Another post that isn't a book review. Not yet...
Another nod to Loco, benevolent rumors, and by the grace of an eternal love that has permitted me to exist… consequently that which I do not endeavor to face within myself, for that time has yet to come.
In other words, here’s a shout out from a Californicated mind, born and bred near where a 'half-Jamacian, half-Chinese' heart-breaker, Lance, could have, once-upon-a-time, caused a few heads to explode (or at least short-circuit) from mental overload.
*****
Reading through the Village Person’s memoir, that something that bothers me still, that something led to a search that brought me to a Chinese Girl in the Ghetto. She points out that the P3 equation (prejudice + power) seems to be dangerous in light of the loss = loss (L2) and pain = pain (P2) reality.
That was more than a decade ago. But I just stumbled over it yesterday.
Let's do the time warp. It's just a jump to the left... and a step to the right. A few centimeters down, in the middle of your screen. The 9th paragraph is where you'll find P3 and the 10th paragraph is where you'll find L2 and P2. Only take you a minute to read down to that point. Go ahead, click it.
For convenience of communicating the basic point, and showing how I perceive her to tie in with Loco and those who follow him, for those who get what he's saying, I will simplify by highlighting just a few of the things they have in common.
I.
In her interview, she says her message is simple. She believes that:
"Racism is wrong no matter who perpetuates it, no matter whose at the receiving end of it. It doesn't matter if people were White or Black or Hispanic or Asian. And if an ethnic minority or anyone else is facing racism, we shouldn't hesitate to defend him, but at the same time, if an ethnic minority is behaving in a racist fashion, we should also not be afraid to condemn them. "
The message comes up at the 23:40 mark in her presentation, just after she tells a joke. If you've only got a minute or so, 23:40 is the place to start watching.
But first...
II.
One of the other things they have in common, and perhaps the most important, is that they both had a solid childhood education.
III.
They are both Americans.
Other stuff...
A few stand-out chunks of thought from her YouTube post are, in the order that they were scribbled down (mostly pre-23:40... they all have a ring of truth that arguably works on these islands too):
“pretending that we’re not part of the collective humiliation”
“there is nothing inevitable about this story [life]”
“decency over hate”
“charity over ignorance”
“freedom is a complicated business; it offers no guarantees for success”
“happy, loved, and well protected by those around her”
“if we’re going to look for models, we’re going to need to see the limitations of those models”
“seeing people as individuals rather than as racial tokens”
Now, if you are still interested, you can watch how she dismantles a box. Again, you might want to start at the 23:40 mark. All it takes is a minute or two.
And the customer reviews of her new book makes me feel like getting a hard copy. Have to see what time allows.
PS
I am admittedly dismissive of her white-ish and gray-haired audience... I haven't taken the time to listen to the questions. Maybe later.
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