Saying RICE = Racism?

[Kakashi]

Ok, so lets have a little discussion here.

I've come to the realization that calling something RICE or calling someone a Ricer constitutes as a kind of racism. Think about it, who do you think of as a "ricer"? A person who eats rice? And who eats rice almost all the time? Asians.
First time I ever heard "ricer" was after Fast and the Furious. Before that movie hit the screens and did WELL, I might add, I had only heard the terms ghetto, or Asian. And of course anything produced out of Asia must be ghetto, right? Made in China means complete garbage right?

Im not trying to defend ghetto-mods, or often way overmodded cars. But it occurred to me that saying things like RICE or RICER is just a less obvious way of being racist. And i almost NEVER think about politics or being politically correct. Normally i could not give a damn. How often do you hear Asian people referring to ghetto-mods as RICE? It doesnt make any sense. Unless youre a self-hating Asian. WE, as Asian people do not call any kind of American or European mods anything derisive. Its only a freaking American stigma.

Thoughts?

[bizzybearfigiblue]

i just call it rice b/c that's the word that's out. i never even related it to asians until someone on here pointed that out to me. but like i said i still say it b/c that's the word that's out that almost everyone knows.

[shawn-o]

i usually refer to something as rice, because its tasteless.

(rice- also bland/tasteless)

Some people think anything can be considered racism. I never even thought that calling someone a ricer or their car was being racist.

[MordeKyle]

I spent the first 7 years of my life in hong kong. I am part chinese, but not very much at all. I have darker more "yellow" skin tone. I dont like the word RICE or RICER. I dont think it is really racist, words like "*****" "slant eye" and other things like that are racist. Most of the time people dont call asian people ricers. mostly white boys are called ricers. i definatly can understand your argument about how it could be racist tho

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by MordeKyle

Most of the time people dont call asian people ricers. mostly white boys are called ricers.

shit, maybe in Missouri.

Yeah, im definately not trying to make huge tides of society change or anything. Just food for thought.

[dcfife]

I don't call them anything. I just point and laugh my butt off.

[_SNYPA_]

I dont think it is racist to to say rice. if you are going to say that you might as well say your racist if you see a big truck and say there is a redneck driving it, or if you see a young guy get out of BMW you say somthing about hes a rich punk or anything along those lines, or calling a mexican a beener. these kinds of phrases are going to be taken differently by everyperson who reads this. Its just going to happen theres nothing you can do about it.

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by _SNYPA_

I dont think it is racist to to say rice. if you are going to say that you might as well say your racist if you see a big truck and say there is a redneck driving it, or if you see a young guy get out of BMW you say somthing about hes a rich punk or anything along those lines, or calling a mexican a beener. these kinds of phrases are going to be taken differently by everyperson who reads this. Its just going to happen theres nothing you can do about it.

so you think that: "all truck drivers are rednecks", "BMW owners are all punks", and that "mexicans are beaners" is NOT being racist? That you are not classifying people? The act of classifying or categorizing something, means to order things. If youre seeking order, then there has to be a beginning and a end, a top and a low, a light and a dark. Somehow i doubt people classify other people in a perfectly round circle so were all equal. Even then, who gets to be at the top of the circle?

We're all the same people. Our genes differ by some miniscule amount. Classifying people by the way they act, the religion they believe in, or the way they look, is WRONG.

[kish-81]

This is NOT racist, believe me, I KNOW what racist is!

Signed,

Michael Richards
a.k.a. Kramer


__________________
2006 LX Sedan AT
Royal Blue Pearl
Ivory Interior

[CameronJr9]

Racism is a touchy subject. We will continue this thread in a non-hostile way. Name calling will not be accepted, especially when directed specificially toward fellow members. I have edited a post or two in this thread already. Any more instances and it will be closed.

Please continue the discussion if you feel you can add any constructive comments. All others will cause this to be closed.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

Originally Posted by Kakashi

Ok, so lets have a little discussion here.

I've come to the realization that calling something RICE or calling someone a Ricer constitutes as a kind of racism. Think about it, who do you think of as a "ricer"? A person who eats rice? And who eats rice almost all the time? Asians.
First time I ever heard "ricer" was after Fast and the Furious. Before that movie hit the screens and did WELL, I might add, I had only heard the terms ghetto, or Asian. And of course anything produced out of Asia must be ghetto, right? Made in China means complete garbage right?

Im not trying to defend ghetto-mods, or often way overmodded cars. But it occurred to me that saying things like RICE or RICER is just a less obvious way of being racist. And i almost NEVER think about politics or being politically correct. Normally i could not give a damn. How often do you hear Asian people referring to ghetto-mods as RICE? It doesnt make any sense. Unless youre a self-hating Asian. WE, as Asian people do not call any kind of American or European mods anything derisive. Its only a freaking American stigma.

Thoughts?

when i heared this RICE thing, i think the same way as you do but somebody explained to me why its beeing called RICE.. shearch wikipedia for an answer.

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by kish-81

This is NOT racist, believe me, I KNOW what racist is!

Signed,

Michael Richards
a.k.a. Kramer

haha..

so explain yourself Kosmo.

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by BATANG CITY JAIL

when i heared this RICE thing, i think the same way as you do but somebody explained to me why its beeing called RICE.. shearch wikipedia for an answer.

what makes wikipedia the premiere source for social information?

who put together that information?

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

Originally Posted by Kakashi

what makes wikipedia the premiere source for social information?

who put together that information?

i have no idea.. but who ever told me what the meaning of RICE, he/she took it from wikipedia.


i found it.

Origin
The word "rice" in rice burner refers to the fact that the vehicles the term was originally applied to were of Japanese origin, and the fact that rice is a staple food in East Asian cuisine. The climate of the East Asian region provides optimal growing conditions for rice, and rice has historically been a staple food source in Japan and other Asian countries. As such, this word has associated itself with that racial group in the same way pasta is associated with Italians (e.g. using the term "pasta rocket" to describe Italian made sports cars such as the Ferrari or the Lamborghini). Its earliest usage is still in question, but examples include the term referring to Japanese motorcycles in the early to mid 1980s, and muscle car enthusiasts' jokes that cars from Japan used engines powered by rice alcohol.

Though in the 1970s and 80s the Japanese did produce many popular performance cars and performance versions of existing cars, many of them were never exported to North America, and Japanese cars were not thought of as sport performance vehicles in the west. Not until the late 1980s and early 1990s did imported performance parts began filtering through the west coast, as well as more performance oriented cars, such as the Toyota Supra. Many factors, such as parts being interchangeable, the low cost of obtaining a used import car to start with, and networking and e-commerce via the Internet all allowed the expansion of the practice of modifying a low-cost compact car. This was in direct contrast to American car production around the same time, where there was little widespread performance aftermarket for any widely-sold domestic compact or economy car. The focus was instead on full sports cars of the day, such as the Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Corvette, or on classic muscle cars.

When properly modified, economy cars and compact cars made for capable sporting cars because of their light weight and the increasing availability of low-cost parts. However, as professional sporting and racing with such vehicles increased, so did more recreational use of these vehicles. Drivers with little or no automotive, mechanical, or racing experience would modify their vehicles to emulate the more impressive versions of racing vehicles with mixed results. A few detailed examples are below, but the most pointed out instances are aerodynamic attachments to a car, or loud and unnattractive sounding exhaust systems.

By the late 1990s, many of the recently produced import sports cars were no longer being sold in North America, such as the Toyota Supra, the Mazda RX-7, and the Mitsubishi 3000GT. This added to the exclusivity of sports cars in the west that were not American made. The release of the PlayStation racing video game Gran Turismo acquainted North Americans with performance versions of compact cars that were never made available in many English speaking parts of the world.

The movie "The Fast and the Furious" released in 2001 continued this exposure and expanded the visibility of automobile modification to the general public, and may have resulted in an increase in the number of cars being modified. Two sequels of the movie series have been released since, with similar focus on modified vehicles.

The most immediate criticism of such modifications is usually aesthetic on the part of the person using the term rice. However, because of pop culture references to movies and the influence of video games, as well as the perceived demographic of "ricers", the criticism is often levelled at the driver.

As American car companies began to follow suit with performance versions of older economy and compact car platforms, such as the Dodge SRT-4 based on the Dodge Neon, a similar phenomena could be seen trickling down to used American cars of the last generation. The term "American rice", "domestic rice", or "wheat burner" has been used to describe American-made cars that have been modified as described, but simply calling them rice is also commonplace.

With the introduction of the Scion line from Toyota, auto manufactures have begun to actively court the "ricer" market. Scion television ads frequently feature modifcations and interviews with Scion owners who have modified their cars.

As with any term based around region, race, or culture, some people claim "ricer" is an ethnic slur. Its widespread use socially and on the Internet to describe any driver, no matter their race, and any car, no matter its country of origin, seems to contradict that point of view.

[soymilk]

unfortunately due to the dominant culture in this country it is easy very easy to over look racism.people have been taught through out their lives that they are superior to others an have not taken the timeto stop an acknowledge the fact that alot of their daily interactions with others can be considered racist or they are silently playing out some stereotype in their head .its one of those topics that no matter how much you tell a person they will try to find a way around the issue an say well its the term that is well known etc..........hence instead of trying to take time an understand the rascism that using the word rice may hold .you continue to use it even though it is an offensive of word an for the most part does point towards people of asian ethnicity ......but unfortunatley alot of us have learned to neglect the feelings of ethnic groups or minority groups an have gone on using vocabulary in offensive matter ......because you feel you have the priveledge as an american

hopefully this makes sense

[bhoy]

the term RICE started poping up during the early 90s when all these japanese cars are showing their performance abilities from a 300zx turbo, 3000gt, eclipse gt awd, starion and the people who were saying it are those die hard american car guys. the cars were actually called rice burners and bikes rice rockets.

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by BATANG CITY JAIL

i have no idea.. but who ever told me what the meaning of RICE, he/she took it from wikipedia.

and because wikipedia is all knowing and the source of good information on everything.

you do realize, information on wikipedia is edited BY people who use it?

i could go in there and change definitions and add my own. Stating that saying Rice or Ricer IS racist. Would you believe me then? Because its on Wikipedia?

The point is, THINK about it. Im not asking you to stop saying it or whatever. Its a free world(mostly), say whatever you want or feel. Thats your right. Im just asking you to stop and THINK, what it is youre exactly saying.

[Janizary]

Wait, is 'slack jawed, knuckle draggin', hairy tongued, tabacco chewing bubba' racist?

_________________

The roots of 'ricer' certainly have a racist connotations. Like many things, over the years it has come to (while still demeaning) have a definition that is more indicative of urban racer sub-culture than specifically referring to Asian issues. JMHO.

[BATANG CITY JAIL]

Originally Posted by Kakashi

and because wikipedia is all knowing and the source of good information on everything.

you do realize, information on wikipedia is edited BY people who use it?

i could go in there and change definitions and add my own. Stating that saying Rice or Ricer IS racist. Would you believe me then? Because its on Wikipedia?

The point is, THINK about it. Im not asking you to stop saying it or whatever. Its a free world(mostly), say whatever you want or feel. Thats your right. Im just asking you to stop and THINK, what it is youre exactly saying.

okey.. heres a meaing of the RICE.

Race Inspired Cosmetic Enhanced, just looked at it this way.. im an asian too and do get offended sometime when they call me a ricer becoz i drive a civic... then i came up with a qoute " did you call me a rice coz im an asian" ?? and that shut them up for no reason...

[skiz]

RICE was a term for outlandish MODs that are... fake, lies(pep boys GT-R badge), massive tri-wing on a geo metro for down force.

Then it was missed used... and then anything done to an import was RICE, some people called fake MODs and junk on domestics "Wheat", I don't think it stuck.

To me MODs on a car are intake manifolds. ect., SC, Turbo, go-fast and stop-fast stuff... but now there is I.C.E. and for on crazy stuff that was not around 20 years ago.

I say if you like it and think its cool "DO IT"! there is stuf that i just love on a car that poeple may or may not like. but i is my ride and I want mine unique. don't you?

[RANT]
I do not think saying RICE is racist and I am not a PC person... I think there is to much PC crap, reality shows, and not enough respect and manners anymore.

frivolous law suits for crap... people being lazy(mind and body) in general.

whoa, sorry... tangents

[/RANT]