apiece-ofmind

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Before I left my mentor left me with this quote and told me to ponder on it

"Travel can be about encountering the new, and sometimes about something familiar returning to the present." - ERR

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The longer I'm here the longer I realize that my father does not speak our language. We speak the same language but we don't speak the same language. Yanno? And my whole life has been a full accommodating story to him

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There's a lot to process and there's a lot going on in my head right now

But ultimately I'm feeling the Shin-Nisei/Yonsei experience right now... Went to the hospital yesterday to see my grandpa. He's doing well, conditions have leveled out and his brain is functioning well. His kidneys and other organs are still not functioning though and probably will never. I don't want to type this out as I've lived through it once but here's what I'm feeling. This trip is not for me, for my sister, for my grandpa....no no no, this trip is for my father. And yesterday as we were sitting next to my grandpa holding his hands I turned my head to see my dad and he was so fucking thrilled. I think the affirmation that his children do care and want to be somewhat involved really made him happy. I've still got unfinished business with him on other matters but I'm glad we could bond over stuff like this. In closing here's a snippet of what my friend said "Diaspora create these sorts of divides, glad to hear bridges were built/refurbished." Definitely feeling the bridge refurbishment process right now

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My cousin chauffeured us around Tokyo today

Here's what we did/saw: - Tokyo Tower - Imperial Palace - Asakusa Shrine (Sensoji) - Shibuya - Usagi (Nujabes' Brother's ramen shop) - Shibuya Crossing - Shinjuku - Ikebukuro We had little discussion on grandpa's condition and to be quite honest idk of my cousin knows the full extent of his health or whatever but she focused today as a "tourist day" rather than a whatever else kind of day. Which I totally get and respect. Tomorrow afternoon we leave for my dad's hometown and we get to see my grandpa. Let the processing continue

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So I’ll be using Apiece-ofmind to Help Me Process

I posted this on my personal page but just for my own personal processing reasons I’ll rephrase.

My father’s father is dying. Japanese healthcare is shitty and doctors will not officially explain what his condition is. What I have rendered is that his kidneys are failing, probably below 50% functionality. And because of that, his body is becoming poisoned by unfiltered blood. His intestines are shutting down and his body just isn’t functioning. He doesn’t feel like eating so they’ve got him doing weird diets. 

So because his health is on a rapid decline my sister and I decided we should pay him a visit (even during our busy work schedules). 

Here’s what I am here to process...

We will be visiting my dad’s hometown of Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan for 4.5 days. Thursday - Monday. We will be there to visit relatives but more specifically to see my grandfather. My relatives in Japan only speak Japanese and my sister and I speak little to no Japanese. My father has been the primary translator during our trips. 

Gratitude. 

I am grateful that I have visited Japan while my grandmother was still alive. I was 5 or 6 at the time and could not full interpret what was happening but I felt my dad’s pain as we left Japan knowing that would be the last time we were to see her alive. 

This will be the same situation. My grandfather’s health is rapidly declining and we don’t know if he will get better or if this is the forsure turning point. Which is why we’re going. 

I guess another idea here is that my sister and I will attempt to communicate with him with whatever means necessary. Whether that is physical, non-verbal, emotional, or whatever. And it pains me to think about this right now. I CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH MY GRANDFATHER ORALLY. For my American grandparents, shit, I just had a conversation with these 92 and 90 year olds like 2 days ago. We talked about Trump, Hillary, and Zika. And we talked about community, love. and life. But how do I do that with my Japan grandfather. How do I connect with a man I’ve only seen 4 times in my life. How do I connect with a man I’ve only spent maybe only 50 days with? Whereas I’ve spent 25 years with my American grandparents. 

Again, I’ll be using this space to process this all. I leave on the September 27th and will say my final goodbyes to my grandfather on October 3rd, 2016. I have two weeks to pre-process before we leave. Maybe I’ll write Haikus? Idk, I’ve never written a meaningful one. I guess we’ll see when we get there. 

This is my inter-generational Nikkei experience

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02.08.2014 @ UC Irvine

Register today! (do it, it’s free)

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The unwelcome return of “Ho Lee Fuk,” “Sum Ting Wong” and “Wi Tu Lo.” Well, Halloween is upon us. And with the early weekend festivities came a whole lot of crappy racist costumes, documented on social media for all to see. Just when you think you’ve seen all the bad taste you can take, a photo like this comes my way, taking that shit to new heights.  Behold, the assholes who dressed up as bruised and bloodied Asiana Airlines flight attendants. This photo was apparently taken over the weekend at the Sidetrack Video Bar in Chicago. Their costumes, of course, refer to Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which crashed earlier this year in San Francisco, killing three passengers. And yes, their name badges identify themselves as “Ho Lee Fuk,” “Sum Ting Wong” and “Wi Tu Lo” — the fake racist flight crew names that infamously ran as a prank on KTVU. Three people die, dozens more injured. At least you guys got a good Halloween costume out of the tragedy. Classy. To top it all off, I’m told — though I can’t confirm this yet — that these guys are actual flight attendants for United Airlines. I really hope they don’t show up to work dressed like this on Halloween.

UPDATE: I’ve heard from several different people who say they can confirm that these fellows all work as actual flight attendants for Continental/United Airlines. UPDATE: SFist has posted a photo of a guy costumed as an Asiana Airlines pilot (“Captain Sum Ting Wong”), spotted over the weekend at a party at Montbleu Casino and Resort in Lake Tahoe:

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Cultural Appropriation: A Photographic Journey to Explain Why You Should Wash Off the Warpaint and Put Down the Headdress. AND IT’S NOT JUST NATIVES THAT THINK YOU ARE BEING OFFENSIVE: “Centuries of Native Americans—as well as indigenous peoples all over the world—have suffered under dominating entities that tried to extinguish them—both physically (i.e., genocide) and culturally (i.e., the banning of traditional practices, such as the criminalization of the Lakota sun dance for most of the 20th century, residential schools in Canada until the 1970s, and so forth). So while it’s great that you can walk around feeling like hot shit in your feathered headband, there are many Native Americans still too ashamed or afraid to even discuss their ethnicits or cultures with their children. Many whose songs, languages, ceremonies and skills have been lost by force. Many who are so mired in poverty and depression and addiction and other forms of social strife that you might have more access to their traditional cultures than they do.” ~ Mimi Thi Nguyen SO KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY. Signed, Ashley Fairbanks

Follow this link for a video and brief analysis of cultural representation as a practice of domination.

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One of my followers asked me to post this on their behalf. A white girl in Australia’s “African” themed 21st birthday party, which she titled “This is Africa…. my 21st :)”

Attendees were all asked to wear “African themed” clothing to depict the continent and this is what resulted… blackface, elephant and gorilla costumes, warpaint, native American headdresses (?!) and more…. I’m at a loss for words.

And yes, this is from 2013. 

The girl posted the pictures proudly and flatly refused to take them down when confronted by another individual about how they were racist apparently. Pictures were reported to facebook weeks ago and they still have not been taken down. 

Wow.

In case you ever wanted to know how white folks saw us black Africans… here you go. 

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sigh.

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can we just appreciate the fact that my best friend, who in the past struggled with an eating disorder, called out my gym teacher bc he says a size 3 for women is “ideal”

(((The average now for women is a size 14)))

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So some organizers in San Diego have created this event called The Asian Bar Crawl presented by some local restaurants and bars in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

This is simple drinking/bar hopping event, which is fine. Everything turns sour though, when the encouragement of costumes comes up.  Attendees are encouraged to "put on that sexy geisha kimono or funny Sriracha hot sauce costume" and "the most sizzling entertainment will be YOU as the star and all the party people in ASIAN THEMED COSTUMES." [x]

While checking out the Facebook event page, I was fortunate enough to capture one of the event coordinator's arguments for the event (before it was taken down) and the rebuttals that followed...

Break out the popcorn!

For more information [link]

Angryasianman's post [link]

PS

The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) SD chapter is planning a boycott of this event.  [Link]

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I am so sick of this white savior bull shit -_- No our "little Japanese" community does not need your help or input and no we don't need to be saved. We've been here since 1910 and we've been fine ever since -__-

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Soooo here's my evening story

I just finished my daily run and I'm at the bottom of the stairs stretching. This group of boys (Latino), no older than 10, walk past me. They appeared to be playing the "Where is she/he from game?" and I just so happened to be their next target. They look at me and one of them says "OOO I KNOW, HE'S FROM CHINA!!" I looked up and silently told myself "Okay Kent...pick and choose your battles pick and choose your battles...." I turned around, looked at them, and respectfully said "I am an American, I was born and raised in San Diego." After that I walked up the stairs and went home. I didn't hear a word out of them or anything. I'm not so peeved about them calling me Chinese, but more peeved about them assuming that I was foreign-born. -_- like seriously boys...I'm sure you face prejudice and racism everywhere but c'mon must you carry out these social constructions?

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And even a bonus slide for any remaining queries:

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June 19, 1964: The Senate Passes Civil Rights Act

On this day in 1964, the Senate passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2. The landmark act barred discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin in public facilities — such as restaurants, theaters, or hotels. Discrimination in hiring practices was also outlawed. 

The Civil Rights Act paved the way for future anti-discrimination legislation, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

To learn more about milestones in the Civil Rights Movement, visit Eyes on the Prize online.

 Photo: President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Martin Luther King, Jr. is among those looking on. (National Archives and Records Administration)