Hehe, I had an asian driver. He was hard to understand. Plus asian drivers (at least in california) are among the WORST (nothing racist, it's just TRUE). Also, I didn't start stick, so I had an easy time learning. Then I learned stick later in a day or two. Stick ROCKS!

Um. mystik, your comment doesn't strike me as having much "truth" at all. The phrases in your parenthetical comment appear to be reversed.

But seeing as I am personally a lousy driver and I'm frankly scared of the road, I'm not gonna argue on my own behalf.

Regardless, Temp, I'm American, not Asian. There isn't really anything here to respond to.

Hmm,

I suppose I should take that post as funny? If this was in response to a potentially offensive comment by Mystik then I think it was in bad taste. I personally, don't fit most of those stereotypes and had a distinct problem with number 7. As one who has been in therapy for 3 years I DO find it helpful. Saying that it's all just whining is ignorant, and smacks of one who has never been there.

On the other hand I've long since discovered that I'm not the typical "Yank" so I do see the truth of those comments WAY TO FREAKIN OFTEN. Poeple are just morons in this country. I mean I work retail I know all about it! :)

Ah I understand Temp. I missed the point the first time around. :p

Mystik, your comment was racist by definition. There is absolutely no relation between being "Asian" (or of Asian decent) and driving skill. Your idea that there is comes purely from common logical fallacies. That is, because you have had a number of incidents where people who happened to be "Asian" were driving poorly, you have come to the conclusion that it is somehow because they are "Asian". It's not. You are wrong.

Now, there's no reason to have a flame war over this. I understand that you meant no harm or offense, and I don't automatically think you are a racist person for saying what you did. It was just an innocent mistake. Please realize, though, that such statements are ignorant and they are offensive. So, regardless of your true intent, you are being ignorant and offensive by making them.

Really, imagine if you were arguing with the guy that wrote that Slashdot comment, and you were trying to convince him that not all Americans are morons, and he refused to believe you based on the fact that he had met a few Americans and they were all morons.

...

Let me explain this a bit differently. 30% of the population of the San Jose metro area is "Asian". That's a pretty big percentage. In fact, it is the largest among major cities in the continental US. However, I would wager that, when you lived there, 90% or more of the people you actually interacted with were not "Asian". This is, unfortunately, fairly normal. People tend to associate with others of their own "race", perhaps because it's easier to identify with people who come from the same cultural background.

Now, when you were out on the street, no doubt 30% of all bad drivers you encountered were "Asian". The thing is, since you are not accustomed to interacting with "Asians" a lot, your brain has a tendancy to notice more when a driver is "Asian". On the other hand, when a white driver does something stupid, you don't specifically remember that they are white, because you don't see them as being unusual in any way. This is a very easy and common mistake to make. In fact, it is human nature to make this mistake. All of your friends came to the same conclusion the same way. However, the conclusion is FALSE.

Indeed, this phenomenon is exactly the cause of most racist beliefs.

As a comparison, one thing I have noticed when driving around the slums of Minneapolis is that there are a lot of people who like to randomly walk out into the street in the middle of traffic. Most of the people I see doing this are black, and at times I have noticed myself getting the idea that black people don't know how to check for traffic before crossing streets. However, most of the residents of the inner city of Minneapolis are black, so such a conclusion is clearly fallicious; white people in the slums are just as likely to do such things. I make a conscious effort to correct myself when I start thinking these things, because they are racist ideas that have no basis in reality. Unfortunately, it is natural for humans to be racist (and, in general, to see patterns that aren't really there), so you have to make a conscious effort to think about these things and realize when you are wrong. If you don't make this effort, you will inevidably end up saying and believing things that are racist.

Besides, if 90% of "Asians" in San Jose are bad drivers, then you are saying that at least 27% of the city is bad at driving. Think about all the good drivers you pass every time you drive anywhere. It's only one in a hundred, or maybe even one in a thousand who does something stupid. So, even if there were some truth to the idea that "Asians" are worse drivers, you can see that your claim is absurd. And then, how can you judge the entire "Asian" population of San Jose based on the few you have encountered who were bad drivers? Is that really fair?

(Incase anyone is wondering, I put words like "Asian" and "race" in quotes because I don't really like using them in this context. The people we are talking about are all American, not Asian, as Kass pointed out. Furthermore, a person's "race" really tells you no more about that person than does the color of their eyes or hair. It seems silly to me to distinguish people by "race" at all.)

Well, the thing is, everytime I saw a bad driver, I ALWAYS checked to see who was driving. ALWAYS. And the vast majority were asian. But I only say that after all that's been said to kinda top of my argument and make sure it's all there. Otherwise, I have nothing left to say except I still stand where I do and for, in my opinion, solid reason.