Here Are A Few of My Favorite Tweeps
The very nature of Twitter is that tweets roll by and then disappear — or, rather, get hidden by a mountain of more recent tweets. These are some of the tweets that I would like to remember.
Category: Musings
Voting
One of the privileges of being a citizen of the United States is enjoying the rights that were fought for by those who came before us. I know. I sound a bit ridiculous stating the obvious, right? But, really … Get out there and vote. If you’re worried about the anticipated long lines on November, get out there and vote early.
When your child “loses”
As we were walking home from school, I listened as some of the children voiced their opinions as to who should (and should not) have been elected to student council. According to my chatty informants, one little girl’s older sister wrote her speech for her. Another boy’s father re-wrote his. Gleefully, they named names. “How do you know this?” I asked. And the kids said that the winners told them so. (You have to love children’s honesty!)
What would’ve happened if Ryan Lochte had spoken Portuguese?
Too many people have brushed off Lochte-Gate with, “Boys will be boys.” Which makes me question, just what kind of boys are we raising?
When “Mean Girls” are men
Thinking about it now, I see so many things that I didn’t as a young reporter. I see their white privilege, which was tinged with racism, sexism and jealousy. How dare an *unqualified* Asian woman whose intelligence obviously was inferior to their own have a more prestigious and higher-paying job than they had? I must’ve gotten my job because I’m a woman. I must’ve been an Affirmative Action hiree. In their minds, I was the reason they didn’t have better jobs.
Sam Smith’s brush with racism
Singer Sam Smith got skewered on social media for a series of tweets. After witnessing his friend being abused due to his race, Smith said he was astounded that something like this could happen in London. His tweets clearly were well intentioned. But some folks wondered how he could be so naive as to not know that these things happened on a somewhat regular basis to people of color — especially since the anti-Muslim, anti-Pakastani, anti-Syrian sentiment in the U.K. has been covered extensively in the media there.
Taekwondo: Kicking, punching, way of life
I’m not delusional enough to think that taekwondo lessons will make my son the victor in a schoolyard brawl. That’s not how “street fights” work. But, I do think that if he fought back, the other child would shed a tear or two, too. And, sometimes, that’s what it takes to make a bully leave you alone. I’m really proud of him for not resorting to violence. But, we have also told him that if he can’t run away from a fight, he should defend himself — and we will defend him.
Your Sister’s a Bimbo
My friends have asked me why I don’t just delete the negative comments on my site. It’s because the comments document a certain sector of our population that takes great joy in being anonymously nasty. And, please. As a kindergartner, I had to learn to deal with adults saying scary, racist things to my face. These comments were almost comical by comparison.
Green Tea (Matcha) Cake
My mother doesn’t like overly sweet desserts. So, for her birthday, I made this delicious Matcha (Green Tea) cake. It tastes like the ones I used to buy from the Japanese bakeries. Honestly? I may even like my version a little better.
Sorry, Sorry
• At 4, I wondered what a chink bitch was.
• At 5, I came home from kindergarten singing, “Chink-a-chink-a Chinaman, sitting on a fence.”
• At 6, I watched in horror as a blond boy called my father a motherfucking gook.