14 reasons why Rick Perry would be a bad President

The following are 14 reasons why Rick Perry would be a really, really bad president….

#1 Rick Perry is a “big government” politician.  When Rick Perry became the governor of Texas in 2000, the total spending by the Texas state government was about $49 billion.  Ten years later it was about $90 billion.  That is not exactly reducing the size of government.

#2 The debt of the state of Texas is out of control.  According to usdebtclock.org, the debt to GDP ratio in Texas is 22.9% and the debt per citizen is $10,645.  In California (a total financial basket case), the debt to GDP ratio is just 18.7% and the debt per citizen is only $9932.  If Rick Perry runs for president these are numbers he will want to keep well hidden.

#3 The total debt of the Texas government has more than doubled since Rick Perry became governor.  So what would the U.S. national debt look like after four (or eight) years of Rick Perry?

#4 Rick Perry has spearheaded the effort to lease roads in Texas to foreign companies, to turn roads that are already free to drive on into toll roads, and to develop the Trans-Texas Corridor which would be part of the planned NAFTA superhighway system.  If you really do deep research on this whole Trans-Texas Corridor nonsense you will see why no American should ever cast a single vote for Rick Perry.

#5 Rick Perry claims that he has a “track record” of not raising taxes.  That is a false claim.  Rick Perry has repeatedly raised taxes and fees while he has been governor.  Today, Texans are faced with much higher taxes and fees than they were before Rick Perry was elected.

#6 Even with the oil boom in Texas, 23 states have a lower unemployment rate than Texas does.

#7 Back in 1988, Rick Perry supported Al Gore for president.  In fact, Rick Perry actually served as Al Gore’s campaign chairman in the state of Texas that year.

#8 Between December 2007 and April 2011, weekly wages in the U.S. increased by about 5 percent.  In the state of Texas they increased by just 0.6% over that same time period.

#9 Texas now has one of the worst education systems in the nation.  The following is from an opinion piece that was actually authored by Barbara Bush earlier this year….

•  We rank 36th in the nation in high school graduation rates. An estimated 3.8 million Texans do not have a high school diploma.

•  We rank 49th in verbal SAT scores, 47th in literacy and 46th in average math SAT scores.

•  We rank 33rd in the nation on teacher salaries.

 

#10 Rick Perry attended the Bilderberg Group meetings in 2007.  Associating himself with that organization should be a red flag for all American voters.

#11 Texas has the highest percentage of workers making minimum wage out of all 50 states.

#12 Rick Perry often gives speeches about illegal immigration, but when you look at the facts, he has been incredibly soft on the issue.  If Rick Perry does not plan to secure the border, then he should not be president because illegal immigration is absolutely devastating many areas of the southwest United States.

#13 In 2007, 221,000 residents of Texas were making minimum wage or less.  By 2010, that number had risen to 550,000.

#14 Rick Perry actually issued an executive order in 2007 that would have forced almost every single girl in the state of Texas to receive the Gardasil vaccine before entering the sixth grade.  Perry would have put parents in a position where they would have had to fill out an application and beg the government not to inject their child with an untested and unproven vaccine. Since then, very serious safety issues regarding this vaccine have come to light.  Fortunately, lawmakers in Texas blocked what Perry was trying to do.  According to Wikipedia, many were troubled when “apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry were reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution and Merck’s hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work.”

Rick Perry has a record that should make all Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Independents cringe.

He is not the “conservative Republican” that he is trying to claim that he is.  He is simply another in a long line of “RINOs” (Republicans in name only).

If Rick Perry becomes president, he will probably be very similar to George W. Bush.  He will explode the size of the U.S. government and U.S. government debt, he will find sneaky ways to raise taxes, he will do nothing about the Federal Reserve or corruption in our financial system and he will push the agenda of the globalists at every turn.

Look, the truth is that another four years of Barack Obama would be a complete and total nightmare.

But so would four years of Rick Perry.

America deserves better than the “lesser of two evils”.

Unfortunately, the American people have been dead asleep and have sent incompetents, con men and charlatans to Washington D.C. for decades.

Hopefully things will be different in 2012.

A Letter to Ron Paul Supporters

I’ve needed to get this off my chest for a while. As a full disclosure, I don’t work for Dr. Paul’s campaign or represent him in any way. I am simply a passionate supporter of his who feels the need to discuss some concerns.

This election cycle, I truly believe that Ron Paul has a chance to make it to the Presidency if the momentum keeps moving his way. His polling numbers are up, he is being taken more seriously by some in the media, and his campaign is much more organized than last time. There will always be some who will marginalize him because of his philosophy or due to his alleged “un-electability”. This, however is not why I am writing this.

For several years now, I have noticed that while Dr. Paul’s supporters are the most knowledgeable and passionate people I know, they also have a tendency to be some of the most obnoxious. I’m sure this isn’t news to most of you. Most of us know how we are viewed by the establishment and the media.

The problem is that some of this perception is true. I can’t count the amount of times that I’ve read obscenity laced comments on Youtube or Facebook about how stupid people are for not supporting Ron Paul. Let me tell you now that this is one of Dr. Paul’s biggest problems that he will have to face during the campaign. Just because we have a right to be frustrated and angry with the establishment and the media doesn’t mean that we should alienate ourselves from them. No one will have a good impression of Ron Paul if they are being called a communist, fascist, neocon, socialist, or statist by one of his supporters. We are partly responsible for Paul being viewed as a fringe lunatic.

I was finally convinced to write this after an experience I had a week or two ago on Facebook. I posted one of the articles that I had written about Ron Paul on Mark Levin’s fan page. I did it for fun, but also to maybe convince a supporter or two in our direction. A member of the group commented on the article who disagreed with Dr. Paul and we had a civil discussion about it. At the end, he thanked me for the debate and for not being a jerk like most Ron Paul fans. I told him that most of us weren’t jerks and that many of us are just frustrated with the way we are treated by the establishment. To my knowledge, he has not answered my last comment, but it got me thinking. How many potential supporters have we turned away because of the impression we gave them. The number could be large or small, I don’t know. But you can’t deny that we don’t have a very good reputation among mainstream conservatives.

Whenever we post a comment, article, or video and mention Ron Paul in a positive light we are choosing to represent ourselves as one of his supporters. If we want people to listen to us, we need to be civil and polite. Our political enemies will use anything we do or say to use against Dr. Paul, and I for one would feel horrible if something I posted or said hurt the campaign in any way. I don’t care if you’re a birther, 9/11 truther, anarchist, libertarian, constitutionalist, all or anything in between; if you want to say or post anything, ask yourself whether or not it could hurt Ron Paul’s chances at gaining the Presidency. Nothing angers me more than seeing some anti-semetic or racist comment with a Ron Paul 2012! underneath. I don’t see those too often on mainstream sites, but they still creep up now and then.

I’m not here to tell you what to do or to tell you what’s okay or what’s not okay. I’ll leave that up to your judgment. I just want everyone to think before they act. Most of you don’t need reminding, and are very responsible when it comes to posting comments and videos. But if you know someone who might need reminding, I implore you to show them this article. The last thing we want is to be a detriment to Ron Paul’s campaign. Thank you so much for your time.

China Bans the Burqa

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it would ban the burqa from being worn in public. The new law, which will be imposed next month, would forcefully put an end to the wearing of modesty-protecting garments for women in public. The new regulations also stipulate fines for wearing certain types of culturally-related clothing.

State-controlled media stated that the ban was necessary in order to maintain security. The Chinese regime is known for keeping widespread surveillance on ordinary civilians, especially ethnic minorities, to prevent possible anti-government activity. Last month an ethnic Tibetan, who was caught stealing on a convenience store’s camera was ordered to pay a fine, even though a number of dissidents criticized the video footage as “unfair evidence”.

The new law is expected to target ethnic minorities, such as the Uyghurs as well as the growing number of African immigrants, both of which already experience widespread discrimination in the racist Chinese society. While many ethnic minorities experience also prejudice if they wear ethnic clothing, but the new law is expected to add to already-existing prejudices.

“The burqa is like a security shield for me,” said one African woman who recently joined her husband and two children in Guangzhou. “In a hostile society, it gives me the confidence I need. People always stare at me when I go by because I am African. The burqa at least helps me emotionally,” she said. Another Ngubago Okulenagu, who has become an advocate for African immigrants working in China called the ban “simply unfair,” and pointed out the failure of the Chinese government’s ability to accommodate new members of society.

Several dissidents and activist rights groups have criticized China’s new law, which has been described as discriminatory. Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, and the International Woman’s Rights Group have all condemned the restrictions. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, responding to the new crackdown also said, “Abridging people’s right to wear cultural symbols violates fundamental human rights,” and urged the Chinese government to reconsider.

We Are Wapanese if You Don’t Please

From http://www.rachelstavern.com/race-and-racism/we-are-wapanese-if-you-dont-please.html

I didn’t know there was a name for these people until fairly recently. I’ve been encountering them for quite some time. College was practically a minefield of Wapanese. Their existence personally offends me.

Their offensiveness comes from the fact that they feel they have a special right to Japanese culture. I’m half-Japanese myself. I’ve lived in Japan and attended school there once. I have a complicated relationship with Japan, but I don’t feel I have a special right or claim to Japanese culture, and I don’t call myself Japanese. If I were to move to Japan, speak Japanese and commit myself to contributing to that culture, no matter what the obstacles, then I would claim that right. But that’s not my decision, so I don’t claim it.

I do feel a very strong sense of identity as part of the Japanese diaspora. I am a Japanese-American and one of the nikkeijin. I have a kinship to Japanese-Hawaiians, Japanese-Brazilians, Japanese-Peruvians. We have a tragic and powerful history.

Wapanese don’t care about any of that. They look at any Asian person and want to know 1) Will they discuss obscure anime with me so that I can brag about my privileged access to my Wapanese friends? 2) Will they have sex with me?

Here’s a typical conversation.

• Where are you from?
• Florida.
• No where are you REALLY from. Are you Japanese?
• Not really. My father’s Japanese.
• Do you speak Japanese?
• No.
• What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you care about your culture. I can speak Japanese (insert mangled Japanese words). Have you heard of (insert obscure anime title)?

Here’s a typical conversation with other kinds of Asian-Americans. We’ll skip ahead to after the “where are you REALLY from” part.

• Are you Japanese?
• No, I’m Chinese-American.
• Oh. Too bad.

Unlike people with a healthy interest in Japanese culture, Wapanese are arrogant, insecure fetishists. To them, Japan represents a way of propping up their ego by claiming a kind of elite insider status. They are very dangerous for Asian-Americans who have a weak sense of identity due to internalized racism. This kind of Asian-American finds social acceptance among Wapanese, but at the price of being their pet monkey. They are still extremely irritating to other Asian-Americans who are required to be around them due to work or school, and also when they have to go out of their way to avoid contact with Wapanese.

Wapanese are overwhelmingly white. It’s quite possible for them to be people of color, but only if they’re especially arrogant and ignorant individuals. For example, the average African-American with a strong interest in Japanese culture will tend to be more pragmatic and much less prone to cultural appropriation. After all, they don’t necessarily like it when white people do it to them.

Wapanese are often hated by other whites. The most popular definition of “Wapanese” on UrbanDictionary.com is very nasty and homophobic but it gives you a good idea of how they are often viewed:

Wapanese

�Wapanese� are decidedly caucasian individuals who, by means of thoroughly warped postmodern acculturation processes, have come to the decision that it is in their best interest to act as if they were denizens of the nation of Japan. The term �wapanese� can be accurately though of as an analog to wigger. A whitey can be classified as a �Wapanese� if they are in possession of two or more of the following defining traits:

1. Has an unhealthy obsession with shallow, saccharine and intellectually insulting animation shows (also refered to as anime by the nerd elite) originally tailored for young Japanese children
2. Operates under the erroneous belief that every aspect of American culture is vastly inferior to that of Japan�s � even though 99.9% of Wapanese have never had firsthand experience of any sort with their preferred culture (in other words, they�ve never set so much as one foot upon the island(s) of Japan)
3. Halfheartedly studies Japanese language and/or is a part-time practitioner of martial arts
4. Has a sword (samurai swords only, of course) collection
5. Is a Virgin
6. May be afflicted with a terminal case of yellow fever; however, they constantly fail in their quest for Japanese pootytang
7. Extreme cases may traipse around whilst wearing a �costume� that makes them resemble their favorite anime characters (this practice is reffered to as cosplay; cross-dressing and raging homosexuality is not an uncommon component of cosplay.

Interestingly, Wapanese are generally though of as �failures� and rejects within their own culture. Social scientists such as myself speculate that it was their failure to gain acceptance within their own culture than has lead many a white geek to seek out Japan�s culture as a surrogate; however, they�d be shattered to know that the insular and somewhat racist Japanese society would be even less accepting of them than the people of their true and native culture.

Here are some Wapanese in their own words. This sad image is from a livejournal community called “Fandom secret”. Based on the Post Secret model, the community puts up anonymous “postcard” confessions.

Unfortunately, Wapanese infest online forums and make it hard for Asian-Americans to talk to each other about serious issues. Here’s a post on japanforum.com responding to the question, “Are you Wapanese?”

well, after viewing that, i’m still kinda saying yes. but i so totally understand the wigger comparison. but i don’t try to be Japanese. i understand that i am white (french, british, and lebanese, to be exact). i am just a big fan of the japanese culture. and kids at my school who are Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, or any other Asian ethnicity, they dont’ really embrace their culture. and i’ve never understood that. ever since i can remember, since i was like 4, i’ve been obsessed with Japanese culture. but i guess they’re just like me…only opposite.

Ah, the offensiveness. She believes Asian-Americans can’t really be “American”, they can only ape white culture. They should stick to just being Asians… but hey, white people can be even better Asians than Asians are.

I consider myself 100% American. In fact, I have ancestors who were here 400 years ago, which gives me a claim just as good as any non-Native American. But if they were only here 40 years ago, I would still be 100% American.

The Wapanese model of ethnic identity places white American people at the center of the universe (of course). All culture is theirs to sample. The Japanese culture is an especially tasty morsel.

I’ve successfully avoided most contact with Wapanese, but I had to pay a price for that. In college, I stayed away from any kind of Asian student union or Japanese club. If I was a stronger person I could have done it, but I felt like I just couldn’t stand to be insulted by the people I would inevitably run into there.

When I learned Spanish and became a student of Mexican culture, my experiences with Wapanese made me overly cautious about falling into a pattern of acting like an appropriator. In the U.S., I never speak Spanish in front of a Latino just in case I make them feel bad if I happen to know more Spanish than they do. They have to totally initiate it first, or else I’m just too nervous.

And even now, I occasionally run into Wapanese who think my interest in Mexican culture is bizarre and deeply inauthentic to my truest, noblest Japanese-ness, which they want to inspire me to recover. Argh!

(p.s. luckyfatima’s comment earlier today touched on some of these issues)

Hipster Diversity

Hipster in Brooklyn trying thinks he knows about African Americans, Irish and Italian Brooklyn residents:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6424457

Comedienne Esther Ku Reponds to Asian Critics

An e-mail from an Asian Zatch
by Esther Ku (notes) Today at 06:37
from Zatch Pouchprom
to ku@funnyku.com
date Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 10:41 PM
subject You should be ashamed of yourself.

Ms Ku,
Let me start out by saying that I’m a American man of Asian descent in my 20′s. You and I are from the same generation so I’m sure that we grew up with the same media and the same cultural environment.

After seeing your act on Youtube and having had to tolerate the same garbagr from Bobby Lee on tv for the last 8 years, I feel it is important to write you this email.

You are continuing in the long tradition of Asian “step-n-fetch its” acts that started with Charlie Chan and then went from Charlie Chan to Hop Sing to Long Duk Dong to Wiliam Hung to Bobby Lee and now you.

I grew up in the South, from elementary school up into high school I was the only Asian face in the class. Everyday it was me having to punch another kid for slanting their eyes at me or doing the “Ching Chong Ching Chong” thing (I know you know what I’m talking about) then in high school it progressed to cracks about eating dogs and having a small dick.

I’ve been 6’1 220lbs since I was a freshmen, so I was able to kick the crap out of most of the asshats, most other Asians are small and I’m sure didn’t have the recourse of kicking their bullies’ asses and just had to live with it.

But you know as well as I do that this has happened to every Asian kid who has ever gone to school in this country.

Why?

Because of the type of stereotypical trash that Hollywood has shoved in our face about Asians (Especially Asian men) for the last 100 years.

But thats not the worst part the worst part is that they are helped in creating this image because people like you and Bobby Lee are willing to sell out not only your racial heritage but you’re own brothers and fathers by embarassing yourselfs and re-enforcing these stereotypes with your pathetic attempts to get a few laughs from a predominately non-Asian audience.

Are you that desperate for fame? You do realize they are not laughing with you they are laughing at you.

You know what Ms. Ku one day you may have a son, and he will have to go to school and endure this type of racism because people like his mother helped create it.

You know how bad it is in hollywood for Asian Males? Jet Li once starred in a movie with a beautiful black pop Singer (Romeo must Die) who is suppose to be his “love interest”, In the movie Jet goes through hell to rescue his “love interest” going so far as to have skin ripped from his hands in a fight scene. And in the end, you know what our hero gets? A freaking half-Hug!! Its so anathema for Hollywood to portray an Asian male as anything but a Sexless, weakling, computer nerd or screaming kung fu fool that even in his OWN MOVIE the Asian hero doesn’t get a Kiss or anything.

People like James Shigeta, Bruce Lee, John Loan and Daniel Henney worked hard to force Hollywood to treat Asian Males with respect and as MEN.

People like you and Bobby Lee are doing everything you can to set the clock back even further on Asians.

You are a Disgrace.

You think that by throwing off on Asian Males that you are ingratiating yourself with non-Asian audiences but really your are just perpetuating stereotypes for yourself such as the iconic “Me Suckee suckee” or theever popular “Happy ending” bullshit.

Hollywood tells us:

Asian Men are Unattractive and “Sexless” (Even Asian Women are not attracted to them)
Asian Men have no physicality (other than kung fuing)
Asian Men are scared of all non-Asian men
Asian Men are meek and cowardly
Asian Men are silly excitable fools
Asian Men can be mocked with impunity.

Stop it Ms Ku

I know its hard to make it in show biz, but not at the expense of you degrading yourself and your heritage.

And don’t give me this crap about you trying to subtley poking fun at stereotypes, you are doing nothing of the sort. You are reenforcing them.

I know your going to say

“But Chris Rock makes jokes a about black people and Carlos Mecia makes jokes about Mexican people.” This is true, but the difference is there is always an element of pride in their humor, you can tell Chris Rock is proud to be a black man and Carlos is proud of his Hispanic Heritage. There is no pride in what you say about Asians, and the undertone of self-hate is loud and clear.

I hate to tell you but you will never be white, no matter how many white guys you date or how many times you degrade other asians.

Help empower your people not emasculate them. Asian Males have so few role models in the media to be proud of. They don’t need sell-outs like you and Bobby Lee coming along and piling on with the ridicule.

One day your Son may want to get into show biz, but because of the stuff you are doing the only roles he’ll be able to get are the William Hung type crap that Hollywood is still pushing. Is that really what you want? Because like it or not your son is going to look like the Asian guys you degrade in your act and not like those stud blond haired blue-eyed white guys you love to date.

I would suggest to you watching a documentary on Youtube called “The Slanted Screen” and how you are being part of the problem and not part of the solution.

I hope you read this Ms. Ku and I hope you think about how many people you are hurting with your “Comedy”.

————————————————– ————————————————– —–
my response … but feel free to email your own response to Mr. Pouchprom.
————————————————– ————————————————– —–

Hi Zach. What kind of Asian is Pouchprom? hahahahahahahahah. Is this a real email or are you pranking me? I can’t tell.

We may be from the same generation however, I come from a family that knows how to laugh. Laugh at people like you. Guys who feel it is important to write me this email that place me in the same category as Bobby Lee. Thanks! I’ve been trying to let him open for him at Caroline’s for years. Would you mind if I used your email as a letter of reference?

Stop trying to blame me for having grown up in the south! Your parents were the retarded ones who moved to the south. Mine went straight to Chicago with several other families so that their children could form a gang and stick with each other from kindergarten. I don’t know what you’re talking about. In our school, the Asians were the ones doing the punching. Every time my brother punched a hole in the wall, we covered it up with a painting that translated to “harmony” or “love”. Everybody was scared of the Asians in my school. You didn’t mess with the Yang’s, the Yoon’s, and definitely not the Ku’s. What I feel you maybe doing is projecting your regrets of not being able to stand up to your bullies onto me. And I refuse to stand for it.

So you’re complaining that Hollywood has been oppressing Asian men for a mere 100 years? Compared to the thousands of years that Asian women have been oppressed by their male counterparts? Then sign me up Hollywood! It’s reparations time! You guys have bound our feet, demanded hot food, clean clothes, polished nails, cute babies and happy endings for centuries. Get the fuck out of here. You’re lucky we’re not doing more damage. Oooh did we hurt your feelings? Wait. Let’s work this out the old fashioned way. Why don’t you give me your mom’s phone number and I’ll have my mom call your mom and yell at her for raising a six foot two hundred pound slanted pussy.

Is it also my fault that the audiences are predominately non-Asian? Man that’s a good point. We should market to more Asians. Can you help out? There’s a position for barker open at Stand-Up NY. I can totally get you a job so we can get that quota for Asians to match the current demographics of the US population.

Am I that desperate for fame? You think I’m famous? Yay! If you come to a show, I promise to take a picture with you afterward. Then you can tell people you met me and they will be impressed for moment if I am indeed as famous as you say I am.

So when I have my son, are you saying I should be a PTA mom? Because don’t worry I would never join the PTA. When I have kids, I will be at home with my snugly bong and be wondering if little Jimmy from Occidental College ever graduated with a degree in Bio after I helped him with his anatomy assignment.

You keep referencing me and Bobby Lee in the same sentence. Do you think we should go on tour together? Cuz that’d be so much fun! Who do you think should drive? Me or Bobby?

Hollywood tells us that Asian men are silly excitable fools? I don’t think anybody thinks that. Ever. hahahahah. Which is why Bobby Lee has a career. Don’t you get it man? He’s fighting the stereotype that you help perpetuate: the awfully boring, dorky nerd who takes himself way too seriously and whose parents thought it’d be a good idea to move in with a bunch of hillbillies.

You stop it Mr. Pouchprom. Seriously are you even Asian or are you half or something? Is your dad a pervert who only gets off on Asian porn? ew.

It is hard to make it in show biz and that’s why I want to thank you for writing this letter because I think you’ve helped me seal the deal to become the next Kim of Comedy.

Sincerely,
Esther Ku

The Mind of a Racist/Misogynist

My Friend wrote the following on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=14739&post=136976&uid=2214375888#post136976

Chairman (<– my addition) XXX replied to XXX post:

“[Therefore we are asking whites and blacks and hispanics to introduce Asian-American literature into class. Naturally the bestseller will be chosen. I'd like to know, because I don't, what other Asian-American authors are there that would make a better substitute?]

Eugene, there are actually tons of quality AA authors out there. The ones who make the mainstream are the ones who pander the most to White audiences, since the AA consumer base isn’t large or ethnocentric enough to create its own small market.

This is the same reason why despite the fact there are actually several talented AA comedians out there, the only ones who make it to mainstream TV or film are people like Esther Ku.”

Dude needs to get laid. And yes, I’ve already told him that before but his only defense is to call me a naive, ignorant, whitewashed, sellout, Asian Uncle Tom.

Usually all in the same sentence.

What I like is that he’ll always claim there are tons of quality AA authors, actors, actresses, etc. yet when you ask him to name them, he’ll name like one or two that already ARE established “names”.

And, of course, any Asian female who’s made a name for themselves is automatically a sellout. Any Asian who isn’t IN YOUR FACE THAT HE’S ASIAN is a sellout.

Frankly, I suspect that the biggest self-haters are people like Chairman Lin, because nobody can ever reach their standards of “Asianness”. Another interesting thing is that guys like him (and yes, people like him tend to be 99% male) will bitch and moan about how racist Western media is yet when you bring up instances–with proof–of racist Eastern media, it’s immediately dismissed as–you guessed it–Western bias. Oh, and then you’ll get called a whitewashed sellout too.

Can’t forget about that one.

Now, I don’t know.. I volunteer my time to help out with various AA/APA groups here in NYC. You ask these folks what they do in their free time away from their keyboards to help out with their local AA/APA groups and they never reply.

But damn, if you mention interracial relationships on the internet it’s like you just smacked a beehive with a stick. Now I’ve never dated anyone that wasn’t Asian.. and I grew up in a Jewish town, being one of only maybe 5 or 6 Asians until my junior year of high school. These days, I hear the schools in my town are something close to about 25-30% Asian, with my high school touching the 40% mark. So nobody–especially some chump online–can EVER tell me I don’t know what it feels like to get hated on because of the color of my skin.. and by JEWS no less! Oh, the irony.

But what do I know? I guess easier to be an Armchair Activist than it is to actually go out and support local AA/APA groups, go see something produced by a AA repertory theatre, volunteer to tutor kids from low-income immigrant familes, etc. etc. etc.

Yeah. Bitching on the internet. Real activism there.

A story about racial discrimination in Quebec

I remember going to a “Quebecois” school in Quebec where I first learned about racial discrimination when I was younger. The difference between a “Canadian” school and a Quebecois school in Quebec is the Quebecois school generally had separatist influences, they are relatively less diverse than the Canadian schools, there is no trace of anything distinctly Canadian, and there is no assistance to students who do not speak French as a native language.

Canadian schools, on the other hand, had a diverse student body, had some programmes for non-French speaking students, and put down racism in their school by promoting multiculturalism. My early experiences were both at a Canadian (St. Lawrence School) and Quebecois school (Ecole Samuel-De Champlain) where I spent 2 years in each school when I was young.

The first instance of racism I experienced at a Quebec school called Ecole Samuel-De Champlain, was when I was entering the school in the morning. While I was walking to class, some French kid kept making “Ching-Chang-Chong” noises while looking at me while a few kids called me a “Chin-tok (Chink in French)”. The kids that were around me simply ignored it as if it was normal while a handful laughed. At another instance, some French kids beat me up, trashed the things in my bookbag, and told me to “Go back to China” in French because they felt immigrants were taking his parents’ jobs or diluting the Quebecois spirit.

Then there was that second grade teacher named Sylvie L, who still teaches in the school as a grade 1 teacher. At that time she was in her late thirties, and I learned later that her husband was unemployed. I knew when I was younger I was a bit of a troublemaker, but I always thought it was strange how she would only give stern warnings to the White kids in the class while throwing me out of her class for the entire day when I did something wrong. This was strange because I did similar things to the other kids, but I got a harsher punishment and she never called me back to class once she threw me out.

I think these things were related to immigration and that’s why I get disgusted when people opposed to immigration rabidly deny that the issue has a racist element to it. I can definitely say, it has a racist element since I had the luxury of experiencing it first-hand in Quebec, Canada.

I really don’t like talking about this part of my life but it is a crude reminder of who I am. It’s also a reason why I unlearned the French language, abandoned my Catholic faith, and one of the reasons why it took several years to come to terms with myself.

My experiences in America are much better than Quebec. Although there is more ignorance than rampant racism here compared to Quebec, I want to do what I can to eliminate negative racial stereotypes and explore what it means to be Asian-American.