Racism in the 'Eyes' of the Beholder

Spain lost to the U.S. in the gold medal game in Olympic men's basketball. But the Spanish squad, its players and its management have a tainted legacy for the 2008 Games that is mark by more than their silver medal. Tainted with their racist act of taking team photograph where each member of the team took their fingers and pull his eyes in order to look, well, Chinese.

"The advert for a courier company, which is an official sponsor of the Spanish Basketball Federation, occupied a full page in the sports daily Marca, the country's best-selling newspaper" according to The Guardian [United Kingdom publication]. Members of the federation have defended the photograph saying it was not meant to be offensive, that they were paying homage to the Chinese.

What makes this even more interesting is it has been reported that the "Spanish national teams are sponsored by Li-Ning, the footwear company owned by Chinese Olympic hero and torch lighter Li Ning," according to the New York Times. You would think this would given them a heighten sense of cultural sensitivity.

This makes me wonder . . . in 2008 is this offensive, is the acceptable?

Would an African-American trying to make their lips thinner to appear German . . .
Would a Chinese person putting black face on to appear Nigerian . . .
Would a Mexican wearing a turban to appear Afghan . . .
Would these be gestures of imitation as the highest form of flattery or would those being imitated enrage those races?

The thing is these types of things happen everyday, some are publicize like this, most are not. Most of these racy comments and actions occur around dinner tables, at churches or barber shops among other places — and typically the people in the conversation tend to look the same.

And that is fine, but maybe we can start having more constructive conversations about race, so we can see how these racy comments and actions can be turned into actually understanding each other better.