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I really enjoyed this post from Racialicious, written by a Latina mother: Palin and the Politica and Privilege of White Woman'hood/Mommy'Hood
I know I already posted about how blindingly white the RNC was. Here's some numbers behind that at SepiaMutiny about how "the delegates were even whiter than they appeared on TV. It seems the camera not only adds ten pounds, it also increases the amount of melanin in the room."
What's the difference between Palin and a Muslim fundamentalist? Salon ponders the question here. (Hint: it's something that goes on lips.)
Good interview with Margaret Cho at GiggleSugar. I love how Margaret never shies away from talking about race (or anything, for that matter).
Another study with some startling news about Asian Americans and mental health: Participating in Religion May Make Adolescents From Certain Races More Depressed. In a nutshell, the study found that among adolescents who attended church often, Asian Americans and Latinos reported more symptoms of depression than whites and blacks. Asian Americans had the highest number of depressive symptoms. There's a gender angle on this too. Girls of all races and ethnic groups were more likely to have symptoms of depression then boys.
Here's an interesting story at the New York Times about an issue that some of us have probably dealt with or thought about -- how to pass on your heritage to your children: In Any Language, a Full Plate. The story follows a couple (a Chinese American woman and Korean American man) and their two children.
And lastly: I love these USB sticks that look like mooncakes. I think I need to stock up on these for the holidays.
September 9, 2008
Link Time: Election, Margaret Cho, Mooncakes
I was chatting to an Obama volunteer last night who seemed concerned that people were being won over by Sarah Palin. Really? People bought that lipstick-on-a-pitbull act? There seems to be a little panic in the air among Democrats, and that kind of pessimism is not surprising given that their hearts were smashed in 2000 and 2004. Sure, Palin is giving the GOP a lot of momentum, but at the same time, is she attracting any independents or Dems? I hope not.
Here's a few posts from the last week I found interesting:
And in non-election news:
Posted by melissa at September 9, 2008 12:13 PM
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this makes me seem totally shallow that i am not commenting on the awesome articles and the various issues of race and politics, but, OMG I WANT ONE OF THOSE MOONCAKE USB FLASH DRIVES!
mooncake flash drive is many things. all awesome.
not impressed with margaret cho. a lot of opinions; not a lot of race analysis.
also disappointed with the NYT article; then again the original article may have been more in-depth and the editor may have cut out all the interesting stuff. the family is cute though.
Melissa, I am glad you are doing more blogs again we missed your insightful postings. I want a blog with a backbone, so thanks!
Thanks Vin.
Giles, Re: Margaret. At least she has an opinion and voices it, unlike some other famous Asian Americans. Perhaps that's a pretty low standard to have in our celebrities, but I am thankful that Margaret called Gwen Stefani on her yellow fever.
And true, the NY Times article was pretty fluffy. It was more a slice-of-life. I think I was smitten with the fact that the pet fish is named Darth Beta. Darth Beta!
lipstick on a pitbull?
......
Have you actually met a pitbull before? I've been working with all different types of dogs for years, and the only time I've been bitten was when I was handling the little yappy chihuahuas and poodles.
Seems like this study only looks at "church"...does this reflect the researchers' assumption that Christianity is the dominant form of religion among APA youth? I would have liked to seen inclusion of other religions - like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam - would seem obvious.
yeah, my first comment is about the mooncake flash drives. are you sure those aren't real mooncakes?!
re: the NYT article on the Asian American family. i was also kinda "eh" about it. but i liked how the parents can't seem to remember much. i can relate to that.
there are a lot of challenges for new parents, and part of it is figurrring out what to do about language and other cultural thangs. i have met several parents who are Asian American who don't speak their native tongue very well, but when they had a child, they began speaking to him/her in their language.
There are more mooncake comments than one about Palin. Don't get me wrong those mooncakes looked good, and everyone should just start stuffing usb drives into those plastic foods you see in the display windows of Japanese restaurants.
Anyway, I'm a little worried with this election and what Palin has brought to the race. I feel we are caught up in such a bipartisan war it's sickening. The right is using the tactic of taking away all credibility of the media, and as much as I dislike corporate and TV news outlets there needs to be a sense of value on behalf of citizens when they think of the role that journalists play in our society.
People are being fed sound bites and internet memes and they are basing their votes on that. Is hope for change (a phrase now both candidates are using) enough? I pretty much grew up in a post 9/11 and Bush empire and I hate it. It makes me sick to know that I have been living with an administration that uses fear mongering as their main tactic. But what makes me even more sick is that there are young and old people who are asking for more of this or who wondering (still!) who should they vote for.
We need to engage in conversation not with the people who are already supporting Obama but with those who aren't. It's through regular discussion, debate,and sharing of news sources that we can free ourselves from this era of doublethink.
a coworker shared this link with me and it made me feel better:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/palin_doesnt_matter_numbers_do.html
another great link: this one re. how nothing white people do can possibly be seen as pathological.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/98915/what_privileges_do_mccain_and_palin_receive_because_they%27re_white/