The Crib.

This was supposed to be a video, but my lousy internet speed makes it hard to upload it. So we’ll have to make do with pictures :)

Racism in the media.

I just read something while surfing tumblr and while this isn’t a new revelation, I figure I might as well write about it too. It is because it is valid, and because as we increasingly immerse ourselves in the media, we have to be aware that it isn’t 100% racism free.

The white man clearly has the upper hand in a lot of respects, but the media is something that is so white-washed these days that in films, television, the news, music, and other forms of media, we don’t react to seeing or hearing anything commonly associated with Caucasians but once anybody from another racial platform steps forward to put their two cents in anything – to change the world – there is always going to be negative reaction. We’re desensitised to white people in the media, and to the way they treat coloureds, but so much the opposite towards coloureds themselves.

Now, it’s impossible to please everyone. Virtually everything we say has the potential to hurt someone; to offend. The problem really is how something that essentially hurts becomes commonplace in society. Just like racism and racial stereotyping. It doesn’t always hit us immediately how offensive it is for ‘the powerful white man’ to say something like the N word or ‘chink’/'orient(al)’, but after awhile perhaps we start to feel anger bubble. Maybe not even bubble – more like simmer. We don’t feel that angry. Should we be?

Sometimes I’m watching television or film, and it’s a dialogue heavy scene, and it’s difficult to follow it word-for-word. However, the second they refer to something derogatory towards a race, my head snaps up. I wonder if the white actors feel remorse for saying something so offensive onscreen – perhaps for several takes at a time. Just as I wonder if authors feel bad for writing those words in their novels or what have you. I wonder how it has become acceptable in the mainstream, why it has become acceptable. ‘It’s real life.’ Really? And doesn’t life imitate art too? So it’s a vicious cycle. It’s been going on for so long it becomes second nature. It becomes ‘okay’. It isn’t okay. Being acceptable doesn’t make it right at all.

I’m Asian, more specifically East Asian. I grew up in a predominantly Chinese environment, so I can’t say that I have been subjected to racism from the white man, but I know the term ‘ching chong Chinaman’. It basically refers to a particular surname, and how some words are pronounced i.e. ‘ching’/'qing’. And guess what,in the modern world: “Chinky is a modern British term for a Chinese restaurant or take-away, and the actual food.” A derivative of the original, completely offensive slur is used so commonly. So such a thing that happens in real life, in British films, will they use the word ‘chinky’ to describe their particular take-away? Like, “gonna grab some chinky on the way back” – that kind of thing. You know what, it’s just plain wrong if it happens.

That was only one example, and I believe I chose it because I myself feel indignant that because of my race, somehow in media terms, there is that notion of superiority. And this is only a niche area in a subject so large. The cycle is not easy to break, and this issue in the media – as well as the issue of LGBTQ (which will be discussed in a different post) – will not go away in fifteen minutes, or even in probably a hundred years. Racism is much more subtle than certain outright portrayals of LGBTQ, and because we’re all so used to it sometimes we cannot see it happening. The fact that one race still happens to dominate the industry whether we like it or not is frustrating, and it doesn’t have to be this way. There are some huge names that are LGBTQ activists and I find that amazing and loving, and a wonderful decision they’re making. Why not some people step up against racism in the media, then? It’s really not much of a different cause. We’re just indifferent towards it.

Subjectively being a better human.

And what I mean by that is being a part of charities to give back. One of the biggest things about being underage has always been being crippled in a sense that I can’t have a credit card to support foundations and causes that I truly believe in. They are mostly human rights and environmental causes, and now that I’m eighteen, I’m excited to stop the slacktivism and at least do something that I feel is a good thing. So today I signed up to donate $15 a month to the Australian Conservation Foundation which aims to save the Great Barrier Reef. My mother doesn’t like that I’m doing that, being barely legal and all that, but I still feel some sense of accomplishment that I am being decent and doing my part for the planet. My family lost faith in most charities after the NKF fiasco in 2005 so I don’t blame my mother and aunt for being sceptical, but I think the fact that they say nothing more than the occasional warning that the ACF might be out to steal my money etc. just shows that there’s only that much they can do. I just think that we can’t always be sceptical of everything and if that makes me seem a little stupid, that’s just the way I am. It’s how I feel I’m giving back, and a good start before I start volunteer work in the future.

And I just remembered today is Valentine’s Day. Now what a great way to spread love, really :)

A new life…

…begins tomorrow when I move into my new unit in Australia. I am really stoked about that – I haven’t seen it yet so I hope it’ll be pleasant. My cousin thinks it’s fabulous and she’s got good taste so I’m going to have to go with that. I’ll try to put pictures up when 1) I unpack and 2) I get my internet sorted over there. I have to get a plan for it etc.

I won’t be alone for a week – my mum and aunt will be there with me helping me get settled but after that, the only people who’ll be over will be the once-a-week cleaning lady/man (we haven’t an idea who’s going to come, but I’m sure my aunt will arrange for a lady to do it lol) and my other aunt (I just have a lot of aunts okay? Haha) twice a week.

University enrolment is Thursday, but orientation won’t start till the 22nd so I have time to really get my shit together and work out this living-alone thing so I won’t die. FINGERS CROSSED.

Assumptions.

I could be so wrong.

It’s like you go to the movies with your friends and you just assume they don’t like horror movies or comedy because they happen to call one of them out as really bad, so you guys end up seeing the wrong film. Or you start calling people fake for ‘pretending to dislike a band when they love them’ just because one happens to say ‘that track by so-and-so kind of sucks’ but never managed to get out that the rest of so-and-so’s material is actually good, because you and your pretension has cut into the conversation to denounce that person.

Very trivial, I know, and I am also aware I tend to overthink things. But I saw this today and it just got me so angry:

RT @DamnItsTrue Stages of a relationship = :) :D :P ;) <3 ;P xD :| :/ :S :( :’( </3 #DamnItsTrue

I don’t follow that sorry excuse of a twitter account just because I’ve seen those generalised tweets of theirs. Trying to make people feel they’re not alone? Well, why the hell not just generalise the damn world along with it? Of course it has to.

Blah blah, everything has a generalisation but fuck. that. explanation. Especially with something as complicated as a human relationship. Such things aren’t as black and white as that tweet. Not everybody is Taylor fucking Swift okay.

And this is what the account describes itself as:

Facts that are relevant to your daily life, since April 21, 2010.

Um, yeah. Hardly.

Every girl wishes a boy would dedicate the song “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars to them. #DamnItsTrue

Okay this is probably because I really don’t like Bruno Mars but lulz if that’s even true.

Heart Break is more popular disease than Heart Attack.#DamnItsTrue

Going to be a smartass and say that heartbreak is NOT a disease. Stop attempting poetry because it does not work in your case, love.

Whats LOVE? In math: A problem. In history: A war. In chemistry: A reaction. In art: A heart. In me: You. #DamnItsTrue

…WHO WRITES THIS SHIT. SERIOUSLY.

Friends = Crayons. Color my life! #DamnItsTrue

Are you five?

I’m not going to find anymore. Not everything on that twitter account is utter bullshit, but really, all the tweets pertaining to ‘knowing about love and heartbreak’ are rubbish. Why do we treat love the way we do? It’s because of the way we see it. People copy things from TV and film, people take all that too seriously. In the end, what a genuine relationship is it’s hard to find out. That raw energy and passion that actually makes someone so free in their skin next to this other person they love dearly… you can’t fake it. And you sure as hell can’t give people advice on it, because it is a deeply personal experience on its own. Some bits may be the same, but the overall experience would and should be different.

Disclaimer: Assumptions made in the above article may or may not stand up to ‘fact’. Don’t get your panties in a knot ;)