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Spanish Basketball Team Beijing Photo, Was It Really Offensive

The first time I read about this news at Yahoo.com saying that Paul Gasol and other members of the Spanish National Team made an insensitive pose for a photo shoot. Well, curious as I am I look at the photo and there is the whole Spanish Team slanting their eyes. Was it really offensive and racist? For me it is a pose that just gone out of proportions.

For me, there was nothing racist in it, after all what is wrong with slanted eyes? Unless the Chinese has an inferiority complex and does not accept this trait then that is the only problem that I see. The Chinese are the ones with a problem because they did not accept who they really are.

The UN does not define "racism", however it does define "racial discrimination": according to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,

the term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, religion,descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Based on this U.N. definition the photo is in no way racist. How can a simple photo such as that become racist? Do you have any idea why? If you do please do educate me because I am not seeing the light here.

I find it really odd that everyone is making a fuzz out of it. If people paint themselves black when an event is being held in Africa would it be racist? I don't think so. Racism is more on discrimination and making defamatory remarks or actions. For me there is nothing defamatory to what they did.

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