kurumayu:

thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs:

dovahkiin-official:

thewonderfulkatsukinikifrovs:

dovahkiin-official:

tilthat:

TIL The Lululemon retail chain’s name came from the founder’s desire to watch Japanese people try to pronounce it

via ift.tt

The seeds of the company’s problems were planted early, with its initial founding in Vancouver in 1998. Former CEO Chip Wilson, an avid snowboarder, said he came up with “Lululemon” because he delighted in the idea that trying to pronounce the name — with its three syllables beginning with “l’” — would pose a special challenge for the Japanese, whom he enjoyed making fun of.

wow that’s actually fucking racist

It goes deep, my friend. You see, Vancouver (and the province of British Columbia in general) is home to a large Japanese-Canadian population. Canada has a deep seated racism problem with Asian-Canadians but Japanese-Canadians have it particularly bad. Things Japanese-Canadians have been subjected to in Canadian history:

-slavery

-internment camps

-forced prostitution (aka more slavery)

-segregation

-violent forced assimilation efforts

-indenturment (aka MORE SLAVERY!?)

The kicker? A lot of Japanese-Canadian families have been here longer than a lot of white families. Japanese colonists settled western Canada the same time white colonists did: 1867 -1914. More recently immigrated Japanese-Canadians usually arrive in BC because it has a lot of Japanese culture and is closer/cheaper to move to.

So this asshole dude is just The Worst. Sure, he’s the worst outside of the context of Canadian history but within the context he is The Worst.

This is true! There were actually politicians in Canada whose platforms consisted of anti-Japanese propaganda, such as “they are taking our jobs” which fueled internment and forced them more eastward towards Ontario.

⬆️⬆️⬆️

This!

Know your Canada. It’s not less racist. Just differently racist.

Not really different at all. Seems perfectly par for the course to me.