🙋‍♂️ Reposted from @soapboxstand Zionism isn't Judaism. Zionism is racism. Plain and simple. . . ————————————————— FOLLOW - @soapboxstand 🙋‍♀️🙌🗣️ ————————————————— . . 🎥 Howard University TV . . #soapboxstand #soapbox

When I first saw the Atlanta shooting news, I felt so much pain. Then, I immediately wondered if I was overreacting. And I hate that I felt that way. It’s partially to do with our culture and upbringing — we’re raised to let our actions speak louder than words, to suffer in silence, and to ignore and rise above. My dad told me as a child that if anybody called me a chink, I should ignore them and know that they are not worth my time. And these are not bad values by any means — this is just the way we survived as an immigrant family in a country that doesn’t always feel like ours. We were also raised in a world where who we are is because of our skin colour. I grew up being fetishized by men who “only like Asian girls,” and my good grades being attributed to being Asian rather than my work ethic — all while strangers would yell “ching chong,” and “ni hao,” at me from across the street and pretend to bow at me. (And yes, this still happens now.) I think the reason why it feels so painful is that whether I’m being told I’m more attractive or smart because I’m Asian or we’re being killed in spas in Atlanta — those notions of othering and hate all start from the same place. They start as small jokes, stereotypes on tv, a president calling COVID the “kung flu,” and reducing people to a singular narrative and identity. But when you see these women who were killed as someone who could have been my aunt or a friend, it’s no longer a small thing. Anyways, thanks for letting me get on my little online soapbox. If you feel the same way too, I hope you feel less alone. If you don’t, I hope you take some time to reflect and listen to other voices. #StopAsianHate

There's this weird vibe amongst some tourist attractions in Japan that I'm sort of afraid to criticize without first finding the right words, but here it goes: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sometimes the traditional aesthetic, as much as I love it, feels very artificial, and almost unnatural for the location. There are lots of streets like this in Yufuin, for example -- made to look like "traditional" Japan, but they're too shiny and new, or too carefully constructed to be authentic. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I really enjoyed my day trip to Yufuin but it felt a little like, in trying to provide something for everyone, Yufuin was having an identity crisis with the inconsistencies in atmosphere all across town. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Every other food stall serves a "local specialty food" that nobody has heard of (because they just invented it) and for some reason they've got an owl cafe AND a Bengal cat cafe and a "floral village" modeled after England but also those doctor fish that eat the skin off your feet but also man-powered carriages and plenty of duty free drug stores! 😫🤦‍♀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I hope that moving forward as more touristy locations try to improve themselves to be more foreigner friendly they don't lose sight of the natural beauty that people come to Japan specifically to experience. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ /Soapbox Rant