Monday, February 28, 2011

Back then...

Why can't we go back to a simpler time?
A time when people were actually nice to each other
A time when people didn't show cleavage in their attire; it's what's inside that's matters, not outside. Beauty is only skin deep.
A time when people actually care about each other and not make judgments about each other, whether its about their attitude or 'fashion sense.'
A time when people have more face-to-face contact or they write letters to each other or at least they talk to each other
Now anything goes...
People just fight over the simplest of thingsPeople worry way too much about their body image-they become obssessed with it, they've turned anorexic or bulimic; everything about themselves is totally and completely fake; nothing is real anymore since they do plastic surgery 10x over
Why do have people care about each other 'fashion sense' (or lack thereof)-it's so superficial; they should worry about what kind person they are: personality, talent, etc.
Now all people want to do is communicate with each other via computer gadets online (email, text, online chat rooms) and through their so-called networking sites (MySpace, Facebook


'Course that's just the plus side of things way back when.
The negative side are numerous:
Let me count the ways:
1) Thanks to suffragists, women were given the right to vote in 1920
2) Civil right movemeent began in the '60s
3) Chinese Exclusion Act of 1800s, which the Chinese to be relocated and not allowed to enter the   State    Japanesese were sent to concentration camps in the States during WWII; also every other race that's not black was segregated or stereotyped. (KKK wanted the African American's heads in the form of lynching)
So not everything way back then was rosy but Hollywood sure as hell made it seem rosy!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

How America Can Be the True Ideal Land of Opportunity

Chinese come to America with the illusion that there will be gold waiting for 'em but 'cuz of their race they're kept back from either going back to China or entering America, according to Maxine Hong Kingston's book China Men, which is about the male relatives of her life.

Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese were kept at Angel Island for days, which turn into weeks which become months. Months into years. Even though they got good jobs back in China, where they speak
Chinese, here in America all they get was either work in the restaurants (my father) or the laundry (my grandfather and Maxine Hong Kingston's father). We were only allowed to do menial labor like helped built the transcontinental railroad. We lost people building that railroad. They had to change their names to an America name/ My father was given an American name, but Maxine Hong Kingston's father changed his name to an American name. The thngs we do to fit in to American culture. This is so not the 'land of opportunity.'
According to Maxine Hong Kingston, her grand-grandfather worked in the fields like a slave (although he and his fellow Chinese immigrants get paid, though they get short-changed sometimes. Yes, life as a Chinese who came here for a better life was hard here in America the land of the opportunity. Yea, right!) helped harvesting the sugar cane in Hawaii's Sandalwood Mountains. On the other hand, my great-grandfather (on my father's side) was a hardworking man (although Maxine Hong Kingston's great-grandfather was a hardworker; she goes, the ones who weren't able to survive, he won't acknowledge them as his own.) He started his own hand-washed laundry business in the Big Apple (New York) Yes he went back. To this day, we have connections there in the Big Apple. Even my dad lived there for a time.
My folks never ever told me Chinese stories. However, Maxine Hong Kingston's relatives did. Reading those old Chinse stories made me feel like I'm missing a part of my Chinese culture; I lost a part of my Chinese culture being born in America. Being born an American means I was taught American stories, not Chinese stories, which include tall tales-Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, remember those two characters? Being born in America also meant I also learned American history, not Chinese history-sure, I was taught world history but just the important parts; they didn't go into details. Through Maxine Hong Kingston's autobiography, I learned some Chinese history-parts I feel missing from my education as I was growing up in America.

But boy, am I glad I didn't grow up in China! The Communist Party did unspeakable things to their civilians. All of Maxine Hong Kingston's male relatives died at the hands of the Communists/ The Communist may have taken our material possessions, but not our dignity!
Through it all, my mother worked hard in school both in high school and college majoring in chemistry. She was athletic in many sports, most especially basketball and ping pong. She was popular in school.
Meanwhile my dad was in America working hard before and after school, he delivered newspapers. He went to Lowell (back then, anybody could get in-it wasn't just the smart kids) was enlisted in the Air Force-traveled a bit, got out to finished his college education at CCSF (it wasn't as big as it was now) majored in business at first, then got his RE degree there about the same time as Mom did.
Mom and Dad got married in 1973-opened their real estate agency at about the same time; Mom still worked part-time at an adveriising agency doing accounting.. When my older brother was born almost 36 years ago, my maternal grandparents came to take care of him. 2 yearss later I was born and both my grandparents had a hand in raising us kids while the parental units worked.
They always say, work hard and you will succeed.
I admit, sometimes I tend to be lazy, but I enjoy doing something like selling stuff (ie.: cards, calendars) so that I could get a coveted prize. I hate arithmetic but love English-I love composition. As all younger sibs do, I tended to look up to my older brother, tag along after him when he was with his friends.
During my schoolyears, I tended to be shy so I made few friends. My dad once teasingly called stuck-up, but me, I never like to be teased.
One so-called friend stabbed me in the back by laughing at me. I couldn't take it anymore so I got mad; I took matters into my own hands. They then rejected me. They told everyone about what happened; I got paranoid.
Fast forward to 21st century: my paranoid took a turn for the worst. I thought people were stalking me so that they could make mincemeat out of me.It took getting out of school for awhile to get my senses back.

i digress...
Old Gold Mountain: I got a theory about OGM-there's no such thing! It's just another way to say Land of Opportunity but at a price (probably gold). It is the land of opportunity if you're a rich, white, male. If you don't fit those criteria, then there's no land of opportunity for you, whether you're Asian, black or any other ethnicity that isn't white. During WWII, if you're Jewish or Japanese, there ain't no opportunity for ya. In the here n' now, if you're Muslim, you will be ostracize, all because of your faith. Maybe it's WWII all over again... When they have they Chinese Exclusion Act, there wasn't any opportunity for Chinese except for menial labor, helping to build the transcontinental railroad. Also women didn't have much opportunity either until the suffragists did something about it! Power to the women!
The only people with opportunity in America so-called land of opportunity were male of Caucasian ancestry (ie.: Polish, Danish). This just wasn't right but it happened.

Why wasn't there ever some kind of an uprising among all minorities ? I don't mean among just blacks, I mean among all minorities to unite together to overthrow the system. Blacks may have started the civil rights movement, but we as minorities could continue the movement of overthrowing the white supremacists of the world. We shouldn't let anyone put us down cuz united we stand. I think the minority race outnumbers the majority race.
There is Asian race from every spectrum-Indian, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Polynesian to name a few. African Americns, Spanish race has a lot of different cultures-Latin Americans, Chicanos, mixed races-don't forget women and children. Women & children need rights too-sometimes they need to be heard-sometims no one listens to them.
We can form forces with the women & children, which include the Caucasian ones of the world. They, like the minorities, have been pushed around. With the minorities (& women & kids) can cause an uprising among  the rich, white, male and  order will be overthrown. It will be total and complete chaos!  Now this is the land of opportunity! When order resumes, utopia will be in order. Ah tranquility.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Crazy Love

Crazy like a fox
                        hunting for (playboy) bunnies
Playin' the field
In its neverending illusion of love/hate relationship
Dare to be
Vicious Lovin'
Killa Lovin'
Love me
Or
Hate me
Choose to be loved
Choose to be hated
Crazy love
What is there out there for the world at large in this crazy lovin' world?
Violence,
Mayhem,
Destruction,
Calamity,
But there is hope out there with the hate-
Harmony,
Peace.
Goodwill,
Love

Peace Out, Brothers n' Sisters!
May there be world peace in the future

Love's in the Air

I know, I know, V-Day (aka Valentine's Day) is so commercialized, but it's a love-ly holiday. People get married on this day. Well, here goes;

Love is unbeatable
            unconquerable
There's nothing like feeling the magic of love
You feel special like the world has slip away from you-
                         like you're the only ones belonging in this world
You fit together like goatskin gloves
Love-
       there's no end in sight
       it is boundless n' endless
When you feel hopeless, distraught,
                                                    suddenly love is right there
right in your face
it is the light at the end of the tunnel
your heart skips a beat
                                   waiting 
                                              waiting
                                                         waiting
for the love of your life
These are the signs that you know you've truly fallen madly, deeply head-over-heels in love for 'the one':
your hands start to sweat,
you get delirious with happiness,
 you get weak in the knees
 and of course
 your heart skips a beat
upon seeing him/her-
it's like love at first all over again!
love is crazy!
 ♥  LOVE ♥ - ISN'T IT A WONDERFUL THING?! 

Happy Valentine's Day!