Chink in the Armor

Eh... depends on use. I don't have a problem with the phrase itself, but this does seem to be directed straight at Lin, and at the very first opportunity. I mean, I'm not a basketball guy, but this guy has been amazing right? Then he has one bad game and he's the chink in the armor? That's not how it goes. Kemoeatu is a chink in the armor. Jonathan Scott is a chink in the armor. If Maurkice Pouncey has a bad game, he is not a chink in the armor.

It seems to me that this is misuse of the phrase in general, regardless of his race. And that, coupled with his race the timing of it all makes me think that it was a deliberate shot. A joke, probably meant as harmless fun. But I don't think there's any way it was an accident. If he was black or white, there's no way that headline happens, because it just doesn't come up. What he had was a bad day, and there are a million sayings and phrases and proverbs that fit that situation. "Chink in the armor" ain't one of 'em.

To compare this to your story of the poor sap, I think what happened here with ESPN isn't the guy saying "niggardly" in passing while there's a black guy somewhere in the room. It's more like he called on him and said, "Yes, you... the niggardly gentleman in the blue sweater." Sounds racist, and doesn't really make sense, and is out of left field. Hard to shake the feeling that at least something doesn't have exactly the best intentions. In addition, even if it did make sense for some reason (maybe niggardly happens to be the perfect way to describe this guy), it's usually a good idea to avoid something that can and will be interpreted as racist by a large amount of people. It doesn't help you, them, anybody. The good thing about language is that there's more than one word for everything, so you can find another word. Even if Lin really was the chink in their armor, getting burned on defense all game long, shooting 5% from the field, and just dragging his team down that would be winning if not for him... you still don't write that headline about him. Kyle Williams was the goat of the NFCCG, and I have no problem calling him that. But if his parents had been murdered and eaten by goats, I would not call him a goat. I'd find another word or group of words, which probably wouldn't take too long. Especially if I was a professional writer.

Then again, I suppose it's possible that the person that wrote it is so NOT racist and evolved beyond even seeing race that it never even occurred to him that it could possibly be taken that way. Then the only problem is that he sucks as a writer and has really terrible luck. Not to mention... how many people have to see something like that before it goes online/on air?

 

Well, that wasn't my first reaction. To be honest, my first reaction was, "Jesus, ESPN, how stupid are you?" in sort of a mix between "they're racist" and "if they're not racist they're really stupid". But then I decided to read the article before making an opinion, and my opinion is that the phrase doesn't really apply. If he was black or white and that was the headline, I'd say, "oy, this guy's an idiot" and not even read it. And since it doesn't apply, and can be taken as a racist pun, directed at the most punned-upon man in human history (the fact that the puns and wordplay are such a big deal in the media for this guy is another sign that they had to think about it and realize what they were doing -- I believe because they did it on purpose, but if not that then because they would have been trying to think of wordplay before accidently deciding on 'Chink'), I think it couldn't have happened innocently.

The timing of it is another thing. Let's face it, Lin's race is a large part of his fame right now. He's the Cinderella story who keeps winning games and is turning grown men into Bieberesque groupies, and he's Asian. Most non-racist people still notice that he's asian. It's hot on their minds. I think that if the headline had been written about someone we're more used to being asian, like Yao Ming, then the backlash wouldn't have been so strong. Maybe no one would have even noticed. But right now Lin is practically known as "That new asian basketball player winning games for the Knicks." His defining characteristics to the public are New, Good, and Asian. Picture the following headlines I'm making up right now and tell me if I'm hinting at anything other than the game from that day:

2010: "Vick takes bite out of Redskins"
2011: "Burress and Jets outgun Bills"
2010: "Favre has hot dog of a day"
Any random Tiger Woods tourney win: "Back in black"

To me it is black and white. If they are so much as hinting at a pun, then they are hinting at his race. And while puns about their personal lives might not always be a bad thing (I could give two poops if Vick's feelings are hurt about a headline since I think he should be in jail for the rest of his life), in this case if you acknowledge that they are hinting at race, you must acknowledge they called him a chink. So it's either 100% pure, white innocence with terrible timing and poor writing, or racist, most likely thinking the public would take it as humorous.

 

No, that's my point. If you called a black guy a chink in the armor, you are calling him a chink, BUT it's very clear what kind of chink you are talking about. The kind that means "weak spot on the team." James could in no way interpret that as an attack on anything except his basketball performance. If you are calling an asian guy a chink, you are calling him a chink, and it becomes less clear if you mean "weak spot on the team" or something very offensive. And with all the focus on his name, his fame, the puns puns puns puns puns, I think it's clear what they meant. They meant it in both ways. A play on words. And they had to stretch a little to get there, in my opinion. I'm not saying that Lin may never be the weak spot, dragging his team down, and that it might apply. But even if chink in the armor was the best way to describe him, you'd still have to call him a chink to do it, and it's just so unnecessary. I can see your frustration that anyone would want to interpret this as an insult, but as noble as that is, to me it's on par with wishing there were no racial insults at all. That they'd all just go away. I'd like that too, but we're not there.

I don't understand this at all. I can see it as a joke, but it's a joke in which the writer calls him a chink. The last time I checked, that's a racist thing to say, even if you don't mean it. I don't see how it can be viewed as a non-racist joke.

 

It doesn't seem like anything newsworthy to me. Maybe a "knick" in the armor would have been taken better by the general public. I use the term "chink in the armor" frequently to describe something or someone who falters that we assumed or believed was above reproach. And honestly, I never associated the word "chink" with a race of people. It wasnt until reading this article that I even correlated the two things. But leave it to thin skinned entitled cry babies to create a racial issue when there is none. Sad...

 

Why am I not surprised?

 

What are you not surprised about? That I read a word and don't automatically overreact that it is somehow derogatory and intended as a racial slur? If the author intended a racial slur or "pun" then shame on him. But if he didn't intend that then shame on you and everyone else who is up in arms over something innocuous. This is a stupid debate. I should have known better than to jump in the middle of this one - my mistake. I'm out.

 

Well, I'm not saying it was malicious. You can be racist without intent of malice. Some people make jokes about races or gay people, or throw the word "fag" around and don't think they are being mean because they don't really have that hate inside them. They're just ignorant about the effect they can have, thinking a joke or a word is no big deal. So I don't think racism is always about intent. It can even be accidental. How many of us have heard our well-meaning grandparents say something totally racist?

 

Oh that is SO offensive!!

 

This is something that would obviously offend some people, but sometimes that just has to happen on anything remotely controversial. I recently became a big supporter of pit bulls, who I believe don't get a fair shake from most people. There was recently a McDonald's radio ad that implied they are dangerous. The pit bull loving community got upset and got Micky D's to pull the ad and apologize. Meanwhile, there's a Chevy commercial that portrays pits in a positive light, and the people out there that want all pit bulls to be banned or killed (they exist) got upset. This stuff happens. You can't please everybody.

For this one, I'd ask Lin what he thought before I went public with the ice cream. If he says no, you don't. If he says, "Gee, I don't know..." then you check with some prominent Asian figure, whoever that might be (I can't even think of ONE!), and see what they think. And if Lin says, "Haha, that's awesome!" then you go with it. Then when people whine, you say, "Lin likes it, so everybody suck it."

Did anybody see the SNL sketch that opened the show two weeks ago? (I think the Maya Rudolph episode). I think that pretty well covered it.