Really just vibes and thoughts
undecided voters, binge watching, and some feelings
Image: papaya
We've been feeling quite emotionally drained and anxious... the election is 6 days away, and even beyond the 6 days, we will continue to be in really CONCERNING situations.
Tired!
Tired!
Tired!
that’s all for now (no prompt) - enjoy this week’s stuff below :’’’’)
<3 Jamie and Melinda
News
🗳️ Are Asian Americans the last undecided voters? In this New Yorker piece published this Monday, Hua Hsu points out that since 2000, the "Asian American population in the U.S. has grown by more than seventy percent, to about twenty million. ...At this rate, according to the Pew Research Center, by 2055 Asian Americans will be the country’s largest immigrant group." (!!) Re: the vote, two key observations: (1) in these past decades, more Asian Americans have moved into the suburbs, rather than cities and (2) Asian Americans don't identify strongly with either Democrat or Republican: "nearly two in five Asian American voters aren’t registered as either a Democrat or a Republican." According to the Pew Research Center, the 139% increase in eligible Asian American voters since 2000 might have sway in a few states: California, New York, and Texas.
This article is a great long-form piece with lots of relevant topics/history sown in and interviews with different folks on the political spectrum. I'll just highlight one quote that made me think: "Given this friction [among Asian American communities], the fact that Asian Americans...can offer their success stories as quintessentially American, regardless of how far right or left they are, speaks to the malleability of Asian American identity. Stats aside, I thought his piece was really interesting because it highlights a lot of the diverse experiences among the umbrella category "Asian American". It's cool to see how some candidates have approached representation and how AAPIs with different heritages think and value certain topics, and it's really left me thinking a lot about the ideological and historical differences within the AAPI community.
🚗 Prop 22 in California - In "the most expensive ballot fight in the state's history", Uber/Lyft/Instcart/DoorDash have spent $185M fighting to get Proposition 22 passed in California. If Prop 22 passes, app-based drivers will be considered independent contractors, and not employees. The companies did their own research that indicated drivers "want to be contractors" and are promoting "Yes on 22" positively in their apps. However, other data, like research by UC Berkeley found that actual average pay for total time spent in a car is $5.64/hour, and stories like Saori Okawa's indicate a more precarious reality for drivers.
In San Francisco, a study showed that one-third of app-based drivers are Asian. Veena Dubal, a labor law professor, says that "for working-class Asian immigrants, the taxi industry once provided a means to accumulate wealth and build a middle-class life. With no access to unemployment insurance or sick leave, especially during a pandemic, gig drivers have no ability to use business acumen to build wealth."
👁️ Evil Eye (trailer), America's first commercial horror movie created by and starring South Asians, was just released on Amazon Prime last week. Some say it's more thriller than horror, as Evil Eye depicts "real-life dangers...like psychological manipulation and the long-lasting impact of abuse." The film is based on the book of the same name by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, and stars Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, and Omar Maskati.
Source: Amazon Studios via The Cut
👨🏻🌾 Steven Yuen, a lead in the 2020 film Minari, might be the first Asian American to be nominated for the Oscars' Best Actor category. A24, the studio behind this film and others like Moonlight and The Farewell, said he will campaign for this nomination. Yuen plays a Korean father who brings his family to start a farm in the 1980s.
‼️ Also, both of us went to school in Philly/are here now and it would be remiss to not acknowledge the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was shot by Philadelphia police while experiencing a mental health crisis. Our hearts go out to his family and the protestors who have been on the streets since Monday.
A "Big" Small Feelings
so... a while ago, I noticed that an acquaintance of mine unfollowed me on IG. That's not a big deal because that happens normally, but this person, a couple of times, engaged with me in conversation on social issues, and each of those times, I got a bit upset. I actually asked him about it (I am really direct and just need to know if I need to cut people off), and he said he unfollowed me for "political reasons." He's a cis, straight, white guy who's been really advocating for Biden, and although I'm glad he reached out to respond to the IG stories I repost, it seemed like he didn't do that to actually listen... the first time was around the anti-Asian racism due to COVID - the post I shared had a line that bothered him, and he questioned that to me. I first made it clear that he does not have the same lived experience as I and many other Asian folks in the U.S. did (aka "check your privilege") and then proceeded to say that although that sentence sounds extreme to some, this is how history has made people feel. It's so tiring to explain to a white man what shit you have to go through that they never will. 😠 There was another post I re-shared that was basically saying that people in power/institutions were complicit in violence happening in the world (and of course, they are), but he called out that sentiment was too strong. I think the phrase in the post was something like the "rapists and murderers" were "already in government. they are in congress, in the white house, in fraternities." Anyhow, it seems like he deemed me to be some extreme person, but I see myself as someone who just cares about other people who are being treated unjustly!
It took me so long to believe that my voice is worth anything, that it even mattered that I re-shared posts on IG on social issues that really need attention and should make us all upset. I grew up not thinking that my opinion mattered. Just posting on IG takes some courage...I don't see a ton of people close to me be vocal in that way, but I feel that's one "low bar" ways to vocalize what you care about and why. I've been bothered by this unfollowing situation (I think) because although this person is just an acquaintance, I felt like I was being punished for sharing my opinion. I dread confirming my negative assumption that no white man will ever understand the struggles of people not like him, and this occurrence confirms this assumption, and that makes me sad. I will keep on going on and being me, but I think, that's one potential "ally" lost... if I can't even get folks in my social circles to listen, how am I going to influence people in the public? 😰
Also, I realized that whenever I saw what he was reposting, I genuinely wanted understand his worldview better. If all of us are here to be more empathetic people, to better understand the society around us, isn't the least you can do is try to listen to what folks in your social circles say? Of course, I respect boundaries - he can choose to unfollow me for any reason, and that's 100% fine. But, in my mind, the bare minimum you can do if you truly wanted to better know the world around you—worlds that you might not know about—is to be a passive observer to someone else's voice? A voice that you might have more reason to care about if you have the same social circle / are in the same industry / went to the same school, etc. ? And I'm imagining how there are people in his social circles who might share my perspective but never make it known to him. Does he know about that? Will he ever talk about these tough topics with them? 😕 all the perspectives that aren't being heard... I don't want to claim that I'm "better" than him in some way. I just get discouraged when things like this happen. To his credit, he did say something like "don't let this white guy stop you" so yes... I'm not going to let you stop me.
✨ S P O T L I G H T ✨
Karen Fukuhara
Source: Last Magazine (Image by Ye Rin Mok)
Last week I went on a bender and watched all of The Boys in one day, and it was a great time. Even better was the fact that I found out about Karen Fukuhara through that show.
Karen Fukuhara is the cool girl that I have always wanted to be! She is Japanese, born in LA, and knows karate and sword fighting. She attended UCLA, where she was part of the acapella group UCLA Medley, and got her big break in acting in 2016 when she joined the Suicide Squad cast as Katana. Her prominent roles have been action-packed, including:
Kimiko Miyashiro in The Boys
Tatsu Yamashiro/Katana in Suicide Squad
Glimmer in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Kipo in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Outside of her day job as an amazing actress, she volunteers with the organization Off Their Plate to deliver meals to hospitals, BLM protestors, and food-insecure populations.
Check out this Q&A on her and this interview where she talks about her experience on The Boys, She-Ra, and being Asian-American in Hollywood.
Chef's Specials
To be Jesse Katayama https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-54518628
⛸️ Kristi Yamaguchi (the world-class figure skater!) started the Always Dream Foundation to improve literacy and bridge the digital divide for Pacific Islander and Latinx kids in California, Arizona, and Hawaii during the pandemic. In Hawaii, they provide "relevant books for the Hawaiian population, with a focus on Pacific Islander stories, and also some books in Native Hawaiian." They have a reading program that provides internet access through a mobile data plan and digital tablets.
(Fun fact: Melinda figure skates! - J)
Events
If anyone is in philly and wants to meet up for socially distant lunch (or something else idc) or something pls hit us up (ie prob email us) :'''')
Thursday, Oct. 29, 10:30am EST: Sakhi for South Asian Women has a panel on Addressing Gender-Based Violence through Creative Practice & Policy - register for free here for “this solutions-oriented conversation addressing violence in our communities.”
Thursday, Oct. 29, 8pm EST: a free panel by The Tasveer South Asian Film Festival on “South Asian Diaspora and Black Lives Matter: Cinematic and Literary Perspective” - sign up here
Election Day, November 3rd: Sign up to staff your local polling place!
Nov. 5-15: the annual Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (virtually) - get your tickets!! This is always a wonderful event :)