Racial slur on sofa label stuns family.

[Just Jack]

Why can't you people feel sorry? Put your self in their shoes. Don't you think you'd feel some shame and insulted when shopping for groceries and see these?

[mcjeff215]

Somehow I doubt "brown like African Americans" is much better.

 

I find it incredibly hard to believe that some furniture shop in Shanghai would choose to print a term they understand is derogatory to at least 12.06% of their target market. Even if it was a full fledged reference to skin color, that doesn't mean it was intended to do harm.

 

(Note that was a stupid thing to print regardless of the reasoning, I'm not arguing that. I just have trouble believing it was intentional.)

 

Didn't some big American company do something like this in Russia not too long ago? Different words and phrases have a different meanings in different cultures. I learned real quick that the term "root" has a different meaning to some Australians when I mentioned "RotoRooter" down there. I was laughed at like you wouldn't believe.

[The Dean]

I find it incredibly hard to believe that some furniture shop in Shanghai would choose to print a term they understand is derogatory to at least 12.06% of their target market. Even if it was a full fledged reference to skin color, that doesn't mean it was intended to do harm.

 

(Note that was a stupid thing to print regardless of the reasoning, I'm not arguing that. I just have trouble believing it was intentional.)

 

Didn't some big American company do something like this in Russia not too long ago? Different words and phrases have a different meanings in different cultures. I learned real quick that the term "root" has a different meaning to some Australians when I mentioned "RotoRooter" down there. I was laughed at like you wouldn't believe.

 

 

Agreed. Stupid, but not intentionally offensive.

 

Or not...

[/dev/null]

Somehow I doubt "brown like African Americans" is much better.

 

If you'd like something darker they have "Blacker than Dave Chapelle". If that tone is too dark we can lighten it up with the "I'm Wayne Brady B*tch!"

[MadBuffaloDisease]

I disagree that it wasn't intentional or was an honest mistake. First of all, black people are varying shades of brown, so the association IS there. It's not like they called it "honkey brown," which would have made NO sense whatsoever. But I've never heard of "African-American" brown, much less "black" brown, much MUCH less "N*^%$#" brown. Have you? Is there nothing brown in China except for black people, and are all black people there the same color as those pieces of furniture? Basically the intention WAS there.

 

Second of all, it's not like you go to your handy-dandy Chinese-American dictionary, look-up "African American," and get the N word. Or maybe it's Chinese Thesaurus that's the problem?

[mcjeff215]

I disagree that it wasn't intentional or was an honest mistake. First of all, black people are varying shades of brown, so the association IS there. It's not like they called it "honkey brown," which would have made NO sense whatsoever. But I've never heard of "African-American" brown, much less "black" brown, much MUCH less "N*^%$#" brown. Have you? Is there nothing brown in China except for black people, and are all black people there the same color as those pieces of furniture? Basically the intention WAS there.

 

Second of all, it's not like you go to your handy-dandy Chinese-American dictionary, look-up "African American," and get the N word. Or maybe it's Chinese Thesaurus that's the problem?

 

Whatever the reasoning, it was a stupid thing to put on that label. That I agree with.

 

I have real trouble believing it was intentional though. It would be like an American company shipping bathing suits called "Wetback Shorts" to Mexico and expecting them to sell. No point in arguing it though. I guess if the Chinese company has four employees and is run out of a small garage it's possible. I just don't see it happening intentionally at a larger company. Too many unknowns I guess.

[The Dean]

Whatever the reasoning, it was a stupid thing to put on that label. That I agree with.

 

I have real trouble believing it was intentional though. It would be like an American company shipping bathing suits called "Wetback Shorts" to Mexico and expecting them to sell. No point in arguing it though. I guess if the Chinese company has four million employees and is run out of a small garage it's possible. I just don't see it happening intentionally at a larger company. Too many unknowns I guess.

 

 

Fixed it for ya

[/dev/null]

I disagree that it wasn't intentional or was an honest mistake. First of all, black people are varying shades of brown, so the association IS there. It's not like they called it "honkey brown," which would have made NO sense whatsoever. But I've never heard of "African-American" brown, much less "black" brown, much MUCH less "N*^%$#" brown. Have you? Is there nothing brown in China except for black people, and are all black people there the same color as those pieces of furniture? Basically the intention WAS there.

 

Second of all, it's not like you go to your handy-dandy Chinese-American dictionary, look-up "African American," and get the N word. Or maybe it's Chinese Thesaurus that's the problem?

 

the Chinese probably think all black people look the same

[mcjeff215]

Fixed it for ya

 

 

Ok, this one rests.

[Dibs]

I disagree that it wasn't intentional or was an honest mistake. First of all, black people are varying shades of brown, so the association IS there. It's not like they called it "honkey brown," which would have made NO sense whatsoever. But I've never heard of "African-American" brown, much less "black" brown, much MUCH less "N*^%$#" brown. Have you?

Actually, yes I have.

 

"N*^%$#" brown was a common name for a shade of brown outside the USA for a long long time. Used commonly in the UK. Obviously the Chinese company obtained this & ran with the colour without understanding the ramifications.

[sullim4]

Step A: 通過家具播種種族不安種子

 

Through furniture sowing seeds race restless seed

 

[Acantha]

Actually, yes I have.

 

"N*^%$#" brown was a common name for a shade of brown outside the USA for a long long time. Used commonly in the UK. Obviously the Chinese company obtained this & ran with the colour without understanding the ramifications.

Yep. I don't know, I think it's pretty obviously a translation mistake.

[/dev/null]

Yep. I don't know, I think it's pretty obviously a translation mistake.

 

Not the first time it happened. Maybe this translation will get another music video

 

In A.D. 2101

War was beginning...

Captain: What happen ?

Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.

Operator: We get signal.

Captain: What !

Operator: Main screen turn on.

Captain: It's you !!

Cats: How are you gentlemen !!

Cats: All your base are belong to us.

Cats: You are on the way to destruction.

Captain: What you say !!

Cats: You have no chance to survive make your time.

Cats: Ha ha ha ha ....

Operator: Captain !!

Captain: Take off every 'Zig' !!

Captain: You know what you doing.

Captain: Move 'Zig'.

Captain: For great justice.

[Dibs]

Yep. I don't know, I think it's pretty obviously a translation mistake.

I do know. "Nikker Brown" was the name of a shade of Brown outside of the USA.

 

It's difficult to find things to back up my knowledge since the term is an old one(my 60+ year old parents from UK remember using it) but here is a Link backing the information.

[KD in CA]

Actually, yes I have.

 

"N*^%$#" brown was a common name for a shade of brown outside the USA for a long long time. Used commonly in the UK. Obviously the Chinese company obtained this & ran with the colour without understanding the ramifications.

 

This explanation is spot on. People need to study their languages better -- the Latin root of the word means 'black'. Outside of the American South it was seen as a rather innocuous term until the recent past. My grandfather had a dog named N----- 70 years ago. They lived in Wisconsin; and they didn't have any particular problem with blacks. Remember that until the age of television and mass media, you generally never heard about things that happened thousands of miles away unless is was a national election or a world war.

 

To assume that a Chinese furniture compay is trying to intentionally piss off black people (and lose customers) is pretty silly.

[pdh1]

YOWZERS

 

and talk about Mr. Articulate:

 

"That's terrible, that's a racial ... something?" Kumar said. "This is entirely wrong, but it's not my fault. It's my job to sell good product to people."

 

If they just would have called in nigga-brown instead, they could have sold thousands to the hip-hop community.

[mcjeff215]

This explanation is spot on. People need to study their languages better -- the Latin root of the word means 'black'. Outside of the American South it was seen as a rather innocuous term until the recent past. My grandfather had a dog named N----- 70 years ago. They lived in Wisconsin; and they didn't have any particular problem with blacks. Remember that until the age of television and mass media, you generally never heard about things that happened thousands of miles away unless is was a national election or a world war.

 

To assume that a Chinese furniture compay is trying to intentionally piss off black people (and lose customers) is pretty silly.

 

Thank you! Hell, 'negro' is Spanish for black. This is what I meant by "translation problem."

[BB27]

Did these folks also find a finger in their chili at Wendy's?

 

Seems kind of a stretch to me.

[Helmet_hair]

Did these folks also find a finger in their chili at Wendy's?

 

Seems kind of a stretch to me.

What I thinking, hoax or money grab

[MDH]

People need to study their languages better -- the Latin root of the word means 'black'.

 

 

I think many people realize this as most have studied a romance language of one sort or another in high school. If this is the explanation though what does "black brown" mean?