Why Asians shouldn’t be mad at ‘Cook Poo’
Feb 2nd, 2010 by dino-ray
In this week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) tries to have the “Perfect Week” (hence the title of the show) by sleeping with a different lady every night – but his danger of genital wart-infused promiscuity isn’t the focus of this episode. The focus (for me at least) was Cook Poo.
While teaching his architecture class, Ted (Josh Radnor) makes fun of a name on his roster: Cook Poo (or is it Kuk Pu?), thinking that someone put that name the roster as a joke. Turns out it’s a real student who is Asian (of course). She gets offended and drops out of his class.
The 2001 militant Asian in me would’ve gotten all pissy over this situation. I probably would’ve boycotted the show, made picket signs and flew to CBS studios and caused a big ol’ hoopla – but I have mellowed out since then. Even though there is probably a brigade of Asian American progressives who would take those kinds of actions, the rest of us see the humor in the ordeal.
For one, it makes Ted look unbelievably ignorant – and throughout the episode his friends make sure he knows that. Secondly, it shows that Asian names are becoming easier to pronounce and people who aren’t familiar with the culture are embracing foreign names. Lastly, the name is just plain funny like any other name in a different culture: Amanda Hugginkiss, Seymour Butts, Sanjaya Malakar, Miley Cyrus, etc. etc.
I am sure that this ‘Cook Poo’ incident won’t cause an uproar, but I just wanted to reiterate why it shouldn’t. If it does offend, then perhaps you need to lighten up. I am sure there is a Cook Poo somewhere in the world who found this episode hilarious.
Why no one should be “angry” about a fake situation from a TV show:
Full disclosure first: I am a GenX 30-ish, white male born and raised in Canadian(beside US border). My ethnicity is mostly a pretty even mix of English & French (with a little German and like 1/16 of native canadian tribe called Metis which we argue about if we are related to a famous one that no one outside of Canada would have ever heard of).
I won’t try and go too far with the “I have [blank] friends.” weak comment, but truthfully especially at University I hung around more with persons of different ethnicities (and extreme left way “radicals” too) as we got along better. I’m the first to admit that my ancestors were just better at pilaging(Cnd ones less violent than down south) and mostly would apologize if the topic came up to natives for stealing land and stuff or for both the internments and slave labor on railroads that also occurred in Canada long ago.
Still any past oppression has nothing to do with this show although I have letter doubt of racism’s still existing under the false cover of PC baloney. I work in the US now and people treat Canadians like the international equivalent of a Priest to confess their racist views as Canada is like some magical land that agrees with them. (well we do have a pretty tolerant and open multi-cultural society;) Those situations still make me sick, but the only relation to this show is that any that exists is underground and hidden.
My university had huge numbers of Asians and more because I am in engineering and it is the largest ethnic group in the city too. Graduation the poor old white profs tried their hardest and still butchered names by accident. Where I work with mostly engineers we are heavily dominated by Asians and I’ve never ever heard anyone make fun of a name on any level like that even in jest.
This TV episode is total fiction as the prof would have been dragged in front of the Dean had this happened, but it never would as most would try hard to say it correctly and never make jokes. Plus is he the dumbest professor in existance. A white guy went to my highschool name Brick Wall. I knew an italian girl whose last name if said right started like F#ck*.
Double entendres across languages can be funny and you have to be able to laugh at such things. If you have ever laughed at a white person trying to learn Chinese when their inflection is wrong and it turns something simple to something sexual then first I do not believe you and second it is the same thing, but you would only expect light teasing among friends and not this ridiculous situation. He would have apologized to her and the class possibly with the Dean and she would not have dropped out. They may have made the “Poo” jokes among his friends, but otherwise it would not have ended that way at the school.
As far as accidental mispronunciation is concerned…unless you can perfectly speak all languages, can roll you tongue for Spanish ones, never miss a sylable for Indian ones(from India), never make the mistake of calling Native Americans “Indians” (like a dumb lost white dude did), never use the insulting term Eskimo(raw meat eater) for Inuit(people of the north), and can do perfect clicks for Australian Aboriganies…then you need to chill out and get a reality check and try to help others gain cultural awareness and also do better yourself and not take things so seriously. A topic avoided breeds ignorance and thought police breeds intolerance and anger.
Cultural understanding requires cultural discussion and although this episode did little to conform to reality it least it touched on the topic. Cultural sharing and and patience to any who are trying is a better approach especially for high context cultures. When you first meet someone from another culture do them a favor and say you name a tad slower so they can get it right. I ask some to repeat it so I do not mess it up and call them something else… possibly stupid or sexual by accident for a year before they tell me.
I also dated a Korean girl seriously for over a year. It’s better now, but racism and reverse (technically it is all racism IMHO) exists and will as long as we do not challenge it and reach out to those willing. The truth is a person like Ted or the real professors I have seen are far more worried about saying your name wrong and insulting you than anything else. Give them a chance, break it down, explain it’s significance if relevant(over time). Building bridges solves problems, burning them solves none.
Agent J.
Thanks Agent J for the lengthy, yet very insightful reply!
The whole episode made me so upset! I ended up dropping out of college this morning because I couldn’t get any sleep over it. Now excuse me while I go to pick up my #2 from McLaren’s.
I’m sorry Cook. Let’s go play a game of laser tag some time! On me!
I am Metis. Metis is a mix of French Canadian and Cree. Not a tribe! Now I’m offended. Just kidding I wanted to clear that up.
“For one, it makes Ted look unbelievably ignorant – and throughout the episode his friends make sure he knows that.”
Actually, his friends kept laughing and making poo jokes. They’re just as ignorant as he is.
Good point.
To dino-ray: No probs…hope it was not too far past the attention span of most in this Twitterish age. All true…I’m very passionate about such things and hate watching the fungus that is racism grow in dark and ignorant places.
To R Lew: If you truly Canadian Metis and also a fan of HIMYM and saw the “Duel-Citizenship” episode I must tell you that from direct personal experience all things Canadian must be sadly simplified when talking with 99.99% of Americans even without Rick Mercer and a camera. Even today literally when at a training class a MI native was tweaked when I did not assume he knew Ottawa was Canada’s capital and then made a bone ass comment when the Ottawa native and I made some off hand joke he took literally and so I followed with the Yes we have electricity and running water gag.
Of course I know “Metis is a mix of French Canadian and Cree”…since the Champoux side of my family is likely related to Louis Riel indirectly. But I am lucky when some of my American coworkers know that Quebec almost separated…and try having a conversation about our Prorogue Protests…seriously. I like my American cousins and coworkers, but as shows like Family Guy poke fun at…until they focus on valuable knowledge about the world over Reality TV…well you still have to simplify all things Canadian even for the NPR junkie’s. (sad, but true)
To happylittlegirl: Exactly…although some are quite dumb and ignorant about such things…the PC thought police fears and relative level of intelligence of the characters make any of their “Poo” jokes seem ridiculously stupid. But not exactly overly offensive as I suggest if the dumb things white people mispronounce in other languages is funny. True racism, bigotry, ignorance and elitism has no specific color or creed included or excluded. Besides I would like to fix the tangible equality stuff instead of focusing on the language which has done little then reinforce the underground ignorance fueled stuff. George Carlin has a great bit on this on how Euphamism and PC is a way of literally White Washing things to be called something else and still discriminated against.
Let’s let the light of Truth shine in and also remove the chip’s off our shoulders to solve problems rather than institutionalize having the fester and grow in the dark.
Agent J.
The prime evil to battle in this world is B.S. After that the rest is almost peanuts by comparison!
I use to teach a class for the Federal for an agency that has staff members from several different countries. So, I use to have to have other people pronounce names for me so that I would not mispronounce names in classes. One of the staff members coming to my class one day was Phat Cao (Fat Cow). I had a hard time calling on him in the class. Later I found out that there is a beauty supply store in may area with the name “Cao Dung Beauty Clinic.” What a name.
My 6 years gf dumped me over a white french retard who aint good at all in english…just coz he is white i gess, and well she is asian…sumthing about asian girls they go gaga wen a white man comes to em…