Little did I know that The Joy Luck Club would kick off the genre I like to refer to as the heavily-oprressed, intergenerational Asian women genre.  I would throw Maxine Hong Kingston’s Warrior Woman into the mix as well, but that didn’t reach nearly the lofty heights that The Joy Luck Club did.  In this genre, the characters were Fresh off the Boat (FOB) Asian.  They spoke with thick accents, lived in Chinatown or equivalent neighborhoods, stuck to their own, and worked long hours in a laundry or restaurant.  For many years after The Joy Luck Club hit its peak, any female Asian American author had to follow the standard boilerplate of working class FOB Asian women who got oppressed or beaten or abused by the men in their life.  I don’t blame the women who wrote these books; I blame America’s insistence in putting the ‘other’ in a palatable box.

My background is quite different.  My parents both came to the states (separately, they met in Tennessee) for educational purposes.  They both were in MA programs, met, fell in love, married, and moved to Minnesota so my dad could get his Ph.D. in economics.  My mom went to work fulltime as a court psychologist.  They both speak three languages fluently (Taiwanese, Chinese, English), and they were both involved in the general society.  It’s true that they had their group of Taiwanese friends, but they also interacted with general society on a regular basis through school, thorough work, and through daily living–we lived in a suburb of Minneapolis that was predominately white.  In other words, my world was far apart from Amy Tan’s world, and I resented the fact that she was considered the sole representation of the Asian American female experience.

It all came to a head when I lived in the Bay Area in 2000-2002.  I haunted the local used bookstores with a disturbing regularity, and I always checked out the Asian American fiction section.  I kept seeing stories of Asians immigrants grateful to America for all the opportunities they couldn’t find in their home countries as well as the now-ubiquitous tales of intergenerational suffering of Asian women.  I was getting more and more pissed off when I picked up a book about–what else–three generations of Asian women (grandmother, mother, and daughter) who suffer horribly throughout their lives.  I slammed the book down and exclaimed at the top of my lungs, “If I ever see another goddamn book about three generations of suffering Asian women, I’m going to fucking punch someone!”  My friend tried to hush me up, but I had had enough.  By that time, Asian American women were flavor of the month, not to mention exotic and trendy, and I was fucking sick of it.  I had been dumped countless times for not being subservient enough–by the way, for your information, most Asian American women I know are most definitely NOT shy, demure, and subservient.  Deal with it–and I was beginning to get gun-shy about dating white guys.  As I am fond of saying, I was born and raised in MN, so I am about as exotic as lutefisk.

I fucking hated it.  Up until that point, I read every Asian/Asian American female author I could get my hands on out of a misguided sense of loyalty.  After that, I was done.  If the story was about FOB, I wouldn’t read it.  If the bulk of the story focused on the abuse of women or a woman in general, I wouldn’t read it.  Broken English–nope, not for me.  I was sick of the shit, and I wanted something more from my Asian American literature, thank you very much.  Look, I wasn’t pissed off that these stories were being told.  No,  I was pissed off that they were the ONLY Asian American stories being told.  It’s part of the romanticization of Asians, indeliably reinforcing our otherness while underscoring the pathos. Think of the persisting image of Asian people–FOB, computer geeks, inscrutable, shy, demure (or, conversely, dragon lady scary), subservient, good at math, industrious, smart, violin virtuosos, etc.  Many people think of Asians (of the East persuasion) as the model minority, which sounds like it would be a good thing, but it’s still a fucking stereotype that doesn’t allow us to be real human beings.

One of the reasons I make the main characters of my stories Asian American besides being incredibly narcissistic is because I want to show the many different faces of East Asian America.  I think it’s about damn time.

P.S.  I have much to say concerning the roles available for Asian/Asian American women in television and film, but that will be another post for another day.

P.P.S.  I posted a shorter version of this entry over at Yellow Menace.  Go check it out.

In no particular order, I felt guilty for not being married, for not having children, for being bi, for being loud about issues such as racism, for not being a Christian, for letting myself get out of shape, for thoroughly enjoying sex in so many different ways and with so many different people, for not making more of myself, for wasting my life, for not having to worry as much about money as do other people, for not being able to single-handedly save the world, for being alternately aloof and clingy, for being so damn narcisstic, for craving fame, for not working hard enough to get said fame, for being a repudiation of everything my mom is, for accidentally kicking Raven twice today, for not being a better aunt/sister/daughter/friend/cat caregiver, for the Cold War, for evaluating my worth as how skinny I am, for not being enough of ______  (fill in the blank) and too much of _______  (fill in this blank, too).

Now, while I’m worrying about everything little thing I’ve ever done wrong and will ever do wrong in my life, there are people who act like their shit don’t stink.  Because I follow politics, my examples are of politicians and of the so-called pundits who opine about said pols.

First, the song Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry because I need it.  It was suggested to me by one of those FB quizzes.  It’s my stripper song, apparently.

Ok.  Now, on to the screed.

Here are people who need to feel guilty and don’t (the short list because these are the ones who are currently bugging me the most):

1. Pat Rober–er, Buchanan
2. C-Street Mafia
3. Stupid rightwing pundits, especially the hacks such as Ross Douthat and Jonah Goldberg
4. GOP members who questioned Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court spot

First up, Pat Buchanan.  He is considered a prominent Republican for some unfathomable reason.  He has a permanent seat on the MSNBC lineup bench, and he’s frequently seen spouting his vitrolic venom on the webs as well.  His latest hatchet job has been on Sonia Sotomayor for entirely spurious reasons.  I know Rachel calls him “Uncle Pat” and thinks he argues with class, but even she raised her voice at him tonight in the segment on her show in which she called him out on his despicably racist views.  I don’t know how it ended because I clicked to the next video clip (about the C-Street Mafia, ironically) in order to try to tamp down my rage, and then, I got up and punched a wall.

Buchanan made it disgustingly clear that he is a racist fucker who thinks white people are always superior to people of color.  He dismissed all the accomplishments of Sonia Sotomayor (which are vast), and he got angry and defensive when Rachel called him on it.  He thinks that white men are the victims now–hey, Buchanan, quick heat check for you–take a look at the boards of all the big banks and tell me how many non-white men are sitting on them.   Look at the top of any corporation and see how many women of color are there.  Then, come back and fucking talk to me about racism against white men.

He went on to spout how this country was built by white men, how the constitution was written by white men,  and how the wars up until the Battle of…Normandy?  That can’t be right.  I refuse to look it up, though, were fought by white men.   So in other words, white makes right?  Or excuse me, might makes right.  Ed. note: Yes, he said Normandy.  Even though he’s been corrected on that many times before.

Besides, fuck you, Pat Buchanan!  This country was taken from the indigeneous people after a massive genocide.  This country was built on the backs of slaves from Africa and coolies from China.   This country is continuing to be built on the back of migrant workers who come here from Mexico in order to feed their families.  This country was run by white men because they decided it so, not because they were more qualified.  For you to suggest that to have only 2 people of color out of 110 is because the white people fucking deserved it more makes me want to punch you in the face.

I am a pacifist.  An angry, cynical, bitter pacifist, true, but a pacifist, nonetheless.  However, vitriol and smug entitlement like the shit you spew make me see red.  It’s an extension of this (and yes, I’m linking to myself.  So sue me), and Buchanan takes it to its ugly conclusion.

It’s beyond frustrating because there is no way to argue with this mindset.  Anything said in Sotomayor’s defense, for example, can be brushed away with, “affirmative action” and be done with it.  She made it into Princeton and Yale?  Affirmative action.  She graduated summa cum laude at Princeton?  Affirmative action.  She was the editor of the Yale Law Review?  Affirmative action.  Buchanan even trotted out the tired old, “Half the students graduate cum laude from Ivy League schools, Rachel!  I know it and you know it!” line.  By the way, I fucking hate that, “you know it” bullshit.  At least Rachel said, “No, I don’t know it.”  The problem with a bully like Buchanan is that he simply can’t be outshouted (though Larry O’Donnell gave it a hell of a try on a previous show).  Oh, and as for the ridiculous, “half the students graduate cum laude” at Ivy Schools, what a bunch of bullshit.  First of all, summa cum laude is the highest honor one can receive.  It’s not the same as cum laude.  Secondly, I graduated magna cum laude from a much lesser-known school (and Phi Beta to boot), and I worked my ass off (hey, maybe that’s why I don’t have an ass) to get my magna.  In fact, it was because of one messed up semester (my first one) that I didn’t reach summa.  I graduated with a 3.8 something in my major.  That was pretty damn hard, too.  I would have had a perfect 4.0 in my major if it wasn’t for the B I got in my Intro to Psych class and the shittiest prof ever, but no, I’m not still bitter about it, thank you very much.

The point of all my grade-flaunting is that I went to St. Olaf College.  It’s a private liberal arts college here in MN.  It’s a good college, and it has a decent reputation, but it is no Ivy League school.  Plus, at the risk of repeating myself, Sonia Sotomayor attended Princeton at a time when they had a quota limiting the number of women allowed to attend.  Justice Alito was involved in a group who wanted to keep out minorities and women from Princeton.  Maybe “Uncle Pat” and the insufferable bastards of the GOP should have a little chat with him about how Princeton operated back in the day?  They won’t, of course, because it would ruin their story line.

Hm.  This is running long as usual.  I will wrap it up about Pat Buchanan tonight and tackle the other three points on my list in a further entry (entries, most likely).  This is how I feel right now, by the way.  It’s Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses, and it takes several seconds to load.

I am tired of MSNBC treating Pat Buchanan like the lovable loony uncle whom everyone avoids at the family reunion.  He is a vile, repellent, ugly, vicious, bitter old man who has lived a life of entitlement and who is now panicking because he’s perceiving that life being yanked out from under his feet.  He can’t fathom a woman of color being equal to (not to mention better than) a white man for any job (except maybe housemaid), especially not one as high as Supreme Court Justice.

In addition,  it was Melissa Harris Lacewell, Princeton associate professor and majorly gorgeous, who went on Olbermann’s show after it was disclosed that Sotomayor belongs (belonged now, she resigned) to an all-women’s professional association  called the Balezian Grove.  Predictably, Rush and others of his ilk mewled, “Imagine if a man belonged to such an all-male group like this.”  Oh, like, say, the Supreme Court?  Or the C-Street Mafia?

Anyway, Melissa Harris-Lacewell makes an important point on Countdown (about a month ago).  The Supreme Court makes decisions that affect all members of society.  Some white men (most likely subconsciously) can’t imagine having their lives affected so by a Latina!  As Harris-Lacewell stated, all white male Supreme Courts  ruled on slavery and immigration.  They got to decide things for people of color and for women for most of our history.  When you have the power, it’s unnerving to give up even a tiny portion of it.

I am disgusted by Pat Buchanan.  I wish MSNBC were, too.  Alas, old white male GOP members can say whatever the fuck they want and not worry about losing their jobs.  How the fuck isn’t that some kind of affirmative action?

Oh, and because I need a small picker-upper after watching “Uncle Fucking Pat” and writing this entry, I give to you, Kylie Minogue.  My fake hubby from BJ posted it there some days ago because he knows I have a (guilty) thing for Kylie Minogue, as does he.  He says if you’re gay and Australian as he is, it’s practically mandated to have a thing for Kylie.  She’s not the best singer, and she’s not my type, but she has a nice butt, and she’s having a blast in this video.  Plus, hot gay boyz.  I love ‘em.  I can’t embed it here, so link for you.  Enjoy.

I have read it in many blogs, and not just from Republican supporters.  The PUMAs out there bleat it as well.  President Obama is just not that smart.  He is an affirmative action candidate.  He wouldn’t be where he was if he weren’t black.  Yeah, thanks, Geraldine Ferraro for that early primer on how to be a racist when campaigning against Obama.  In fact, the virulent racism from the Clinton camp is what ultimately tipped me over to Obama’s side.  Yes, there was much sexism on the webs against Clinton, but I didn’t see Obama’s people engage as much in that kind of vile rhetoric.  Clinton’s posse, on the other hand, pushed the lucky black man crap as much as they dared.  Then, they got indignant when called on it and said Obama was playing the race card.

I am fucking sick and tired of racists being indignant for being called racists.  Here is Ta-Nehisi Coates on his take of this subject.  I’m not sure if it’s in that thread, but I really like one of his commenters saying that if people keep calling you a racist, maybe you should examine your behavior to see if it really is racist.  In other words, the more times you’re called a racist, the more likely it is that you’re acting in a racist way.

Anyway, back to our prez.  It would crack me up if it weren’t so appalling to read people write that clearly, the president isn’t very smart.  In whose world would this be true?  Believe me, I know from smart, and this man is smart.  It’s even more appalling because the people who usually write that Obama isn’t smart can’t even properly conjugate a verb.  It’s really hard to tell someone what racism looks like, but it’s incredibly easy to know it when you see it.  If anyone says the president isn’t smart, that’s racism.

You can argue with his credentials.  You can argue with his policies, his beliefs, his programs, and his rhetoric.  You cannot argue that he isn’t smart.  It’s especially egregious to hear after just suffering through the most idiotic president in my lifetime.  Really, after W. ran roughshod through the White House for the last eight years, you want to claim that Obama isn’t very smart?  In my not-so-humble opinion, that tactic is not very smart.

The reason this is particularly bugging me right now is because Justice David Souter is retiring after this session.  He was appointed to the Supreme Court by George Bush the Elder, and it was assumed he would be a rabid conservative.  This did not pan out, and he (Souter) was a pleasant surprise to embattled Democrats.  Now that he is stepping down, the GOP and the Village are falling all over themselves to paint the white man as the poor, hapless victim.  

Before Obama even has a chance to formulate a list, the Villagers are out with their pitchforks decrying the possibility that Obama will not choose a white man.  In fact, Mark Halperin’s article in Time is entitled, White Men Need Not Apply–or something equally incendiary.  I’m already fuming, so I’m not going to verify it or link to it.  You will have to find all links yourself for once.  Tweety has been bleating about a Latina being the cookie cutter choice.  So, because of all this crap, Sonia Sotomayor, is being considered a forerunner in the field.  Remember, this is despite the fact that Obama hasn’t said boo about his choice yet.

So, now that all this focus is on Judge Sotomayor, two inevitable memes have emerged from the rabble.  One is that she is not tempermentally-suited to be SCOTUS.  This is an accusation that is often leveled at ‘excitable’ Latinos and Latinas.  In addition, women are often accused of being emotional.  This is par the course.  The second meme is that she is an intellectual lightweight, not suited for the Supreme Court.  Yes, she graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1976, and yes, she graduated from Yale Law School and was editor of the Yale Law Journal, and yes she was nominated to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by George Bush the Elder, then promoted to the appeals court by President Clinton.  None of that matters, you see, because it was all affirmative action-based and nothing else.  It’s the same with President Obama, don’t you know.

The worst, though, is the piece by Jeffrey Rosen in The New Republic, an ostensibly-liberal-leaning online mag in search of, well, a new republic.  He wrote a piece entitled, The Case Against Sonia Sotomayor.  Again, I’m not linking to it.  Instead, I’m linking to Glenn Greenwald’s dismantling of said piece.  In a nutshell, Rosen interviewed a bunch of people who anonymously said that Judge Sotomayor is too intemperate for the bench, and she is not smart enough.  Even one of the positives he notes, that she is single with no kids, is twisted into making her seem weird.  He concludes by saying that he hasn’t read enough of her opinions to know if she’s intellectual enough for the bench, but hell, that’s not going to get in the way of a good smear campaign, now is it?

The comments on all of these blog entries discussing this issue have been enlightening, hopeful, and infuriating at the same time.  To the conservatives, Judge Sotomayor is only being considered because she’s a Latina.  That’s affirmative action, they decry.  Yet, Thomas was picked clearly for the same reason (conservative black man, take that, Dems!), and no one said peep.  In fact, if you want to talk intellectual heft on the bench, you have to find a way around Thomas in order to do so.  In addition, Roberts and Stevens were chosen because they were (and are) rampant conservatives.  So why is it that only the Dems are excoriated on the activist judge issue?

Focus, Minna, focus.  Ok.  Here’s the thrust of the matter, as it were.  So many of the people decrying affirmative action says it’s fulfilling a quota system or taking the job away from a deserving white person, usually a man.  This presumes that the default position is one of the white male and that anything that deviates from this is because of affirmative action.  In most of the online discussions about Judge Sotomayor, the term affirmative action is flung around.  Yet, if you were to look at her creds without knowing her name or background, you most likely would be impressed.

There is another problem with racism/sexism, etc.  Most people think that they are not racist/sexist.  ”I never called a woman a bitch, so I can’t be sexist.”  ”I never shot at a black man, so I can’t be racist.  Hell, I don’t even own a white hood.”  These are only really, really overt forms of racism, and the easy ones to spot.  However, the subtle forms are much more insiduous and much harder to notice.  That’s why it can be so frustrating as a minority because you are trying to point something out that the majority truly cannot see.  They believe they have gotten everything they have on their own merits–conversely, if you haven’t succeded, it must be because of your own flaws.  

Here’s a little story that I love.  Orchestras have been traditionally overwhelmingly-male.  Women were deemed too tempermental, too small, too whatever to be in them.  This was ‘fact’ in the minds of many orchestra people.  Then, there was a study in which musicians who were auditioning for an orchestra spot did so behind a screen.  Guess what?  More female musicians were chosen after this practice was implemented.  Take a look at this article for more on that study and the effects thereafter.  

Part of the ugly effect of an ism is that the person in the minority has to constantly why she (and I’m using the generic she here) is equal to the majority person.  She has to prove that she is equal to, never mind better than her competition.  She shoulders the burden of proof, and the majority dude gets off scotfree.  No one talked about race or gender when Roberts was up for nomination, for example.  Or Souter.  Or Scalia.  No one questioned whether being married (or not) would help or hurt a man.  No one called Scalia intemperate, though he seems pretty damn excitable to me.  

In addition, they were all treated like individuals whereas someone like Sotomayor is lumped into a group.  She is in consideration because she’s a Latina, the Village people rationalize.  Affirmative action does not automatically get you the job–it just puts you in the playing field.  I got interviews because of affirmative action, maybe, but I was capable of doing any of those jobs.  AA just got my foot in the door–nothing more. 

As for being chosen on merit–please.  Again, why isn’t that asked of any of the current justices?  It’s been said that Scalia is brilliant, but there has been no scrutiny of this.  He gets a pass on it.  If I looked at his c.v., I am sure I could find instances when he wasn’t, ah, brilliant in a decision.  

I know this is a messy jumble.  Forgive me for that.  I am so weary of the tenacity of white male privilege whining that it saps me of my strength sometimes.  I am now going to make a bold declaration that you will rarely hear.  Some people who are against affirmative action ask this hypothetical, “If there are two candidates who are equally qualified and one is a white man and the other is a woman of color, are you saying that the woman of color should automatically get the job?”  It’s usually said in a tone reserved for one questioning whether or not the listener supports torture–no, scratch that.  It’s even more filled with horror than in the latter example.  

My response?  Yes.  If all other things are relatively equal, then the woman of color should be picked.  Why?  Because white men have had enough privilege up until now.  Until THEY can prove they are a little bit better, I will go for diversity every time.  

Last thing, take a look at the picture I posted.  That is the 2006 Supreme Court of the United States.  You tell me, who are the ones being unrepresented in the picture?  Here’s a hint:  It’s not white men.

Except, I’m not green; I don’t live in a trash can; I have better hygiene.  Other than that, Oscar and I are likethis.  I might as well brandish a cane and shout at the kids to get off my lawn.   I am going to dive in the shit today and talk about things that are currently making me grouchy like Oscar.  Ready?  Let’s go.

Besides the sexual peak thing, I am getting frustrated with political punditry.  I am reminded why I burn out on groups fairly easily.  In the world of political punditry, there are mostly white males.  Think Yglesias, Klein, Eschaton blog guy, Krugman, Rich, Olbermann, Maher, Stewart, etc.  On the right side, we got Rush, Douthat, Hannity, Beck, O’Reilly, Newt, George Will, Brooks, Frum, Dennis Miller, etc.  Sully is somewhere in the middle.

Then, we have the white women and black men on each side.  Left–Rachel Maddow, Ta-Nehisis Coates, Maureen Dowd, TBogg, to name a few.  On the right side, there are actually more white women–Kathleen Parker, Kathryn Jean Lopez, who is a Latina to boot–bonus!–Michael Steele, yeah I know he’s not a pundit, but he’s on TV/radio enough to qualify, Alan Keyes, Peggy Noonan, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingram….Why are there so many more females allowed to speak on the right than on the left?  Hm.  A question for later.

Then, there’s Pam Spaulding from Pam’s House Blend who is  black, female, and a lesbian.  I think she is the only one who is a three-for.  

Here is the crux of my first complaint of the day:  Where the fuck are the Asians?  I hate the fact that the only viable political, um, pundit (I use the word loosely) who is an Asian woman is Michelle Malkin.  I am not linking to her because I despise her that much, but seriously!  I cringe every time I read something she’s written or see her talking about something in an unhinged, deranged manner.  I hate the fact that she is the best known Asian person in political punditry.  I also marvel that the Dems are supposed to be the party of inclusion and diversity, but there seems to be way more women and POCs in the punditry of the rightwing than the left.  I know it’s tokenism to a certain extent, but at least they are visible.  Yes, I know we have a black president, but we, the people, voted for him.  I guess that makes us, on the whole, marginally more inclusive than the Democratic Party.

Ok.  Number two gripe.  Here’s a list of phrases that need to stop now.  I have touched on some before, but I am adding to it.  ”The best and the brightest”.  It’s appalling in any situation to affix this label to the Wall Street financiers who play with Monopoly money, but it’s egregious and galling for them to continue being afforded this label now that they fucking broke the economy.  I watched snippets of the 60 Minutes interview (I typed 69 at first.  The puerile bitch in me is sniggering) with President Obama, and I wanted to slap the interviewer when he said (and I’m paraphrasing), “I live in New York, and many of my friends are concerned that they won’t be able to retain the best and the brightest–”  I saw bright, pulsating lights right about then.  President Obama’s response was brilliant.  He laughed ruefully and said (and yes, I am paraphrasing again), “They weren’t the best and the brightest when they fucked up the economy!”  Actually, he said something closer to that they hadn’t done a very good job of it.

Someone started this lie that the Wall Street mavens were the best and the brightest of my generation.  I have never liked that assessment, and I like it even less now that the emperor has been shown not to wear any clothes.  What have they contributed to society on a whole?  How are we, as a community, any better for all their financial chicanery?  At the end of the day, what can they tangibly hold in their hands and say, “I created this, and the world is a better place for it.”?  FUCK THEM.  They are probably bright for the most part, but they are not the brightest, and they certainly aren’t the best.  They have the nerve to hold us hostage for more money to fix the mess they made.  That is more like venal and morally-bankrupt to me. 

I already covered going Galt and teabagging.  Or, maybe I didn’t cover the last one, but there is enough on that.  I don’t have time to deal with that stupidity.  Correction:  I have the time.  What I don’t have is the desire.  

Next up, the rightwing trick of accusing the Dems of things they themselves do, ten times worse.  Not caring about the Constitution, trying to strong-arm through bills (by reverting to majority rules, which is how it’s been for a long-ass time), making us less safe, etc.  The level of hypocrisy offered by the right is reaching the point when I may just punch my computer the next time I hear one of the rightwingnutters talking about socialist fascism or a dictatorship.  You want a dictatorship?  I got your dictatorship right here, heavy emphasis on Dick.  All you have to do is look at the last eight years to see a sterling example of trampling on the rights of Americans and the makings of a dictatorship.  

For the people commenting on leftwing blogs, no fat jokes, looks jokes, or gay jokes.  It’s unacceptable.  Michelle Malkin is an idiot, but she does not need to be taken apart because of her looks.  I don’t want to hear prison-rape jokes from anyone.  And, as I’ve posted before, fat is not a perjorative in and of itself.  I don’t want to hear cruelness and bigotry from anyone, even in the name of humor or satire.  Well, ok, if it’s well-done and funny, then maybe.  However, I don’t find rape funny in any sense, and I hate it when men (and it’s usually men) use it so casually to mock men who are going to go to jail.  It’s repugnant when the left does it, just as it is when Rush says it. 

Finally, the sex thing.  I feel like the pussy that’s going to devour the world.  In fact, Rizzo and I came up with a new superhero persona:  The Pussy (she said The Vagina, but I’m not so polite), saving MANkind, one man at a time.  Or, conversely, destroying MANkind, one man at a time.  By the way, one man at a time is optional, and so is the man part.  So, if you are in the Twin Cities, be very careful:  The Pussy may come after you next.