Is it considered racist to imitate a Chinese accent?
by 
Aristocles
ANSWERS: 14
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Well ya, your making fun of a way a certain ethnicity speaks. But i dont think its that bad.
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I wouldnt think so.I always make fun of chinese accents like any other accent.Its all out of fun for me.
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someone might think it is disrespectful... but in my opinion no it is not. all your doing is making a joke. everyone makes jokes does that mean we are all racist?
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not if its a good imitation
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Yes it is. Is it racist to imitate a East Indian accent, or any other type of accent? How would the Chinese person or East Indian person feel if they heard you imitate their accent? A non racist person will not perform imitation because they do not want to ridicule. A non racist person accepts the culture and the accent. What is the purpose of the accent? What is the outcome? It just isn't necessary.
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When Rosie did it, seemed like a mockery, but then again I don't care for her humor. Actually, she didn't mock the Chinese accent, she mocked the Chinese language.
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If the purpose is to ridicule/make fun, then yes. If you are a third-generation American with no accent who is playing a just-off-the-boat Chinese immigrant in a film, then of course not. It's not that action that makes it racist; it's the purpose behind it. If the point is to separate "them" from "us," then by definition, yes, that is racist.
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Being Caucasian, have you been to a country where you are the minority? How would you feel if you were in the middle of Hong Kong and you over heard an Asian person make fun of your accent. How does it make you feel when Canadians make fun of the lack of scholastic knowledge Americans have. (I am assuming you are American) Same thing. Why do you feel the need to separate yourself like that? Why do you feel the need to make fun of an accent?
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Everything is can be considered racist these days, so it just depends on your perspective. I think that thes jokes are not truly racist unless they are meant to be hurtful or to express hate. But other than that- a joke is a joke, just laugh.
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No it's not racist...imitating someone else could be just for fun. put it this way, how many americans or chinese or whatever race out try to learn a different language? its the same thing...i do it all the time, some people may find it offensive though but if its not what you mean than og well...they probably immitate people as well, everyone does it once in their lives.
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It depends on the intention behind the imitation. If you're just doing it in a lighthearted way for the purpose of highlighting the idiosyncrasies of Chinese English, no problem, but if you're doing it to portray Chinese people in a negative way or make fun of them, it is probably going to be seen as racist. Intention is everything!
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Is it considered sexist to imitate a female accent? If it is, we'll have to sue Monty Python and all other sketch shows... Funny how "political correctness" condemns racist jokes, but laughs about "stupid blondes".
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I love it when people imitate American accents. I think it's a riot! But I have noticed that people are often reticent to do it because they think they will insult me. On the other hand, America has a history of racist behavior towards the Chinese since the 19th century. "Me Chinese. Me play joke. Me put pee-pee in your Coke!" So yeah, I can understand why they might be a little sensitive about that sort of thing.
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i believe it depends on the intent behind the imitation. i imitate several nationalities and dialects. but my intent is not to belittle anyone but to create humor. never in any of my jokes do i imply that any of these people are inferior in any way, they're normal folks like every body else, they just talk differently ;)
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