Make Them Hear You

where is the hope

2007-12-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

yes, i am terrible
horrible
no good
very bad

but i've done my thinking
obviously

sometimes
i think about what others think
too deeply
too shallowly

"wow bobby
that was so insightful
thank you for that.
brilliant"

francis said it only once
but it stung.
sarcarm, eh.
more because it was true
so colorful at times.

but it was coming
and though i speak just to break the ice
at times
i am so transparent at times

lately, i hate listening in class
so many emotions

where is the hope?

why can't white people realize/learn _________?
i am so sick and tired of ______
i hate ______
i just read _____ and it makes me ________

really.
let's rewrite history
as madlibs
"i just read A FORTUNE COOKIE and it makes me CONSTIPATED"

all this hate
anger
disgust
revoltion

revoltion
hmm
interesting word
let's add a "u" in there.

what do you think?
that's what it's about people

where is the hope?

but those things do nothing
there is so much in the world
wrong and sad
and heartbreaking

everything needs a celebrity attached to it
to get attention
it's nice
and hollywood
but really
"HOLY SHIT MY CAREER IS BOMBING"

but that's neither here
nor there

let's get to the point

WHERE IS THE FUCKING HOPE?

woah..
calm down bobby
where did that come from?
i surprise myself at times

all these things in class
fun to read and watch
i've learned a lot

paper brides
-i want to have a floating exhibit
on the crim dell
candles, lights
it will be beautiful at night

m butterfly
i watched the youtube clip
funny
like francis said

but the song
the aria
haunted me for days
that's what they say though

the hallmark of a great movie
musical, show
is the audience
hums the songs
on the way out of the theatre

mr yano taught me that
10th grade english
best teacher for young kids
who don't know who they are

but if i met him again
i'd have no words
for the man
who taught me to write
weird, yo.

but he was my first
asian american teacher
no science or math
left brain stuff

bobby
stop tapdancing

sorry
this is fun
AS IT SHOULD BE

angry is no fun
but i still like you
todd

so
where is the hope?

----

i’ll tell you a little secret
because i know what it is
how have I been so blind
this whole time?

francis asks day in day out
where is the hope?
eternal wermus question
flattering, but i just said it
no thought behind it
knee jerk

naturally
if you are treated like shit
why come back for more?
and then it hit me

these thoughts have been marinating
since my last blog

i hate the word marinate
but it's all i've got

the hope my friends
was established years ago
by my greatgrandparents
and your greatgreatgranduncle three times removed
and the relative no one talks about

they knew it would be hard for them
but it's so easy for us...
....

that's right kiddos
you're looking at the hope

me
you
and guy who smokes his cigarettes outside of the daily grind every night
and the lady who slops the rice on your plate with that painful smile
and the awkward kid who friended you on facebook but refuses to look at you in the eye
and the one who everyone knows
and the shy one who will make you cookies when you are sad
and the ones who wish they knew what you felt
and the ones who hate themselves for not fitting in
and the ones who love you no matter what

skin color means less and less for us
and though this is a bit too saccharine for my tastes
it's true

francis would never have had such a [great] class
10 years ago
would he?

the thing is
i imitate confidence
but i believe this

so are we there?
no
i don't know where there is
just follow the yellow brick road

i know i'm doing the best i can
and my kids will too
and they'll pay it forward
one step at a time
that's all i can do

things happen
the time is right now

actually
it's not "right"
it's just getting better

yes.
that's what i think

it's not much
but it's the best i can do
my gift is my song
and this one's for you

takaki 2, 3

2007-09-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

i must shamefully admit that i have fallen behind on the reading. partially out of laziness, but i mainly blame the united states postal service. it took quite a bit of time to have my books mailed.

in any event, i slacked on the reading, but have caught myself up.

chapter 2 deals with takaki's discussion of the "coolies" working in hawaii on the sugar plantations. the owners made an effort to ethnically diversify the workforce between multiple asian nations - i.e., chinese, japanese, koreans, etc. the logic behind this was to divide and conquer the workers. by creating an environment where they spoke different languages, had different traditions, and deep cultural distains for one another, the owners felt confident a strike would be impossible. certainly, exploiting humans for the advancement of others is (in my opinion) deplorable. yet on the other hand, who can blame them for making such smart business decisions? but that doesn't make it ethically correct.

in chapter 3, we learn more of the chinese influence in the west, building the railroads, having a large impact in california, and other states. they became a sizable minority, which california exploited with multiple taxes. honestly, where did the word "celestial" come from as a chinese synonym? i mean, what does that even mean? anyone? is it supposed to be offensive at all? if anything, i would take it as a compliment. not of this world; heavenly. then again, i'm white and don't have quite the perspective necessary to understand the weight of this.

however, i must criticize takaki for his omission of an entire section of american history. while he provides great insight into the asian-american story, i think he fails to relate this "new" (to me anyway; perhaps "revised" is a better word) history in a national context. most americans certainly know something about history (though my video claims otherwise), but i'm specifically talking about the civil war. in the index, he references it twice. i wonder of the asian american reaction/influence/impact on the american civil war. takaki himself writes that although asian americans were concentrated in california, some spread all the way west. but certainly, something as heavy as a war will be felt by all around the nation. i find it hard to believe asian americans were able to shield themselves from this, or maybe takaki himself ignored it.

francis's theory

2007-09-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

on monday, after we'd discussed various decades and ideas regarding the recollection of history, i decided to interview wm students and this video is the result:

Reflections on Takaki

2007-09-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

Takaki presents many interesting introductions to the story of Asian immigrants assimilating into American culture. Perhaps the most fascinating point he introduces is the Simmel discrimination theory. Simmel describes immigrants as intruders who bring alien qualities that are not indigenous. But on an easier level, he discusses the qualities that Asians cannot hide - physical ones - that provide an immediate target for discrimination. He also dives into extensive detail mentioning many ways in which the goverment itself has enacted orders which limit the rights of Asians.

This reading made me wonder: how would the US look today if it had been colonized from the West?

why "history" is gone from the course title

2007-09-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

you see what you see

*edit: I realize blogger doesn't show the full painting, so please click the image to see it in its entirety. If anyone knows how to format the blog to allow for the whole image to be shown, please leave me a comment telling me how.