Trying to get through the day...

As I gaze aimlessly into the blank canvas of white plastered on my computer display, I fade in and out of consciousnesses. I futilely try to recollect the days that past, the lessons learned, and the life lived, but all is to no avail. Slowly, I lull myself to a surreal place, with little on my mind, with little left to say. For a second, existence was buoyant, but alas, it was a brief, fleeting moment falling out of my grasps. Now here I sit, pondering what next to say.

Ok, cool. Now I got that out of the way I thought I would talk a bit about the existential dichotomy that exists in the realm of reality. Good and evil, black and white, 1 and 0 (for you binary nerds), all are part of a whole. It is unfathomable to think of one without the other, since opposition gives rise to contrast. Imagine jubilance without adversity. Depict happiness without sadness. In all truthiness (perhaps this isn't the strongest of words but I am utterly bored so give me a break), the magnitude of our consequences in a single dimension would pale in comparison to one filled with multiple levels of emotion. We can simulate an expression such as happiness, but would it truly convey the reason behind it?

*Taking a break cause its lunch time.
**Ok I am back.

Not surpringly, dualism exists on an infinite scale. In the physical, microscopic realm, bacteria within our body attain a natural level of co-existence in order to to attain equilibrium. At the first sign of trouble, the body mobilizes itself to manage the ailment. Some bacteria will die while many will live and reproduce through binary fission (mitosis for gamete cells and meiosis for any other cell in the human body). If the body succumbs to the foreign invader, the entire being dies and becomes non-existent.

***Damn windows pulled a BSOD on me....luckily I didn't lose anything.

Similarly, the concept of balance can be applied to a much more complex system such as culture. Culture itself is loosely defined as a set of ideologies, beliefs, and etc. that are shared between two or more individuals within a limited geographical area. Luckily (or unluckily) for us, geographical limitations no longer play such an important impact. The birth of stable nations have given rise to common grounds were multifaceted cultures are able to convene. Consequently, the assimilation of different cultures to follow a single, unified whole are often met with resistance. This has given rise to a power struggle that often pits two contrasting views. The incumbents want to overthrow the officials, but they want radical change. Likewise, the officials resist change because of the fear of instability.

Before anyone comes to judge this in terms of morality, keep in mind that there are always two sides to a story. We are as much a part of the opposition as they are of us. Instead of embracing the similarities amongst one another, we instinctively choose to view the antagonistic qualities. We say we want equality, but in reality we do not. Equality is boring and mundane. It is the balance between havoc and stability that make life what it is. Such is the natural dictation of nature.

Asian Stereotypes

"Oh, he MUST be smart because he's Asian."
"She must be good in math and science because she's Asian."
"He won't do that [insert crazy activity here] because he's Asian. Asian people are squares."
"I want an Asian girlfriend because she'll take care of me."

BLAH BLAH BLAH FREAKIN' BLAH.

These are just examples of some of the circulating Asian stereotypes that people say. We've all heard them, whether they're coming from people of our own race or people from different races. These stereotypes have been around for an extremely long period of time, and obviously, they're here to stay. Stereotypes don't seem to go AWAY, but rather, more just seem to be forming and adding to the already long list of Asian stereotypes. This simply means that, more incorrect judgements are being made about Asian people based off of one's appearance, what the media is portraying, and some claim that it's based on "knowledge", but I believe that it isn't really knowledge - it's more the lack thereof.

I understand that there are some people who really prove the stereotypes to be true and who can be categorized under one of the many Asian stereotypes, and yes, some people may know someone like this firsthand; however, I don't think that people should begin to form ideas and expectations of an entire race based on a few people that they know that fulfill the stereotypes. Just because the majority of R&B artists are black doesn't mean that I'm going to assume that all the black people in the world can sing or rap - that's a false judgement, not based on facts, but based on mere observations.

So if stereotypes are made by mere observations, why are they still around today? Stereotypes are still around and still being formed today because we, as a whole, don't fight against it. We just take it in stride and laugh it off. Even though it's difficult to break free of the common stereotypes made, it's not impossible. Another reason why the Asian stereotypes are still around is because we form stereotypes within our own race. Yes, some of the stereotypes can be good, but some are also bad.

"He must be able to sing because he's Filipino."
"She must be stuck-up because she's Filipino."
"She must eat chicken feet because she's Chinese."

So, we're all tired of these stereotypes, but why do we form stereotypes within our own race? We should stop making assumptions based on simple observations or based on one experience, and we should start looking at things as a whole. Everyone's different - just because one Chinese person may eat chicken feet doesn't mean another will. For all we know, they despise it. If we're really tired of stereotypes, we should stop forming our own and stop allowing people to make these assumptions - good or bad - about us simply because we're minorities.

--Kim [=

PS: Thanks Donna, for fixing the layout! [= Looks lovely.

The "Token" Asian on TV

I've noticed that networks and producers try to have each general race represented in TV shows and movies. I hate to generalize groups but the groups tend to be White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic. It bothers me that the "token Asian” is always Chinese, Korean, or some ethnicity that has more slanted or almond shaped eyes. Although China takes up a lot of Asia geographically, not all of us look just like that. I hate that TV producers generalize us as having one sort of image. It’s the same as hating the fact that the “token Hispanic” is represented by a Mexican when there are all sorts of other ethnicities of Latin descent. There are all kinds of other ethnicities of Asian descent. Even Indians are Asian. That just tells you that Asians themselves are very diverse with very different appearances.

If you notice, the Asian character is never the main character. They’re always the right hand man/woman or just someone there on the side. The supporting actor/actress. And sometimes not even that.

And I hate that just because there is one Asian character, all of a sudden the movie or TV show is diverse enough. Take the movie “Bring it On” for example. There is one Asian character, and not only is she one of the bitches of the movie, she’s the only Asian person in the entire movie. Thanks, great representation of the Asian culture. And then there’s the movie “The Perfect Score” which is like the breakfast club except they aren’t in detention and they plan on stealing the SAT’s. The “token Asian” in that movie is a stoner. On a show called “Degrassi”, the Asian character is an aspiring actress who went from being a shy little quiet Asian girl in middle school to the school slut in high school. Thanks, yet again. And as for the movie “Mean Girls”, you get the stereotype of smart ass Asians, then the “cool” Asians, then there’s the two Asian girls who fight over which one of them is dating the middle-aged gym teacher. And as enjoyable or funny these productions may be, it’s not accurate.

While male Asians defend their masculinity in movies and shows, female Asians defend their reputation and try to avoid being the bitch or the slut. I don’t know who has it worse. I guess either way, the Asian culture as represented in American TV is inaccurate.

-Donna