…between racism and ignorance.  Granted, I suppose it would be fair to say that racists are by definition ignorant.  But of course, you can also be ignorant without being racist.

The expat pages on Facebook have been on fire this week regarding the ill-conceived effort of an Itaewon pub to stop the spread of the Ebola virus by, wait for it, banning Africans from the bar.

The story has since been picked up by traditional media like the Korea Times.  Heck, I even saw that the Drudge Report had a (non-working) link to the story this morning.  Anyway, the bar has posted some apologetic signage, but I imagine the damage is done.

So, was this a case of ignorance, racism, or both?  I’ve been to JR Pub a couple of times, although it’s been a few years now since I’ve ventured inside.  I was there for their grand opening way back when and I was surprised and disappointed that the bar staff uniform included a Che Guevara t-shirt something like this:

Which is kind of ironic, because in addition to being a mass murderer, Che was also a racist.  At the time I asked one of the servers if she had any idea of who the guy on the shirt she was wearing was, but of course she was without a clue.  I briefly mentioned some of his more depraved acts but only got a shrug in response.  I noticed a few months later that the uniforms had been changed to something less offensive, but you know the old saw about only getting one chance to make a first impression. Anyway, I don’t really know the owner having only met him briefly on a couple of occasions.  Friends of mine who know him better say he’s a great and generous guy.  And he did post what appears to be a sincere apology in one of the Facebook forums:

Firstly, I would like to specifically apologize to Africans of all nations and to the people and families who are dealing with the ebola disease. An insensitive message was directed towards you in JR Pub, a restaurant that I co-own with a Korean National, and it is something that I will not tolerate.

To everyone else, I would like to personally apologize for the posting of the racist and discriminatory sign. Anyone who knows me, knows that the sign is not representative of who I am and is not reflective of the services that we provide; no matter the race, color, creed, or sexual orientation, we value all of our customers.

I must admit, that bridging the cultural gap between Korean and international cultures has been, and continue to be, a challenge for us. When we get it right, our service stands above and beyond. Unfortunately in this instance, it was completely wrong in every way, and we take full responsibility for it.

Ironically, the night before this incident, we hosted a distinguished visitor from an African nation. The majority of his party of 80, were from African nations and we were honored to serve them.

Once my partner realized that his actions were offensive and highly insensitive, we discussed how we would like to make amends:

1. The first was to immediately remove the offensive sign and the policy associated with it.
2. The drafting of this letter of apology.
3. Conduct cultural and sensitivity training for my partner and staff.
4. Organize a fund raiser to assist in research of Ebloa and/or for assistance to the African communities plagued by the disease.

We would like to reach out to our concerned customers and community members for assistance in #4. We welcome ideas on helping us find the best way forward.

Again, for me and on behalf of my partner and staff at JR Pub, we sincerely apologize and are committed to mending the damage that we have caused.

Respectfully,
Troy Armado
Co-Owner JR Pub

Ah, so it was his Korean partner who was responsible for the ignorance on display.  Go figure.  I remember when I first came to Korea I was astounded to see signs posted at several bars saying “No Nigerians Allowed”.  And of course, foreigners on occasion find this kind of “welcome” awaiting them:

Racism or ignorance?  Who knows.  Heh, reminds me of story where the teacher says “McCrarey, are you really that ignorant or are you just apathetic?”  To which I responded “I don’t know and I don’t care!”  (I think that’s a joke, but having told it so often over the years it’s starting to seem like it really happened.)

Whatever the motivation for this sorry state of affairs, I think it is a fair observation that if ignorance truly is bliss, then planet Earth must be the happiest damn place in the universe.