Fuck the Model Minority Myth. I Just Failed My Biology Final. And the NY Times Agrees.

The New York Times reported today that New York University, the College Board (aka the SAT devils), and a commission of Asian American educators/community leaders released a report that attacks the "Model Minority" stereotype associated with Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in colleges and universities. The report is 44 pages long, but can conveniently be boiled down to four easy-to-remember non-racist points!

1) The term of "Asian American" covers an extraordinary broad number of demographics, with quite a few who DO face serious barriers and challenges in applying to college. (The report shows that the majority of Hmong and Cambodian adults do not attend college, while the most Pakistanis and Indians have at least a B.A. or B.S....which is not a diss to anyone! Just saying we're all individual...uh...API demographics...)

2) We're not all Science, Tech, Engineering, or Math majors! Actually...a lot of us aren't. Actually...almost none of us are. Most of the bachelor degrees earned in 2003 by APIs were actually in business, management, social sciences or humanities. Which is...kind of sad...because I thought I was so special...but I guess...not? This is actually very crushing.

3) Renaming of universities with high API populations like UCLA = United Caucasians Lost Among Asians, MIT = Made In Taiwan, and UCI = University of Chinese Immigrants...is really mean. =( And kind of ignorant. And actually a little racist. That, and more than half of APIs actually earn community college degrees, not public and private four-year degrees.

4) Jesse Cheng had just failed his Biology 65 final. Very pretty literally. Single handedly disproving the model minority stereotype!

And for all you fellow Asian American Studies majors and minors in UC Irvine, you can find the .pdf file with the complete report in UC Irvine's electronic library here! It's a fascinating read!

Propz and Thanks to the New York Times, Angry Asian Man, and Daniel C. Tsang for providing the full report and the news article!

TO ALL HETEROSEXUALS: BE SURE TO MARRY BEFORE JUNE 16TH

TO ALL HETEROSEXUALS: Be sure to marry before June 16th!

Why?

Because, as CNN reports, June 17th will be the first day that California will legally allow same-sex marriages in California! Remember that on May 15th, the CA Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. The Court then takes around 30 days to wait for any requests for a re-hearing, and then the ruling goes into action.

So, on June 17th, you best believe that we be takin' that shit by storm. The courts will be packed. It's like adding another 10% of marrying couples to the list to get a marriage license. Oh, the lines will make me so proud.

But to all of those who believe the end of the world is now officially coming, it's not.
And for all of those who believe the fight for same-sex marriage is now over, we're miles away from the finish line.

So everybody just chill for a second. AND THEN LET'S ALL GET REALLY MAD, cuz the fight really is just starting all over again.

Anti-same-sex marriage advocates are fighting for a constitutional amendment to the state of CA to be put on our Nov. ballot, that would re-establish the ban on what I am now calling "happy marriage" (the dash on my keyboard just broke, which means I can no longer hyphen the same-sex, in same-sex marriage (it just broke again)). It's very possible that it will pass, and that voters in CA will be able to vote to ban or affirm "happy marriage" in November.

Anti-same-sex marriage advocates are also fighting for a national constitutional amendment to be made to ban any "happy marriage" in the U.S.

And remember, the only other state to allow happy marriage is Massachusetts. And only residents of Mass., Rhode Island, and New Mexico (and now CA) can marry in Mass.

New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, and Connecticut permit civil unions (which is more like "content connectedness" rather than "happy marriage"), and CA also has a domestic-partner registration law (which is more like...a domestic-partner registration law rather than "happy marriage").

A dozen other states DO give same=sex couples (i found a replacement for the hyphen) some legal rights (which is kind of like saying that some states give people of color partial voting rights).

So I guess that means all of us (for and against happy marriage) still have a lot to work to day. SO NOBODY FREAK OUT YET! Unless, of course, you plan on getting married on June 17th. Then Congratulations, and plan on bringing an Nintendo DS to play while waiting in line for your marriage license.

-JCheng

Life of a Campus Organizer Pt.2

Part 2 of Life of a Campus Organizer! We work hard for the students!

Jackie Chan Is My Hero

Fig 1.1 Jackie Chan as the "Drunken Immortal" in "Forbidden Kingdom"...coming April 18th!
Jackie Chan's best haircut to date: Dreadlocks.

Diet of a Campus Organizer

Man, I just got way too lazy to type shit out anymore. And videos are fun! I hope this converts to my facebook.

I Wonder If Andre 3000 (OutKast) Is Voting?

So I was listening to the classic track "Git Up, Git Out" by OutKast just now when the question occurred to me:


Who is Andre 3000 from OutKast voting for in 2008?


And this question occurs to me because of Andre 3000's fabulous rhyme in the song:

"Y'all tellin me that I need to get out and vote, huh. Why?

Ain't nobody black runnin but (racial epithet directed towards whites that rhymes with slacker), so, why I got to register?

I thinkin of better shit to do with my time

Never smelled aroma of diploma, but I write the deep ass rhymes"

And of course, now I'm asking the question if he's voting because indeed, a (semi?)black candidate is indeed running. Of course, the song kind of ignores the fact that in 1984 and 1988 Jesse Jackson did indeed run for Presidential Candidate, and for a time, seemed to be the front-runner. But I guess Jesse Jackson's campaign has become somewhat of a joke nowadays, a campaign history that even Obama's campaign seeks to distance itself from (especially when one of Clinton's campaign strategists said something to the extent of "It's O.K. Obama won S. Carolina. So did Jesse Jackson, back in the day."

So, in context, the song asks something deeper than "Why do only white people run for President?" The song actually asks "Why do I have to vote when my interests will never truly be represented by a viable candidate running for president? Why can't I just make head-banging music that sneaks in political consciousness into millions of youth and makes me millions (from youth)?" And i think that's the real challenge for Obama, something that he'll really have to prove before I ever wholeheartedly endorse him (altho I seem to heartily endorse him, it's not wholeheartedly). The real challenge that just occurred to me


It's fine that you're a person of color. So what? If I vote for you, and you don't do shit for us, I'll still have better things to do with my time, writing deep ass rhymes.

Fig 1.1 Andre 3000 from OutKast. So, sir, is that a vote for Obama, then?

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Shortest, Sweetest Story

The shortest, sweetest story:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

Ernest Hemingway, my friends.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Asian Drinking Games That Will Last Days (Even Months)

So one of my friends from the Bay and I were doing long-distance TV watching one day (long-distance TV watching is when you and your friend watch the same TV channel from two totally different locations in the world and make snide little comments about the show over AIM. It's extremely gratifying and you get to feel the full force of 21st century technology.) when we both feel like getting long-distance drunk (long-distance drunk is when you and your friend drink the same brand of liquor in two totally different locations in the world and make snide little comments about each other on your cell's speakerphone. It's much less gratifying and has been heavily associated with alcoholism. Not suggested.).

So anyways, we break out one of her grandfather's ancient Asian Drinking Games. The ones that involve a lot of singing and drunkenness. It goes like this: Turn your TV onto a really popular TV channel, like NBC. Then, break out your bottle of sake. Everytime an Asian person comes on screen, scream "ASIAN" into the speakerphone and take a shot of sake.

When we started, I had a full handle of sake.

Hours later, I had a full handle of sake.

Days later, a rerun of Grey's Anatomy came on, and I decided to stop playing. To save my almost-full bottle of sake. (Best Buy has this commercial with an Asian salesman selling TV screens. It came on 5 hours into the Drinking game. I didn't actually see it. I was asleep when my friend yelled "ASIAN" and I took a shot of sake out of reflex.)

On that extremely positive note:

On Feb. 7th, Nickelodeon is going to premiere a new animated series on Nick Jr. called "Ni Hao, Kai-lan" (hat-tip, Hyphen Blog). It's a show aimed at preschoolers, and stars a little Chinese American girl named Kai-lan, and her grandpa YeYe. It's a show, in a kind of similar fashion to Dora the Explorer, I suppose, is bi-lingual, with Kai-lan teaching children Chinese, and her grandpa YeYe showcasing a bunch of Chinese customs and traditions (dumplings, lanterns, Lunar New Year, etc.etc.) According to the show's website, the show's goal is to go farther than what "Dora the Explorer" did and not only expose children to the idea of bilingualism, but also biculturalism.

You know what? I mean, I know it's like Mr. Corporate Nickelodeon, and there's probably a chance of this show just promoting stereotypes, and etc.etc. but I think I'm really looking forward to this show. Like really. Something about it makes me smile (maybe it's this picture of dragon boat racing: SO CUTE!)

Fig 1.1 Kai-Lan, YeYe, Her Tiger, Her Koala, and her DragonBoats! SO CUTE!

And I mean, I call my grandpa YeYe. Sure I don't call my little sister Kai-lan, but I mean, the world doesn't always have to reflect my life. And YeYe passed down Chinese customs and traditions to me. I've learned lot from him, and his hornrimmed glasses. It's about time he got some airtime.

And I mean, it sure speeds up the Asian TV Drinking game.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Emails From Pingping

I got an email from my little sister today, it read:

HI JESSE!!!!
daddy wants you to write more blogs like about the 2008 Hillary/Obama/Republican New Hampshire thing......
....
I mmiss you Jesse...
Well, that's about it....

For all of you who don't know, my father actually founded and runs a "Blogger/Facebook" like website for Chinese people. You can find it here, at www.mentor100.com. (Note: I know there are sometimes a lot of feelings attached to reading/understanding a Chinese website, especially if you're Chinese. If you are Chinese, and still can't read the website, don't feel too bad. Neither can I.) My father usually takes my posts from this blog and posts it on his website, where I get (not) a lot of traffic and am quite (not) famous. So I want you to know, Dad, that this post, this is one meant for you to read.

Hillary won New Hampshire. I was angry. Like, I was really really angry. Irrationally angry, you know? Because Obama didn't lose by that much, and Clinton isn't a horrible person who never deserves to win. But I was really angry. I want Obama to win. I want Obama to sweep the primaries. I want Obama to kill the general election. I want Obama to win so bad that people, all people, will be crying in the streets in amazement by how much he won by.

Because if Obama wins, I can see my future. If Obama wins, I can say, I can do it too. And you know, maybe they'll burn effigies of him in the South. Maybe he'll just barely win. Maybe his election will be as controversial and fake as Bush's 2000 election. But if Obama wins, I could win. You know? And that's big. That's really big. To say that one of us made it.

I remember a long time ago, and my mom and I were in the car, and my mom was listening to talk radio trying to learn English, and I remember I said something, something like "I want to be the President when I grow up", and I remember there was a red light and my mother turned around to me and barely whispered, "I'm sorry."

If Obama wins, my mother won't have to apologize for the color of my skin.

And so I was really angry when Hillary won. And I forgot. I forgot that Hillary grew up in a time when women going to college was still kind of a novelty. I forgot that Hillary went to law school when the percentage of women going to law school was not 50%. I forgot that Hillary became senator when women senators are not popular, and I forgot that Hillary Clinton is running a campaign to become President and while she was running that campaign, two men went up to her and screamed "Iron My Shirt!!" I forgot that ABC News still thinks "Can A Woman Really Be President" is a legitimate question.

I know if Obama wins, I can say, I can too. But I forgot that if Obama wins, my little sister probably can't. And if Hillary wins, maybe she'll have a better chance. So I'm not angry anymore.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Rich Man May Run, and Republicans are Scared!

I really like talking about election politics. It's fun, and although President Bush has definitely proved that it's not harmless, it's almost painless to talk about while it's happening. It's like smoking pot. Or alcoholism. Politically, everyone's doing it! And it's a lot of fun to watch candidates struggle and fight to outmanuver and outtalk each other. It's like reality television. With alcoholism. And pot. Without on-strike screenwriters. And with the screenwriters on-strike, I don't really have much to watch anymore other than the election.

Masi Oka for President '08!! If he fucks up, he'll just save the cheerleader all over again!

So anyways, the very latest in electoral politics. The New York Times ups the hype about Michael Bloomberg possibly running as a Independent candidate in 2008. This is really good. Politically, Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York. Financially, he's the 38th richest man in America. He's like...a billionaire. multiplied by 11. Plus another half a billion. He's so rich, he doesn't even wanna get paid for being mayor. He's on the NYC payroll as the only person who works for a dollar a year. He's so rich, he doesn't even live in the Mayor's Palace (aka Gracie Mansion). He lives in his EVEN MORE BALLIN' home, on E. 79th St. To his credit, he takes the subway to work. AFTER HE PAVES THE RAILS WITH GOLD.

More importantly, Bloomberg is a lifetime Democrat. Who switched to the Republican Party when he wanted to run for Mayor. Who then left the Republican Party after after he had won Mayor twice. Currently making him an Independent. Which leads the way to his possibly running as an Independent in 2008 and fucking up all political estimates with the Republicans and Democrats.

Did I mention he DROPPED 160 million dollars on his mayoral races? Obama and Clinton put together barely have raised 160 million. And he might just DROP another BILLION (BILLION with a B, just to emphasize) for his presidential race. Which still leaves him with 10.5 BILLION DOLLARS. He's so ballin', I really do just wanna kiss his ass and see what kind of money bags erupt from my lips.

In other news that you probably already knew...

The Wall Street Journal that yes, yes, the Democratic Craziness Really Does Have Republicans Worried...And They Should Be. It's about time ya'll went to war on this one. Polls (and results) have shown that 1) Democrats are giving more to their candidates than Republicans and 2) Democrats seem more supportive about their overall candidate field than Republicans. Both of these things are very characteristic of winners. They're not very characteristic of Democrats. EXCITING! Could we be learning from our past mistakes?? Probably not. 8 years of Bush (and a very noticeable Kerry defeat) just angers the shit out of us.

Although I don't know. I mean, for all the juice that Democrats seem to be getting, these Ron Paul supporters seem the most...uh...amped. Two of them actually commented on my blog. And uh...I have a nowhere, no-worth blog. I barely get hits, other than myself, and my mother. And suddenly I get slapped around for quoting the Daily Kos. Scary. But exciting! So I'm going to do it again!

RON PAUL CAN...GO...UH...FUCK...HIMSELF? THAT BAD BAD BAD MAN!! YEE!

Fig 1.1 Republican Candidate Ron Paul
The Only Reason People Read My Blog

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Biggest Story of Today

Of course, the biggest story this day...Bush does it again...

President Creates Cabinet-Level Position To Coordinate Scandals, the Onion, reporting a month from now, Feb 1, 2008.

That's all, folks!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Two Quotes, Two Candidates, Two Primaries

Two quick quotes on the color of the 2008 elections...I'd just like to join the rest of the blogosphere on quoting this...

First Quote (Hat Tip: Educational Justice) about Sen. Barack Obama:

"[Obama] is being consumed as the embodiment of color blindness," says Angela Davis, professor of history of consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "It's the notion that we have moved beyond racism by not taking race into account. That's what makes him conceivable as a presidential candidate. He's become the model of diversity in this period...a model of diversity as the difference that makes no difference. The change that brings no change."
-Angela Davis, as quoted by Gary Younge, 12/31, The Nation

Man. That's some killer commentary about how a candidate of color is viewed in the eyes of America. Altho saying the words "Candidate of Color" sound so empowering!

Second Quote (Hat Tip: Reappropriate) from U.S. Congressperson Ron Paul (straight from the horse's mouth, ya'll):

"Indeed, it is shocking to consider the uniformity of opinion among blacks in this country. Opinion polls consistently show that only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions, i.e. support the free market, individual liberty, and the end of welfare and affirmative action…. Given the inefficiencies of what D.C. laughingly calls the “criminal justice system,” I think we can safely assume that 95% of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.

If similar in-depth studies were conducted in other major cities, who doubts that similar results would be produced? We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, but it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings, and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers."
-Ron Paul, as quoted by..uh..Ron Paul, in a 1992 article in the Ron Paul Political Report

Um. MAN. That's some killer...shit, that shit is just killer. Like racist, killer. Like really really pretty racist, ya'll. And because I'm all for fair and contextual reporting, this was his article written in response to the 1992 LA Riots (which really, just means he's still pretty damn racist, just a very 1-dimensional racism). The article is posted here, and the background to the article is reported here by our friends in the Daily Kos.

DAMN. I mean, this is not to be attackin' all that student group running around UCI chalkin' up shit to promote Ron Paul '08. But, I mean. Ok, so this is me kind of attackin' supporters of Ron Paul '08. I'm sorry, I don't mean to. Just I'm really starting to go against his stance. Because he's against the War in Iraq does not mean he's forgiven for saying that kinda SHIT back in 1992. Cuz, really, I gotta be lookin' out for my communities of color. So none of that shit. I'm sorry.

To be fair, Ron Paul was reported saying in 1996 that it wasn't him, it was a ghostwriter who wrote those comments, and that he's very sorry for them and takes on "moral responsibility". Wikipedia's got the report on that apology here. And yeah, Ron Paul definitely has sounded like that since his 4 congressional elections and this one presidential run. But I'm sorry, I really can't shake the feeling (and the anger, yeah) that the quote above was a really, really bad omen.

I mean, really, gotta be reppin' my communities of color.

Powered by ScribeFire.

My Respects

This is going to be one of those media checks.

If the media ya'll checking today isn't talking about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto somewhere near the headlines, then you better check what media you're checking.

This is to mean no disrespect. I just wanna emphasize how important this woman was, and still is, to the regional politics of Pakistan, and the international community as a whole. She was the first female prime minister of Pakistan, democratically elected for real, and ended up leading Pakistan twice, once from 1988-1990 and again from 1993-1996. At the time of her death, she was an opposition leader in Pakistan, was regarded by her supporters as the one of hopes of democracy to their nation. Course, this view wasn't held by all, especially with those who agreed with the number of corruption charges that drove her out of her office the second time.

I really don't have the intelligence, background, or literacy to give the biography of her life. Hopefully, John F. Burns from the New York Times does, cuz he wrote her obituary. Check it.

I guess this is just to pay respects to a strong and powerful woman who had a hard and controversial life. I mean, I'm just checking out the effect her death had on people. There are people crying in the streets where she was shot, there are people crying in the hospital which pronounced her dead, you know? There's reports of violence on the streets. President Pervaz Musharraf went on television to respond (capitalize?) on her death. So at the very least, Respects.

Fig 1.1 Aftermath at Rawalpindi, Scene of the Assassination

Powered by ScribeFire.

UNICEF Makes BOMB Games

I'd like to comment really quickly about my inability to keep a Haitian family of 5 alive. I'm really incredibly bad at survival, even when (especially when) survival is simulated into an internet flash game made by UNICEF. Ayiti: The Cost of Life (hat tip: Peter Lu's note) is this little internet flash game made by UNICEF and Co., and has been acclaimed as one of the best political web games of the year. Peter quoted Slate.com to explain the game, and shamelessly, so will I,

"Ayiti: The Cost Of Life makes the Oregon Trail look like Candy Land.
The game puts you in control of the lives of a Haitian family of five.
You have four years to guide the family through a catalog of privations
and calamities: hurricanes, robbers, depression, illiteracy, and
on-the-job injuries. Ideally, you'll find education, prosperity, and
health, but you'll probably just come down with malaria and die."

It's a hard game. It's a really hard game. Then again, being a Haitian family of 5 is a really hard life. And moving away from the "I'm a privileged know-it-all piece of shit who thinks he can recreate the struggles of a family in a 30 minute webgame" thing, it really does kinda make you more aware about the struggles of other peoples around the globe.

For Devil's Advocate, there are some things in this game I kinda find troubling. For example, there's a very specific strategy to winning this game for the Haitian family of 5. Clue: it involves supporting UNICEF. Suggesting that for every Haitian family of 5 out there, there is a very specific strategy for their lives. Clue: It involves supporting UNICEF. Or something I definitely find troubling, (and this is kinda a strategy spoiler) one of the game's main political messages is that all you really need is determination, and a library full of books, to win (at life). I'm going to take a leap of faith and say that 1) A series of mouse-clicks does not even closely represent how hard it is to find the determination and materials to study on your own while working in Haiti and 2) Determination and a Library kinda seems like an oversimplification to succeeding at life.

HOWEVER, I still think this game is a really great idea, and is really too addictive for me not to beat now so it won't haunt me for the rest of Winter Quarter and destroy my grades and my life. And after I beat the game, yes, yes I do think I will make a charitable, tax-deductible donation to UNICEF to bring libraries, and farming resources to countries like Haiti and families much like those I played in the game.

Because if seeing my family die 4 or 5 times won't haunt my dreams, well, then maybe dreams aren't for me.

Fig 1.1 Jean, Marie, Patrick, Jacquline, and Yves Just Try To Survive in Ayiti: The Cost of Life
I've killed them, what? 4, 5, 6 times now? Shit.

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Youth Lean Left...But It's Ok, They Don't Vote

In one of those weird and awkward times where APIs are actually reported in the slightly (actually, pretty heavily) right-wing media, Politico.com reported recently (4 days ago, I'm kinda late on the game) that Asian Pacific Islander youth trend Democratic. Well, uh...I don't know. No shit? But really, a couple things:

1) This article actually was written by a white male. And, if you check his bio profile, you can actually see he is a very white male. There's nothing really to it, but I'm always interested when an article is written about us, when it's not actually from one of us. I'm thinking about the implications. Especially the ones he makes. But he actually cites real Asian Americans in there. That's definite brownie points.

2) However. It seems like no matter how many times Asian Pacific Islanders use the term Asian Pacific Islander, the headline always comes out reading just "Asian American". It's even quoted in the article, the executive director of the Young Democrats of America says "With the Asian and Pacific Islander vote". And yet! And yet! The title still firmly reads simply "Asian-American". Really now? That's seriously cutting off a huge chunk of our population. Like. Almost every "Asian American" with ancestry from the islands of the Pacific Ocean. It's kinda big.

3) You notice it too. Mr. Ben Adler really only cites people from the "traditional" Asian-American populations, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. However, the statistics he uses from The Institute of Politics at Harvard University surveyed the current populations of APIs, including Thai, Cambodian, Pilipino, Laotian, native Hawaiian, etc. even though even the study categorizes them under "Other Asian". So when there's a disparity between what the quotes imply and what the statistics say, well, remember who writing it and maybe why. API's can get in the media, but we can never get a break.

3) One big thing really stuck out though. The article mentions that this is a pretty recent trend for this generation of APIs to start trending Democratic. And it is. I trend Democratic, but my mother almost definitely trends a strong Republican stance. Years of Communist propaganda and "Cultural Revolution" has convinced her of how incredibly evil the left can be. And honestly, I don't blame her. Any kid wearing one of those hip Red Stars or Communist jackets or Che t-shirts maybe doesn't know or doesn't remember the families that were broken and killed in the name of that Red Star. And other kids do. A whole branch of my family tree was crossed off during that time. On my mother's side. So I don't blame her for being Republican. I almost encourage it. But then Bush went into Iraq claiming "weapons of mass destruction" and then he didn't find any and then my mother hates liars and now my mother hates the Republican Party. Cuz in her mind, they lied. A lot like Communists do. She's going to vote for Hillary in the primaries. I'm going to vote Obama. But I can live with her vote too.

4) The last comment included just a little backhand slap at us. It mentioned although API's are starting to trend Democratic...we don't actually vote enough for it to really matter. Well then fuck it. GO VOTE.

5) IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE REALLY ANGRY AT THE INTERNET. DON'T READ MOST OF THE COMMENTS. JUST DON'T. THEY'RE KIND OF...RACIST.
(ex. Right-Minded Frank says: Well there goes the best work ethic in America. Once you go Democrat no one wants to work and thinks everyone owes them something. the best work ethnic in America?? I'm sorry we won't be there doing your laundry anymore, Mr. Right-Minded Frank.)

Powered by ScribeFire.

The Government Fucks Up Again

Fox News (No, I don't read FOX News, but I do read AngryAsianMan and he apparently reads Fox) reported on Tuesday that a Minneapolis SWAT Team raided a Hmong household of a husband, wife, and two sons. When the SWAT team broke into the house through 6 windows without warning, the husband ran upstairs grabbed a shotgun and fired three shots at the team, not knowing they were police. The SWAT team fired 22 rounds back, and then realized they broke into the wrong house. A couple things here:

1) The man fired a shotgun. Ok, so I'm usually totally against any form of violence or whatever, all that peace shit, but I just wanna comment on how much of a FATHER this guy is. I mean, some people break into your house, all armed and dangerous, and you got children and a wife downstairs, and instead of cowering in a corner with them, you run upstairs and start shooting. Man, that is some serious shit man. That's some serious "I protect my family" shit man. I respect that. Cuz I mean, you don't know who these people are, they got guns, they could kill you and your family, so yeah I'm going to say that's some serious shit to just pull out a gun and fire, you know? I don't know if I got the nerves for that.

2) YOU BROKE INTO THE WRONG HOUSE?! NO SERIOUSLY, YOU BROKE INTO THE WRONG HOUSE?!? WITH GUNS?! AND THEN FIRED 22 ROUNDS?! Blah, blah, blah, police are people too, they make mistakes, NO, NO, FUCK THAT SHIT, you do not make mistakes when you have guns. That's just not acceptable. Especially if you are totally willing to fire those guns. Which if you're SWAT, you totally are. It's not human, it's fucked up. One of the sons was 3. The other was 15. You could have killed them.

3) If someone finds out this all happened cuz the family was Asian, OHHH some shit should totally go down.

4) If you read the article by FOX News, you notice that they reported Federal Agencies don't keep track of the number of wrong houses they break into. Like, as if to say, they don't care.

No, no, this is not one of those "They're humans, we all make mistakes". This is one of those "They're the government, and they fucked up. AGAIN."

Powered by ScribeFire.

Disney's A Racist. We All Knew It.

There's this amazing article I found on Cracked.com titled: The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters. I won't lie. Some of the shit in there is just so damn racist it's just funny. I mean, it's bad to laugh at racism, but the shit is so damn racist! It's like crying laughter. You laugh at the stereotypes wishing you could forget the times when you cried as a child when they were applied to you. Some of the other stereotypes are just interesting, almost historical notes, stories and films that are definitely never seen nowadays, but it's interesting to see how they've been reflected and mirrored up until today. But man. So. damn. racist.

Some photos from the article:

Fig 1.1 The "Blackfish" from Disney's Little Mermaid
Really?!? The blackfish?! How did I not see how this was CRAZY racist??

Fig 1.2 The Siamese Twin Gang from Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers
According to Disney, the cat on the left is what I will look like in 5 years.
And the cat on the left is my father.
Does anyone remember the AristoCats?? The Siamese Cats?? And their Engrish?? Is that shit really not racist??

P.S. If you have time, check out the comments section too. There's a really interesting discussion going on about whether minorities can or cannot be racist. While a lot of people are saying that anybody can be racist, it only takes the thoughts and the prejudice; there is a really interesting, provocative, and intelligent post put on by "The Duck that was Blue". It's worth considering, yadadamean??

OK. People need to realize that minorities can't be racist. They can be discriminatory or prejudiced. But these are not racism. Racism is when the race that is in the position of privilege acts to hold down and demoralize minorities. Here in America, only Whites are even capable of being racist. It is so much more than just not liking someone because of their skin. You can make fun of white people, but they will still have privilege. Presenting Blacks as ignorant and savage actually helps to influence other White people to be more suspicious of them. I'm so sick of people acting like Blacks are even capable of being racist against Whites. They make up 12% of the population for chrissakes.
Posted on 12/11/2007 9:02:29pm
-The Duck that was Blue

That is for all my "the world should be colorblind" folks out there. Really listen to the Duck. It'll kind of change your life. I'm usually one of those "minorities can be racist too, we often are" (read posts below), there's something in that post about how sometimes racism only matters when there's privilege to back it. Otherwise it's just people bickering about the power none of them have. That's some deep shit right there, to be real.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Hillary Clinton Wants To Stop Making Little Children Cry

Straight Up, from Reuters, Monday Dec. 17th, reporting on how Hillary Clinton is trying to soften her image for the upcoming Iowa caucus, direct quote:

"After Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney got teary-eyed
while talking about when his Mormon church opened its doors to black
Americans, an MSNBC interviewer asked Clinton if she ever teared up.

"Well, you know, when I had to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning in Des Moines I teared up," she said."

Damn, she's such a killer, she almost makes me wanna ditch Obama and vote for her. I'm tellin' you. If you vote her into office with an attitude like that, we'd never have to worry about a Republican Congress. She'd straight-up rip them apart. She's about results, man. Fuck that feel-good shit. She's a no-shit-given-no-shit-givin' tru G! Ya'll motherfuckers stop talking about how she's a women and shit and just respect.

Still vote for Obama in 08 tho, personally. Love the Hope Message. It tugs at my heartstrings and gives me hope for my little sister.

Just for kicks tho...TheHillaryIKnow.com Her website dedicated to herself and how soft of a person she is. Fuck that shit. The Hillary I respect is still a straightup G. BUAH!

Powered by ScribeFire.

Survey Says...Minorities Hate Minorities

The Washington Post reported last Thursday that a Survey Finds Friction Among Minority Groups. The basic premise of the survey was that each of the major minority groups polled (African Americans, Asian Americans, and the questionable label "Hispanic") kind of really are racist to one another. Or view one another very unkindly. While this is probably really not surprising to most of us peoples of color (colorblind people in the back say "Wha?? You folks don't like each other?") I thought I'd take a minute and take some highlights out of this article

1) The survey found that an overwhelming majority of each group views racial tension as a "very important problem". So...we don't want to hate each other...but we kind of do. Read below.

2) 40% of Hispanics and Asians (Not saying you, in particular, but 40% of your community) say they are "generally afraid of African Americans and associated them with crime". Yeah, ok, this is kind of saying you. Maybe you when you make a really bad black joke that has something to do with crime and being a thug. Or maybe your friends. Or maybe your family. Or maybe it's not you. But recognize it's prevalent in your community.

3) 1/3rd of Hispanics and African Americans said most Asian business owners "do not treat us with respect". Think...LA riots. Or if you don't think about it, wiki LA Riots. Focus on the Underlying Causes paragraph, it's short, but it doesn't mention Asian-Black violence. And consider, for us APIpeoples out there in the crowd, that maybe this isn't so straightup racist of Blacks and Latinos when apparently 40% of us associate African Americans with crime in a kind of really racist way. Which means that maybe some Asian business owners don't treat other minorities with respect. Which means maybe some minorities will rob Asian business owners because they don't respect them either. Which means it's kind of everyone's fault (everyone who is racist). I think, anyways.

4) 1/3rd of Asians and 1/2 of African Americans said Latin Americans are taking away jobs and benefits from other Americans. WOW. Ok, I didn't actually see that statistic coming. But consider, for a moment, how fucked up that is for Asian Americans to say, when the same exact thing was being said to us around the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Acts before 1965. Fucked up.

5) African Americans are noticeably less optimistic than other minority groups about the American Dream. While not being African American myself, I'm going to venture out for a minute and say, yeah, a couple hundred years of outright slavery in America, and many more years (and continuing) of straightup oppression can do that to your community. And sometimes I think Asian Americans and Latinos are beginning to catch on to that too.

6) There's one quote I really wanna stress (this has been a kind of long blog anyways):

Sergio Bendixen, who presented the poll results at the National Press Club,
said that the fact that all three groups live in relative isolation has
contributed to the tensions and stereotypes and that more interaction
would do much to reduce the problem."If you share an afternoon of baseball and a barbecue, you are less
likely to be afraid of people or think they came to steal your job,"
Bendixen said.

I just wanna mention that an "afternoon of baseball and a barbecue" are seriously one of the most traditionally "American" things I have ever heard of. Just from the standpoint of a former AZN, maturing API, and a kid whose lived for a while in a dominant Asian American community, an afternoon of baseball and a barbecue is definitely not something I always see in my community. But I mean, I'd be willing to try it. I'd still probably bring fried rice. And my dormmate's kimchee. I love stealing my dormmate's kimchee.

Of course, propz to AngryAsianMan for putting this on his blog so that I could jack it for my blog to talk about.




Powered by ScribeFire.

UCI Beats Harvard Once Again!

An article last Monday from Harvard University's campus newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, reported on the repeated failure of the University Administration to give Asian American Studies a place in the educational curriculum.

1)This, of course, is only yet another example of how UC Irvine has proved it's unending dominance over Harvard University, having had an Asian American Studies field here since 1991.

2) It's also a nice reminder of how hard API students have had to fight to get Asian American Studies to UCI. I remember reading that most of the ethnic faculty at UCI came out of a couple of obnoxiously loud Jodaiko drums and a really large student protest in the lobby of the Chancellor's office.

3) And finally, it's also a nice reminder about how far API students everywhere still have to go to get representation in our faculty.
Ex: Out of 1600+ Filipino students in UCI, there are only 2 Filipino professors, and 0 Filipino Studies minor/major.

It's kind of time for us to get made.

Fig. 1.1 The Ethnic Consciousness Scoreboard.
Harvard University is down one.

Powered by ScribeFire.