Racism: Alive and Kicking in America

Barack Obama. The man who is dividing my country, friendships, and my family. Why? Quite simply put, because racism is not only alive and well in America, it's actually celebrated. People questioning Donald Trump for demanding the birth certificate are viewed as idiotic, this is a real issue. I forgot, if you hide racism in issues, then it's not racism anymore, it's just good practice. I know you're going to go on the defensive so let's try a different approach.

Let's imagine the next President of the US has a mother from Kansas and a father from Sweden. The mother has blonde hair, blue eyes, and went missing after the birth of her son. The father is in the States for school, he also has blonde hair and blue eyes. Both were raised Christian and their son is raised that way too. They name their son John Smith. John's Dad disappears and his Mom struggles to get by. Despite the adversary, John is athletic, he's charismatic, he goes to an Ivy League school. After graduating college he gets his law degree from an Ivy League school. He could go on to have a very profitable career, but instead he goes into public servitude, going to the most dangerous areas of the country. Working to organize the community to help reduce teen pregnancies, end hate crimes, increase the number of high school graduates, etc. He runs for the Senate and wins. Then he runs for the Presidency, he also wins, by a landslide.

Perhaps it's best to look at a real life situation. One Chicago Tribune Reporter has been on the Obama birth certificate story since 2008 when they believed it was silly to even discuss the matter. While Senator John McCain faced similar questions regarding his citizenship (his father was stationed in the Panama Canal and McCain was born on a military base) there were never full page ads questioning his right to become President. He was never accused of forging signatures, producing a fake birth certificate, or to have a lawsuit taken to the SUPREME COURT over his citizenship. No, McCain didn't win, but if he had won would we be having a similar debate about his birth certificate and right to be President? Or more to the point would he be treated in the way that Obama is being treated for the answers to the same questions?

The problem is whether or not you have 'legitimate' claims of your concern for Obama being a natural born citizen. When we treat two individuals differently based on the color of their skin, THAT is racism. What satisfied those who questioned McCain being a 'natural born citizen' should be the same for Obama, clearly that is not what happened. It's frightening that the deep seeded racism is so engrained in our society we don't even recognize it when it happens.
 
The other day I was watching tv when a Bayer commercial came on. The white male is in pain on the plane and there is an Asian flight attendant. He asks her for medicine for his back. She gives him Bayer. Obviously she doesn't have a good grasp of English so he talks to her slowly and uses hand motions to show that it's 'Not my heart, my back'. She responds in perfect English telling him she understands and that it works for pain as well. While the intent is to show that most people have misconceptions about what Bayer can do for pain it uses a harmful stereotype about Asians to promote their product. Now I'm sure someone out there is thinking I'm overly sensitive because I am Asian. Damn right I am! People will avoid other racial jokes in front of people of other ethnicities, but almost every single white friend I've had has made some sort of crack about Asians. Whether it's about the food they eat, the accent they have, their abilities in math/science, or driving ability, I've heard it all. And mind you, these are from the people who supposedly care about me. All of my life I've had people tell me I "should be used to being made fun of, because [I'm] Asian." So instead of them not telling racist jokes or saying hurtful things and just being nicer, I am supposed to just take being treated like crap. Because it's their right to make me feel bad about myself over something I have no control over (the color of my skin, the shape of my eyes) and it's my job to take it. To say this is something that made me situationally depressed about in middle school is an understatement. Kids were so intolerably cruel to me I thought of committing suicide to escape their constant degradation. It's something that typing this post makes me tear up and I'm reminded of how much I hated myself for something I had no control over.

I've had family members tell me that people of Arab descent should be screened at airports and the Japanese were rightfully kept in internment camps. Racial profiling is there because these people are dangerous. The psychology major in me asks, are they dangerous and that's why we are profiling them or is it more like a self-fulfilling prophecy? When Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building no one profiled angry looking Caucasian men. When the KKK terrorizes families here in the US no one profiles Caucasian people. Using race as the ONLY factor to judge someone is not only racist, it's morally wrong.
 
As for as I know, God didn't tell us that we should "Love thy neighbor as thyself" EXCEPT Blacks, Asians, Latinos, Arabs and homosexuals. There wasn't an except then, yet we live that way now. Love everybody, and if you can't do that then tolerate everybody. No exceptions.

Political Conversation: Emotional or Intelligent?

Last night I had the chance to catch up with an old friend, the kind you care about and had great times with but now live in different states and go through the natural ebb and flows of communication.  We finally got back in touch, and it was like nothing had changed and yet everything was different, but for the better.  Our friendship, mutual respect, all the important stuff was the same, the way I believe true friendships should be.  What was different was us, we were older, wiser, more sure of ourselves, and yet still able to be friends.  We had grown up, but we had not grown apart, it was something truly miraculous these days.

The conversation discussed the usual, what are you doing, how have you been, are you ever moving back to Colorado? There was one yes and one no.  The thing I find so awesome about our conversation is that I lean left, and Kristin leans right, but we both consider ourselves more moderate.  I used to be Catholic, and Kristin has recently taken Catholicism up.  We were able to offer each other differing viewpoints based on intelligent thought, mixed with emotion, and each allowed the other's viewpoint to change their viewpoint.  Now, when I say that I do not mean in the superficial or flighty meaning.  We didn't back down from our view just because someone else didn't agree with us, we simply allowed their viewpoint to broaden our viewpoint, to consider what they were saying and reconstruct how we each thought about healthcare, religion, etc.  It was one of those conversations that in this day and age is so rare, it makes you smile.  Imagine, a political and religious conversation between two friends that don't necessarily agree on everything being held in a civil manner, each bringing opinions and facts to the table and each leaving with a broadened view.  Is that even possible in this day and age?

I ask if it's possible because you will see in the media that politics have become SO dividing.  I find it interesting that these politicians are so intent on fear mongering and hateful propaganda of the other side when their true job is to do what is best for ALL Americans.  They may believe their agenda is the better one, but I don't think either side is doing a very good job at making this a better place for ALL Americans.

When you take away all the dividing factors that politicians put before you to make you choose you should realize that in reality, we all want the same thing.  We all want a safer country, whether it be across the street, the town, the state, the country or the world.  We all want to be healthy, have access to healthcare.  We all want our children to have the best education, to grow up, succeed, etc.  We all want criminals to be punished, the heroes to be rewarded, and to be able to drive without fear of bridges collapsing (I-35W) or guardrails falling off onto their car (E-470).  These are fundamental things we all want.  The very things we all want, are really being sidestepped by emotions, sensationalism, fear mongering, etc. 

I know some Conservatives will blame Liberals, and vice versa.  I see on twitter, facebook, and in the non-cyber world both sides bashing each other ALL the time.  I even saw someone on twitter saying they will tweet on each lie President Obama says during his State of the Union speech.  I thought it interesting that they chose that method, as I am unaware of a fully morally intact politician, I think the two are oxymorons.  So while others blame the parties I blame Lobbyists and Politicians of both sides.  Politicians are so concerned about what they can ear-mark for their state, what deal with the devil they have to do in order to get their bill through they've lost sight of what is really at stake, what's right for us.  Lobbyists only help the matter by paying millions of dollars to convince politicians to vote for what they want versus what the American public wants.   Truly, this is what democracy is all about, and what our forefathers fought so hard to establish.  I think they're rolling in their graves right now.

I remember watching The Daily Show (I do love Jon Stewart, as he makes fun of Republicans AND Democrats) and seeing that 30 white, male Republicans were voting no on Senator Al Franken's amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill.  Now, let's be honest I do not know what qualifications Al Franken has in politics, and I didn't vote in the Minnesota elections but rather the Colorado elections so I had no part in getting him to that office.  However, the amendment was in regards to female workers of government contracts over in the Middle East could at the present moment not file charges against their male co-workers or bosses if they were raped or gang raped by them in court but were forced to go through arbitration.  I fail to see how this is a partisan issue.  I wonder how these male politicians can even disagree with this amendment.  Several stated that the government has no such business in terms of enforcing or regulating employment contracts.  While that might work in any other case, these were government contracts, the government was paying these companies to perform a duty.  These employees were then raping their coworker while under contract with the government and being paid with government dollars, or more importantly TAX PAYER DOLLARS.  Many of the opposers stated that they felt this took away a woman's right to arbitration if we made it so they could also file a suit in open court.  This was not the case and was more than likely a cop out.  The most frustrating part of all this is if you just listen to the politicians twist it they make good cases, and then you have to fact check .  Jeff Sessions said he opposed the bill because it would put the will of Congress on individuals and corporations in a retroactive fashion.  However, this particular bill is for the 2010 fiscal year and cannot be activated retroactively.  Nice try Senator.  Senator Cochran of Mississippi said that it was not the government's business and that he would think about voting yes if it only covered rape and did not extend to sexual related abuses.  Senators Chambliss & Isakson of Georgia state that it's unfair to the rape victim to have to go through the court process as this amendment dictates and strips them of their arbitration rights.  Again, this is untrue, this amendment simply opens up the option of an actual court process like any other United States citizen is entitled to, while allowing them to choose arbitration as well.  One noteworthy bit - the Department of Defense also opposed the amendment.  This example only shows the Republicans who were twisting the truth and providing cop outs to voting no.  I am not saying Democrats do not do the same thing, I am simply using this case as an example because it infuriated me as a woman.

In the end, I have become less and less involved with politics.  I find that no one wins when politicians are up for sale and do deals with the devil.  I don't trust any one of them. To those Libertarians out there, your ideas to me sound great in theory, but it requires 100% committment from 100% of the population.  I apologize for sounding pessimistic but I do not have faith in humanity, or rather in fellow Americans to deregulate.  Like communism & Reagonomics,  deregulation is a great theory if people weren't stupid, greedy, evil.  And while not all people are evil, stupid or greedy, even 1 in a thousand in the population can ruin it for the rest of us.  Sorry.

Happy Anniversary Designated Drivers!

21 years ago Harvard University and three of the major television networks launched the designated driver campaign.  May all of your holiday plans include a DD.

If you live in the Colorado area RTD is offering free bus rides, light rail rides starting at 7 pm Dec. 31st and ending the next morning.  If plan on spending time downtown please use the free transportation that they are providing, and have been providing for the past 19 years.

And in a related event the Colorado Congress is pushing for harder punishment on repeat drunk drivers.  The effort is being pushed through on both sides.  Hopefully this state, as well as every other state continues to make those who are wreckless and selfish pay for their crimes.

As always, have a Happy Holiday and enjoy the Blue Moon on New Year's Eve with a slice of orange. :)

Day of Infamy

When does a tragedy lose its meaning? Is it when those who suffered its horror have passed or when a society as unaffected as ours simply forgets? December 7th, 1941. A day that our President proclaimed would live in infamy. 68 years later we seem to live in a society that has kind of forgotten. April 19, 1993. Waco Texas. The seige that fueld the Oklahoma City bombing. One of the worst American terrorist acts on American soil. April 19, 1995. Oklahoma Federal building is blown up in broad daylight. Innocent government workers & children are killed. The two culprits are tried in Denver and are sentenced to death. April 20, 1999. A day that parents & school kids alike watched in horror. Schools change their entire safety procedures. The country wakes up to the violence that is our children. Less than a few years later kids joke about getting high on 4/20, forgetting entirely it's the same day as Columbine. September 11, 2001. An entire country vowed to stand behind our President in the search for Osama Bin Laden. Changing Presidents (and parties) does not make this void, we still have a responsibility to ourselves to find this thug. August 29, 2005. A Category 3 Storm devastates much of the Southern region of our country. Aid takes days, yet our news crews make it down before the storm even hits. Reports for replacing the levie are ignored. Footage makes the storm-torn South look like a third world country. April 16, 2007. College students (who were middle & high school students during Columbine) watch in shock as Virginia Tech students are killed. College campuses realize that they too should have changed their emergency policies back in 1999 as primary education facilities did. August 1, 2007. A day we promised we would put more money into our infastructure to prevent unnecessary deaths like the I-35W bridge collapse. The entirity of the 2008 campaigns all but one politician wanted to remove the gas tax, money that goes directly towards funding roads, repairing bridges, etc.


How long does it take? A week, a month, a year? I still remember where I was when we heard about the Oklahoma City bombing. I was 11 and we were going on a field trip. My mom was chaperoning and we heard about it. She told me about what happened at Waco two years earlier. Before the trial began in Denver we stood outside the courthouse waiting for the light rail after a Rockies game. I remember thinking this is where justice will finally be served.


I watched Hurricane Katrina with my Mom & Dad, itching to get back to Minnesota so that the clubs & groups I belonged to could move into action. Friends of mine went down to New Orleans the years following to help clean up. I distinctly remember Anderson Cooper of CNN ruin his Prada shoes on television while reporting on Katrina. Aid hadn't come until three or four days later.


September 11. I sat in the cafeteria when our principal announced that terrorists had attacked. I ran home and watched for a few minutes with my brother before returning to school. We were asked to continue our day as if nothing happened. A few of our teachers let us watch. You have to watch history happen, even with all the technology we have there is something so important about feeling the way you feel at the exact same time that everyone else in your country is feeling it. It makes you feel less alone, less isolated, less individual and more unified. Makes you feel connected with your fellow Americans. that year Grandview Leaders Against Destructive Decisions sold firefighter gloves for students to decorate. We then presented them to one of the fire stations in NYC that was on the scene.


The I-35 bridge. I was working at Club Monaco and someone came in and told us. We had no clue, we went back and turned on the computer and watched the live footage. Many of our shoppers did not know either, and we informed everyone that came in. It was definitely surreal watching the bridge collapse when we were but 10 minutes from it.


Columbine - I remember coming back from French class in the 'trailers' and being locked out along with my other classmates. We had to walk around the building and go through the main doors. We were told nothing and sent home. I went to my friend Kayla's house and we were online when told about the shootings from a boy in a chatroom. We turned on the television and watched in horror. My Dad worked with two parents who lost children in Columbine. Shortly after they told me when they moved here in 1986, they almost moved to Littleton. That I would have gone to Columbine the next year had they not choosen to live in Aurora and send me to CCSD. We went to the memorial site a few days after my Mom and I bought the 'Columbine, Friend of Mine' cd. I played it the entire way there and the entire way back. The crosses were sad, but the moment that hit me the most was looking back and seeing the cafeteria & library. Eerily simiilar to the high school I would attend the next year. I kept seeing the kid who fell out the window replay in my mind.


Fast forward to July 2008. Annual Meeting at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I work for Northwestern Mutual, I'm an assistant to two reps. I look over the schedule, notice someone is speaking about Columbine. I ask to attend, ask my co-workers if they will attend. Two other assistants say no, they don't want to cry and go check their emails instead. I'm shocked. I go and I sit next to my boss, knowing I'm going to cry, just as I cry every time I watch a special on Columbine. The young man that comes out is Patrick Ireland. For those who do not remember, Patrick is the boy who was shot in the head & the foot and miraculously made it to the window before falling into the arms of the rescue workers. It is that scene that has stuck with me my entire adult life. Well Patrick came out and began to tell his story, and I can still remember every emotion, every feeling I did 9 years ago. I know my memory is not as fresh as Patrick's, how could it be? But I do know that it is more detailed and emotional than almost any other person in that auditorium. Is that what makes a tragedy stick longer? Because you were somehow affected by it in a way other than the television? Is it the humanization of the awful tragedy that makes it stick that much longer?


My Uncle told me a story once. He was out West on some business and his co-worker had rented the car. They were driving along and they accidentally rear-ended another car. Damage was minor. My Uncle's co-worker was extremely apologetic to the man. The man was from the Middle East and was very angry looking. My Uncle tells me his co-worker called the rental place to see if a claim was ever mad. None they tell him. Weird he thinks. Fast forward a few months and September 11 happens. The pictures of each terrorist is in the paper. My Uncle and his co-worker are in shock. The man they rear-ended was none other than the ringleader of the 9/11 tragedies. Had they known they brushed by evil that day? I'm almost positive that they keep the 9/11 memory more fresh than myself, who simply watched in disbelief as the tragedy unfolded.


I know that if you are in a tragedy and survive it will stay with you forever. But what about those who did not endure it, and yet cannot let it go either? What about those who had some small interaction pre or post that makes it stick that much longer?


I hope we all take a moment to remember those lost today in Pearl Harbor. May their lives not be in vain. May we all live and enjoy the freedoms we do with rememberance to their sacrifice. Let us also remember the sacrifice of all who have served and are currently serving in our armed forces.

Worrying & Complaining

Over my short life, I have done a lot worrying, and a lot of complaining. The thing is, it makes us feel like we have more control of our destiny, our future. Or does it? I have had times where I lay in bed, worried beyond belief about making ends meet, figuring life out, or dealing with drama. However, I have found that the worrying makes it worse and the complaining decreases my belief in myself to get the job done, to figure out a proper solution, to make things work when all seems impossible.

It's been over a few months with our new president in office and everywhere there are complaints about what he's doing wrong. You find it on twitter, facebook, gmail, the newspapers, television, internet and even in live conversation (how technologically inadvanced).

What I have learned about complaining and whining is that it doesn't do a lot of good. Whether or not your voted for our present leader, or the previous leader, it doesn't matter. Democrats need to stop blaming Republicans for the economic mess we are ALL in. And Republicans need to stop criticizing Democrats for what they're doing now. Doesn't matter whose policy it was that got us into trouble now, we're in trouble and we better start fixing the problem instead of dwelling on whose fault it is. Because hindsight is 20/20 and it's a lot easier to point out all the mistakes of the past than to accurately predict the future.

With that being said I think that there is a lot of pressure on Obama to fix everything in our country that is wrong. I don't think that's a fair position to put anyone under, if we're not willing to put forth our best effort as well. I think that we as individuals have to realize that the power of one is far greater than that of twenty government officials. Not because we have a budget that can contend with theirs, or there is necessarily a difference in intelligence, motivation, etc. But because we as individuals have an opportunity that most government workers do not. This is not our job. We are not constrained by rules and regulations. We are governed by the law, but there is not bureaucratic red tape to have to deal with. We can find things we are passionate about and donate our time to make our world, our country better.

I personally think that many individuals want to know what they can expect President Obama to give to them. But I remind you of what another young, great president once stated "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

And if that's not motivation enough to get off your rear end and start putting your energy into something that you are passionate about, then maybe this will. What probably could get you off your rear is an incentive during these tough economic times many major corporations are encouraging their company to volunteer. Want a job at Best Buy, Target, Cargill, 3m, Medtronic? Well a majority of these companies around the cities are encouraging that their workers take portions of their day or evening and give back to the community. They do this because a lot of companies had to cut back on the amount of money they can donate. But time and energy are just as valuable of a resource in tough economic times. And the benefit for you? Well, first you can look at it as something to put on your resume. When times got tough you still wanted to make use of your time and give back to the community. You were not simply waiting for the economy to get better. You were paying it forward and helping the country get back on its feet. And if that's not enough, those previously mentioned companies and their managers are also volunteering. Meaning? Networking opportunities that can lead to job opportunities further down the road.

And if you're looking for more ideas check out Ashton Kutcher's project. Trying to get more people out there to serve America and help rebuild our country. http://bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/about_us/vision

I often think of the song "We Can" by LeAnn Rimes when I think of the economy and life in general in this post 9/11 world. You may write it off as tacky when you first read it, but if you take an extra second and listen to the message it's trying to convey, I think you will appreciate it.

They'll try to stop the dream we're dreamin'
But they can't stop us from believing
They will fill your head with doubt
But that won't stop us now
So let them say we can't do it
Put up a road block
We'll just run right through it.. Cause...

We can, do the impossible
We have the power in our hands
And we won't stop 'cause we've got
To make a difference in this life
With one voice, one heart, two hands, we can

They say the odds are stacked against us
But that can't hold us back, we will be relentless
There's a voice they're gonna hear
A voice so loud and clear
So let them say we can't do it, give us a mountain,
and we're gonna move it.. cause..

We can, do the impossible
We have the power in our hands, and we won't stop
Cause we've got to make a difference in this life
With one voice, one heart, Two hands, we can

We're gonna make a change today (make a change today)
Because we've got the faith it takes
To win this race, so let them say we can't do it
Put up a road block
And we'll just run right through it cause..

We can, do the impossible
We have the power in our hands and we won't stop
Cause we've got to make a difference in this life
With one voice, one heart Two hands,

I can (oh I can)
Do the impossible (do the impossible)
I have the power in my hands, and I won't stop
Cause I've got to make a difference in this life
With my one voice, one heart Two hands, we can

Who Is The Better President?

Lately I've woken up to the strangest dreams. The other night I dreamt that Britney Spears was elected President of the United States of America. That's right, Brit-Brit. Shaved head and all. What was even more unsettling was that someone was challenging her win, and that someone was Michael Jackson. Equipped with a surgeon mask to cover up the fact that the tip of his nose fell off, he crashed the inaugeration ball. Mayhem insued. Eva Longeria led a dance off against Eva Mendes and Charlize Theron was the judge.

Some might say that my dream was silly, and I'd whole heartedly agree. However, have we let the political system and Hollywood mesh together so much so that celebs are running for public offices (i.e. that Law & Order actor running for President) and public, political figures are becoming celebrities?

My question for you is, who would be the better President, Britney Spears or Michael Jackson. Please comment who and why!