Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Asians in the Tour De France?

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Asians in the Tour De France?

Old 07-29-06, 09:38 AM
  #76  
Senior Member
 
7rider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Mountain View, CA
Posts: 925

Bikes: 1999 Seven Sola, 2004 Bianchi Axis, 2005 Trek Madone 5.2 SL, 2006 Merlin Works CR 3/2.5, 2009 Kona Ute, Spot Acme, 2017 Raleigh Roker Comp, 2016 Specialized Camber Expert 29

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Kenyan, Tibetan, Peruvian, bah! A Kryptonian could beat them all - especially at high altitude where he would be closer to the power of our yellow sun.
7rider is offline  
Old 07-29-06, 10:20 AM
  #77  
Senior Member
 
Marcello's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Monza, Italy
Posts: 206
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by magic8ball
11) why don't I see more italians in martial arts tournaments
Since 1976, Italians have won 11 medals at the olympics in Judo, which until recently was the only martial art sport in the games.
Marcello is offline  
Old 07-29-06, 06:30 PM
  #78  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern California
Posts: 10,879
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times in 5 Posts
Originally Posted by SaintAndrew
dude everyone's talking about asian people like bruce lee with slanted eyes and yellow skin, not people who just happen to live in asia.
Dude, Asia is a big continent with many different ethnic groups. Saying that they all look like Bruce Lee is at best stereotyping and at worst racist. Only a minority of Asians have "slanted eyes and yellow skin".

Who is more Asian, Jesus Christ or Bruce Lee? Jesus was born in Asia. Bruce Lee was born in California.
johnny99 is offline  
Old 07-29-06, 07:37 PM
  #79  
Senior Member
 
SaintAndrew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 181
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by johnny99
Dude, Asia is a big continent with many different ethnic groups. Saying that they all look like Bruce Lee is at best stereotyping and at worst racist. Only a minority of Asians have "slanted eyes and yellow skin".

Who is more Asian, Jesus Christ or Bruce Lee? Jesus was born in Asia. Bruce Lee was born in California.
when people in america say "asian" they are talking about oriental dummy. as in not from the east side of istanbul, as in the people who look oriental with folded eyelids.

i didn't say everyone in asia looks like bruce lee; i said by "asian" he was talking about bruce lee-looking people, like the korean guy who responded, not say vinakourov who is a white, ethnic russian from, yes asia and he doesn't have slanted eyes.
SaintAndrew is offline  
Old 07-29-06, 08:44 PM
  #80  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 913
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by smellygary
Easy to profile people and assume all black kids are in the inner city. They're all poor. They're only interested in basketball and rap. And no chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life, like yours.
Where ever you are from, stay there. The rest of us are trying to get away from attitudes like that.
"All black kids are poor"? Sounds patronizing and a little racist.
"Only interested in basketball and rap"? Go visit a local elementary, jr. high, or high school and you'll quickly see you are dead wrong. Man, where do you live? Whites only?
"No chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life"? Where do you come up with this crap? Sounds very patronizing and elitist.
jimx200 is offline  
Old 07-29-06, 09:13 PM
  #81  
2-Cyl, 1/2 HP @ 90 RPM
 
slvoid's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 15,762

Bikes: 04' Specialized Hardrock Sport, 03' Giant OCR2 (SOLD!), 04' Litespeed Firenze, 04' Giant OCR Touring, 07' Specialized Langster Comp

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times in 4 Posts
Uh huh.. in NYC, dead right.

Originally Posted by jimx200
"All black kids are poor"? Sounds patronizing and a little racist.
"Only interested in basketball and rap"? Go visit a local elementary, jr. high, or high school and you'll quickly see you are dead wrong. Man, where do you live? Whites only?
"No chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life"? Where do you come up with this crap? Sounds very patronizing and elitist.
slvoid is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 01:20 AM
  #82  
Cathedral City, CA
 
flatlander_48's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Cathedral City, CA
Posts: 1,504

Bikes: 2016 RITCHEY BreakAway (full Chorus 11), 2005 Ritchey BreakAway (full Chorus 11, STOLEN), 2001 Gary Fisher Tassajara mountain bike (sold), 2004 Giant TRC 2 road bike (sold)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by smellygary
Part of it is that theres not a whole lot of corporate sponsonship for sports in China.....yet. And there's still a bit of a different mentality to the bicycle in China. Its for transprotation, not fun. If you try to explain about riding a bike for fun on a hot day, or rainy or what ever, it just won't sink in. "Why don't you just take the bus instead? The idea of bicycle racing is over the top for most.

And their love affair with Yao Ming and the NBA pretty much prevents anybody from caring about any other sport right now.
I can't comment about mainland China, but I have been working in Taiwan for the past 2 1/2 years. For the vast majority of riders here, as someone mentioned, bicycles are a means of transportation. Basically the only folks you usually see on bikes are school kids or the elderly who can't afford a car or never learned to drive. People don't see cycling as a recreation and as a fitness tool. This is really odd to me as Giant, based in Taipei, is the world's largest manufacturer. Many companies source some or all of their retail items here.

I've been fortunate to attend the last 3 Taipei Bicycle Expositions and there are a TON of smaller companies that make parts for others or under their own names. But, many many of the folks look like they have NEVER ridden their own products. In other words, it seems that a significant number of the people involved in the Taiwan bike business are not riders. They only see cycling as a business. Conversely, it seems that many of the people who started cycle-related business in the US are avid cyclists and/or former racers looking to stay in the field.

There is a 7 day Tour of Taiwan race. The final stage is a criterium around the City Government Building that is across the street from the Exposition. The Tour ends on the final day of the Exposition. I've watched the event for the last 2 years and the enthusiastic crowd is quite small (I'd guess maybe 300 to 400 as you can see better than half the course from any corner). The Tour featured the HealthNet-Maxxis Team from the US as well as several Asian and smaller European teams, but it seems it's just not enough to bring the people out.

I think the prevailing attitude towards cycling in Taiwan can be summed up by the following story:
When I first went to Taiwan, I didn't bring my mountain bike with me. After a month, I decided to buy a road bike. I was in Tainan at the time and there was only one guy who dealt in mid to high end bikes. I settled on a new Giant TCR-2 and we made a deal for about $1100US. A couple of weeks later, I happened to ride over to a popular expatriate hangout that I frequented. The bar maid, who was a local, said it was a very pretty bike and asked "...how much you pay?". I told her about $32,000NT. She said "Why did you buy bicycle? You could have a scooter for that much!"
flatlander_48 is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 01:39 AM
  #83  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 286
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
re: narrow asian definition, or popular far east definition, a more racial definition.

Fumi Beppu crossed to Discovery last season, because Tailwind want penetration into the Japanese market.

In the early 90's Motorola had a Japanese stagiare, Ken Hashikawa, assuming they saw potential in the above purpose - business strategy.

These are the Japanese riders, besides Beppu who have been in the European (div 1) peloton

Masahiko Mifune (Landbouwkrediet - Colnago)
Daisuke Imanaka (Team Polti)
Hidenori Nodera (Team Colpack)
Yoshiyuki Abe (Ceramiche Panaria-Vinavil – 1996, Mapei-GB 1997) (Team Colpack)

Daisuke Imanaka rode the Tour for Polti in 1996.

2005 roster of Skil-Shimano
9. Yoshiyuki Abe (Jpn)
10. Yukihiro Doi (Jpn)
11. Yoshimasa Hirose (Jpn)
12. Tomoya Kano (Jpn)
13. Hidenori Nodera (Jpn)
14. Kaoru Ouchi (Jpn)
15. Masamichi Yamamoto (Jpn) = all from Shimano Japan
16. Masahiro Shinagawa (Jpn) = ex-pro
17. Takamitu Tsuji (Jpn) = neo

2 Japanese riders, Masatoshi Ichikawa (team Frank-Toyo)and Hidenori Nodera have participated in the Giro (in 1990 and 2001 respectively). Both of them finished it. Ichikawa finished at the 50th overall out of 163 finishers and, Nodera the 139th out of 140. To be fair, Ichikawa was a good climber and was the only Japanese rider who could really fight with European riders.

Junichi Kikuta rode Spanish team Artiach in 96

Shinri Suzuki probably the winningest Japanese rider of the last decade. Sprinter/rouleur.

Besides Suzuki, the Fukushima brothers are accomplished cyclists.

Hong Kong's Kam-Po Wong has 8 UCI wins this year.
thunder is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 03:22 AM
  #84  
Senior Member
 
bellweatherman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Austin
Posts: 2,104

Bikes: Too many to count

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by smellygary
Easy to profile people and assume all black kids are in the inner city. They're all poor. They're only interested in basketball and rap. And no chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life, like yours.
Where ever you are from, stay there. The rest of us are trying to get away from attitudes like that.


Don't assume that all inner city kids are black. There are other minorities as well. You think they can afford designer jeans, let alone an entry-level racing bike? I don't think so. Spare me the basketball and rap stereotype. A basketball sure does cost a LOT less money than a bike. And rap is good music. As good as country, classic, etc. Don't assume and put down inner-city youth by stereotyping with their music tastes either.
bellweatherman is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 05:45 AM
  #85  
Senior Member
 
classic1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,022
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by thunder
Masatoshi Ichikawa (team Frank-Toyo)participated in the Giro Ichikawa finished at the 50th overall out of 163 finishers
Sounds like a good rider to me. Surprised he never kicked on. I wonder what the story is?

Hong Kong's Kam-Po Wong has 8 UCI wins this year.
Kam-Po Wong is a good rider. Races in Oz regularly and mixes it well. Won a stage of the Commonwealth Bank race if I remember right.
classic1 is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 06:46 AM
  #86  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 150
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by SaintAndrew
i was completely utterly ****ing around with that statement it was not meant to induce any responses, but you bring up a strang point that asians don't have the easy-living of europe or the US, but i would have to argue that it's completely irrelevent. cycling is a blue-collar sport and has been from the beginning and it's a well-known that almost all pro cyclists come from some challenging background. cipollini was sickly and was not expected to live as a child. indurain grew up on a basque country farm. armstrong from a housing project born to a 17 year old abused mother. and these are just a few of the very greatest cyclists from the recent past.

i just think bike racing as a sport is not developed in asia right now.

Dude!!!! Cycling is a blue collar sport? I don't think so. How many blue collars is going to lay out a 1000 bucks to bike? The average new low end road bike runs 700 bucks, helmet 40, shoes 80, gloves 20, socks 6, shorts 50, jersey 40.......

All cyclist begin on a trike...then move up to the 3 speed, then to the bmx-type bike....but then most blue collars stop there and move on to the beat up chevy or dodge truck. There are few that venture in the mountain bike world.... to make the leap to competition level or even performance road cycling requires some investment in time and money.
twbradford is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 06:57 AM
  #87  
Senior Member
 
classic1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,022
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Liked 4 Times in 2 Posts
Originally Posted by twbradford
Dude!!!! Cycling is a blue collar sport? I don't think so. How many blue collars is going to lay out a 1000 bucks to bike? The average new low end road bike runs 700 bucks, helmet 40, shoes 80, gloves 20, socks 6, shorts 50, jersey 40.......
Cycling is definitely a blue collar sport. It's also a European sport. Where you from? The US? The demographics of the traditional supporters/competitors of cycling in Europe are completely different to the US, where it is considered a yuppie or middle age rich dude sport.

Merckx was unusual in that his parents were middle class shopkeepers. In the 1980's Visentini was considered very unusual because he was the playboy son of a rich funeral home operator. Most top riders up until then were poor farm boys, sons of coal miners, sons of factory workers, that kind of thing. Even an urbane person like Anquetil who mixed with movie stars was a son of a Norman farmer.
classic1 is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 07:20 AM
  #88  
Riding behind enemy lines
 
iluvfreebeer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Occupied Texas
Posts: 408

Bikes: Orbea, Trek, Cadex, Colnago, Schwinn, Specialized, Poghliaghi, Kellog, KHS, Kellog, Litespeed

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by PrfectHair4ever
The average person living in Bangkok also has about 1/50th the income as a person living in the western world... that just shows your ignorance

I spent six years living in Bangkok . . . there is little to no interest in competitive cycling among Thais. And because of the insane Thai drivers, we farangs who did it were either insane, or destined for the ER or morgue.
I ended up in the ER.



-----------------------
__________________
------------------------------------

Armstrong never got caught cheating.
That probably makes him as good a cheater as a cyclist.

-- Some guy at the Dallas Crits
iluvfreebeer is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 07:21 AM
  #89  
Riding behind enemy lines
 
iluvfreebeer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Occupied Texas
Posts: 408

Bikes: Orbea, Trek, Cadex, Colnago, Schwinn, Specialized, Poghliaghi, Kellog, KHS, Kellog, Litespeed

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by 0810
when i bike, i do occasionally see blacks in tights and jerseys biking on nice road bikes, with road shoes too and cycle comp, there are some out there.
And I'm one of them.
__________________
------------------------------------

Armstrong never got caught cheating.
That probably makes him as good a cheater as a cyclist.

-- Some guy at the Dallas Crits
iluvfreebeer is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 07:29 AM
  #90  
Riding behind enemy lines
 
iluvfreebeer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Occupied Texas
Posts: 408

Bikes: Orbea, Trek, Cadex, Colnago, Schwinn, Specialized, Poghliaghi, Kellog, KHS, Kellog, Litespeed

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jimx200
"All black kids are poor"? Sounds patronizing and a little racist.
"Only interested in basketball and rap"? Go visit a local elementary, jr. high, or high school and you'll quickly see you are dead wrong. Man, where do you live? Whites only?
"No chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life"? Where do you come up with this crap? Sounds very patronizing and elitist.
+1
My BLACK kids are NOT poor.
They don't play basketball.
They don't listen to cRap music.
They dont' dress like gang bangers.
They live in an upper middle class neighborhood and have variously graduated from West Point, UT, Kellog School of Business and the youngest are home schooled and believe it or not, play with children of ALL races, creeds and ethnic groups.

Don't judge black people by the stereotypes on MTV, NBC, CBS and other slimeball media outlets. We're not all Crips or Bloods.

Typical liberal racist crap!!!!
Liberals are the most intolerant people on the planet.

--------------------------------------------
__________________
------------------------------------

Armstrong never got caught cheating.
That probably makes him as good a cheater as a cyclist.

-- Some guy at the Dallas Crits
iluvfreebeer is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 07:29 AM
  #91  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 150
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by classic1
Cycling is definitely a blue collar sport. It's also a European sport. Where you from? The US? The demographics of the traditional supporters/competitors of cycling in Europe are completely different to the US, where it is considered a yuppie or middle age rich dude sport.

Merckx was unusual in that his parents were middle class shopkeepers. In the 1980's Visentini was considered very unusual because he was the playboy son of a rich funeral home operator. Most top riders up until then were poor farm boys, sons of coal miners, sons of factory workers, that kind of thing. Even an urbane person like Anquetil who mixed with movie stars was a son of a Norman farmer.
Looks like we are hitting the nail on the head here. In Europe cycling is valued and supported with a few exceptions. I agree...in the US road cycling is an elitist sport. Just like going to the gym to work out is an elitist activity. Most people are overweight in the US. LOL!!!! Most Americans can't even find a bike that would support their weight. The car culture also kills cycling in the US.

I would agree that in Europe cycling is an activity of the people.
twbradford is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 07:50 AM
  #92  
Ant
Senior Member
 
Ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: NJ
Posts: 233

Bikes: Trek 1200 : Trek 3700

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by iluvfreebeer
+1
My BLACK kids are NOT poor.
They don't play basketball.
They don't listen to cRap music.
They dont' dress like gang bangers.
They live in an upper middle class neighborhood and have variously graduated from West Point, UT, Kellog School of Business and the youngest are home schooled and believe it or not, play with children of ALL races, creeds and ethnic groups.

Don't judge black people by the stereotypes on MTV, NBC, CBS and other slimeball media outlets. We're not all Crips or Bloods.

Typical liberal racist crap!!!!
Liberals are the most intolerant people on the planet.

--------------------------------------------
I agree but don't sweat it. I'm Korean and suck at riding, can't do karate, and I'm not particularly good at math. The ignorant people find their place in life. Just live yours.
Ant is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 08:01 AM
  #93  
means go
 
allez's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Memphis, TN
Posts: 613

Bikes: '06 Pedal Force RS

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by iluvfreebeer
Typical liberal racist crap!!!!
Liberals are the most intolerant people on the planet.
I resent those statements. Do you know what the word "liberal" means? It refers to people who are open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional beliefs or stereotypes that unfortunately run rampant in this country. Our conservative government are the people who are trying to ban gay marriage and kick people out of the country left and right. That doesn't sound very tolerant, does it? Were you one of the 8% of the African-American population that voted for Bush?
allez is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 08:08 AM
  #94  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seattle, LA, Suzhou
Posts: 205

Bikes: Hugh Porter criterium, Davidson Discovery (touring), GT road, Nishiki Yukon MTB (which I hate)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jimx200
"All black kids are poor"? Sounds patronizing and a little racist.
"Only interested in basketball and rap"? Go visit a local elementary, jr. high, or high school and you'll quickly see you are dead wrong. Man, where do you live? Whites only?
"No chance to go to school and grow to have a normal life"? Where do you come up with this crap? Sounds very patronizing and elitist.
Which is exactly the point I was trying to make! (Re-read the post I was responding to with that post.)
smellygary is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 08:17 AM
  #95  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seattle, LA, Suzhou
Posts: 205

Bikes: Hugh Porter criterium, Davidson Discovery (touring), GT road, Nishiki Yukon MTB (which I hate)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by bellweatherman
Don't assume that all inner city kids are black. There are other minorities as well. You think they can afford designer jeans, let alone an entry-level racing bike? I don't think so. Spare me the basketball and rap stereotype. A basketball sure does cost a LOT less money than a bike. And rap is good music. As good as country, classic, etc. Don't assume and put down inner-city youth by stereotyping with their music tastes either.
Evidently your reading ability didn't pick up the subtlety of tongue-in-cheek rhetoric.
smellygary is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 08:32 AM
  #96  
Prodigal Son
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posts: 133

Bikes: Cervelo R3, Cannondale CAAD10, Brompton

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Here's a timely article on this subject....

https://english.people.com.cn/200607/...29_288087.html
ICU Doc is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 08:38 AM
  #97  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seattle, LA, Suzhou
Posts: 205

Bikes: Hugh Porter criterium, Davidson Discovery (touring), GT road, Nishiki Yukon MTB (which I hate)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by iluvfreebeer
+1
My BLACK kids are NOT poor.
They don't play basketball.
They don't listen to cRap music.
They dont' dress like gang bangers.
They live in an upper middle class neighborhood and have variously graduated from West Point, UT, Kellog School of Business and the youngest are home schooled and believe it or not, play with children of ALL races, creeds and ethnic groups.

Don't judge black people by the stereotypes on MTV, NBC, CBS and other slimeball media outlets. We're not all Crips or Bloods.

Typical liberal racist crap!!!!
Liberals are the most intolerant people on the planet.

--------------------------------------------
I guess my original post that inspired these recent comments was completely misunderstood. Evidently the facetious comments I made--using rhetoric to make a point--was lost on the internet, and only served as a rubber mallet to elicit knee-jerk reactions from readers that don't care to take a pause and understand. Did anybody happen to read the last sentence of that post? That should have clarified something for you.

Iluvfreebeer says that his home schooled kids play with kids of ALL races and creeds and ethnic groups. In that upper middle class neighborhood? Mt knee jerk reaction to that is its a bit of an exagerration. But here's a challenge: what are the first names of their Coptic friends?

All said and done, I certainly don't apologize for your misunderstanding of my original post, nor for your ability to only see only negativity, nor for your assumptions that I'm "white", that I've never lived in the "inner city", that I'm "liberal", "intolerant", or that I waste my time listening to talking heads on TV, most especially MTV.

Are you the one doing the home schooling?
smellygary is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 09:17 AM
  #98  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 913
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by smellygary
Which is exactly the point I was trying to make! (Re-read the post I was responding to with that post.)
Thanks for the clarification. Thought you were on a stereotyping rant.
jimx200 is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 09:33 AM
  #99  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 913
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by allez
I resent those statements. Do you know what the word "liberal" means? It refers to people who are open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional beliefs or stereotypes that unfortunately run rampant in this country. Our conservative government are the people who are trying to ban gay marriage and kick people out of the country left and right. That doesn't sound very tolerant, does it? Were you one of the 8% of the African-American population that voted for Bush?

As a former "liberal", I came to realize the MOST intolerant and bigoted people all had one thing in common...they proclaimed to be liberal. It was their way of thinking or you are not enlightened, progressive, or you are a gay basher. They believe that all blacks, mexicans, etc. are alike in they cannot do it themselves and need affirmative action, need a lower level to pass minimum school test standards, and believe that their color is their cross to bear. Sorry, I am old enough to clearly see the liberal bastions of the country as they truly are: Kennedys, Boxer, Schummer, and don't forget Kerry (our very own, authentic War Hero), et all. Maybe time for an extended visit outside the US (a week in Cancun does'nt count) to get a bigger view of the universe.
jimx200 is offline  
Old 07-30-06, 10:16 AM
  #100  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seattle, LA, Suzhou
Posts: 205

Bikes: Hugh Porter criterium, Davidson Discovery (touring), GT road, Nishiki Yukon MTB (which I hate)

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by jimx200
As a former "liberal", I came to realize the MOST intolerant and bigoted people all had one thing in common...they proclaimed to be liberal. It was their way of thinking or you are not enlightened, progressive, or you are a gay basher. They believe that all blacks, mexicans, etc. are alike in they cannot do it themselves and need affirmative action, need a lower level to pass minimum school test standards, and believe that their color is their cross to bear. Sorry, I am old enough to clearly see the liberal bastions of the country as they truly are: Kennedys, Boxer, Schummer, and don't forget Kerry (our very own, authentic War Hero), et all. Maybe time for an extended visit outside the US (a week in Cancun does'nt count) to get a bigger view of the universe.
This is quickly turning into a P&R discussion.

I've never been able to completely give definition to my political leanings. (Don't tell my parents or my wife--which are on opposite sides of the political fence, but I vote pretty bipartison.) And I think maybe I shouldn't. I'm still just trying to take it all one issue at a time, which gets pretty exhausting after a while. There's all the issues that keep coming back to us, like Scopes, Roe vs. Wade, Euthanasia/Right to Die, and so many others, that are so big in some way and probably will never be decided once and for all, and maybe shouldn't be. They're too big, too important, they deserve the everlasting debate. And Affirmative Action is still in its 2nd generation, but it should have the original desired effect by the end of three generations. Acording to the socialologists anyway. But I might be stepping on toes again!

Back to the thread at hand, sporting in China is going through a major upheaval and redefinition right now, and will continue to be defined for a while yet. The government is letting go of some of the absolute control its had over basically everything (provincial and city politics, business, education, etc.) a little at a time. One of the biggest problems occuring that prevents expansion, or emergence, is that theres a lot of graft and corruption. At every level. The central gov has created a tremdous amount of red tape, and through its own corruption it renders the red tape redundant, but still enforces it. And the attitudinal and cultural walls that need to be circumvented are incredibally complex.
How does all this effect professional bicycle racing in Asia or Asians in Pro racing? Time will tell. A large enough body of people that want it. If they can watch it on TV for free, why pay for it? The current attitude is basically, why pay somebody to ride a bike, when so many of us do it for free? "Ridnig bicycles is for peasents; anybody that has a real job takes the company shuttle bus to work."
And participation in sports is basically "silly kid stuff," and is left for the Olys or Championship type events. For the people that go to University, its graduate and get a nice job, a nice apt and get married. For people without the oppurtunity to go to school for very long, its find whatever job that pays best, get some sort of living arrangement, and get married. Other than badminton and ping pong, sports participation doesn't really exist in common Chinese lifestyles.
The other issues is that there's still not a whole heck of a lot of media coverage of international sports like pro racing. Even in the populations you might expect to find interest in it. Unfortunately, if there aren't Chinese athletes doing well in it, it just doesn't get coverage.
smellygary is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.