Today, I was with my grandma waiting in a line. She only speaks Chinese and there was a black man in front of us talking his phone. My grandma tells me that the black man's really loud and annoying. The man finishes and turns and said fluently in Chinese, "What's wrong with loud black men?" FML
I agree, your life sucks (40055) - you totally deserved it (21228)
On 03/16/2009 at 10:09pm - misc - by kaichennnxx (man) - United States (California)
(0)lol my cousin is black but he can also speak chinese fluently. its pretty funny to watch chinese people's reactions when he talks in chinese
#140 - On 07/05/2010 at 7:31pm by minimike451
(0)You know it sounds like Mr. Black man was more annoyed by the fact that granma specifically mentioned that he was black.
My grandma doesnt speak English either and she would have said the exact same thing.
Has anyone seen that "Professor Badass" picture that floats around the net? Thats the picture I have in my mind for this guy.
(0)Omg tell em why I did too!
I had that exact picture yet Ive never seen professor badass lol well until now.
To op: People should just stop talking about other people in their normal language because 9 times out of 10 the person speaks that language too. People are very into languages these days :)
I can speak chinese too yay :) I feel so included into the group haha
#131 - On 01/12/2010 at 3:53pm by metro_mello
(0)Well don't go speaking rude about people in other languages!
Teach your grandma some manners.
YDI.(Well your grandma did anyway)
#7 - On 03/17/2009 at 5:00am by Mattyknows
(0)This sounds a lot like the FML yesterday or the day before about someone calling someone ugly in Swedish and she replied in Swedish, go to hell.
#8 - On 03/17/2009 at 5:13am by smelinapants
(0)#6 He was probably just annoyed in general and mocking her. If she'd said she was annoyed with a loud blonde dude he probably would have said that.
Black people aren't always as pissy when someone brings up color as most people assume. That said, LOL. I got a Korean woman like that. Don't assume people don't know your language!
(0)#10, you need to get out more. Chinese is actually a huge advantage when getting jobs right now. Also, just because people are educated, it doesnt' mean they aren't obnoxious. In fact, I find that more educated people are more obnoxious....
I don't think this story isn BS. Once i was walking in SF and a little black kid came up to me and started speaking mandarin to me. He was enrolled in Chinese school.
(0)Oh, also, #7, it's actually quie common to do that, especially with older generations. it's what i love about my people!
(0)Hahaha! Pwned!
# 10 This man could be a businessman, who want to know what he is talking about, so that he won't be fucked.
(0)Oh, racist grandmas who refuse to learn english even though they've lived in this country for ages.
(0)being chinese, we only refer to our language as "mandarin" or "cantonese" hardly ever "chinese".. so.. from what it looks like this is made up.
(0)what?!? i'm chinese too- i never ever refer to it as mandarin, always chinese
and the poster below me agrees with me too
so i wouldn't call "BS" so quickly
#126 - On 07/05/2009 at 12:38am by lisafannypack
(0)#17 - that's complete BS. I say I speak Chinese because very few people actually know that there are so many dialects in China, and that if I do say which one that it's going to be relevant because they're not going to know which region the dialect comes from. When writing, I'd even say I study Zhongwen as opposed to Putonghua.
(0)#17, I'm asian, I say "chinese" all the time cause who's gonna know the difference between "mandarin" or "cantonese"?
plus my european friend majors in japanese and he is very fluent. the asian language is beneficial if you wish to go into the business field.
(0)#4 do u mean almost everyone???... obviously english is not ur 1st language
#22 - On 03/17/2009 at 8:34am by KenMcGormick
(0)#17, pah, no. I'm Taiwanese and I use the term "Chinese" for the language all the time. There are many more dialects than those two.
#23 - On 03/17/2009 at 8:41am by coffeentea
(0)#16 saying a black man is a black man is not racist. it's not a slur and it's not like he was bothering her because he was black, he was being an ass.
this is no FML for anyone. If it were me when he said that, I would have just repeated what she said about him being obnoxious to his face in English.
#24 - On 03/17/2009 at 8:49am by thisismyname
(0)Also #22, if you want to go out of your way to be an ass and criticize the way people write, you should at least take the time to type out full words and punctuate properly. First of all, I don't even see why saying "hardly anyone" is wrong. Secondly, even if it was I'd rather see that thn sum lazy dumass txt spk!!!1!11...
#25 - On 03/17/2009 at 9:25am by thisismyname
(0)people always assume they're safe when they speak in their native language, and say things they never would otherwise. It's good to know sometimes they get caught!
#26 - On 03/17/2009 at 9:49am by Misanthropist
(0)#6, I looked up that picture. Perfect match
For those who haven't seen it: http://ipostr.com/pic-562-Professor-Badass
(0)#25, thanks for ripping on #22 for being an idiot. #22, replacing "hardly anyone" with "almost everyone" gives #4's sentence the exact opposite meaning. Rather than assuming kotton made a mistake and you know better, read it as is. It makes sense, it just might have a different idea than you were thinking. Besides not typing full words, don't ever use more than one question mark at a time. It just looks stupid.
(0)"Black people taste like chicken? Bow down, bitch! White people taste like macaroni and cheese!"
Reminds me of something I saw on TV once where a Chinese guy was working in an American/Chinese restaurant. He spoke with a British-English accent. That was a trip.
My mom is deaf, and she'll criticize people in stores and such. Problem is, she doesn't know how loud she's talking. o_0
I'm just trying to imagine Chinese coming out of any of my black friends. Can't do it.
Pwned.
(0)Guess what. WE KNOW YOUR LANGUAGE NOW! Get pwnd. Props to the dude for frying your grandma, cuz she totally deserved it.
#30 - On 03/17/2009 at 10:18am by maj_midnightman
(0)Also: we ARE loud, it's true. Even still, I have found Chinese immigrants to be incredibly racist >.>
#31 - On 03/17/2009 at 10:20am by maj_midnightman
(0)#17, I'm Chinese and I tell people I'm speaking Chinese. I don't I ever heard a Chinese refer to it as either mandarin or cantonese unless someone asks them what dialect they speak or unless they're speaking in Chinese in the first place.
(0)#17: chinese is chinese. who the hell specifies chinese as mandarin or cantonese in an english speaking country? when you tell them you speak mandarin or cantonese to people who're not familiar with chinese language, they'll be like "is mandarin kinda like chinese?" *ni ming bai ma?*
obviously you don't live in an english speaking country or haven't been exposed to non-chinese community.
i hate when people try to make up stupid arguments and then accuse that an fml is fake based on them. makes me want to bitch slap somebody.
(0)granny shoulda repeated herself cuz obviously he didnt comprehend the first time
#38 - On 03/17/2009 at 11:36am by sunshyne84
(0)The thing is, he was probably assuming she was speaking in Chinese because she didn't think he'd understand him. The way some girls in my school used to switch to Chinese when I walked in to a room because they thought I couldn't understand them. But since she only speaks Chinese it's not such a big deal. My mother complains in every single language she knows in the hope that the person will understand her.
(0)They were waiting in line so maybe there were other people in front of them. It's not as if the grandmother said he was loud and annoying BECAUSE he's black, just that specifically the black man in front of them was loud and annoying. And then the guy turns around and proves the grandmother's point. He was being an ass.
(0)hahaha. no offense, but asians talk SOO much shit in their own language...and I'M asian...but if i had shit to say i would jus say it in english cuz my vietnamese sucks lmao
(0)Hey, Chinese people are pretty racist. It's fact.
So this really isn't an FML...more of an LOL.
#47 - On 03/17/2009 at 1:19pm by potentpotable
(0)Guys, the point is that:
a. She specified that he was black, meaning it was semi racist. For example, I hate people that talk on the cellphone while you are talking to them (at my work place). But I don't say, "I hate white women and men, and black women and men (these 4 constitute 95% of the offenders), because that's too specific and rude. Instead, I just say I hate cellphone junkies.
b. She obviously wouldn't have said it in English if she knew it too. Just because the other person is in your opinion too stupid to learn another language doesn't give you the right to talk about them. Yes, I hate cellphone junkies, but don't try to talk behind their backs in front of them.
You got yourself a YDI, but it's aimed for your bigoted grandmother.
(0)This is why you don't speak about other people in ANY language...you never know when someone is understanding you! Your g-ma definitely deserved it.
(0)hahahaha. I'm gonna be blunt, I love stories like this. Happens sometimes with my Spanish teacher who isn't Hispanic. Students insult her and she just turns around and says ¿Cómo? and they get the funniest expressions on their faces
(0)dude Chinese is not even a language, its mandarin or Cantonese, get you shit straight! you must be pretty Americanized not to know this, and im not even Chinese
#53 - On 03/17/2009 at 2:52pm by Ineffableturtle
(0)HAHAHAHA me and my family speak about people around us in Chinese (Shanghai dialect to be exact) too!!! It's really fun and it's a nice advantage over people who don't understand. But I think usually we say those things out of ear range of the person being talked about.
(0)This is awesome, and your grandma kinda deserved it. Oh well, my grandparents do that too.
And, 53, us actual chinese people say chinese all the time. Thanks for, uh, looking out for us though.
#56 - On 03/17/2009 at 3:27pm by CowGoesMoo
(0)#25, #28
It seems pretty obvious that #22 changed the meaning of #4s statement intentionally. They were making the point that #4s comment was wrong considering that Chinese (Mandarin) is the most widely spoken language in the world. Still: epic fail on #22 for using text speak while attacking someone else for their English skills.
#58 - On 03/17/2009 at 3:34pm by ohmygolly
(0)I love this... maybe only because I take Chinese
But nonetheless, I love it!!
#59 - On 03/17/2009 at 3:59pm by foryoublue94
(0)@17, @53; it's been mentioned several times prior, but it's generally easiest to just say "oh, i speak chinese" when talking to most people, then further specify if they ask. a lot of people don't care beyond that or even know the difference...
OP prolly phrased it that way as most FML readers aren't going be like "OHLOL UR FAEK COS U SAY CHINESE NT MANDRIN"
#62 - On 03/17/2009 at 4:54pm by intoxicant
(0)#4 except for the most populated country in the world? lol.
#53 I'm Chinese, I call it Chinese, I live in a heavily Chinese populated area (over 88% woohoo), I can speak very fluently in Chinese, so stop trying to be everyone's voice, kthx. Btw, I see you haven't quite gotten the hang of English yet? : )
haha OP that sucks, my grandmother does things like that all the time! XDD;; Just brush it off and apologize to the guy for her.
(0)...anyone ever see the movie Crash?
Watch it.. =]
....and 56... LOL. Thanks for, uh, looking out for us, though.
#64 - On 03/17/2009 at 5:39pm by musicislife
(0)Is no one going to support the old lady?
Talking really loud on a mobile phone waiting in a queue is exceedingly rude.
(0)Ha ha. I love it when that happens. That's the exact reason I've started learning different languages. :)
#68 - On 03/17/2009 at 7:04pm by SilverBallet
(0)#10 u dipshit. having him be educated doesnt mean he wouldnt be pissed off because she said something that offended him,
that being said, i dont think that having someone point out your race is rude, learning not to talk about race is what makes this country so racist.
#69 - On 03/17/2009 at 7:08pm by paperplanes92
(0)What's with the racist comments? It's not racist to describe the colour of a man's skin, just to discriminate against him for it. As far as I can tell, she was annoyed with his behaviour, not his skin colour.
And if you only speak one language, who is to say you would or would not have said the same thing in English, if you could? Some cultures are simply more blunt than others.
(0)#35, you don't know she was assuming he didn't understand. IT'S HER ONLY LANGUAGE. She may just have well said it in English if she knew how. I'd have said it in English, too.
(0)haha that's what your grandma gets lol. i think that's kind of funny. your life isn't fucked at all.
(0)#47 - "Chinese people are pretty racist. It's fact." That right there was a rude generalization about a race. Talk about hypocrisy.
(0)You didn't deserve it, but your grandmother sure did.
#75 - On 03/17/2009 at 9:16pm by deliciouskaek
(0)Oh man... I'm always cautious about saying things even in Chinese cuz now people can learn it in school...
(0)Lol. YEAH, go black dude! :D
Embarrassing for you, but humiliating for your grandma
#78 - On 03/17/2009 at 9:27pm by nobody_special
(0)On the contrary, Chinese is the new foreign language to take; I know Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, Indians and Koreans who are learning Chinese in college. And they speak and write Chinese very well. No lie.
Also, it's perfectly acceptable to refer to the language as "Chinese" rather than "Mandarin." Technically, Mandarin is the "dialect" that 70% of Chinese people speak, and then there are other dialects like Cantonese that the rest of the population can speak.
(0)Good point 58, I didn't read it in that context. The whole part about English not being his/her first language made it seem to me like it was a grammar critique and not a fact accuracy critique.
#80 - On 03/17/2009 at 10:22pm by thisismyname
(0)haha I've heard of a similar story at a grocery store a black guy infront of these Vietnamese ladies was in line. The two old ladies were saying in Vietnamese "be careful of the black guy in front of you he might take your jewelery". The black guy turns around and speaks in fluent vietnamese "don't worry I won't take anything"
(0)hahahaha oh asians. almost always insulting and talking smack about others in their own language. i do it. :]
well, i talk about what i'd do to them if they're smexy ;D
#82 - On 03/17/2009 at 10:26pm by michellaneous
(0)#82
I'm a... uh.. reporter, collecting stories of that general nature, so I have a professional 9and in no way personal) interest in this practice
I'm going to have to ask you what you would do to me, working under the assumption that I am an attractive male, and I will also have to ask that you respond in your native language ;)
Nah, I'm joking. That's the worst way of releasing sexual tension I've ever heard of! Men have a hard enough time figuring out the ladies in our own langauge, let alone a new one :P
(0)Wow. Maybe your grandma shouldn't be so rude. Problem solved
#84 - On 03/17/2009 at 11:33pm by TwistOfHeartx3
(0)omg that's sick!
i love when that type of stuff happens!
like when i go to seven eleven and hispanic men are talking about me and my friend and they don't realize we speak spanish and we say things back to them. they're shocked.
#86 - On 03/17/2009 at 11:56pm by member0987654321
(0)hahahahahaha
that's perfect!!!
i'm chinese and my best friend is black and he speaks fluent chinese too!
my parents did the exact same thing first time they met him
(0)oh btw, this happened to me too. I visited vietnam like 3 years ago and since i was american (and hella looked like it too) some of my relatives would complain to each otehr about how "white-washed" and american i looked in vietnamese. and then i spoke in perfect, fluent vietnamese to my parents and they had blank stares. just cause i'm american don't mean i don't know my own culture. but it was fun to look at their faces. hahaha
oh and 83, my native language is english.
#89 - On 03/18/2009 at 1:00am by michellaneous
(0)I haven't seen anyone say it, so I'll be the first to bring it up. I'm basing my assumption on what I know from my family and my knowledge of the language and culture.
Those who keep saying that the problem isn't the fact that she called him a black man: It was most likely the word she used to call him a black man. Chinese people have a word for it. And trust me. It doesn't translate literally to "black person".
Other than that, but if I heard someone speaking about me in a different language that I could understand, I would turn around and ask the same thing too.
(0)I know how you feel, I was with my mom, we were some where eating anyways she speaks Mi'kmaq and english so when she doesnt want other people hear what she is saying she speaks Mi'kmaq anyways we were talking about this guy sitting next to us, we were saying stuff like he has a nice ass and everything like little did we both knew, He heard every word we said, he smiled and asked for my number
#96 - On 03/18/2009 at 1:00pm by Staal_Baby
(0)If he wasn't mad (and who can be with little old grandmothers), this is just another "oh how cute grandma is" story. I have many of them, it's part of the life of spending time with grandmothers.
(0)So..how did your grandmother respond to the black guy?
#98 - On 03/18/2009 at 4:48pm by MiDdNiGhtPyRo
(0)That is something that really bothers me... when people speak in another language assuming no one will be able to understand based on their race. That's silly. It's the goddamn 21st century, black people speak Chinese too. I am white and fluent in Korean. I was getting my nails done. The 5 women around the area I was in spent the entire time talking about how pale I am and criticizing my style and the color I had chosen, mocking me and basically summing me up to be some kind of vampire or something. They seemed surprised when I didn't tip them, until I confidently said in Korean (the language they'd been speaking) that I am glad I am not as ignorant as they are, because I may have actually tipped them for making fun of me for the past 45 minutes.
#100 - On 03/18/2009 at 5:38pm by shadowboxer
(0)LOLOL.
i agree #2
and #100, that's awesome. good for you.
#101 - On 03/18/2009 at 6:22pm by summersong89
(0)#100 Good for you! Doubtful they'll stop their behavior, but at least one person showed them. And I agree. Plus, a lot of people do it because, well, anonymity of it. Have fun when someone else understands. If you wouldn't say it just as loud in a language they can understand, why say it at all? Honestly.
#102, lol! Nice! Good one. ;]
#106 - On 03/19/2009 at 4:02am by Minstrels
(0)xD hahaha! i think its so wonderful to hear people of other races to speak chinese (I'm chinese myself)
once i was on the train and these immature girls were insulting this white guy in mandarin, Unfortunately for them, on his stop, he paused before getting off and said in chinese that they should be more respectful
(0)#4 ya not that many people. Just over 1/6 of the WORLDS population.
#112 - On 03/22/2009 at 9:00pm by Shallow_Padentic
(0)you go #100. Im black and i speak and write in Chinese. Its pretty cool
#113 - On 03/22/2009 at 9:03pm by Shallow_Padentic
(0)WIN! Goes to show you that you should be careful about speaking in other languages. No telling who knows what simply because of skin color.
(0)hahahhaha i swear so many people are now fluent in chinese! it makes me happy that others are finally interested in a culture and language that ive appreciated for so long...but now my parents wont talk with me in chinese about the people around us like we used to....its no fun =[
#115 - On 03/23/2009 at 3:19am by lollercoaster
(0)i'd say that it's a general misconception that maybe people just don't think black people can speak any other language than english-i'm black and I started 5 different languages (latin, italian, french, spanish and mandarin) and only decided to master spanish due to my profession....which is kinda funny to see people look at me when I talk to spanish-speaking people, and even funnier when people ask me where i'm from b/c they assume i'm dominican or cuban. but it's mostly useful when people talk about you, like with # 100....i had a group of guys talking about my "onion-shaped booty" and what they'd do with it before I equalized them in seamless spanish
#116 - On 04/01/2009 at 10:39pm by caramel_zee
(0)first of all, he is NOT a racist just by association- i have to admit that my parents are slightly racist sometimes, and i am very offended by it, i wouldn't consider myself racist at all
and idk, it doesn't really sound like the grandma is even being racist to me. all she did was call him a black man, her point was that he was annoying, not that he was black, and the OP gave us no reason to assume that he was annoying BECAUSE he was black
#127 - On 07/05/2009 at 12:42am by lisafannypack
(0)#116: I so understand, I have so many spanish, french, and chinese speaking friends/bffs that I'm starting to learn them. I know a lot of spanish, I'm gonna take french next year and over the summer latin & chinese online!
It is cool.
#118 - On 05/02/2009 at 11:06am by ohhhhshizzz
(0)go Black guy xD, ur grandma shouldnt have said that so im glad she got told
#119 - On 05/13/2009 at 2:13am by Aleister_Grey
(0)favorited. I can't even picture a black person speaking chinese. it's enough of a shock when white people come up to me and start speaking it.
(0)I can't wait until I'm fluent in mandarin hahaha, I love it it's such a great language, being bilingual would be the shit hahaha
#121 - On 05/23/2009 at 8:30am by wrestler17
(0)I remember when making an order at Tim Horton's one day in Gatineau (A city in Quebec that shares provincial borders with Ottawa), and I made my order in English. At which point, the cunt behind the counter goes to the back while saying "Stupid English people" in French. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, I went said to my friend "Damn French people, eh?". Her face matched her hair after that.
(0)hahahaha. fuck your life.
but I think her grandma didn't totally discriminate the guy.
i think her remark is just really for the deed itself.
(0)My grandma does this all the time, she also only speaks chinese
#128 - On 08/12/2009 at 9:41pm by dragoon9401
(0)How does OP deserve it? Her grandma embarassed her while she was standing innocently in line, minding her own business.
(0)Today, I posted an FML about my grandmother embarassing me, the ratio of FYL to YDI is 3:2. I didnt even do anything. FML.
(0)People that talk shit about others in a other language are true assholes. Good thing it was your mother and not you.
(0)grandma aren't racist it's just that alot of asian grandmas use that way to describe a person that doesn't make them racist... and grandmas don't get alot of education back in their time so they think it's hard to go to school so just because they were here for ages doesn't mean they dare to go learn English..so don't be hatin on this grandma for those people who r for these reasons..
