Michael Dunn, the white computer programmer from Florida, successfully evaded a first degree murder conviction in his killing of black teenager Jordan Davis. Mr. Davis was sitting in his van on November 23, 2012 with a bunch of his friends at a convenience store parking lot, playing his music very loudly. Mr. Dunn, who was parked next to him, complained about the loud noise and asked the teens to turn down the music.
When Jordan and his friends would not comply with his request, he pulled a gun from his glove compartment and fired ten shots into the van, even getting out of his car and getting down into a shooting position. He claimed that he saw the barrel of a rifle being pointed out of the van and shot in self defense. The teens denied having any weapons inside and the police never found any.
I say his defense is simply legal obfuscation. Mr. Dunn is just a racist murderer looking for any excuse to shoot black people. You want proof? Take a look at the Chase Freedom credit card commercial above. Here is a pretty white woman pounding out her car stereo loud enough to make the windows rattle. Then she gets out of the car and starts dancing around. Now I ask you, would Mr. Dunn feel threatened by this woman playing her music so loudly? Would he feel threatened by her when she gets out of the car to do who knows what, possibly causing him great bodily harm? Or would he just see a pretty young white girl having fun and maybe even get out of his car and start dancing with her?
See what I mean? It's hard to believe his alibi of self defense. Just because it's a black male teenager playing loud music this white man decided to pull out his gun. But if it was a pretty white female doing the exact same thing it is considered cute and entertaining. Sounds like racism to me.
I first noticed this BMW commercial run on the Superbowl a few weeks ago. Something about it immediately struck me as being uncomfortable and racist. Unfortunately it did not go away and is now in heavy rotation on the networks. In it, a young Caucasian guy approaches the Asian patriarch at family gathering. He nervously walks up to him and says he has something he needs to announce. The Asian father anxiously looks over at his daughter and we all know what he is thinking. The white guy then says he just bought a diesel. The father then turns around and looks at the BMW and lets out a huge sigh of relief.
This commercial feels all wrong to me. First of all, the father reminds me of the seminal TV character Archie Bunker from All In The Family. He was the bigot that drove his daughter and son in law crazy with his racist rants and attitudes, particularly when it came to interracial dating and marriage. His outrageousness helped open the discussion in America on race and people's bigotry. That has led to today's more open position about interracial couples. It is now so widespread that people think nothing of seeing an interracial couple on TV or living next door. Or if they did object to it, it is considered taboo and backwards to publicly disagree with the relationship.
Yet the ad agency for BMW thought it was acceptable to show an Asian bigot on TV disapproving of a potential white son in law. They would never dare use this concept with a black suitor and white father, or vice versa. It would bring howls of protest about prejudice in the media and BMW would be shamed back into the racist little bunker of their headquarters in Bavaria. But let's put an Asian father in there and everything is okay because we all know Asian parents hate to have their children date outside their race.
Something else that isn't right about the commercial is that it perpetuates the stereotypical white guy/Asian girl relationship. The girl, Jenny, stands by meekly, never saying a word, as she looks lovingly at her white boyfriend as he is talking to her father. Why isn't it ever the Asian boyfriend asking the white father for approval for marriage, or at least announcing he just bought a BMW? Frankly I see more young Asians drive BMW's here in Southern California than Caucasians, who seem to prefer American muscle cars like Mustangs and Camaros.
Again it is too easy to use Asians as comedy props in media (they are props because notice that none of the Asians in the room says a single English word; a sigh of relief doesn't count as spoken speech.) We are literally the last race where it is acceptable to make racist jokes about in public. I think BMW has just lost me as a potential customer.
The practice of sport is a human right. Each individual must have the possibility or practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play.
My wife and I were watching the always gorgeous pairs figure skating and ice dancing competitions of the Sochi Olympics. One can't help but admire the grace and athleticism of these athletes. Then she asked a very funny question, "Do you think some day there could be a gay couple competing in the Olympics in figure skating?" Hmm, I don't see why not.
The Russians received a lot of grief prior to the start of the Sochi Olympics for discouraging gay people from attending and demonstrating at the massive sports venue. But according to the International Olympics charter above, no discrimination of any kind should be allowed in competition. So the possibility of a gay couple in skating doesn't seem out of the question.
Nowadays, the athletic skills required to compete successfully at the top levels of pairs figure skating practically require two men to compete. With the amount of spins and tossing of partners necessary for a gold medal caliber routine, two men may be more successful than a male/female pair. Imagine a two man pair on the ice, each able to do quadruple loops and enormous leaps. They would beat any male/female pair on technical merits alone.
Now I don't know if the rules of international figure skating specifically prohibits same sex couples from competing in pairs figure skating, but if they do, the IOC should prohibit the sport until it has been removed. Unless of course there is more to the figure skating rules than just human rights. The cynic in me can't help but think that, as always, big money is involved.
While many of the western countries may be accepting of same sex pairings in figure skating, I suspect that most of the rest of the world will not, particularly the Asian and developing countries. If the population in these countries decide they don't want to watch figure skating because of same sex pairings, that could lead to huge financial losses.
So International Olympic Committee and International Skating Union, it's time to put up or shut up. If they truly cared about equal rights as a human right, they would stop bloviating about Russia's lack of gay rights. The idea of same sex pairs figure skating makes technical and artistic sense. But I'm sure they will never allow that to happen because there are billions of dollars at stake here. And in the end money talks while human rights walk.
I love Legos. When I was a kid I could not get enough Lego sets. Every Christmas and birthday I would look through the Lego catalog and mark which ones I wanted. Usually the biggest set that my parents could afford. Inevitably I didn't get the one I wanted but a smaller set that was nearly as good. Soon I had amassed thousands of pieces that were kept in a giant plastic bin.
So when I had children I couldn't wait to get them started on Legos. It began when they were barely toddlers and I got them the Quatro sets. Sadly they don't make them anymore. Then they graduated up to the Duplo and then the regular Lego bricks. I had hoped that all this brick building would fire up their creativity and imaginations. Alas that hasn't been the case. The reason is that Lego has sold its corporate soul for a fast buck.
When I look at Lego sets now, I am astonished at the variety of pieces that they come in. Take for example the Ninjago sets that my son and almost all elementary school aged boys seem to crave. The figures are amazingly detailed and complex. They have special pieces just for the claws, teeth, or weapons. This realism was unheard of when I was a child.
Unfortunately it is because of this level of precision that makes Lego not fun anymore. When my son finishes building that model that's on the cover of the box, he pretty much puts the toy away. There is no more discovery and imagination when playing Legos. Who could blame him? As a child, I had to fashion swords and wings from flat rectangular pieces, using my creativity to make it work. Today, these bricks are so specialized they can't really be used for anything else. Looking at a Ninjago set, seriously, what else can you do with all those claws, fangs, and horn pieces? Nothing. There are so few general purpose bricks in each set that you are pretty much limited to what can be built pictured on the box.
When I told my brother about the trouble with Legos, he just laughed. He couldn't believe what an old stodger I had become. He reminded me about how I used to complain as a boy about the lack of special pieces that were in Lego sets. My models always looks squarish and clunky because I didn't have the parts that looked like eyes, or shields, or catapults. They looked like flat rectangular Lego pieces that were cobbled together to look something like the real thing. That is not a problem anymore for the new generation.
How do I know that the fancy sets won't help children with their play? Look at the master model builders employed by Lego. In their beautiful replicas of cars, buildings, and landmarks, they are able to fashion virtually the whole world with only rectangular Lego bricks. Animals, plants, humans, architectural landmarks, X-Wing fighters, you name it. With simple bricks the Lego builders can build anything.
Now there is even going to be a Lego movie. Watching the preview at the theater, I was dismayed by how complete the corporate sell out of Lego has become. It looked like a 90 minute long commercial for Lego sets. Is there any other reason for making a Lego movie? If the story line was any good, couldn't it have been made with animated or real live actors instead of computer generated Lego bricks? I am saddened by what has happened to my favorite childhood toy. In their successful quest to become more profitable, they have discarded the essence of what made them special.
I LOVE this list from Buzzfeed. It is 27 signs you were raised in an Asian immigrant home. When somebody emailed me this list, I almost rolled on the floor laughing. It is hilarious because it is so true. I could compare myself to nearly all of them. It's funny that growing up, I never noticed the quirks of being an Asian American. Now this list shows me that I am not the only one who does things differently from other Americans.
Right away, at #3, is something my wife does religiously. You can see at the 99 Ranch Market all the lao tai tai's pounding away at the melons. Whether they be watermelons, cantaloupes, or honeydews, everybody thinks they know the perfect sound to hear when the fruit is perfectly ripe. My wife has tried to teach me the proper technique but I have never got the hang of differeniating between a dull thud vs. a slightly hollow thump. Thus I never buy melons at the market by myself. I hate being chastised for not picking the perfect fruit.
At #4 is a tradition that I found strange when I first met my wife. Since I am a 1 1/2 generation Asian American, I grew up drinking cold sodas and water with my meals. My wife, who moved here when she was already an adult, swore she gets severe stomach cramps if she doesn't drink warm water. Now that she's lived here for nearly two decades she's not as fervent about hot water as before. But if she gets even a little crampy after a meal, she'll blame first any cold food or drinks she's consumed.
Number 9 is so funny and true. Asians always think it's cold outside. My dad used to wear long sleeve shirts outside even though it may be in the 90's and 90% humidity in the Midwest where I grew up. He didn't mind buying cars with no air conditioning since he hates being cold even though the rest of us in the car were dying of heat exhaustion. My wife always have our kids wear jackets outside even though all the other children have on t-shirts and shorts. Because you know it is an Asian fact that you will catch a cold if your arms and legs are not covered up.
If you want to know what it is like to live in an Asian home, please read this list. I can confirm that we hardly have any plates in the house, our TV remote control is wrapped in cellophane, and our dishwasher is always full but is never turned on. I guess the Asian culture runs pretty strong in all of us.
The Boston Marathon bombings are horrendous reminders of the vulnerabilities our country still faces. It is all too easy for people with nefarious motives to cause tragedies both big and small. When the two bombs went off, people immediately flashed back to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. So naturally, who was the first suspect to be questioned by the FBI? A Saudi citizen, of course.
When the bombs went off, thousands of people began running away. One of them was a Saudi Arabian student here in Boston to study. Even though this would be considered a normal reaction by anybody, some witness thought his running seemed suspicious. He tackled the student and held him until law enforcement could collect him. The student himself was injured by the bombs and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The FBI continued questioning him in his hospital bed and even searched his apartment. They finally concluded that he is not a terrorist suspect.
It's sad that Americans are still so xenophobic that we suspect anybody who is not white as a criminal. After the Oklahoma City bombing, people immediately thought it too was caused by Middle East terrorists. I thought at the time that it would be extremely strange for international terrorists to travel all the way to Oklahoma City to cause mayhem. Surely there are better targets in more cosmopolitan cities. And of course the culprits turned out to be a couple of white dudes who decided they didn't like their government and bought a few hundred pounds of fertilizer to make a bomb.
So before we start hating on people of Middle Eastern descent, let's take a deep breath and just wait for further findings from the FBI. We don't need any more racist vigilantes blaming innocent Arab students and causing a black eye in our fraught relationship with the Mideast countries.
Researchers at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA have identified a gene that appears to cause the formation of physical traits common with East Asian people. The gene, called EDAR, seems to lead to the production of thicker hair, increased sweat glands, distinctive teeth, and smaller breast tissue that are more common with East Asians. It is the mutation of this gene, which is in a different form in Caucasians and Blacks, that leads to these changes.
To determine if this mutated EDAR really causes all these changes, the researchers, Yana Kamberov and Pardis Sabeti, spliced the gene into the DNA of lab mice. When the mice reproduced with the new gene, they did indeed have thicker hair, more sweat glands, and smaller amount of breast tissue. Mice teeth are too different from humans for the researchers to make a distinction.
So now I'm wondering when we are going to have our first genetically modified Asian test tube baby. Asians already are world leaders in the use of cosmetic surgery in trying to change their looks to be more Caucasian. They want pointy noses, double layered eyelids, whiter skin. Now that we know some of the genes that can make somebody have more Caucasian physical characteristics, how soon before some rogue laboratory in Asia inserts this gene into a human embryo to create a mixed race child without actually having to have a mixed parentage? Even better for the parents, this restored EDAR gene could theoretically propogate down the family tree so that all their progeny would eventually contain the Caucasian gene that they so desire. This could put all those plastic surgeons in Asia out of business.
