FCB: Take It Down

Swordfish

Swordfish

New member
I live in Georgia. Here in the south there is a lot of debate about racist symbols such as the Confederate flag and how it is time for us as a society to move on.

I joined TI several months ago as an excellent source of information about the local property market. It has provided other useful insights into various aspects of the local community. Sadly it has also identified that TI is full of racist symbols that have the same need to be removed as the Confederate flag.

The most obvious of these is the term FCB ? Foreign Cash Buyer. I am staggered at the number of people with nothing better to do in their lives than to turn up at real-estate events and report to this forum on the number of FCBs present. I very much doubt they asked attendees to show their birth certificates in order to establish an accurate measure of the people born overseas. Nor would any random checks of bank accounts have been done to identify who is possibly paying cash. In fact I suspect this is almost solely based upon how the people look.

Foreign? African ? local, Latino ? local, European ? local, Asian ? foreign!
Cash Buyer? Foreign (ie Asian) is close enough

I myself am foreign. I was born in Australia. Whether or not I paid cash to purchase my new home in Irvine probably isn?t of concern to anyone because I don?t look different or behave all that different to so-called main-stream America. I might talk a little different, but in the 15 years I have lived in the US this has been more a source of amusement than seen as a threat to anybody else. But I do still feel for those that are constant target of taunting because they are different in some way.

So why is it that we think it is OK to roam the neighborhood giving reports on the number of Asians present at the opening of a new housing development? Why is it OK to refer to such people as coming from dumfuk China or being Diwalis? Why is  it OK to take newspaper reports about events such as Dog Eating, Birth Tourism, The Veterans Cemetery, or the recent killing of a teen girl in Rowland Heights and use them as a vehicle to cast dispersions upon the Chinese people and their culture?

Irvine has a very diverse population that puts it in a very good position to show the world how people of all races can live together. It is one of the reasons I am looking  forward to moving to Irvine. Here in the South the dinosaurs of the past rally around a confederate flag or attend tea-party meetings and talk of better times when America was more prosperous (and whiter). In Irvine they seem to gather around TI and use stories about the torture of a teen-age girl as evidence of ?Chinese style parenting?. Racism is a product of ignorance and hate. Its presence does not have a positive on society and allowing it to go unchecked in this forum does not reflect well on Irvine.
 
Swordfish said:
I live in Georgia. Here in the south there is a lot of debate about racist symbols such as the Confederate flag and how it is time for us as a society to move on.

I joined TI several months ago as an excellent source of information about the local property market. It has provided other useful insights into various aspects of the local community. Sadly it has also identified that TI is full of racist symbols that have the same need to be removed as the Confederate flag.

The most obvious of these is the term FCB ? Foreign Cash Buyer. I am staggered at the number of people with nothing better to do in their lives than to turn up at real-estate events and report to this forum on the number of FCBs present. I very much doubt they asked attendees to show their birth certificates in order to establish an accurate measure of the people born overseas. Nor would any random checks of bank accounts have been done to identify who is possibly paying cash. In fact I suspect this is almost solely based upon how the people look.

Foreign? African ? local, Latino ? local, European ? local, Asian ? foreign!
Cash Buyer? Foreign (ie Asian) is close enough

I myself am foreign. I was born in Australia. Whether or not I paid cash to purchase my new home in Irvine probably isn?t of concern to anyone because I don?t look different or behave all that different to so-called main-stream America. I might talk a little different, but in the 15 years I have lived in the US this has been more a source of amusement than seen as a threat to anybody else. But I do still feel for those that are constant target of taunting because they are different in some way.

So why is it that we think it is OK to roam the neighborhood giving reports on the number of Asians present at the opening of a new housing development? Why is it OK to refer to such people as coming from dumfuk China or being Diwalis? Why is  it OK to take newspaper reports about events such as Dog Eating, Birth Tourism, The Veterans Cemetery, or the recent killing of a teen girl in Rowland Heights and use them as a vehicle to cast dispersions upon the Chinese people and their culture?

Irvine has a very diverse population that puts it in a very good position to show the world how people of all races can live together. It is one of the reasons I am looking  forward to moving to Irvine. Here in the South the dinosaurs of the past rally around a confederate flag or attend tea-party meetings and talk of better times when America was more prosperous (and whiter). In Irvine they seem to gather around TI and use stories about the torture of a teen-age girl as evidence of ?Chinese style parenting?. Racism is a product of ignorance and hate. Its presence does not have a positive on society and allowing it to go unchecked in this forum does not reflect well on Irvine.
Click to expand...

Lost me at "I"
 
I'm pretty new here as well and I incorrectly assumed that FCB always stood for "Foriegn Chinese Buyer" and that FCB was somehow an updated version for the word "FOB" 20 years ago. Plenty of FCB cracks on this site for sure. Great post, Swordfish!
 
Did a quick skim, so basically comparing confederate flag to cash buyers?
One has a history with pro slavery/oppression, the other takes advantage by using cash/opposite of oppression
 
I just bought a new Tommy Bahama backyard bbq shirt now that my stars and bars wife beater is apparently no longer fashionable.
 
FCB: full court basketball, ever notice how many half courts are in these communities, what gives!  It's like have a tandem garage, a 2 car tandem, laaamo
 
Started off as Foreign Cash Buyer and escalated (comically) to a more racial profile. 

It's very necessary.. especially for a board like TI. 
 
DONT WORRY. IRVINE is a racially HARMONIOUS city from what I see compared to other cities. IT IS THE SUBTLE but sometimes MORE SERIOUS STEREOTYPING I would be more concerned with.

[quote author=SoCal
Natalie Wong said a stadium would be an ?eyesore? that would bring down property values and increase traffic for surrounding neighborhoods at the airfield.' OC Register 10/01/14

I wonder if Ms. Wong would prefer a cemetery instead of a stadium?  ;)
[/quote]

[quote author=SoCal
While there are aspects to be enjoyed about Tustin (the quaint and historic old town) and T.R. (the homes, the parks), the area is showing its age along with changing demographics.
[/quote]

[quote author=SoCal
These posts are reminding me of something funny.  :) A few times, on group activities, I have been the only American while the others in the group were Chinese tourists. The first time, the tour guide was ending his presentation and I turned my back away from the guide (so it wouldn't be obvious) / towards the group and pulled cash out of my wallet to get it ready. A Chinese wife saw me, nudged her husband, said something in their language, and motioned towards me. He looked at me, nodded, and quickly pulled out his money for a tip. The second time, the same thing happened but it was more people than that. As if on cue, when I pulled out my money, they looked at me, began nudging each other and followed suit. They are very observant and watch for social cues. It's a pretty neat trick - I felt like an orchestra conductor. So, I think I've decided that the next time that happens, I'm going to do a social experiment. I will face them, pull it out, wave it around, wait for everybody to get theirs out... then put mine right back and see what happens?!
[/quote]
 
I prefer when people write whatever their hearts desire.  A message board lives & dies on how active users post new content, and even a racially insensitive post is content.  I like that people can be racist here.  It makes the board real.

Why would I post here if I have to conform to social norms?

enjoy.
l37r8.jpg
 
zubs said:
I prefer when people write whatever their hearts desire.  A message board lives & dies on how active users post new content, and even a racially insensitive post is content.  I like that people can be racist here.  It makes the board real.

Why would I post here if I have to conform to social norms?

enjoy.
l37r8.jpg
Click to expand...
You can tell the designer likes Hispanics since they are the only group that made this shirt twice.

edit:  I see the Irish made it twice too.

Maybe the shirt designer just likes Catholics who drink too much.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
The only one I don't recognize is "frog".

And it missed out on some Middle East ones.
Click to expand...
A frog is a Frenchman.

"Camel Jockey" and "Tusken Raider" were too long to fit across the shirt.
 
Hey Zubs,

Nice avatar. Who are you? Jared from Subway?

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

zubs said:
I prefer when people write whatever their hearts desire.  A message board lives & dies on how active users post new content, and even a racially insensitive post is content.  I like that people can be racist here.  It makes the board real.

Why would I post here if I have to conform to social norms?

enjoy.
l37r8.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Sure, not every asian is an FCB and we shouldn't assume so. 

IMO FCB is very relevant as foreign cash buyers have really shot up the price of real estate.  I've also read that most of the real estate sold in the last couple of years has been to FCBs.  The FCBs have made it more difficult for people to become home owners.  The FCBs have also helped current home owners get much wealthier.  Basically, they've had a big impact lately.  I wonder how the crash of the chinese stock market will impact real estate prices here.
 
Just replace "Vancouver" with "Irvine" and it will work just the same.  ;D
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/soaring-v...r-anger-toward-foreign-052644854--sector.html

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Soaring Vancouver home prices spur anger toward foreign buyers
ReutersBy By Julie Gordon | Reuters ? 14 hours ago

By Julie Gordon

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - After years of watching Vancouver housing prices climb, driven in part by Chinese investment, Eveline Xia came to a painful realization: Despite having a Master's degree and solid career prospects, she might never be able to afford a home in the city where she grew up.

That didn't seem right, and so the 29-year-old grabbed a marking pen, hand lettered a sign listing her credentials, snapped a selfie, and posted it to Twitter under the hashtag #DontHave1million.

The tweet went viral, and hundreds of other young Vancouver residents soon began expressing their own frustrations in tweets about the red hot housing market - and the feverish foreign investment they believe has fueled it.

"Average, hardworking Canadian residents are being forced to compete for housing with the global wealthy," said Xia, who immigrated to Canada from China as child. "People here are getting angry."

That anger has contributed to a simmering xenophobia in Vancouver, a multicultural coastal city long known for its inclusiveness. With virtually no official data on foreign buyers available, many of those squeezed out of the market are left to believe the worst.

That has residents like Xia pressing the government to track international buyers, scrutinize the source of their funds and tax property speculation, before the anti-Chinese sentiment gets out of hand.

Last summer, a small anti-immigration group covered up Chinese symbols on real estate signs in the affluent suburb of West Vancouver with stickers reading "Please Respect Canada's Official Languages."

And police are investigating incidents on neighboring Vancouver Island, where anti-Chinese pamphlets appeared in affluent neighborhoods and signs for Chinese real estate agents were defaced with racial epithets and messages like "Go home" and "Not welcome".

A recent poll found that two-thirds of metropolitan Vancouver residents believe "foreigners investing" is a main cause of high housing costs, and 70 percent said the government should work to improve affordability.

SKYROCKETING PRICES

In the last five years, the median selling price for residential properties in Vancouver has jumped 57 percent to C$1.1 million, according to data compiled by Reuters from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The price of detached homes has soared 82 percent, to C$2.1 million. The median household income, meanwhile, has risen by an estimated 13 percent in the same period, according to Statistic Canada.

But since the government keeps no records on the nationality of home purchasers, evidence that money from China is driving up housing prices is largely anecdotal.

In interviews, five real estate agents who primarily sell homes on Vancouver's exclusive west side estimated that between 50 percent and 80 percent of their clients have financial ties to mainland China.

A Reuters survey of 50 land titles for detached Vancouver Westside homes that sold for more than C$2 million in the last year found that nearly half of the purchasers had surnames typical of mainland China, as distinct from those of earlier waves of immigrants from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

There was no way, however, to determine the citizenship or residency of those buyers. And indeed, many wealthy newcomers from mainland China are permanent residents of Canada.

Activists like Xia are pushing the government to at least start tracking foreign buyers and to make the information public.

"By not addressing it, they're letting anger and resentment build through whispers and at dinner parties," said Xia.

CAPITAL FLIGHT

Residents also have questions about the source of Chinese money being invested in Vancouver property, a concern that came to the fore last year when a prominent developer in the city, Michael Ching Mo Yeung, was named as one of the top 100 fugitives wanted by China as part of 'Operation Skynet'.

The campaign is part of President Xi Jinping's pursuit of suspected corrupt officials who have fled overseas.

In the wake of news about Ching, there have been calls for greater scrutiny of foreign buyers and tougher enforcement of anti-money laundering standards.

"I would love someone to look into the due diligence standards [for real estate brokers] around 'know your customer,'" said James McDonald, who runs a blog that maps million-dollar homes that sit empty after being purchased by speculators.

He and others note that many properties are purchased by trusts or companies that aren't transparent.

But not everyone is convinced that Chinese money is primarily responsible for the rise in housing prices, noting that it has also been fueled by interest rates that are near record lows and a tight supply of detached houses.

"The reason why we're seeing this racialized narrative is people are looking for a scapegoat," said Victor Wong, the Toronto-based executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

"It's infected the population," he added. "People have bought into this narrative that there's a flood of foreign money into the market when there's just no evidence beyond a few anecdotes."

MIXED FEELINGS

With frustrations mounting, Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson in May called on British Columbia's government to impose a speculation tax.

The province declined, saying there was not enough hard evidence that foreign money was driving the market and that a new tax could hurt existing homeowners.

But even those who benefit from the housing boom have mixed feelings. At a recent open house in Vancouver, real estate agent Fatemeh Nouripour watched group after group of prospective buyers, most of whom appeared to be from mainland China, trudge through a fixer-upper listed for C$1.58 million.

"As an agent, I want to sell to whoever will pay the most," Nouripour said. "But I'm also a mother. My daughter has a Master's degree, she works hard and pays taxes, and she can't afford to buy because foreigners are parking their money here. How fair is that?"
 
To Swordfish, TI has become a forum for people who are too americanized to be asians. The more we observe the lack of sensitivity, etiquette  and awareness of our nrwly arrived fellow countrymen from China, the more we are frustrated and embarrassed by it. So we choose to say the things we say, not as a racist rant but as constructive criticism. I thought a Chinese language version of TI would be a great idea to serve as a bridge but yaliu shot me down mercilessly. My feelings got hurt.
 
WillJoy said:
To Swordfish, TI has become a forum for people who are too americanized to be asians. The more we observe the lack of sensitivity, etiquette  and awareness of our nrwly arrived fellow countrymen from China, the more we are frustrated and embarrassed by it. So we choose to say the things we say, not as a racist rant but as constructive criticism. I thought a Chinese language version of TI would be a great idea to serve as a bridge but yaliu shot me down mercilessly. My feelings got hurt.
Click to expand...

By all means you can create your own. Talk FCB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top