Well I think the result speaks for itself. Apu is not malicious. He’s not insulting. Hes racial but not racist. If nobody complained, hank clearly wouldn’t have stopped since he’s been doing it for 30 years. It can be argued he needed it pointed out to him, but then we circle back to the beginning where I said jus because someone points out they’re offended by something you’ve done doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong. So I suppose it comes down to whether you actually think apu is a character causing harm. If you do, I’ll tell you your wrong and we can agree to disagree.
Standing up for yourself doesn’t make you coddled, but not knowing the difference between something malicious and something innocuous, and believing that you are entitled to dictate the innocuous actions of others because you feel offended, does. I know because this is how I was raised and how I thought up until my teenage years. Beside the fact it’s a terrible way to exist, it’s not productive and ultimately it’s just a way to exercise power over others in a weak and sneaky way.
As for your analogy, that’s why i specified. If they’re calling him fat tony because he’s italian, like these stories about Indians being called apu, i wouldn’t entertain the idea of that being offensive at all in any way. If the words were actually hurtful words, I’d make sure he doesn’t use those as an excuse to feel victimized and get violent. If the words were in some way a precursor to violence then I’d tell him to use his boxing, jits, and wrestling to defend himself if need be but never to initiate any violence unless it’s preventative.
