Alex, I’ll take “European Web 2.0 companies that make you say WTF” for $200: In Germany, a country where there is the most broadband users in Europe, the biggest social bookmarking website isn’t Yahoo! owned del.icio.us, but a site called… Mister Wong. Why yes, that WOULD be the logo of Mister Wong to the right, thank you for noticing.
Yeeeeeah. Wow.
I mean, being an engineer in the web industry, I’m sure it has some of the standard features that make a social bookmarking portal interesting and relevant, but seriously, who were the branding and advertising geniuses that came up with this one? I mean sure, it’s based in Germany, which is practically a whole world away. Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America. But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan “ping pong, king kong, Mister Wong.” Which I, of course, interpret as “ching chong, Mister Wong” and get INCREDIBLY FUCKING ANGRY. It’s like Jeeves, the ask.com butler and Uncle Ben had a stereotypical illegitimate Asian son.
I mean, Christ, his face is on soccer jerseys. SOCCER JERSEYS.
And just when you think I couldn’t get anymore WTF’ed - Mister Wong has a Chinese version of their site. Seriously. Now, I’ll fully admit to being the naive American here - maybe my cultural American bias is slanted and that people from mainland Chinese won’t be completely horrified to see a caricature of someone their ethnicity touting the virtues of the social web. Hell, you have Wang Lan of the Chinese support team on the front page. “It’s okay to use this page,” she seems to beckon. “I’m Chinese too, you see?”
Since I don’t speak German and there is just an intro English page, maybe there’s a story on how the site came up with its name and branding and someone can help out. Mister Wong had better been based on a real person and saved twenty burning German orphanages, because otherwise, I’m calling foul.
(Thanks for the heads-up, MJ)
Other posts you might be interested in:
Peter wrote:
Here’s a German interview with the CEO of the ad agency “construktiv”, which created “Mister Wong”: http://www.xpunktnull.de/11qs/11qs-mister-wong
Concerning the branding, he says: “Initially, we had planned a totally different name than ‘Mister Wong’, but one morning ‘Mister Wong’ popped into my mind. The team immediately was very fond of it and when our designer illustrated him, we said “Yes!” and were happy about it :-)”
Posted on 15-May-07 at 10:16 pm | Permalink
wonderful electric wrote:
Yeah, I’ve been vaguely aware of this site for ages but not speaking any German and being used to invisible racism without any power movements behind me in Europe, I kinda just had to let it lie. Not many Chinese-European organisations with any clout here - most of the ones that do exist are far more interested in helping Chinese immigrants assimilate into Europe.
Shame, really.
Posted on 15-May-07 at 11:56 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
Perhaps the algorithm will kill him now that it’s already killed Jeeves.
Posted on 16-May-07 at 8:43 am | Permalink
Jim wrote:
My new social bookmarking site is going to be called “Klaus der Ubermensch.”
Posted on 16-May-07 at 9:20 am | Permalink
Sam wrote:
Maybe they named it such so that it would be controversial enough to engender links (ergo PR) from offended blog authors?
Posted on 16-May-07 at 4:49 pm | Permalink
Tan wrote:
It would be a different story here in America. Our Asian American leaders would definitely have a lot to say. I guess these Germans have more room for racial stereotypes because there arn’t many Asian civil rights groups there to think about comments like “ping pong, king kong, Mister Wong.”
Posted on 17-May-07 at 4:18 am | Permalink
wonderful electric wrote:
I know that in Germany, the main racial tension is over the Turkish. But in most of Europe, Asians provide nice tasty food and the odd addiction to gambling. And that’s about it.
The UK probably has a higher percentage of Asians (as in Chinese etc.) than anywhere else in Europe, and what was the issue that got them marching in the streets? The suggestion that the outbreak of foot’n'mouth disease in the UK was due to illegal imported Chinese meat.
Posted on 17-May-07 at 7:36 am | Permalink
Matt Clark wrote:
Why is this offensive? I (a white American guy) would not in any way be offended if a Chinese website called itself “Mr. Jones” and had a cartoon of a white guy on it.
Enlighten me. What on earth is offensive about the Mr. Wong website?
Posted on 19-May-07 at 12:14 pm | Permalink
courageous kiwi wrote:
Matt Clark - the image is highly stereotypical. How many Asians look like that? The analog is would be a “Mr. Horowitz” site who has thick glasses, a big nose and holding a bad or money, or “Mr. Jackson”, a black man with big gums and an afro. It’s an insult to assume that’s what people of our race look like, just as if we assumed post-Federline Britney Spears or Paris Hilton were indicative of how white folks have been raised.
Posted on 19-May-07 at 12:36 pm | Permalink
courageous kiwi wrote:
And Jim, haha, that’s hilarious. Is the domain registered? I think I’ll build it if it isn’t, just to make a point …
Posted on 19-May-07 at 12:37 pm | Permalink
Matt Clark wrote:
Kiwi,
You’ve got to be kidding me.
The “Mister Wong” cartoon is reasonably fair representation of what an average Chinese person looks like, just as the Boston Celtics or Minnesota Vikings logo is a reasonable cartoonization of what a white person looks like.
Pathetic that an incredibly proud and honorable race of people should be reduced to slumming for victim status over a non-event like this. The irony is, the website probably though they were complimenting Chinese people by perpetuating the “stereotype” that Chinese people are pretty smart…even though Chinese people *are* pretty smart, as every reader of this blog knows!
A little Asian pride, please. This is sad and pathetic.
Matt Clark
Posted on 19-May-07 at 9:04 pm | Permalink
Duy-Tan wrote:
Matt,
“A little Asian pride, please. This is sad and pathetic.”
WTF?
What do you know about Asian Pride Mr. CLARK
Because of this pride, it’s essential for us to defend and speak upon any incident that has the potential to chip it away. Also, it’s because of pride that we must not let anything go by, not even something “small” like the cartoon. Oh of course, we are an “honorable race.” If you truly have honor and respect, then you would abstain from comments like “this is sad and pathetic” in response to this racial-sensitive issue.
Posted on 20-May-07 at 7:10 am | Permalink
Mike wrote:
@Matt,
I can understand your confusion. I’d like to offer another viewpoint here, if I may.
In certain contexts, cartoons such as this (which are basically identity parodies) can be used as easy tools for denigrating particular individuals. You’ll see this most commonly among children - some will latch on to parodies like this, then use it to taunt other children.
In Asia, children taunt Caucasian children using parodies of Caucasians. The US has had parodies of African and Middle Eastern Americans too. You can argue these parodies are all lighthearted and meant for humor. Or you can argue that they’re hurtful and offensive.
A person typically generates one of those opposing views based on their own experiences. For many minorities who have felt discrimination and have had such parodies used as offensive tools to denigrate them, they’re very likely to see any other such parodies as offensive.
In other words, if you’re been discriminated against racially, then anything that makes fun of your racial background is going to look offensive to you. This is a pretty universal sociological construct around the world.
The general counter-argument is that our society has become too politically-correct and afraid to make light of itself. That’s a valid viewpoint too.
Or that a particular group should embrace a denigrating element and remove its derogatory power. That’s a valid viewpoint too.
There are lots of ways to look at this issue. You don’t have to agree that the Mister Wong cartoon is offensive. But I at least hope that this article and its subsequent comments help you understand that there are people out there that do find such cartoons offensive. It’s not sad and pathetic, it’s just being human.
Posted on 21-May-07 at 9:06 pm | Permalink
courageous kiwi wrote:
Honor and pride? God, stop fucking watching samurai movies. I’d better not find out you’re one of those guys that gets turned on by pornos where they refer to Asian womens’ genitalia as “Kung Pao Spicy.”
Posted on 23-May-07 at 12:19 pm | Permalink
Nicole Lee wrote:
The problem with calling an entire race “honorable” and “proud” is that it somehow implies that other races are not as honorable or proud. Whatever happened to being “honored” and “proud” of HUMANKIND? Oh wait, we’re a bunch of jerks. Never mind.
Posted on 13-Jun-07 at 9:14 pm | Permalink
Andrew wrote:
And Mister Wong has now launched in a private beta in the USA…
http://mashable.com/2007/07/02/mister-wong-us-launch/
Posted on 03-Jul-07 at 5:11 am | Permalink
oscar wrote:
As I love mashable I found this article and comments here by clicking on mark’s mister wong comment. I can’t believe how many people here are writing about such a nonesense. I believe most of you got it totally wrong. I’m from northern Germany too and this is why I’d like to add something to this list:
No one here would ever connect the image of mister wong to a real chinese/ asian person. I mean, we laugh about the stereotypes of germans in leather pants and no one would ever feel defended. Why? It’s just funny and has nothing to do with the reality. And ping pong, king kong, mister wong … surely has nothing to do with chingchong or whatever. I don’t know what the guys at mister wong had in mind, but maybe they just thought about a funny stupid rhyme / word play. Chingchong is what you’re thinking and interpreting. Please don’t try to take your personal experience or stereotypes about stereotypes into account when thinking about this concept. Most people here are open minded and I think it’s a bit more entertaining than del.ici.ous to have some cartoons on a website. And bear in mind: All smart people laugh about too proud people who easily feel offended (problems with self-esteem?), civil rights groups which feel offended by stereotypes, and discussions like this one here. Don’t you have real problems or problems with real racists? You wanna show how narrow minded you are? Go on with saying I feel offendend. For me, all people are absolutely equal, but each one has a unique body, soul & mind. A Chinese is no different from an American or a German. So what the heck, … I really don’t understand you! If Chinese believe they are different than others they are racists, because they are focussing too much on the concept of different races. In fact we all are sort of racists and thinking in boxes seems to be part of the way our brain works. Besides, do Americans feel offended by the TV Character Al Bundy? I suppose not.
Try to see humanity more from a holistic and united point of view. People who think differently should be no problem for you if you have enough self-esteem. And mister wong seems to be a social bookmarking service and no fun-about-asians-online-show. The cartoon stereotype seems to fit perfectly to the “master of all bookmarks” text …
Posted on 08-Jul-07 at 5:31 pm | Permalink
tobi wrote:
Why can’t you Amerians (of any race or colour) be a bit more relaxed?
Being from Germany myself, I fail to understand this (though I don’t even like the “Mister Wong” name and the image, which I consider unprofessional rather than offensive). My thinking goes that this might be just another facet of unresolved racial tensions. If race really didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have to care.
But, please: Could your country just stop spreading that PC BS all over the world? Thank you.
Posted on 16-Jul-07 at 2:41 pm | Permalink
Re: tobi wrote:
The road to Auschwitz was paved by indifference.
Not everyone in Germany at that time was a racist, but look what happened.
Posted on 16-Jul-07 at 4:28 pm | Permalink
tobi wrote:
Thank you for your most interesting reply. I almost forgot that peace of history (wait, no, we are told here over and over again, ad nauseam).
And, actually, I can’t remember ever having heard anyone here speaking of Chinese people as dumb, primitive or whatever. Usually they’re regarded as pretty smart. Maybe I just don’t know the “right” people.
But if a web site chooses a Chinese name, how could that possibly have a negative connotation? And the image is, although a caricature, obviously that of a businessman.
Really, this is ridiculous. How about concentrating on all the real hate in the world and real conflicts first?
Posted on 22-Jul-07 at 12:47 pm | Permalink
Fabian wrote:
Hi,
My name is Fabian, one of the managers at Mister-Wong.com. First of all, I´d like to apologize to anybody that may have been offended by the use of the original illustration in the logo. It was never our intention to hurt anybody´s feelings with the character. Now, I would like to point out that we have reacted to these comments by removing the illustration in question. Please read our CEO´s statement on our blog for further information. http://blog.mister-wong.com/a-message-from-the-founder/2007/07/27/
Posted on 27-Jul-07 at 6:20 am | Permalink
Mister Wong: Not Racist wrote:
[...] in the Mashable comments a few weeks back, and again this week, for offending Asian Americans. The 8Asians blog was outraged by the site, saying: “But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan [...]
Posted on 27-Jul-07 at 10:21 pm | Permalink
Mister Wong: Not Racist | Tekjuice.com wrote:
[...] in the Mashable comments a few weeks back, and again this week, for offending Asian Americans. The 8Asians blog was outraged by the site, saying: “But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan [...]
Posted on 27-Jul-07 at 11:05 pm | Permalink
Technology News Daily wrote:
[...] in the Mashable comments a few weeks back, and again this week, for offending Asian Americans. The 8Asians blog was outraged by the site, saying: “But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan [...]
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 12:07 am | Permalink
proxieslist.net wrote:
[...] in the Mashable comments a few weeks back, and again this week, for offending Asian Americans. The 8Asians blog was outraged by the site, saying: “But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan [...]
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 3:33 am | Permalink
Courty wrote:
Honestly… chill out
It’s a picture portraying ONE man, and that’s it. It’s not trying to be racist. No matter how much you want it to, it’s not saying, “Hahaha all asians look exactly like this guy! Let’s make fun of them!” Sorry.
I’m a black guy living in America. I spent the first 18 years of my life in Georgia. I know what’s it’s like to be discriminated against, and sorry, this isn’t it. Like it or not, most Asian people DO have yellow-tinted skin and relatively slanted eyes. Those are physical characteristics associated with being Asian. The image of Mr.Wong is a perfectly acceptable caricutare. I mean, I’ll tell you straight up that most black people have brown skin, big lips, and curly hair. And it’s true. Whoop de do.
Instead of complaining that some German website using a drawing of an Asian guy as its logo dared to give him Asian features, why not focus on REAL racism? Stop diverting attention to trivial and obviously untintentional issues like this.
** To be fair, I can somewhat understand being upset with the phrase “ping pong, king kong, Mister Wong.” Behavioral stereotypes (saying people of a certain race all talk one way or behave one way) can be justifiably attacked as racist. The rest of the complaints… weak.
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 7:09 am | Permalink
J.Peter Siriprakorn wrote:
on a lighter, less substantive note, i think one white equivalent of “Mr. Wong: Master of All Bookmarks” could be “Mr. Honkey: Master of The Globe.” the logo could be a cartoon hitler getting blown by eva braun as he orders his troops to search and deconstroy a screenshot of google-earth. =P
clearly what people are missing here is that there is no reason why a networked bookmarking site should have a racial stereotype at its fore — especially considering the site’s intent is to archive and trade bookmarks, a purpose which has absolutely nothing to do with identitarian issues. spearheading an ad campaign with a race caricature is just poor judgment. Mr. Wong.com’s logo and slogan trades in embarassing stereotypes with little practical justification. if it were temporary that’d be one thing. but even the site’s name hinges on this logo, so it can’t be changed. that’s the dumbest part about this — now they’re *always* going to be that chink bookmark site, and why would anyone want a chink bookmark site over, say, a spic bookmark site or a honkey bookmark site? why call attention to racial difference if you don’t need to?
also, the guy above who mentioned the Celtics is clearly not making a distinction between 1. the fact that a sports team can win-or-lose, and thus potentially earn representational clout, shift the way people identify with the symbol 2. the fact that a company of this sort does not take on an active role in refiguring itself in the public eye
i also like how people chastize us for not focusing on REAL racism, as if that requires lynching or other acts of violence — as if representations don’t also shape social life. to that comment i’d say take a look at this:
http://homepage.mac.com/jholbo/homepage/pages/blog/blogpics/orient/darkie1.jpg
(that’s a popular toothpaste we used to use in Bangkok whose logo and name were FINALLY changed from “Darkie” to “Darlie” in the last 10 years. people who don’t have a problem with the mass circulation of these sorts of images should really question their politics and their understanding of culture production)
Posted on 28-Jul-07 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
Mister Wong: Not Racist wrote:
[...] in the Mashable comments a few weeks back, and again this week, for offending Asian Americans. The 8Asians blog was outraged by the site, saying: “But seriously, one of their web badges has the slogan [...]
Posted on 29-Jul-07 at 7:02 am | Permalink
Killed by political correctness - Mr.Wong is dead at franztoo wrote:
[...] is the entry on 8asians, here on mashable, the excuse of Mr. Wongs CEO and here the opinion of Nicole [...]
Posted on 29-Jul-07 at 11:17 am | Permalink
Mister Wong hat den Kopf im Logo abgekratzt - Telagon Sichelputzer wrote:
[...] Mister Wong hin, wenn man die Kommentare in der Blog-Bekanntgabe von der Vorwoche liest. Wegen den Vorwürfen des Rassismus durch Sprüche wie “ping pong, king kong, Mister Wong” ist eine [...]
Posted on 29-Jul-07 at 10:38 pm | Permalink
Gilly wrote:
OMG! Everything in Germany is Hitler right!? … I can’t see anything racist in the logo…
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:24 am | Permalink
Karsten wrote:
“Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America”
And I sincerly hope we’ll never be! For my taste there’s already way to much PC in the world. To fear that everything you say could piss someone off and then don’t say it at all -> I would hate such a world. It’s a cartoon picture for crying out loud. Cartoon pictures are always clichés and overdrawn.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:26 am | Permalink
emma Stern wrote:
hi Ernie,
i did not get it. why is this a problem for you?
Emma
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:42 am | Permalink
jan wrote:
“sensitive to politicial correctness” seems to be a wrong discription.
“never think” is what you ment?
Ok, the image is stereotype….tell me one image of any asian in any US produced media, that isnt!!!
Seen Family Guys Asian Reporter? Wake up!
it is not about political correctness, it is hating instead of appreciating.
instead of giving a good example of the superb american skill “to communicate” you give a very good example of “US: we define political correctness”.
Did the chinese citizens complain about mr.wongs chineese page?
I dont think so. The problem seems americans consider themselves still as the
makes of right&wrong in the world. and that is simply not the case; maybe never has been.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:49 am | Permalink
Volker A. Brandt wrote:
The Wong logo was not racist. However, the site operators have decided to take it down, as discussed above. Now I would like to see you direct your anti-discrimination efforts closer to home, where there certainly is quite a lot to clean up in this area…
Just pointing fingers at others and yelling “Auschwitz” whenever something Germany-related crops up is not enough.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:56 am | Permalink
mrkraut wrote:
This is a sad discussion.
Being a German I am constantly and everywhere exposed to stereotypes.
Going to Disneyworld or any “Hofbräuhaus” in America I should be furious about how me and my fellow countrymen are pictured as fat-stupid-beerdrinking-bratwurst-eating idiots.
But you know what? I am not furious at all. What a boring world this would be if we didn’t have these funny pictures. I am glad to be a part of this colorful and diverse world and for my part, I am able to laugh about myself.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:04 am | Permalink
German Girl wrote:
Dear Earnie…I do not really understand what your problem is…Mr. Wong is a lookalike of a typical Chinese person…as long as s.o. is not living in Asia/Africa/Europe it is proven that people don´t see any differences in other-races-faces around (which are not part of their regular and well-known surroundings). You have to life there for some time to see a difference between Mr. Wong or Mr. Whoever.
Here in Germany we are very openminded and relaxing. Nobody thinks about ” racism” just because we use e.g. a friendly and positive chinese face.
Mr. Wong looks friendly, and ping pong is table tennis. Its a text for little children that you remember better.
You should have more self-confidence with this.
Because of your reaction it seems to me that it is not easy to be chinese in your country….here in Germany nobody cares where you come from originally.
And…maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America you say. But because of Mr. Bush you are not even having something like (correct) “politics”…. and America is hated all over the world for good reason..so what. You should work on your own BIG problems.
I am sorry if you feel not good with that…but you search for mistakes in wrong corners.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:13 am | Permalink
Nicolas Lehmann wrote:
Mister Wong: “Positive Racism”!
Relax, please let me explain this from the point of view of a german liberal.
The Logo of “Mister Wong” surely is very stereotypical, but not in a offensive, negative way, if you view it from a german point of view. Germans who are not racist (maybe u won’t believe it, but thats the great majority) consider chinese people as hard-working and very good business people. So the company “Mister Wong” just tried to implement this positive, yet stereotypical image of East Asians and especially Chinesee people into their corporate apperance. I have to admit this is not working very well, if you want to make business globally where some things, based on different cultural perceptions, are understood in a diferent way.
And by the way, most comments who were complaining about racism/lacking political correctness were far away from being political correct. (As a German u get used to that: Hahaha, arm steched out, marching like a soldier with stomping feet. The minority of Germans were active Nazis in the 3rd Reich)
And what would the world be without stereotypes? – Very boring I guess… (If you know a good joke that is 100% politically correct, I would like to hear it…)
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:25 am | Permalink
what is going on wrote:
After I have read the article in a German newspaper about 8 Asians and how ANGRY they got when they saw the logo I went to their website. After reading all the comments I am a little bit releaved,because there are still some reasonable people out there who can distinguish about reality and important things. I am sorry if you guys got offended about this logo and you have a right to be offended but ( and this is just my opinion) getting angry about this logo… I am trying hard to understand why. What if the site would be a chinese website created by a chinese guy? Honestly, would be ( that much) offended? So why can’t a German or American or African do that. Another good point I have read in one of the comments is that if lets say a Chinese site called Mr. Smith and caucasian logo would be made, no one would ever get offended. Why is that so?
It is a business site that chose a chinese name and put a logo on it. It didn’t say or do anything to offend. So please explain to me why it is so racist and offensive?
I think the concept of rasicim is not given here. In the future nobody is allowed to do anything because somewhere somebody finds it offensive. Can you imagine in what kind of world we would live in? This is just too much guys. Really.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:30 am | Permalink
Startupblogger » Blog Archiv » Mister Wong lacht nicht mehr wrote:
[...] 8 Asians, der von Amerikanern und Kanadiern mit asiatischem Hintergrund geschrieben wird. In einem Beitrag beschwerte sich Ernie Hsiung, dass das “”Stereotypen” seien [das], der [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:33 am | Permalink
Dimension 2k : Blog Archive : Mister Wong ohne Mister Wong wrote:
[...] Umbau war notwendig geworden, da nach dem internationalen Start von Mister Wong vermehrt empörte Kommentare von div. amerikanische Nutzer aufkamen, die den deutschen Betreibern Rassismus [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 1:38 am | Permalink
Row wrote:
It is funny how people mostly in the USA are being so pickish on political correctness. You can covertly be racist, which is totally okay. But when something like Mr Wong (or for some US-representatives a naked Justice statue -can´t remember the English name: The lady with the sword and the balance scales-, which of course because of it being naked for good reason, it still is a statue that should be covered by clothing).
This is a good way to kill all rational debate before it can start at all. A discussion must take place on racial, religious, sexual topics but I do not think this is the way how to do it. It is to aggressive.
For me Mr. Wong is a tool; nothing more, nothing less. Do I think it funny to give something a name without an apparent history/reason? Yes I do, but does it make the name defacto racist/insulting? No I do not think so.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 2:09 am | Permalink
Alex Laurence wrote:
Hi there!
As I’m a German citizen, I have to comment this.
In Germany we are very sensible concerning racism.
With the disgrace of the WW II we are enlightened to never let something like that happen again.
So it’s pretty hard to accept the accusation of racism. Yes, there are still some dumb people who didn’t get it at all. But whose landsmen aren’t?
Of course it’s a stereotype. And it seems to be political incorrect.
I got a picture of stereotypes of Germans: beer belly, leather trousers, huge glass of beer. So do you hear me yelling? No, and the reason is: with so much problems in the world it would be ridiculous to mark this.
It was meant funny, and as you can see, even Chinese people can laugh about it.
I don’t want to attack you guys, your initiative is great!
But try looking for the real and serious problems.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:20 am | Permalink
Eisenvater wrote:
“Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America.”
Afganistan/Irak and you are angry about a f****** picture.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:29 am | Permalink
martins privates blog » Blog Archiv » Mister Wong ohne Logo dafür mit Werbung wrote:
[...] Wong und schnellstmöglich umgezogen. Ich werde Mr. Wong wohl auch weiter treu bleiben, trotz Rassismus-Vorwürfen von Bloggern und der Ankündigung von [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:29 am | Permalink
Thomas Wolff wrote:
Oh Boy. Could there be a more crisp definition for “idiocracy” ? It´s time to seriously consider a secession from the so called western mainstream, if we do not want to share this involution. Just let´s light a cigarette and ride east.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:32 am | Permalink
Thomas W wrote:
Stumbled over this article. I am glad that you have no real problems over there when there is time to diskuss a comic logo.
Found a funny thing on the top of your site. Guess what Google-Ad i am just looking on?
“Asian Girl in Germany. Cute attractive asian woman looking for love and marriage”.
So your are financing your site with clichés about asians. This is funny in the context of this discussion.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:42 am | Permalink
Wang Lan wrote:
Hi Ernie,
First as a chinese people abroad, I can understand your feelings. But I and my collegue (we all come from China) are working for Mister Wong for a long time, and we also test the chinese version in China. Until now I didn’t get such a feedback. Most of our chinese users only feel this icon intersting, but no one mentions it is offended to chinese people.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:51 am | Permalink
Wang Lan wrote:
As my personal feelings, my company and Kai is very friendly and nice to the chinese
employees. After the world War the German people is very sentsitive to the “Racist” topics.
When we promote the chinese Mister Wong portal, most chinese websites said we are the friendly social bookmark in China, and all the developers are very enthusiastic.
If you can understand chinese, I can show you some articles.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 3:59 am | Permalink
spooky0815 wrote:
Hi,
Some hints for you:
- look at your country
- look at your politics ( hey Mr. Bush… yes I know - your big brothers are watching me)
- look for serious problems … and don’t waste our time with shit like that
… the only thing I do is laughing about your country and people like you :-/
A german “viele Grüße”,
spooky0815
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:04 am | Permalink
iGadget wrote:
and also this nice people here delete my PC!!! comment because of their “freedom of speech”.
nice…
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:09 am | Permalink
Tom wrote:
“Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America.” writing this is as stupid as creating a logo like this mister wong. sorry, but you are the same…..
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:22 am | Permalink
Matthias wrote:
now thats politically- uncorrect:
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/monty-python/i-like-chinese.html
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:31 am | Permalink
Fritz wrote:
“Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America.”
Lol, wake up!
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:32 am | Permalink
gosh6 wrote:
As a asian german citizen, I can fully agree to Alex.
Its true, you have always stupid ignorant people and always prejudices, but rassicm is something which is handled very very sensible here in Germany. I never experienced something negative, bc of my origin, though german idiots are idiots like everywhere else.
And also the Asian stereotype is quiet positive here. Maybe black people for example have it much more harder.
So in this peticular point, I think its too overreacted.
But the claim was really stupid…
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:33 am | Permalink
Bob wrote:
Well now, arent we offended…
I think its quite funny you know, like considering homer of the simpsons a offence to fat people or Apu.
It is close minded and narrow. I dont feel offended when you show germans as pretzel eating beer drinking fat guys in short leather trouser, why should i i know the reality is diffrent and its just a joke.
You blimey mad.
Sincerly Bob.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:42 am | Permalink
Someone wrote:
An Asian American, a white German and a brown African meet somewhere. The German asks the Asian American: ‘Are you Asian or American?’ The Asian American answers: ‘Do you think Asians are less honorable than Americans? This is typical for Germans, you are so racist. Political correctness is nothing worth for you.’ The Germans answers: ‘Oh, you must be an American. Everything - except yourself - is seen as offensive and racist. You are the only good guys and want to teach the rest of the world.’ The African opens his mouth. But clever as he is, he starts thinking before talking, he gets very, very sad, closes his mouth and leaves the stage without a word.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:55 am | Permalink
Markus Wlcek wrote:
Guys, this is sick. How can anyone be offended by a harmless cartoon face? There are quite a lot companies with all kinds, genders, races of cartoon faces. It is a funny, and most important harmless cartoon. Why would anyone see this as offensive?
What I DO consider as offensive, is the sick american trend to be overly “politically correct”. What a repressed culture the “land of the free” has become.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 4:56 am | Permalink
- Netzlogbuch wrote:
[...] amerikanischen Blogger namens Ernie mit offensichtlich asiatischen Abstammung, regte sich in seinem Blog 8Asiens.com so sehr über Mr.Wong auf, dass einige weitere Diskussionen später nun kein Mr.Wong mehr im Logo von Mr.Wong mehr zu sehen [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 5:12 am | Permalink
tombo wrote:
I don’t get it, peoples. Being offended is one thing but going down the racist funnel is another.
And I’m talking about the “anti-german” comments as well as about the “anti-american” comments.
I don’t comment here because I’m german, fuck that, where I was born was pure chance. A couple of kilometers to the south, east or west and I could have been swiss, french or polish.
Once you start being SO offended, it’s just giving you stomach problems and high blood pressure. I’m a science fiction fan, I listen to heavy metal, I work in the advertising industry, I can tailor my own clothes, I’m german, oh and I am male. If I would be offended every time I see a stereotyped sf fan, metalhead, ad-nerd, guy who can tailor (gay alert here, thank you very much), german or stereotyped male, I would be too busy to do anything nice. And lets be honest: No stereotype is completely devoid of grains of truth.
Yes: One has to spot the details and be real picky when it comes to discrimination. But don’t be too serious about it, please. I mean, Jacky Chan movies? Kung Fu? Bruce Lee? “the evil german/russian/alien”? “Klaus - the Übermensch”? Being offended can shift to real, temporary hate. And we don’t want that, do we?
Sure, bloggers tend to become agitated. (Is that being un-pc already?) Or easily agitated people become bloggers (even more un-pc?). Well, I’m one of those (suddenly pc now?).
I still think that one can voice being offended in a different manner. Again, concerning all parties. (What does Bush have to do with this discussion, or Ausschwitz? I don’t see that connection).
Oh and regarding the fat germans gargling down huge quantities of beer, yelling unintelligible gibberish: Yep, my neighbours. Everywhere in germany where I lived. Fat, drunk dudes, at least one of them. And 100ds of other stereotypes. Fortunately I lost some weight. So count me in on the “not so fat beer drinking sf metalhead ad-nerd community”.
No, let’s do something productive for a change.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 5:20 am | Permalink
Stephan wrote:
Congratulations! You made it to SPIEGEL online - the biggest news site in germany. (http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,497151,00.html) But I don’t know if I would be proud of it…….
Ridiculous, just ridiculous.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 5:54 am | Permalink
another german wrote:
Hi!
Acutally i dont get the point of this article and most of the answers from the “GREAT EIGHT”
What is the problem with a comic fiqure of an asian?
its not that all seaman tried to stop popeye
its not that all french hate asterix
…
think this list could be open end
Try to laugh about yourself sometimes, and your life will be much easier!
Dont see racism where its NOT
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 5:57 am | Permalink
Support the troops wrote:
This is really a wonderful blog of American citizens. Calling a social bookmark site “racist” because of an illustration but don’t have any problems about their troops invading one country after another killing hundred of thousands non-Americans. Sorry guys, I (and many other people on the planet) would prefer the “rascism” of Mister Wong than the one of the government YOU have voted for.
By the way, you should check what the most hated nation is these days.
Germany isn’t on the top anymore
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:06 am | Permalink
MiFoMM » Globalisierung und Internationalisierung … wrote:
[...] Das beanstandete Logo ist verschwunden … [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:06 am | Permalink
schnuerbel wrote:
Please, never ever put an image of a German wearing “Lederhosen” and a hat - while he’s drinking beer and smiling - on your website. The Germans might in turn ask you to remove this because of your apparent racism towards them.
As to Mr. Wong: This is also the name of the biggest Chinese Fast-Food company here in Switzerland: http://www.mister-wong.ch/. They also feature a smiling Chinese in their logo. Could this be the next victim of “political correctness”?
The power of Web 2.0: Eight *American* Asians decide what billions of Chinese (Asian Asians) think of being offensive… doh!
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:11 am | Permalink
ropib wrote:
“I mean, Christ, his face is on soccer jerseys.”
Could you stop to speak about Jesus like this please ? Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in West Europe. But seriously, Jesus is not relevant here and i think you should apology.
About Mr Wong… i’m not sure he’s an asian. Of course his name hears like asian names but i think some africans have the same name too. Am i wrong ? But that’s not the point, he could have an asian name and not to be one: i think he’s german. So i’m not sure if you’re right. Why do you think he’s an asian ?
“Ping Pong, King Kong, Mister Wong”… there are many advertises that use phonetics basis, just to remember it. And humour, you should know that, is one of the less international thing around the world. A french joke won’t never be funny in Germany for example.
You’re may be right if in US the caucasian people just can’t respect asian people when ther is a small joke on them. But it’s a little bit disappointing for us, europeans.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:26 am | Permalink
Dennis wrote:
In almost every second episode of The Simpson or Family Guy there appears either a fat, beer drinking bavarian or Hitler. Obviously there it is totally ok to give a sh*t on political correctness althought THIS is a really sensitive topic that people in Germany don’t make fun about and don’t want to see others making fun about it either. So if pc is apparently such an important thing in the US I wonder why people just claim it when it suits them.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:32 am | Permalink
solo61 wrote:
And again a german who thinks she got something to say….well at first I wanted to burst out laughing….than Ithought,no they are really serious about this,they are not kidding!! Hey and how can I argue, I don´t have that Problem any more, I had that over 20 years ago,being a German living in England. That is like I said…20 years ago…today nobody in Europe cares,unless the great America tells us to care…. The Human race is… was…has always been…and will always be shortsighted and narrowminded!!!! That is my racism….why should I care about what colour,nationality,or language somebody has!!! That is of no interest what so ever….all that counts is….
…is he she it an idiot or not….and believe me,that doesn´t stop at anybodys frontdoor…. So just find a reason why anyone should be proud to be human….I´m still searching and found very few until this year,when so many people found time to help my husband and me….! By the way we both are disabled,as we both have multiple skleroses…..all that helped us up till then….since1991….was a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh about ourselves…..!!!! So maybe please don´t play this game of who should not have said what to who and why not or why…..it is really stupid we all have other things to worry about…some don´t even know how to feed their children,or wether they will the survive the next five minutes,because some idiot holds a gun at his head!!!! So calm down keep cool and learn to laugh again
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:45 am | Permalink
CS Internet Blog wrote:
Mister Wong - Der rassistische Social Bookmarkservice?…
Die Darstellung “Mister Wongs” ist rassistisch?! Die Verbildlichung unseres asiatischen Bookmarkverwalters Mister Wong finden einige Amerikaner rassistisch. Daher wurde nun das Abbild Mister Wongs im Logo der Social Bookmarkplattform entfer…
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:54 am | Permalink
OliverH wrote:
@J.Peter Siriprakorn wrote:
“on a lighter, less substantive note, i think one white equivalent of “Mr. Wong: Master of All Bookmarks” could be “Mr. Honkey: Master of The Globe.” the logo could be a cartoon hitler getting blown by eva braun as he orders his troops to search and deconstroy a screenshot of google-earth. =P”
If you call that a “lighter” note, you should seriously have someone check your moral ledgers. But yeah, murdering millions of people is so much fun!
Fact is that you can’t even name the stereotypes. What you seem to be upset with is a cartoonish representation in general, and here I say: As long as you don’t apply the same standards to EVERYONE, the racism is on your side. Strangely enough, you didn’t site the lederhosen-bearing stereotypical Bavarian which is abused to represent Germany all over the US. No, you had to violate Godwin’s law and suggest that a cartoonish depiction of an allegedly “stereotypical” asian person is somehow equivalent to mass slaughter and warmongering.
“(that’s a popular toothpaste we used to use in Bangkok whose logo and name were FINALLY changed from “Darkie” to “Darlie” in the last 10 years. people who don’t have a problem with the mass circulation of these sorts of images should really question their politics and their understanding of culture production)”
Frankly, I don’t think that someone who thinks putting people into one pot with the organizer of mass murder by the millions is something “on a lighter note” is in any position to lecture on “politics” or “understanding of culture production”.
As noted elsewhere: “Context matters”. Here the context is one of a toothpaste using the icon to promote a specific message which is stereotypical: “Use our toothpaste and you have white teeth like…” Now please find me this DELIBERATE message in Mr. Wong. Quite the contrary to your claims, the only one “calling attention to racial difference” is the crowd here who is all up in arms. “Embarassing stereotypes”? If being helpful and friendly is embarassing, that says more about you than about the crew of Mr. Wong.
Oh and please go and take a look where you left your moral ledger. Your comparisons are not only revolting, they are all the proof needed that you lack any and all sense of proportion.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 6:59 am | Permalink
Rosemarie wrote:
re: what is going on
There is a web-site like similar to that. It is a site called “The nutty Bavarian”, http://www.nuttyb.com, and the only difference to the Bavarian sterotype is that the fat guy with a funny hat and lederhosen doesn’t have a huge glass of beer in his hand, but a little bag with nuts.
I study at a Bavarian university, am not Bavarian myself, but have shown this logo to natives, guess what? Most of them thought it was a bit lame, some are a bit tired of the repeating clichés, but none wanted to spend energy on anything like this… I guess it is a matter of self-esteem. And inflating something into a problem that really isn’t.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:20 am | Permalink
Herman the German wrote:
Racism seems to be perfectly acceptable all over this planet. As long as white people are targeted….
Learn to live with it. Makes life a lot more enjoyable - and I know what I am talking about.
Beeing a tall, blond blue eyed German, I have to face racism WHEREVER I go. In addition to that, white people are the only race that is going extinct on this earth. Now THAT would be a reason to complain! But hey, whites are racist scum after all, are we not?
So who gives a s…?
By the way: the top of your page is sporting like 5 stereotypically grinning Asians. Shame on you
Please get a live!
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:26 am | Permalink
Mister Wong ist tot! wrote:
[...] von 8asians.com sagt: “Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:28 am | Permalink
J. Peter wrote:
OliverH: it was hyperbole, bonehead, to show that *any* racially marked bookmarking site is stupid. like i said in my previous post, why anyone would brand a website about saving weblinks with any sort of cultural stereotype is just poor advertising.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:40 am | Permalink
melcom wrote:
Ernie, you’re the real racist here. At mister-wong.de they have removed the logo now. It needs lots of intolerance and complexes to find this logo annoying in any matter. Asians around the world are hopfully more self confident than you are.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:53 am | Permalink
Mister Wong feuert Mister Wong :: deutsche-startups.de wrote:
[...] getrennt. Der verschmitzt lchelnde Asiate kam im Land der unbegrenzten Mglichkeiten nicht gut an. Kurz vor dem Start des Bookmark-Dienstes in den USA kann Kai Tietjen, Geschftsfhrer beim [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 7:56 am | Permalink
OliverH wrote:
@J. Peter:
Your suggestion that Hitler is a “cultural stereotype” or in any way “racially marked” merely illustrates my point. You completely fail to grasp that your “stereotype” is nothing short of a trivialization of the holocaust. The fact that you consider it necessary to take such steps demonstrates well how unfounded your complaints are. If they were justified you could cite specific points instead of once more repeating allegations about “cultural stereotype”. All we have seen from you so far is a mudslining campaign that didn’t hesitate to abuse millions of dead for its end. Talk about poor advertising. Who do you think you’re doing a favor? I made specific points in my post. You not only ignored those, you insisted on your “hyperbole” of describing the holocaust as something that’s quite lighthearted and funny. I suggest you talk with some 80+ year old Jews if Bergen-Belsen or Auschwitz was such a lighthearted place to be and whether they agree this was a good argument to use.
If anything, you demonstrate one point: Sensitivities differ. And as long as you assume that the entire rest of the world has to share yours, your claims of “racism” ring hollow, since you demonstrate the same attitude.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 8:12 am | Permalink
WebZweiPunktNull.de » Blog Archive » Im Land des Lächelns: Mister Wong jetzt ohne Wong wrote:
[...] Korrektheit wegen rausgeflogen. Geschossen wurde gegen den sympathischen Schlipsträger aus dem 8Asians Blog. Daraufhin Schützenhilfe vom Mashable und Klarstellung im Mister Wong Blog. Jetzt sucht man [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 8:16 am | Permalink
Mister Wong: Es hat sich ausgegrinst » Allgemein wrote:
[...] Seite zugeordnet werden kann. So beklagt sich Ernie Hsiung, einer der Gründer des Blogs 8 Asians, in seinem Blog lautstark über das [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 8:17 am | Permalink
Argh wrote:
Because 1 people (=Ernie) don’t like 1 funny slogan the company had to remove his well-known logo?
Greetings from Germany to the untolerant U.S.A.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 9:02 am | Permalink
seul wrote:
Just look at it this way: the site in question (as well as this site here) managed to quadruple their page hits over night. Mission accomplished, and everyone played along.
Oh, and of course, like in every heated internet discussion, Godwin’s Law has been invoked, this time far earlier than i expected.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 9:41 am | Permalink
J. Peter wrote:
OliverH: um, it *is* a trivialization of the holocaust. doesn’t that go without saying? i deliberately made it over the top (hitler getting a blowjob) so it couldn’t possibly be taken seriously. i think you’re missing the point.
the stereotype of hitler trivializes umpteen personal and public struggles that ring true for germans+jews just as the stereotype of the submissive, helpful asian trivializes the asian struggle to emerge from a history of marginalization by the West as figures of deference, subservience, exoticism (women), emasculation (men). these are of course very different struggles, and it is not a matter of weighing importance based on body count. i am saying that advertisers should be respectful of these struggles ON ALL FRONTS.
of course sensitivities differ. i assumed that also went without saying. this is why i said in my post that there is absolutely no reason why any socially responsible businessman should use a cultural or racial stereotype to spearhead an advertising campaign. that is what people seem to have lost sight of here. forget the specific content for a minute and think about the sensibilities of the people trying to construct a public face for their product. what does an asian man named Wong have to do with bookmarking?
since you asked, i’ll address your points individually here. i just didn’t have much to say about them.
“Strangely enough, you didn’t site the lederhosen-bearing stereotypical Bavarian which is abused to represent Germany all over the US.”
right. and if you have a complaint about that stereotype you are free to post in YOUR “8Germans” blog and hope that advertisers respect your concerns.
“Now please find me this DELIBERATE message in Mr. Wong.”
i’m sorry, but i really don’t know what to say to someone who limits their reading of this marketing scheme to advertiser intentionality. as if words and images don’t accrete meaning over time, meaning that escapes the intent of the author? to the question of DELIBERATE, i would urge you to ask why the advertiser DELIBERATELY CHOSE an Asian man over say, a caucasian, a latino, an african, etc.
the task isn’t to find a DELIBERATE message, a single crystal-clear message everyone will pick up on. the task for us is to think about what meanings are mobilized by this sort of advertising strategy. in choosing a racial icon, we have to question what advantages one race has over another in getting the product to sell.
am i clear?
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 9:49 am | Permalink
J. Peter wrote:
p.s. hmm i just realized that I never called Hitler a stereotype in my initial post. you put words in my mouth in your reply, and I totally didn’t mean to continue using those words in my 2nd reply to you. oops.
“on a lighter, less substantive note, i think one white equivalent of “Mr. Wong: Master of All Bookmarks” could be “Mr. Honkey: Master of The Globe.” the logo could be a cartoon hitler getting blown by eva braun as he orders his troops to search and deconstroy a screenshot of google-earth. =P”
the stereotype of course would be the “Honkey Master”, the conqueror and destroyer, of which Hitler’s iconicity would attach to Germans. the stereotype would not be Hitler himself. you seemed to conflate the two.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 10:36 am | Permalink
Tapedeck wrote:
I’m german and I don’t understand you guys. It’s a typicall caricature of a chinese guy. It’ s like a typical caricature of a german: beer belly, leather trousers, sausages etc. I’m amused when I saw those pictures because I know that it is only a parody. All americans know that the “Krauts” don’t often look like this and so is it with the picture of Mister Wong - it’s the stereotype and everybody knows it - so don’t be so WTF’ed
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 10:44 am | Permalink
Kawaii wrote:
This is the type of bullshit people bring up so they don’t have to deal with true racism and ethnical discrimination. Having a asian looking guy as a logo is not racism. Geo IP-banning Asia from using the site, that would be racism.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 11:08 am | Permalink
guest wrote:
I don’t understand why a bookmarking-site would choose “mr wong” as a mascot/logo (where’s the relation?).
but had I chosen the name “mr. wong - master of bookmarks” I would have used an image, that conveyed something like an old, wise chinese master, with white hair, a long beard and so on. ya know? master, wisdom, zen-and-the-art-of-bookmarks…
instead the image makes me think of a cunning businessman that chuckles inside because he just sold me a lemon. and he also looks a bit like mr. magoo.
but appearently the image can also be interpreted as a depiction of a subservient chinese with a “how-may-I-serve-you?”-expression on his face. that’s the major point of criticism is it?
so it’s not exactly original. bad idea? maybe. but is it racist?
regarding the image: cartoon-images are probably alway stereotypical in some way.
if you aim to express something with a few pen-strokes you simplify: a scotsmen will wear a checkered kilt, an italian will look like mario, an irishmen will wear green, an arab has a white robe and a turban on his head, a turk has a fez, an american a cowboy-hat and a german might be holding a mug of beer and a sausage (or wear a piked helmet if you like).
I’m just surprised by the _level_ of outrage.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 11:32 am | Permalink
solo61 wrote:
!!!Hey!!! Do you two really know what you are talking about…I somehow doubt that either of you is really listening to the other…..each one of you just wants to sound more intelligent and smarter than the other….just to look good in front of the others…who ever they may are….you don´t really care about anybody who really gets discriminated…do you ? There are millions of people who fear for their lives for who they are and where they come from…..they most probably don´t care a shit about a little cartoon,or your bruised ego….! Just a stipid little cartoon…and a waste of energie and words and time….I wish I had as much money as you have time to waste….I´d be really by now
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 11:55 am | Permalink
Ping Pong mit Mr. Wong - S-O-S SEO Blog wrote:
[...] ich die Aufregung nicht. Laut Telagon Sichelputzer ist Mr. Wong wegen der von den 8asians gemachten Rassismus Vorwürfen eingeknickt und hat den Kopf im Logo abgekratzt. Ich habe nichts gegen Minderheiten oder [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 12:57 pm | Permalink
Fritz wrote:
As a german I’m offended by the stereotype “German” := “Hitler” and “German” := “Racist” used by this site and the comments on this article. There is only “German := Bavarian” and “German := Krauts” missing.
60 years after ww2 or nearly 3 generations after holocaust you are unfairly blaming people. Today in germany everyone is aware and anxious of being a racist. The fast reaction of the Mr-Wong Team shows that they bear the consequences.
For a European the Logo and Name of the site have a positive image and are not offending. Keep your own house clean.
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 10:36 pm | Permalink
Wonderer wrote:
There is no better advertising for Mrs. Wong in Germany then your WTF`s.
Are you paid for this ?
Nobody in germany would even spend one minute for WTF`s in a blog, because of this.
And Political correctness , ha ha ha.
Wir haben uns nichts vorzuwerfen
Gruß Wonder
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 11:13 pm | Permalink
Mister Wong: Bad News Is Good News » Beitrag » zweinull.cc wrote:
[...] Namen Mister Wong und dessen Darstellung im Logo der Seite diskriminiert. Der Blog 8 Asians berichtete schon Mitte Mai, als die US-Version noch nicht im Netz war, über das deutsche [...]
Posted on 30-Jul-07 at 11:47 pm | Permalink
Dr. Claus Hess wrote:
sorry, but why do you looking for racism, where racism no are? like tobnbi says: “If race really didn’t matter, you wouldn’t have to care.” do you want to ban all caricatures? sorry, you are a poor blind man.
C.H.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 1:24 am | Permalink
mein gott und meine welt » Blog Archive » Mister Wrong wrote:
[...] Mister Wong von nordamerikanischen Kommunisten verhaftet? Denn nun prangt nur noch deren Roter Stern dort, wo vorher Mr. Wong lächelte. [...]
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 2:59 am | Permalink
Andi wrote:
My congratulations to someone taking care about these really important issues in the world! The time was right to criticize that kind of “racism”, especially when coming from a country where black and white people live together in perfect harmony!
We should really consider to start a “war on computer icon racists” when the “war on terror” is finally won…
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 3:46 am | Permalink
Klaus wrote:
So, what have we learned now? If you want to publish something and for being appealing add a smiling face, then DO NOT use an asian face. Maybe you still remind the idea of égalité - all people to be equal - this does not apply to asians. Better keep your fingers off. I am very, very sorry for that.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 4:01 am | Permalink
Ranessin wrote:
Which I, of course, interpret as “ching chong, Mister Wong” and get INCREDIBLY FUCKING ANGRY.
Maybe you should have thought one second before getting angry? “Ping-Pong” is a very popular game in Germany, while “ching chong” is something nobody there knows at all.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 4:08 am | Permalink
san wrote:
i can’t tell how offensive that mr. wong is to asians as i am not asian, but countering with stereotypes of the german nazi sauerkraut bla bla is nothing different at all.
also, i think it’s highly hypocritical to praise the political correctness in a country that ignores the geneva convention, wages offensive wars, , abandons civil rights in the name of the war on terror (did you know all your private communications are monitored by the NSA or are you to busy tracking political incorrect website logos to know about what is really going on ?) wake up !
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 4:27 am | Permalink
SubCore wrote:
American double standards, yay!
There is nothing racist about this picture whatsoever. Only oversensible americans can find something like this offensive…
And while i do concur that the slogan “ping, pong …” is not very bright, your association with “ching, chong” is just wrong. the term “ching” has no meaning in europe whatsoever, thats a purely american slangword, and NO european would make that association, not even europeans with asian heritage, and i happen to know a few…
so please, stop freaking out and try to develop some sense of humour.
thanks.
)
(a european wondering if its fundamentally impossible for americans to ever lighten up or if thats just a side effect of constant fear of anything foreign - and no, you dont have to take this literally, that was just another joke
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 4:46 am | Permalink
Mr. Background wrote:
C’mon, this sort of “hyper”-political correctness is plain silly. You really must be bored if you worry about this sort of stuff which. A cartoon that illustrates a chinese guy has nothing to do with racism.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 4:53 am | Permalink
cymen wrote:
it seems to me that some people have too much time and too little problems.
But thanks for this: “Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political correctness as they are here in North America.” …you made my day.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 5:00 am | Permalink
Mister Wong jetzt ohne Mr. Wong : fob marketing wrote:
[...] waren der “Kastration” einige Rassismus-Vorwürfe aus den USA, wo man sich offenbar von Logo und Slogan nicht unbedingt geschmeichelt [...]
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 8:04 am | Permalink
BizThoughts - Globalism and Racism wrote:
[...] American & Canadian American bloggers (of which I am a member) was the first that I know of to publicly decry Mister Wong. As written by Ernie, one of the founders: Maybe people aren’t as sensitive to political [...]
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 11:20 am | Permalink
Mister Schpiegel wrote:
Noch vor kurzem warb der deutsche Bookmark-Dienst “Mister Wong” genau mit diesem Slogan. Inzwischen wurde der Spruch samt dem sehr bekannten Markenzeichen des Portals, dem grinsenden Chinesen, von der Seite entfernt. Wie Wong-Gründer Kai Tietjen in seinen Blog schreibt, reagierte er damit auf Rassismus-Vorwürfe einiger amerikanischer und kanadischer Blogger asiatischer Abstammung.
(http://schpiegel.de/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=1)
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 12:46 pm | Permalink
» Mister Wong entfernt Mister Wong - Baynado’s Suchmaschinen Blog wrote:
[...] , den Mister Wong entfernt. Hintergrund war eine negativer Bericht in den USA auf Mashable und dem 8asian Blog. Nun gab der CEO von Mister Wong nach und entfernte den Slogan und Mister Wong. Also ich konnte [...]
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 1:05 pm | Permalink
Cheater wrote:
What kind of blog is this, if critical postings are censored? You guys build your own truth, that’s how Americans try to dominate the world.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 2:31 pm | Permalink
Nemrut wrote:
@Alex, does that apply to the Turkish living in Germany also? As i understand from those i’ve spoken with, racism in Germany is hardly a small problem.
@Wang, you have to understand the history of Chinese migration and marginalization in the US to understand the nature of the offense. Do you remember in the early 90s how the popularty of Japanese autos were putting American auto workers out of work? Chinese and other Asians bore the brunt of the resentment, hostility and even physical violence because of this. One Chinese man–Vincent Chin, was beaten to death w/a bat by 2 unemployed autoworkers just because they thought he was Japanese.
Other commenters, Germans and Europeans alike, making frivolous comparisons to Football mascots, Germans in lederhosen, etc–these are very poor comparisons. Caucasians are not sterotyped in a negative fashion within the US and European media as Asians and other people of darker color often are.
In the end, the fact that the the founders, regardless of good intent, found it appropriate to use a common surname found in China as a moniker/brand for their site simply demonstrates the lack of good judgement for a company with global aspirations.
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 9:26 pm | Permalink
Gewongte Gedanken - Telagon Sichelputzer wrote:
[...] sehr schnell, aber ein klares Statement seitens Mister Wong hätte genügt um der Argumentation von 8asians, die ja scheinbar zu der Yahoo-Clique gehören und damit auch im amerikanischen Platzhirsch [...]
Posted on 31-Jul-07 at 10:15 pm | Permalink
Skandal um Mister Wong « PHvB - Wirtschaft im weitesten Sinne wrote:
[...] anstehenden Expansion nach China und in die USA und einem ersten, für große Aufregung sorgenden Rassismusvorwurf von 8asians.com wurde das Männchen aus dem Logo gebannt. Einem Interview mit Kai Tietjen, Geschäftsführer des [...]
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 2:06 am | Permalink
datenschmutz.net wrote:
Wongs Kopflosigkeit: eine Ching-Chong Affäre…
Mister Wongs Logo-Asiate sieht sich Rassismus-Vorwürfen ausgesetzt. Resultat: die beliebte Social Bookmarking Seite präsentiert sich ab sofort kopflos.
……
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 3:36 am | Permalink
american idiots wrote:
omfg, what a bunch of idiots you are…
i would never notice such a funny character as racistic or not political correct. you are the racists by thinking so…
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 6:49 am | Permalink
8 Asians » An Eggshell Psyche, Mister Wong, and Why 8A Took a Stand wrote:
[...] Ernie first brought our attention to the Mister Wong bookmarking site that used to employ as a logo a caricature of an Asian man with jaundiced skin and slanty eyes, reminiscent of the malicious political caricatures Americans drew once upon a time in history to support the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Mister Wong logo struck a sensitive nerve in many in our community and, in response, we voiced our concerns. Then, a tidal wave of unproductive and clearly abusive comments to Ernie’s post chastised 8A for “making a big deal out of nothing.” [...]
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 11:47 am | Permalink
Florian Gränzer wrote:
mister wong logo = racist,
biggest joke of the year!!
oh ernie, so little sense of humor, unbelievable…..but we see, some stubborn, inflexible people who cannot be relaxed are still present, too much
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 12:04 pm | Permalink
Mister Wong's New Logo wrote:
[...] not have wanted (unless he prescribes to the any-news-is-good-news motto). Ernie Hsiung of the 8 Asians multi-author blog in May pointed out the logo Mister Wong used [...]
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 8:03 pm | Permalink
akrypti wrote:
I love how these dissenters against 8A have really elevated this to a compelling, articulate and purely intellectual dialogue. My current favorite so far would have to be Herman the German, hands down, no contest. Herman, even though you’re tall, blond, blue-eyed and white, and experience profound racism and oppression simply because you’re tall, blond, blue-eyed and white, we here at 8Asians love and welcome you with open arms anyway. We’re glad you’re a fan of our site, because we. are. a. fan. of. YOU. *winks*
Posted on 01-Aug-07 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
Marius wrote:
I know the Wong-Team personally. They are so far away from being racist as the sun from the earth. In these days of americanism and blood4oil policy your “north american political correctness…” seems to be displaced. It’s only an Bookmark-Site not an iranian nuclear bomb attack. So come down! As a SEO i only can congratulate you: GREAT Linkbait, Ernie!!!
Proposal: Put Wong in a bavarian leather trouser + Beer + Sauerkraut = political correctness
Posted on 02-Aug-07 at 3:11 am | Permalink
8 Asians » Mister Wong takes down logo, International Flame war commences wrote:
[...] three months ago, I write a post called Mister Wong, Offensive Social Bookmarking Portal. It gets a healthy dosage of debate, but not too [...]
Posted on 02-Aug-07 at 9:07 am | Permalink
Mister Chong wrote:
Want Mister Wong back alive? It’s possible! Mister Chong bring back Mister Wong!
If you use FireFox do the following:
1. Install this extension https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/748
2. Install the Bing Bong Mister Wong Script http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/11082
3. Mister Wong is back again!
Posted on 02-Aug-07 at 11:01 am | Permalink
Crowdsourcing bei Mr Wong « Der NeubibergBlog wrote:
[...] ein oder andere hat bestimmt vom “Mister-Wong-Skandal” gehört. Kurz zusammengefasst: Acht Asiaten (in den USA) stellten beim Surfen durchs www fest, dass im Logo von Mr Wong die Charikatur eines Chinesen [...]
Posted on 02-Aug-07 at 11:25 am | Permalink
roxomatic wrote:
Mister Wong ist wrong…
Ist aus arbeitsbelastungstechnischen Gründen an mir vorbeigerauscht, aber aus dokumentatorischen Gründen sollte man mal dort klicken, das beachten (vor allem die Google Ads unten, hihi) und das da lesen.
Die Leute von Construktiv (Disclaimer) ha…..
Posted on 02-Aug-07 at 9:56 pm | Permalink
Gerhard wrote:
What’s wrong with this friendly looking chinese man?
Posted on 03-Aug-07 at 1:17 pm | Permalink
Alles beta » Blog Archiv » Mister Wong rassistisch? wrote:
[...] 8 Asians [...]
Posted on 03-Aug-07 at 6:06 pm | Permalink
alles wrote:
Get a life, Earnie, rip the grim mask from your face and smile for a change … just like Mister Wong!
Posted on 03-Aug-07 at 7:41 pm | Permalink
Ping Pong, Mister Wong « Crosstown Traffic wrote:
[...] Pong, Mister Wong Posted August 4, 2007 Während an vielen Stellen über die Rassismus-Vorwürfe gegen Mister Wong berichtet wird, fehlt mir bei der Berichterstattung oft das folgende, kleine [...]
Posted on 04-Aug-07 at 1:13 am | Permalink
Mister Wong ohne Wong « Mister, Wong, Logo, Blog, Webseite, Mike, 8Asians, Betreiber « Aykie's Welt wrote:
[...] (…) has the slogan “ping pong, king kong, Mister Wong.” Which I, (…) interpret as “ching chong, Mister Wong” and get INCREDIBLY F***G ANGRY (Quelle: 8Asians) [...]
Posted on 04-Aug-07 at 9:09 am | Permalink
Bert wrote:
Ernie, Du machst Deinem Namen alle Ehre…
In diesem Fall hättest du dich lieber nochmal von Bert, Samson oder Tiffy beraten lassen sollen.
Posted on 05-Aug-07 at 12:35 am | Permalink
Franz Patzig wrote:
One more thing: Here is a photo of the opening ceremony of the Soccer Worldcup 2006 in Germany, one the biggest sports events worldwide. The organizers were playing with what you call stereotypes. Dancers in traditional clothing - not German but Bavarian. It was wonderful and that’s maybee the better way to do it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/franzlife/164257333/in/set-72157594161644762/
Posted on 05-Aug-07 at 2:09 am | Permalink
King of Cyberia wrote:
I am American Born Chinese, and though I wonder what inspired the Germans to name their site after Chinese I’m not very offended like the Politically Correct Police. If the users of Mister Wong dot com are okay with it, what’s the harm?
Jeez, who are the real Nazis here? It sure aint the Germans.
Posted on 05-Aug-07 at 2:24 am | Permalink
Stereotypisierung im Web 2.0 : Richpoint.eu wrote:
[...] zieht die Diskussion solch große Kreise, dass selbst die etablierten Medien darüber berichten und hier, auf dem Blog der Asia-Amerikaner eine hitzige Diskussion entbrannt ist. Von „Klaus – der [...]
Posted on 05-Aug-07 at 12:08 pm | Permalink
Vox wrote:
First, I’d like to note that it’s entirely possible to write about “trivial” racism like the Mr. Wong logo and still care about “real problems” like Iraq and Afghanistan, to those of you who think that people can’t multitask. And whoever talked about stereotypes of Germans in the U.S. might be interested to know that most white U.S. citizens and plenty of POC are of German descent or have German ancestry. Those Oktoberfests are people celebrating their heritage, not some mockery of Germany.
That aside, I think that the dissenters here ought to take a look at How to Suppress Discussions of Racism.
Media images can be powerful. A media image that portrays Chinese people as slant-eyed mystical “masters” instead of actual people (especially when it seems like so many images of Asians in non-Asian media are of mystical martial arts masters, supersmart nerds with no social skills or FOB stereotypes with broken English) can be really damaging when there aren’t any positive depictions as well.
Posted on 06-Aug-07 at 2:18 pm | Permalink
Ms. Wong wrote:
Eric - open a competing site: “Herr Schulz - Master of the Bookmark Concentration Camp”
Posted on 07-Aug-07 at 1:16 am | Permalink
Thuan Phan wrote:
What gives the people who are responsible for this depiction (who are caucasians by the way) the rights to represent a typical Mr. Wong of the world. I too, wont mind a little ethnical parody from time to time, but the rule of thumb is: the author of such parody has to be of the same race of the content of the joke. As for the hypothetical “Mr. Honkey and fat, beer drinking bavarian” logos, they’re reasonably acceptable because they’re derived from those who had personally gone through these sterotypical experiences on first hand, and it’s not up to the people from outside of the ethnicity to decide how to create stereotypes they’ve never experienced. In other words, how would you feel if the creators behind the boston celtic and minnisota viking logos is in fact Asian? Im an Asian American and here in America, we respect each others boundaries, which is how this melting pot of cultural diveristy of a country is brought together with the understand for our needs to respect one another. You speak of racial equality in your country, but tolerate such racial degradation, which explains how divided you are. You would judge a person based on preconceived notions, and are willing assassinate your own ethnical image in exchange. Why can’t people be just people instead of these “mythical geneouses, kung fu masters, skillful fry cooks, and addictive gamblers” like you portrayed them to be. Because the truth is: They dont give a shit how much you like to drink or what kind of pants you like to wear. And what does Mr. Bush and his foreign policy has to do with this? Germany is known to be an advanced society in technology, but it’s obivious that they are falling behind in history. They condemn america in every way that they can but the