Thursday, February 11, 2010



Asians upset by the color yellow



We read:
"There are seven colors in a rainbow and 64 in a box of crayons. So why, some people in Atlanta are asking, did the transit authority have to pick yellow?

"Hotlanta" is living up to its name this winter as Asian-Americans and the city's transit officials debate the decision to rename a train route into the heart of the city's Asian community. It used to be called "Doraville," now it's the "yellow line."

Activists say the name shows a lack of sensitivity by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), which changed the line's name on Oct. 1. MARTA officials plan to meet on Friday with a group of Asian-Americans to discuss their concerns about the color-coded system.

Kim said the "offensive term" could be easily erased from the line's 18 stops by renaming it all over again. "They don't need to redo the maps, it could literally be a sticker that goes over the map," Kim said. "I'd like to see the numbers — what is the cost?"

Source

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's probably just coincidence but it makes a good story and provides a good laugh. I actually like the suggestion of calling it the Gold line, it sounds better anyway.

Anonymous said...

Next bright idea:

Brown line goes to the "African-American" community

Bobby said...

So now the American Indians can complain about the "red line" in Chicago? I like the "yellow line," "Gold Line" is not a bad name but I don't want to be reminded of my poverty when I ride the subway. Either way, Asian are overreacting, "yellow line" has nothing to do with them.

Anonymous said...

I have the solution. Since the Pan Asian Center for Community Services doesn't like the color choice they can pay for either the stickers or for all the paperwork to be changed.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to see Kim's IQ.

Anonymous said...

People are so f*cking quick to accuse when they simply don't understand practical reasons: Many people (probably more than you think) are colorblind, so distinguishing among colors can be a chore. By adding contrasting colors or colors to which people tend to not be colorblind makes things much easier to deal with. It's a public place, people, so we need to make things so the public can function well.

Anonymous said...

" ... there are seven colors in a rainbow ..." and MARTA have used four of them - red, yellow, green and blue. Orange, indigo or violet would be nowhere near as clear on a route map of this type. Anon 8:09 is absolutely right.

Anonymous said...

So 8:09 believes the complaints are due to the fact that all these Asians are colorblind?

Anonymous said...

It is quite common for metropolitan transit systems (particularly rail) to designate colours to represent its different lines. Even where they are not so called, they usually are shown in different colours on maps to distinguish them.
Now, it probably wasn't a smart call in today's climate - but its also no big deal. Is the line exclusively Asian? Does the pink line run to San Francisco?

Anonymous said...

4:28, No, it's because I'm colorblind, and many people I know are colorblind. Providing high-contrast colors makes my life easier. It has absolutely nothing to do with racism. Only a racist would see it as racist.

Anonymous said...

Well, I live in Georgia, and guess what? The demoncraps in charge caved in and changed it to the "gold line", just like I knew they would. God help us!

Anonymous said...

Cool - travel with your own kind on designated lines - yellow for east asians - brown for other asians - black for negroes - red for "native" americans (and communists) - green for irish (and environmentalists) - pink for gays - blue for nobility - orange for dutch and northern irish protestants - and not least white for, yes, the white folks.

Anonymous said...

so, what is wrong with the color yellow? Is it evil? These libs take offense to anything.

Anonymous said...

If they had the green line I wouldn't be insulted and I'm Irish.

Travis Wilde said...

How about Amber ... or would that alert people to the possibility of abductions along the line?