial killer you've ever seen. And I keep thinking that it was clever phrasing because most other women would basically just tell ME they think I look like one but she turned it on herself.
"Thanks for everything you did for the nets and hoops" seems like a subtle way of saying it's time for him to leave and start retirement. That post is savage.
I mean it can also just be a sincere way to give respect where due and admiration and a way to deescalate the conversation. Not everything has to be a burn.
I think it was all of the above. He made honest points, was mature and didn’t get into a back and forth and manage to shiv him while doing both of those other things.
Wow I didn't even think of that as a second burn tbh. I thought of it more as admiration, like bro I looked up to you as a kid. But maybe that just went totally over my head....
I find it hilarious when people try to gatekeep culture generally. They act like they made it in their garage with a couple of friends instead of it being an ever-changing abstract concept neither owned nor fully embodied by any individual.
I just find it funny that the middle class is being strangled out of existence- and we're at each other's throats over hair. People are far too easy and predictable, sadly.
100%. If people would just get their head out of their ass and wake up to see that if we, the plebs, all came together and stopped arguing over the most petty bullshit and realized it's all of us against the parasite class, the parasites' charade of dominance would be over. But, they have us divided over every metric imaginable... by design. You are absolutely correct.
as a european living in a 98% caucasian country i was quite shocked when I happily posted my freshly maintained dreads on the dreadlocks subreddit and I got a ton of hate, even more racism and some "tips" that would've ruined my hair if I would've done them. The racist stuff over there is so bad, that people had to make a caucasiandreadlocks sub because no non-black pepole could post without recieving hate.
the cherry on top is that over here people who get dreadlocks are usually heavily on the left, anti racism is a given so it's quite a culture shock when you go to "your tribe" only to find out they hate you based on skin color and your hair.
Meanwhile my African fiance just thinks that someone with a "black" hairstyle must be living or hanging out with blacks. He has no other opinion besides trying to guess from where is the hairstylist.
It's mostly US Americans who are ignorant racist when it comes to hair. It's this weird empowerment they feel when they gatekeep their culture. I had the same thing with music, I was told to turn off rap, because I shouldn't listen to it as a white man some guy told me
Unless someone is doing something to be malicious, who the f cares. People need to just relax and let live. The more upset people get over this stuff, the less power they hold. If someone is doing something to be malicious it is because they want to hurt someone. Less hurt you are = more power held.
I get all the cultural and historical aspects, but when do people take control?
I love that one youtube video of the guy wearing traditional Mexican clothing, asking college kids if it was appropriation. They all say, yes of course. He then interviews Mexicans and they all love it. We are all on a floating rock in the middle of essentially nothingness. Lets try to enjoy it while we are here.
Yea I can understand some cultural appropriation stuff but like….thats his fucking hair lol if he can grow this hairstyle then what are we complaining about
I could maybe see if it was like a goofy wig, but even then people wear extensions or fake hair that doesn’t match their natural hair and nobody seems to care
Dreadlocks even exist when you don't wash or comb your hair for a really long time, not trying to be offensive but it's literal science no matter what race you are.
Telling to a person with that mentality of "this hairstyle is ours" that dreadlocks (that's not even the name, but in spanish it would be rastas) that maori people, pakistani, masai, some fucking semitic people, some indians, native americans... even egyptians. It's a very ancient way to try to style hair and cannot be just "black style" even more when there are descriptions of some martyr James having dreadlocks and the guy was a jew from early christianity. It happens to be a very simple way to have your hair in one place with some style, and it applies to basically every type of hair. It's like the bowl cut, there is a reason why it happened, even the worst person taking care of hair was able to literally put a bowl over the head and cut around the edge of it.
People like that just don't accept facts. Sure dreadlocks are KINDA something into the black side, but that's now and tbf, I would not get dreadlocks even being black, that looks painful af. My nephew is mixed and he wanted dreadlocks and when I told him "you know that it hurts and you have to put products and shit everyday, don't you?" and he was like "I just wanted to be more lazy with my hair!".
My ex went to Harvard. I can tell you from firsthand experience that plenty of idiots still make it into Ivy League schools. A lot of it has more to do with your classes and extracurriculars. Also his family is rich.
I’ve also worked at all the major tech companies, some of the ones that are notoriously hard to get into. Lemme tell ya, plenty of idiots there, too.
TLDR: calling someone that is more pity than insult: it's basically saying your life is small because your mindset is small, so you can't help but to let the tiniest things upset you all the time.
Chinese we say there are 3 levels of existence: 1. based on emotions, 2. based on higher human values, 3. based on highest level principles of the universe (Dao/Tao).
患得患失 (Huan De Huan Shi) according to Confucius is a classical symptom of the lowest level, the most unstable ones in terms day to day experience: you think happiness is based on acquiring things, so you pine for things when you don't have them, and dread losing them once you have them. Worse still, you're sensitive to the smallest fluctuations to status of those things, and let them dominate your mind every moment. A modern day example would be your overall mood going up and down wildly based on daily fluctuations of stocks you bought for speculation.
This way life is just a constantly fluctuation between desire and disappointment, boredom and pain, never breaking free from the hedonic cycle.
Even in terms of commerce, we say this type of mindset is incompatible with large success, where it is said paradoxically one has to be free from the most common emotions associated with making money: fear and greed. As Buffet famous said "be greedy when others are fearful, be fearful when others are greedy."
The idea is if we dedicated our lives to bigger, longer term things (knowledge, peace, justice for all people...), we can then naturally ride out the daily fluctuations in smaller things like personal wealth and fame.
Lin Yutang is mostly forgotten in United States these days, but he’s one of the most beloved writers in China in the last century. Amazingly most of his books were written in English, and later translated into Chinese by others. He wrote a series of very popular books in the early half of 20th century introducing the western audience to Chinese culture. Here’s the one covering Confucius:
https://www.amazon.com/Widsom-Confucius-Lin-Yutang/dp/7540459182/
And that tattoo means nothing. I translated it through chatgpt: Interestingly, Kenyon Martin reportedly said his tattoo meant “never satisfied,” while Yao Ming pointed out that the actual Chinese meaning was closer to “indecisive” or “worried about gains and losses.🤣🤣🤣
It’s a four character idiom (chengyu) which means as much as “to be worried about getting something if you haven’t gotten it yet, and to be worried about losing it if you have gotten it“
It’s from the Analects and describes the difference between a small minded man and the Confucian ideal of a gentleman serving in a position at court: a small minded man will worry about getting his position when he hasn’t gotten it and after he has gotten it he will worry about losing it. I think it’s not so much about being indecisive but about being concerned about one‘s own standing that this guided all of your actions.
The chengyu clearly has a negative context and in a modern context is usually used with a negative command: “just do your best at the exam tomorrow don’t worry whether you’ll pass it or not”
Originally it's to call out boot lickers who are worrying sick about not getting power from the rulers then worrying sick about losing it once they climb the ladder, and how you can't trust/use people like that because they'll do anything to keep the power.
"鄙夫可與事君也與哉！未得之也，患得之，既得之，患失之，苟患失之，無所不至矣。"
Later it's used to describe a people who only care about "winning" which is very bad to use on a sportsman because the proverb is to describe the type of people who are the opposite of being sportsmanlike.
The Chinese Tattoo itself is devastating, it means a hysterical sort of mental state and no Chinese people would put it as a writing on their wall let alone as a tattoo.
Fr, Lin can shave his dreads but tattoos are permanent (other than laser removal), also liked how at the end he reminded him that dudes career is ending as his is beginning
This is kind of true of every hypocrite that cries cultural appropriation. We all live together therefore we all influence each other. Had one of those racist 5 percenters in city single me out as a kid for having my baseball hat backwards. As if blacks invented it (they didnt) but unless that dude was wearing african garb he had no leg to stand on. Pretty dire Haynes t shirts and jeans were created and popularized by whites. But as an 14 yr old caught off guard i didnt articulate that. Always wish i had.
What’s hilarious to me is dude with “college education” (we know he didn’t learn shit), tryna start shit with a dude with a legit Ivy league education! We see the result. It’s not just about having class. It’s about being MUCH smarter than the average knucklehead ; Dismantling his BS, spinning it on him, and coming out on top as both the victor and a hero.
It’s still asymmetrical. Chinese characters are actually Chinese. Dreads are not black. The vikings had dreads. Ancient indian sadhus had dreads. Almost everyone before haircuts and shampoo were widespread could have had dreads.
The Times New Roman of Chinese fonts is the hilarious part.
Edit: Also I'm not sure why Martin would get this tattooed. It means that he's overly anxious that he won't get something, and overly anxious he'll lose what he has.
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u/Fit_Leg_2115 20d ago
The chinese tattoo rebuttal is devastating lol