I'm seeing a few comments being downvoted for saying that the depictions of Asians in this and similar memes that have become popular recently are racist.

As an Asian American born and raised in the U.S., I've been in situations where I found myself being the only Asian person in a group of White friends when the topic of race comes up. It's never easy speaking up when something makes you feel uncomfortable because you don't want to seem hypersensitive or unable to take a joke, and you don't want the situation to become awkward for yourself or your friends. But there is a lack of perception here that I think is central to understanding this disconnect.

The majority culture in the U.S. is from a White normative point of view. That is, "Whiteness" as a social construct in many Western societies, particularly in the U.S., is "a neutral and unquestioned backdrop."¹

Many White people are uncomfortable when confronted with their own status as a "White" person, “What does it mean to be White?" (.pdf).

As that article states, "Few people of color react negatively when asked what it means to be Black, Asian American, Latino [...] Whereas Whites generally approach the question by saying things like "people are people," "we are all Americans." [To persons of color], Whiteness is most invisible when it is denied, evokes puzzlement or negative reactions, or is equated with normalcy, [because as a person of color] I do not find Whiteness to be invisible because I do not fit many of the normative qualities that make Whiteness invisible."²

In some cases the perception of being human almost becomes the same thing as being White.²

For racial and ethnic minorities where skin tone is a conspicuous marker, you can't just avoid thinking about your race or have other people stop perceiving you as racialized individual. Not having to think about your race, (including how it's perceived in job interviews, social settings, etc), is a tangible White privilege.

But that concept is very difficult for many White people to fully grasp because they've been, for the most part, shielded from having to experience overt or subtle racism on a continuing basis. I am an Asian male. I can empathize with the tenets of feminism and the discrimination endured by African American women; however, no matter how well-intentioned I may be, I will never know first-hand what it's like to be an African American woman in a society where the dominant culture is White and male. But that doesn't prevent me from wanting to understand the hardships they endure.

When people of color see memes like this, or the many ways in which some Redditors have made light of racial themes, it has a cumulative effect and can be deleterious. In social and critical race theory these types of occurrences are known as "microaggressions" as the abstract to this paper explains:

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities.

I think these (1, 2, 3, 4) videos are a kind of cultural response to everyday microaggressions built up over time.

This blog entry has a ton of useful links embedded within their commenting guidelines that can get you started if you're interested in learning more about this topic.

Also, here is another great article regarding White Privilege.

I think there are many people of color who tend to avoid discussing these types of issues with their White friends, neighbors or coworkers because of how quickly they're often derailed from the conversation. For example, I've been met with hostility and disbelief when I've conveyed my experiences with racism to some of my peers. When that happens, usually people will say something to the effect of, "Well, I never experienced..." and what they're really saying to me is that their personal experiences invalidate my own.

As mentioned above, many White people haven't learned about the concepts and vernacular of race and racial politics due to having been shielded from racism themselves, and because of this many people of color water-down the discussion. But my view point is that we're all adults here or at least mature enough to discuss these issues frankly and not shut down when these topics come up.

1. Volpp, Leti. 1994. “Mis-Identifying Culture: Asian Women and the ‘Cultural Defense.’” Harvard Women’s Law Journal 17:57-77. 1-33, 2.

2. Sue, Derald Wing. November, 2004. “Whiteness and Ethnocentric Monoculturalism: Making the “Invisible” Visible”. Teacher’s College, Columbia University. American Psychologist, 761-769, 763-764 https://www.cmich.edu/Documents/HR/SOD/WhiteEthnoMonoDWSue.pdf