LEARN ENGLISH
My boss sent me this Monday morning.
Here's what the site says:
"On Saturday, Pat Buchanan hosted a conference to discuss how Republicans can regain a majority in America. During one discussion, panelists suggested supporting English-only initiatives as a prime way of attracting "working class white Democrats." The discussion ridiculed Judge Sotomayor for the fact that she studied children’s classics to improve her grammar while attending college. The panelists also suggested that, without English as the official language, President Obama would force Americans to speak Spanish.
One salient feature of the event was the banner hanging over the English-only advocates. The word conference was spelled “Conferenece.” View it here:"
PIPEROID!
Origami for the masses. His name is Guyzer. He's a rocker, like me =)
More on the product HERE
*um I made the desk behind him messy on purpose, to create an "environment"
More pics (I bought my brother one too. his is named Goriborg):
Eh?
New billboard across from the office. Anti-immigrant?
After checking out their website, I think most of us at work believe it's just an organization which is well-intentioned, but idiotic when it comes to marketing and branding.
Bravo.
Gambling in the Hood #2
Good job cultural center. Way to sell those lottery tickets to the old folks.
Plaza in Monterey Park, at Garvey and Atlantic Blvd.
Gambling in the Hood #1
Because I'm doing a lot of work collecting pictures of gambling in ethnic enclaves, I figured I'd post some of what I find on the blog every now and then. I'm working on making a slideshow of all the gambling enticements I find.
99 Market, Garvey and Atlantic in Monterey Park
Townhall in Ktown
I was at the townhall hosted by South Asian Network today. It was a townhall organized to address the Bangladeshi community in Koreatown, with topics on domestic violence, hate crimes, health and more. There was also plenty of time for Q and A, so there were people who were asking about the ecnoomy and their jobs. One guy had lost his job, was injured while on the job, couldn't get money for it, and a whole lot of other things. Real people, real situations. Kudos to the South Asian Network for a good event.
It was interesting because this was the first event I've ever been to where I got to wear a translation device, and hear the entire townhall translated in to English. (I wish they had that more at Chinese events)
Beyond the event, I got to really experience the neighborhood. I had to park 5 blocks away, so I walked a bit just to get to the event. The community is diverse. I would never have thought this is where the largest Bangladeshi community in the U.S. is. Also, just listening to the languages spoken is great too. Spanish, Korean, some Chinese.
But even so, I began to think more about the clashes that probably occur because or different languages and culture. I'm glad there are nonprofits out in the community, trying to bridge the divides. The task may seem impossible, but there are good folks dedicated to the fight. That puts a smile on my face.
Community Obesity is Bad Yah Know…
Today I went to the Bruins 4 Change (B4C) event. B4C is an attempt to bring together the progressive folks who have graduated UCLA, and...
"build a multi-racial and multi-identity network of politically active UCLA alumni, students, workers and faculty to promote policies and practices which advance the struggle for economic and racial justice on UCLA's campus and beyond."
It was an interesting event and it was great to see nearly 100 people show up, some who graduated nearly two decades ago!
I'm looking to attend some of the committee meetings, so I'll update on that later when it happens.
BUT
The one big thing that hit me today was what one woman said during the Q&A period. As the B4C folks asked for more of us to be involved in B4C and the many different communities that were put together, she said that many of the progressive folks in the room need to keep in mind their own well-beings. So often, those of us who continue to do community work, keep adding things on because we care about the community and want to help. At the end of the day, we need to keep ourselves in check first, and make sure we help ourselves and ensure that our own well-being is alright. It's easy to get burnt out, become jaded, and not do community work anymore (believe me, it happens a lot).
It's so true for me, especially right now. I have so many different things I'm involved with, and it's really hard to stop and check how I'm doing. In my head, I'm always saying:
Suck it up; the community needs you. The fight is tough enough as it is, so be a resource for the community and do what you can.
On my plate right now:
- Job at APALC
- Consultant for NAPAFASA on problem gambling
- API Problem Gambling project I started
- Consultant for APIsCAN
- A3PCON Hate Crimes Task Force Co-chair
- A3PCON Board at Large (I think?)
- JACL Board
- JACL Civil Rights Caucus Chair
- JACL East LA "President"
- CSUN Masters Program in Nonprofit Management
I've been telling myself for the past few months that it's not too bad, and if I schedule correctly, I'll be able to handle. And so far, that's been true. I've somehow been able to handle work, my community involvements, and school. But I just know that I can get burned out easily if the scheduling falters. I need to take the advice of that woman at the event today. I need to understand that I can't help fight every single fight. I need to take care of myself, because if I don't, who will?
It pains me to say that, because I believe in everything that I work on. There are already so few resources...what happens if I drop the cause?
In the next few weeks, I'll be prioritizing what I should/can/will work on, and make some tough decisions on what to cut.
I promise.
Random
I asked my brother to help me with the problem gambling picture I'm working on. His job was to go to Monterey Park and find pictures of gambling advertisements. Of the pictures he took, I couldn't find the gambling ad in this one. Then I realized he was just trying to give me a laugh. Hahah oh Tim...
*sigh
Was reading this article, and it started a dialogue in my head about how folks can justify killing people using religion.
Khatami said those who disturbed the peace and destroyed public property were "at war with God" and should be "dealt with without mercy."
It's sad to me how religion has been shaped with the will of what people want and used as a tool for gathering more power. But hey, it's nothing new; look back to the Crusades. Interesting point of view on the Crusades I found here:
In the end, the violence, death, destruction, and continuing bad blood that last through to the present day would not have occurred without religion. It doesn't matter so much who "started it," Christians or Muslims. What matters is that Christians and Muslims eagerly participated in mass murder and destruction, mostly for the sake of religious beliefs, religious conquest, and religious supremacism. The Crusades exemplify the way in which religious devotion can become a violent act in a grand, cosmic drama of good vs. evil — an attitude which persists through today in the form of religious extremists and terrorists.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we do not need religion in this world. Religion has the power to empower and inspire. I'm just saying that organized religion is a dangerous thing in the hands of people. Even today, somehow Republicans (in the early 1990's) garnered the votes of many traditional Christians ("the Christian right") because of views on the LGBT community and abortions. Mayhem has ensued since and the party lines are clearly drawn (try finding a Democrat who's openly against same-sex marriage.)
By no means is this to the scale of the Crusades, but it shows how people in power can divide people using religion.
Eh I've taken too much time on this. Back to work.