Saturday, December 31, 2011

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

One Of Europe's Most Powerful Men....

....Is Vietnamese.

Meet Phillip Rösler, born in Vietnam, adopted by a German family, achieved the rank equivalent to Captain in the German army's medical corp, husband, and father, presently serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Germany, and as such is the second highest ranking official in the government of Europe's strongest economic power.



Sounds like an interesting character. I don't know how this guy overcame the barriers (if any) imposed by his ethnicity and gender but it's nice to think that Rösler may have been the outsider who rose above his expected limitations.

Remember the above picture because it represents an image of Asian men that American culture fears above almost everything - an empowered and powerful Asian man not limited by demeaning stereotypes, nor emasculated by xenophobia. Sometimes becoming powerful or empowered involves little more than a realization that  the state of being powerful is simply your natural state - the dilemma being that we live in a society that actively seeks to disconnect Asian men from the belief that this state is natural to them.

Princes being made to plough the fields, if you will.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Stupid Ass.

Hollywood Is Race-Blind!

This just in; Hollywood is race blind. The bigWOWO recently posted this revelation, compliments of one Dan Lin - a Harvard Business School graduate turned film producer. According to Lin, quoted in this article.....

“I guess for me I don’t see a lack of Asian American actors. I think more and more Asian American actors are getting out there,” Lin said, adding that Hollywood is race-blind. “It’s all about who tells the best story. They don’t care what ethnicity you are, they just want … the most talented.”
Nice one.

The most surprising thing about this news is that no-one else in America seems to have noticed this remarkable fact. Given that can we know for sure that racism is prevalent in most, if not all, aspects of American society, it is truly amazing that not one activist, social scientist, Liberal, or academic, seems to be aware of the forward-thinking, race-blind Utopian industry that happened to manifest spontaneously in Hollywood.

It would be nice to hear how Hollywood has succeeded in achieving the feat of ending the racially biased thinking that afflicts the rest of American society. No other institution in America can boast that it has eradicated the kind of petty racially inflected thinking that discriminates against minorities in every level of American society. Whether it be in housing, college applications, incarceration rates, poverty rates, minority representation in management positions in industry, the fact is that minorities undergo biased attitudes in almost all aspects of their lives. So, it would be nice if Hollywood would show the rest of American society how to go about the same transformation.

According to Lin, the one exception to this prevalent social ill is Hollywood - which is race blind - yet no-one has noticed this except for Dan Lin.

In other news, reports suggest that the military is also race-blind. Sources close to Hollywood report that the story of Danny Chen's race-blind experience in the army is to be made into a movie. The role of Danny Chen will be played by either Shia Labeouf, or another white actor. Lin may be producing. Stay tuned.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Now I Hit Back.

Facing The Demons.

I came across this awesome blogpost and thought it was worth sharing....

I was the pudgy Chinese kid. In 4th grade, I was the equivalent to the lame gazelle limping at the back of the herd. Easy pickins for every bully who roamed the halls looking for a distraction......As a result, I just accepted the daily taunting, occasional beating and even a very painful “Jim, go back to Shanghai,” which, by the way, was uttered in front of the entire class by my 6th grade homeroom teacher..... By the time I was a senior, an entirely new life lay ahead of me. There was just one thing I couldn’t shake: the nagging regret for my passivity in the face of aggression. It was time to face my demons........If I were to face my demons, I needed the threat of real pain. Between 1995 and 2007, I pounded the passivity out of my psyche, training in kickboxing and MMA (“anything goes” UFC type stuff). Along the way, I made some of the best friends I will ever have. There’s nothing like spending a few hours a week choking, punching, kneeing and kicking each other to forge lifelong bonds of friendship........When I watch this [video], it reminds me that despite all the years of blood, sweat and dedication, I still get my butt whupped. But whereas I lived to train another day, my demons went down for the count.......Because now I hit back.

http://www.busydadblog.com/entries/leap-of-faith-2-knocking-out-my-demons.html

Great attitude, great story!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Someone Get's It!

Stephen Chan Telling It Like It Is.

I came across this fascinating debate on the subject of the China's investments in Africa. As you might notice the side opposed to Chinese investment employs mainly shrill, generalizations that are little more than xenophobic fear-mongering. In this video, some Chinese dude named Stephen Chan exposes, in the most eloquent way, the blatant racist attitudes towards both Africans and Chinese that underlies opposition to Chinese investment.



You should also check out Chan's website - he appears to be something of a Renaissance Man; writer, skilled martial artist, world traveler, philanthropist, intellectual, husband, government advisor, and the list goes on. Here's his website......http://www.stephen-chan.com/index.html. Sounds like a good role-model!

Also, check out what this lady has to say about the realities of Chinese investment in Africa.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEpsXmmD48&feature=BFa&list=SPE7865CD7C141D230&lf=list_related