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4 years ago
Friday, August 22, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Malaysia, not so idyllic of a homeland
Outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is paradise. My brief memories of the place, growing up and returning through out my life, have always been rich and intense. Urbanization may have lifted the majority of my family into lofty white collar jobs, politics, and propelled my mother (who was born on a rubber plantation) to raise my sis and I in the Bay Area - perhaps the most progressive and modern place on this planet. Often when I think back on Malaysia, I imagine it to be the ideal goal of all modern nations in terms of cultural pluralism and social harmony.
It is a country where I remember going down the street of modern Kuala Lumpur as a kid to get freshly made roti from a street vendor tightly placed between the bus stop, the hardware store, and a boulevard pedestrian bridge. The vendor was still there when I returned much older and although I had not noticed color when I was younger, I'd come to realize that the vendors were South Indian brothers who not only spoke fluent Malay, English, and their native Tamil, but also Cantonese! They had grown up amongst Straits Chinese and, familiarly, between themselves, the bothers only spoke Cantonese.
Of course, Malaysia is not so rosy as I would like to think. It is not so hard to see the issues that modern Malaysia (and especially its citizens) must deal with now that they have progressed past their hyper modernization following independence in the 60s and federalization in the 70s. Mainly it seems like they have to finally contend with the autocratic government, which had been a useful tool in propelling the country into first world status in the decades prior, but now use their centralized power to oppress. Oddly, the country is a Federal Constitutional Elected Monarchy where the executive branch is the Monarchy, whose throne is elected every 5 years. That's pretty awesome. What is not so awesome is that the country is hardly a democracy, if best it is a republic and in truth it is ruled by the political elite. The opposition party has never held power since independence and two recent, peaceful pro-democracy rallies had been ruthlessly curtailed by government sanctioned police brutality.
The worry is that the country is not entirely corrupt nor is it run by utterly unsavory characters. People do get arrested for political reasons and the country does heavily censor its media, but by comparison, America has FOX news and the executive powers since 911 have been questionable. Much in the same way, Malaysia's problem lies in its addiction to centralized power, its weak judicial branch, and its legislative branch, which is not entirely elected by the population.
Now that I've started looking back at my homeland, I've started to find some, not many, but some activist organizations working to improve the country. There are environmental groups and political groups, and indigenous power groups too. Hearing about these folks really makes part of me ache to return and lend a hand. This is monumentally frustrating as I've made up in my mind to lay a stake down on this land as my land. Coming from an ancestry of migrants, Haka (the guest people), Deojo (the river people), Mongolians, National Chinese exiles, and now Malaysian immigrants makes me really tired of always running from instability and oppression. I can't tell what would be more honest: to return to Malaysia - a country and society I hardly understand, or carving out a place for me here in the US, a society that does not recognize me.
Notes (thank god for Wiki):
It is a country where I remember going down the street of modern Kuala Lumpur as a kid to get freshly made roti from a street vendor tightly placed between the bus stop, the hardware store, and a boulevard pedestrian bridge. The vendor was still there when I returned much older and although I had not noticed color when I was younger, I'd come to realize that the vendors were South Indian brothers who not only spoke fluent Malay, English, and their native Tamil, but also Cantonese! They had grown up amongst Straits Chinese and, familiarly, between themselves, the bothers only spoke Cantonese.
Of course, Malaysia is not so rosy as I would like to think. It is not so hard to see the issues that modern Malaysia (and especially its citizens) must deal with now that they have progressed past their hyper modernization following independence in the 60s and federalization in the 70s. Mainly it seems like they have to finally contend with the autocratic government, which had been a useful tool in propelling the country into first world status in the decades prior, but now use their centralized power to oppress. Oddly, the country is a Federal Constitutional Elected Monarchy where the executive branch is the Monarchy, whose throne is elected every 5 years. That's pretty awesome. What is not so awesome is that the country is hardly a democracy, if best it is a republic and in truth it is ruled by the political elite. The opposition party has never held power since independence and two recent, peaceful pro-democracy rallies had been ruthlessly curtailed by government sanctioned police brutality.
The worry is that the country is not entirely corrupt nor is it run by utterly unsavory characters. People do get arrested for political reasons and the country does heavily censor its media, but by comparison, America has FOX news and the executive powers since 911 have been questionable. Much in the same way, Malaysia's problem lies in its addiction to centralized power, its weak judicial branch, and its legislative branch, which is not entirely elected by the population.
Now that I've started looking back at my homeland, I've started to find some, not many, but some activist organizations working to improve the country. There are environmental groups and political groups, and indigenous power groups too. Hearing about these folks really makes part of me ache to return and lend a hand. This is monumentally frustrating as I've made up in my mind to lay a stake down on this land as my land. Coming from an ancestry of migrants, Haka (the guest people), Deojo (the river people), Mongolians, National Chinese exiles, and now Malaysian immigrants makes me really tired of always running from instability and oppression. I can't tell what would be more honest: to return to Malaysia - a country and society I hardly understand, or carving out a place for me here in the US, a society that does not recognize me.
Notes (thank god for Wiki):
- Jeff Ooi. Member of Parliament, political blogger and dissenter.
- BERSIH (Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections). Held a Nov. 2007 rally, list of member organization here.
- HINDRAF (Hindu Rights and Action Force). Active force against racist government policies, political corruption, and autocracy. Held a Nov 2007 rally, which led to the arrests of HINDRAF leaders and supporters under the Sedition Act (obviously inciting further pro-democracy action)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Racism Abound Spanish Olympic Team
I am not even going to bother posting the picture on this blog, its needlessly frustrating to look at. Those whom have not already got wind of it by news ought check it out on, appropriately incised, Angry Asian Man culture blogger here.
In all honesty, the photo an incredibly trivial thing to get upset over especially when put up against such atrocities as the Jena 6, the murder of Matthew Shepard, FOX New's repeated "confusion" of Obama with Osama, etc etc. And to make light of it, I remind myself that these events along with the Spanish team photo were all well televised. This means of course that the majority of Americans disprove, which means that I am not alone.
However, the Civil Rights Movement in our country diminished into Multiculturalism and birthed such monsters as Political Correctness, Affirmative Action, and Model Minorities. We still exist in this cultural setup and there is no avenue for improvement. Some people suggest assimilation and point out the many affluent suburbs where rich minorities live side-by-side with rich white folks and together enjoy the American Dream. You know there is something rather disturbing about it all when those communities begin excluding poor Hispanics and Blacks. This is nothing new precisely because the majority of people (as well natured as they might be otherwise) are self centered, fearfully bigoted, and, unduly stressed by our consumer economy, greedy for security. Someone has to be on the bottom in the end.
That being said, it sure as hell is not going to be me and if I gave a damn about the rest of the Asian American population (whom likewise does not give much a damn about each other either), I'd say it might as well not be the folks I get ethnically lumped with either. Lets pause for me to admit that I am being facetious. We Asian Americans, I admit, tend to have a very annoying respect for authority - something I believe is culturally bred into us.
It is not a unique trait to Asian Americans, impoverished, marginalized, and uneducated people tend to have this same problem. It explains why some poor people like voting Republican, why my Asian cowboy boot wearing Uncle argues against Unions while complaining about discrimination, and why I see Hispanics with the Minutemen... Some people seek approval and this implies servility. Americans, however, respect strength and power, which likely explains why 150 years of dumb Asian immigrants working themselves to death building such small things as the railroad and the agricultural economy of California failed to leave a lasting stamp of respect on the American consciousness. Now all I have to inherit from their work is this ol' Slanty Eye or horray, the satisfaction of watching William Hung make it bigtime. She Bang!
The solution is disengagement. The water is much too murky and there are too many meaningless terms to contend with. Confronting the problem through Civil Rights eventually drove it under a rock such that it now pops up once and awhile like Roundup does to superweeds. The reality is that there is no issue at all. Racism and bigotry are cultural inventions. They should not just be ignored, but instead they should be supplanted with humanism - err humor. Rather, you've got to recognize that racism is just a mask for ignorance and insecurity and that behind that is an even more hidden need for your approval. These poor folks are just begging you to help them shake a really bad habit - otherwise why would they be coming to say something to you to begin with? In actuality the absolute worse kind of racism is the secret kind. Stealth Racism.
This is the most positive stance I have come up with over the years. It however, relocates the amorphous battle against racism internally where it has always, unknowingly been fought anyway. Minorities and marginalized people should be so lucky to have the opportunity to fight and rise out of such a challenge as incredibly willful, confident individuals.
Live Free Or Die.
In all honesty, the photo an incredibly trivial thing to get upset over especially when put up against such atrocities as the Jena 6, the murder of Matthew Shepard, FOX New's repeated "confusion" of Obama with Osama, etc etc. And to make light of it, I remind myself that these events along with the Spanish team photo were all well televised. This means of course that the majority of Americans disprove, which means that I am not alone.
However, the Civil Rights Movement in our country diminished into Multiculturalism and birthed such monsters as Political Correctness, Affirmative Action, and Model Minorities. We still exist in this cultural setup and there is no avenue for improvement. Some people suggest assimilation and point out the many affluent suburbs where rich minorities live side-by-side with rich white folks and together enjoy the American Dream. You know there is something rather disturbing about it all when those communities begin excluding poor Hispanics and Blacks. This is nothing new precisely because the majority of people (as well natured as they might be otherwise) are self centered, fearfully bigoted, and, unduly stressed by our consumer economy, greedy for security. Someone has to be on the bottom in the end.
That being said, it sure as hell is not going to be me and if I gave a damn about the rest of the Asian American population (whom likewise does not give much a damn about each other either), I'd say it might as well not be the folks I get ethnically lumped with either. Lets pause for me to admit that I am being facetious. We Asian Americans, I admit, tend to have a very annoying respect for authority - something I believe is culturally bred into us.
It is not a unique trait to Asian Americans, impoverished, marginalized, and uneducated people tend to have this same problem. It explains why some poor people like voting Republican, why my Asian cowboy boot wearing Uncle argues against Unions while complaining about discrimination, and why I see Hispanics with the Minutemen... Some people seek approval and this implies servility. Americans, however, respect strength and power, which likely explains why 150 years of dumb Asian immigrants working themselves to death building such small things as the railroad and the agricultural economy of California failed to leave a lasting stamp of respect on the American consciousness. Now all I have to inherit from their work is this ol' Slanty Eye or horray, the satisfaction of watching William Hung make it bigtime. She Bang!
The solution is disengagement. The water is much too murky and there are too many meaningless terms to contend with. Confronting the problem through Civil Rights eventually drove it under a rock such that it now pops up once and awhile like Roundup does to superweeds. The reality is that there is no issue at all. Racism and bigotry are cultural inventions. They should not just be ignored, but instead they should be supplanted with humanism - err humor. Rather, you've got to recognize that racism is just a mask for ignorance and insecurity and that behind that is an even more hidden need for your approval. These poor folks are just begging you to help them shake a really bad habit - otherwise why would they be coming to say something to you to begin with? In actuality the absolute worse kind of racism is the secret kind. Stealth Racism.
This is the most positive stance I have come up with over the years. It however, relocates the amorphous battle against racism internally where it has always, unknowingly been fought anyway. Minorities and marginalized people should be so lucky to have the opportunity to fight and rise out of such a challenge as incredibly willful, confident individuals.
Live Free Or Die.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship Listing Sites
What a place to work... Beeves grazing in winter...
Folks to Check Into
- http://attrainternships.ncat.org/ (incredible listing)
- Rural Heritage online (the small farmer's journal folks)
- SOIL (canada)
- Eatwild.org
What a place to work... Beeves grazing in winter...Folks to Check Into
- Hawthorne Valley Farm (November, March/April) NY
biodynamic, dairy, csa - Maveric Heritage Ranch (year round?) SD (emailed)
grass fed heritage livestock - Broadwater Farm (year round?) PN
grass fed livestock, orchard, csa - Ebert Family Farm (April - Nov) CO
grass fed raw milk dairy, 800 ac pasture, 120 dryland farming (feed?) - Rockin J Cattle (April - Oct) CO
steamboat springs, grass fed, may/june calving, and no hay, and horses...geeze if only it wouldn't be snowing in wintertime so I can go work for them right away - Nicks' Organic Farm (April - Oct) MD
works closely with extension, organic practices research, 170 ac cut pastures in grain, corn, soy, other feeds using machines. grass fed cattle
Beautifully Drawn Life of Chicken
Lost a second chicken several weeks ago and decided to relocate the scant remainder of the flock to safer ground (ie. the Folk's flock out in the suburbs). This time I believe the likely night-time predator was the infamous drunk crack head. In the face of it I suppose the only thing to do was joke, positively, with the neighbors while moving the coop in the morning. My housemate sent me a great visual journal of a chicken's life growing up to keep my spirits up.
What's the next step? Goats with BIG HORNS to populate the chicken lot. The problem is that I won't be around long and I am going to have to involve the neighbors into this really big responsibility...
Southeast Asian Environmental Movement
From inquire.net article "The environmental movement in the global South / The pivotal agent in fight against global warming?" By Walden BelloOccurred in the 70s and 80s
Philippines: nuclear power, dams, marine pollution, deforestation
Thailand: dams, marine pollution, deforestation
Indonesia: dams
Indigenous opposition in Philippines and small farmers and fisherfolk in Thailand lead to the abandonment of the Chico River Dam and Pak Mun Dam projects, respectively.
"In the case of the Philippines, for instance, deforestation was seen as an inevitable consequence of a strategy of export-oriented growth imposed by World Bank-International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programs that sought to pay off the country’s massive foreign debt with the dollars gained from exporting the country’s timber and other natural resources and manufactures produced by cheap labor."
"In Indonesia, for example, the environmental organization WALHI went so far as to file a lawsuit for pollution and environmental destruction against six government bodies, including the Minister of the Environment and Population. By the time the dictatorships wised up to what was happening, it was often too late: environmentalism and anti-fascism fed on one another."
Old Crow Medicine Show New CD!
I was listening to KPFA's (Berkeley) program "America's Back 40" when I heard them playing a new Old Crow Medicine Show song. Up until that point I had no idea what OCMS was doing, and boy was I glad to know that they were making a new CD and from what I heard on the radio that it was likely to be a really good CD. The song was "Caroline" and it surely had more harmony than their last CD, "Big Iron World" which I did not think was as all together as their previous one, "O.C.M.S." Regardless, its hard for me not to love a band with a voice that sounds like Steve Earle, with fine picking, and awesome lyrics too. "James River Blues" on their Big Iron record really makes me think of "The Mountain" by Steve Earle and basically songs along that subject are surely bound to be great songs. This is with the exception to most all of Tony Rice's ethnic related songs, which make me vomit. I did however like the "Angel Island" one but that's only because I am Asian probably.
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