@nev
Yes, and that's my point. We North Americans could use a little more character & resilience ourselves.

@SlowRain I don't get it?

@nev
Adversity is good for people.

@SlowRain I guess? I mean that brown people and people who speak English as a foreign language already face plenty of adversity, so if we stop making fun of their accents, it's not like they're missing out on anything important.

Ethnic stereotypes are cringey, I think we'll look back at this stuff in 50 years and be embarrassed

@nev
Westerners live in a society that tries to limit emotionally jarring experiences. As such, for many of them their emotional immune system is weak because it's never been built up. People who have faced adversity will fare better, even though the process of building up their emotions was not a pleasant one. I'm not mocking them in the least.

What I would wish is more adversity for the self-entitled. A too-smooth upbringing is a powder keg.

@nev
I grew up as the relatively good-natured butt of ethnic stereotypes (Ukrainian jokes), and we were lower income & religious. Looking back--not 50 years, but still a few decades--I'd say I'm better for it, even though it was certainly not desirable.

Getting the Apu treatment most likely would be worse than what I experienced, but not unbearable. It would also build a better person in the long run.

@SlowRain I think this is heavily dependent on your place in society. Historically (and currently), white people have been A-OK with "emotionally jarring" and even traumatizing ethnic minorities. I respect your experiences, but I think the marginalization faced by "ethnic white" communities is fundamentally different from that of people who are coded as racially other, "perpetual foreigners".

@SlowRain It's also not really fair to reduce it to "wanting to avoid emotionally unpleasant experiences" when it's also tied to very material factors! E.g. non-white actors' and writers' stake in the industry. Or how perceptions of minorities affects how they're treated by doctors, cops, judges, teachers, etc.

To put it bluntly I don't think racism is a net good in our society

@nev
True, it does depend on one's place in society. I was probably overprotected as it was. However, I'm currently in a society where I will be a perpetual foreigner, and I still say it builds character & resilience. I'm not making flippant statements. I'd like to see all people have to check their privilege. I live in a society that places a stereotype on me, and where I have fewer rights in the law than the locals.

@nev
Also, I went back & reread my posts just to be sure. I never advocated racism. The word may be overused in the 21st century to include all manner of things, but at no point do I feel I have been or am subjected to racism; nor do I feel Apu's treatment amounts to racism. Racism is harsh, whereas this is, yes, emotionally jarring at best.

@nev
As for Hollywood, that's a minor issue. There are people with real problems out there. However, even Hollywood's problem can be easily solved, it just takes time & persistence. They need to focus on independent productions for now. Start small & go from there. I believe it's worked for almost every other industry in the past.

@SlowRain I think this conversation has run its course and we'll just have to agree to disagree

@nev
If you like.