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Rick, if this sign was hanging in front of the Wong brothers laundry, I think it would be funny. If it is a non-Chinese and mean-spirited attempt at humor, then no. Have you listened to Margaret Cho, the Korean comedienne? She can get away with stuff that --if someone posted it to this board-- would send you into paroxysms, and she is funny. It ought to always be okay for us to poke fun at ourselves, and, in a perfect and perfectly hate-free world, we would be able to poke a little good natured fun at each other, too, as all brothers do.

Abercombie and Fitch is recalling these shirts. Wish I could have bought one, since they will become collectors items! Loosen up Rick! Charlie

Rick, your heart is in the right place but your head isn't. When someone makes a direct insult it is quite different than a general comment which is meant to be funny. If your 4 year old is called "four eyes", it is an insult. If your 4 year old sees a joke about someone with glasses, it is not insulting. What should we do, not have humor? No more bald jokes, or fat jokes, or Italian jokes? Why is it OK to poke fun at tall people, but not the Chinese? Listen to the Catholic jokes going around now. Why is that OK, but not black jokes, or Jewish jokes? C'mon, don't be so sensitive. Most PC judgements are made by people with guilty consciences.

I must agree with Tailgater 100%. The PC crowd picks what is "ok" with them and snarls at anything other than that!!! Grow up PC's and get a sense of humor! Should we take Jay Leno and David Letterman off the air because of the PI jokes? Hell no! Charlie

Tailgater ... it's the slogan they used that ofended many folks, 'Two Wongs will make it white."

On the news this morning, they showed a group of Asian-American folks protesting with signs in front of the place selling the T-shirts.

I am still pissed off at the Chinese for forcing Charlie Chan off TV. I loved Charlie. He was the most dignified tec in the movies, more so than even Sam Spade or Nero Wolf. The family of an African American friend of mine was friends with Mantan Moreland, who was a great guy and a very funny comedian who made a good living doing those movies. Number 1 son was a typical American teenager and played by a Chinese actor. True, Charlie, always represented as intelligent and dignified, was played by actors of European descent. But Shakespeare had his male actors playing women and Italians and Othello, and everybody plays everybody and everything in the movies. Not to mention, for god's sake, it was the 40's and the newspaper headlines said Jap this and Jap that in those days. Charlie Chan was the source of one of my favorite sayings: "Best guest like best fish --stink after 3 days." Alright, now heap abuse on me.

iron bar: after all those nice things i said about you.

Just one scum foreigners 2c! Here, PC hasn't caught us all in a stranglehold, and we're not nearly as sensitive as many americans. - Nothing bad said here. But why is this Wong-thing so bad. Isn't it just a "funny" ironic refrase of "Two wRongs don't make one right!". I think that if chinese laundry owners rewrites is into something that promises me a clean and white procuct from them, then it says something of their wit (sp?). If I'm correct here, I think a lot of You should light up a bit. But then again, I'm just a friggin foreigner that probably don't understand anything. (Meanie and Jack - no comments here please!)

The guy who made this shirt was no doubt trying to be cute. At first glance it is. On closer examination this uses some of the nastier chinese stereotypes. The coolie look of the characters. They dressed that way! You say. True I guess. Chinese folks are excellent laundrymen. Yes, perhaps. And Irish are all drunks. Englishmen are all kind of sweet. Germans all smell like sauer kraut. Arabs all live in the desert. The Phrase pokes fun at the chinese lack of a hard R in their language. Kind of like making fun of a stutterer. Remember the old ads showing black people with big grins,huge lips and big white eyes? Usually they were sucking on a watermelon. Its not that it isn't PC. It just isn't very nice.

xrundog as eleltea said, well put. i will have to reread your other posts. i may have missed a light on the board that you provided

The only reason the saying is funny (to some) is because of the irony. It has NOTHING to do with the perception that the Chinese can't pronounce the "r" sound. When this is done, the "r" sound doesn't simply disappear, it translates to an "L" sound. The funny part about "Wong" is it's frequency as a Chinese last name. And whose fault is it that many Chinese own and operate laundrymats? And HOW IS THAT OFFENSIVE? You can't POSSIBLY compare this to stuttering (a medical condition) or the racist depiction of black Americans in our past. Those folks that were protesting simply have nothing better to do. Which is probably why my dry cleaning is a week late...

tailgater rachmones (i mispelled it before) is almost a non translateable hebrew word. start with the "walk a mile in my moccasins" add compassion, pity, feeling and understanding of the other person's soul. it is at the heart of jewish thought and feeling. of course it assumes the other person is not a complete a**hole.

Rick: nice.