Underneath my yellow skin

Sometimes Silence is Not an Option; What You Can Do to Protest

In my parents’ homeland of Taiwan, they lived under a dictator named Chiang Kai-shek. He fled from the Mainland and Mao in 1949 and took over Taiwan, where he ruled with an iron fist. Taiwanese people were treated like second-class citizens in their own country. They were not allowed to speak Taiwanese in school, and all the prestigious jobs were saved for members of the KMT. Since Chiang Kai-shek’s mission was to reunite with China, he didn’t care what he did to Taiwan or its people. My father was an ardent supporter of an independent Taiwan, and when he came to America to attend grad school, he didn’t keep his opinions to himself. I remember when I was a kid marching in the streets of downtown Minneapolis* with handmade signs, chanting for an independent Taiwan. Because of his actions, my father was blacklisted from his home country for decades and would have been jailed or ‘accidentally’ killed if he had returned.

I’ve heard stories of the horror of living under this man, which is part of the reason what’s happening right now in our country is sending chills down my spine. We Americans aren’t very good at understanding things we don’t experience, and most of us do not have any intimate knowledge of fascism. We read about the terrible things the Nazis did and think, “That would never happen here.” What we don’t understand, however, is that it didn’t start with concentration camps and the gassing of Jews. It started much as it’s starting here, with orders of who is and isn’t allowed in the country. “I’m just doing my job” isn’t never the moral option (akin to “I’m just following orders”), and less so now than ever before.

Let me tell you about my experience while flying in (and out) of America as a minority. Let me also preface it by saying that I realize I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to fly as much as I have. With that out of the way, let me say that flying is an unpleasant experience for me, especially when I was younger. When I first flew to Canada, a (male, white) coworker of mine told me quite firmly that I didn’t need a passport to fly into Canada. When I reached the Minneapolis airport, the ticket agent wasn’t going to confirm me because I didn’t have my passport. I showed her my driver’s license, and she said, “That doesn’t prove you’re an American citizen.” I argued with her for five to ten minutes, and she finally, reluctantly, allowed me to continue. Ironically, Canada was perfectly fine with me entering their country. Go figure.

My worse experience flying was to London to visit my boyfriend. The customs agents took one look at me with my permed hair, big hoops, and multicolored jumpsuit, and pulled me out of line. Meanwhile, next to me, there’s a big, dumb American saying he’s coming into the country to spend a lot of money, derp-di-derp.  The agents wanted to know why I was there, and, oh, is my boyfriend English? No. American? No. I told them he was Sri Lankan, and that was enough to get me pulled to a backroom. They asked me about what my parents did, what I did, and what my boyfriend did. They also pulled him into the back and questioned him for twenty minutes. Afterwards, he was furious with me. He said I should have just said I was visiting a friend. How the hell was I to know, though, that I would be questioned like that? It left a bitter taste in my mouth, I’ll tell you that much.


Later,  I had a (different) boyfriend who lived in a different state than I did. I flew to see him quite often, and I was ‘randomly’ searched at least one time every goddamn time I flew to and from seeing him. It got to the point where I just built it into my traveling time. This was before 9/11, and it got so bad, I Googled it. Apparently, Asian women were on a list of possible suspicious flyers, which explained the frequency with which I was searched. Because of all of this, I always dress up when I fly. I’m incredibly polite, and I make sure I  don’t say anything untoward, not even as a joke.

I tell these stories not to be, “Oh, woe is me”, but to show how endemic casual racism is in every day life. At the same time, I was fortunate because as an American citizen, I never worried that I’d be detained for hours or not allowed into my own damn country. It was a minor irritation most of the time, and only when I was pulled into a backroom by the London custom agents did it reach the level of concern. Even then, the worst that would have happened to me was that they would have put me on a plane and sent me back to the colonies. In other words, it’s not even a tenth of the horror of what it happening now with the Muslim ban.

I’m not going to talk about it specifically because I want to focus on what you can do about all the bullshit this president is doing. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you read the news because quite frankly, everything he’s doing is shitty. The Republicans** are more than willing to lick his boots and fluff his nuts than to stand up for what’s good and right. More and more Democrats are speaking up, but there are still some who think the best way to deal with this president and the Republicans is to compromise. No. There is no compromise here. There is only obstruction and resistance. Block every nominee. Filibuster every bill. Make him and the Republicans have to work to implement their evilness. This needs to be a comprehensive plan, and not a single Democrat should break ranks.

I had avoided the news for the most part in the months between the election and the inauguration because I wasn’t in a good place, and denial was the best option for me at the time. Once that man because president, however, I knew that denial wasn’t an option any longer. I try to limit my news intake, but it’s hard not to gobble it down, getting outraged at everything this president is doing. He’s a narcissistic, childish, thin-skinned, cruel, incurious, ignorant, lazy preening coward who only does things that will either benefit him or portray him in a positive (he thinks) light. He signs anything placed before him if it’s explained in a way that appeals to him, and he’s content to surround himself with slavish yes-men who use flattery to manipulate him.

It’s hard not to feel hopeless and to think, “What can I do? I’m just one person. There’s too much shit, and I don’t have enough shovels to make a difference.” That’s part of his strategy–to deluge us with a flurry of actions so we become discouraged and give up. It works, too. I just read today that his next target is queers (reversing protection for federal LGBTQ workers), and I’m thinking, “I can’t. I just can’t hurt any more.” Plus, there are other people screaming at you for not doing enough, for not caring about the right things, for not taking the right actions, blah, blah, blah. The urge is to throw up your hands and saying, “OK. I’m doing everything wrong, so it’s better if I don’t do anything at all.”

It’s not. Truly, I say I understand the feeling as it floods me all the time, but it’s a lie. It’s true none of us can fix everything (or even one thing), but it’s also true that every little bit can add up into something amazing and powerful. Look at the protests that are happening all around the world. They wouldn’t have happened if everyone involved thought, “I’m just one person. What do I matter?” I’m going to list what you can do to help. They are simply suggestions, and you can probably come up with others.

  1. Choose one or two issues that are nearest and dearest to your heart. I know it’s all important, but you can only devote so much attention, energy, and time to a good cause. I believe it’s better to give your all to one or two causes than to try to help thirty different causes. So, even though it’s difficult, pick one issue. Follow that issue closely and act in that area.
  2. Call your representatives. This is the most effective way to contact your congresspeople. It’s been shown that they respond the best to phone calls because they’re the hardest to ignore. The problem is, for some people (like me), phone calling is agony. I’m not exaggerating when I say it can take me up to a week to make a simple phone call like making a doctor’s appointment. I’m working my way up to it, but I’m still not there yet. I’m also fortunate in that my congresspeople have for the most part been on the side of the angels and don’t need prodding to do the right thing. Anyway, if you do not have an aversion to the phone, this is the most effective method to reach your representatives. Give your name, city, and zip code. Tell the person you’re talking to that you do not need a response. Give a one or two sentence statement as to whether you are for or oppose whatever issue you’re calling about. Be polite. Thank the person on the other end of the line, then hang up. Only call your own representatives, though, as they only listen to their own constituents.
  3. Send actual mail. This is also effective, especially if thousands of people send mail on the same subject to the same representative. A letter. A postcard. Something that represents the issue.
  4. Send an email. This is probably the least effective method, but it’s better than nothing.
  5. Sign a petition. Whether or not this effective has been debated, but I do think having hundreds of thousands of names agreeing on an issue can make an impression.
  6. Donate to an organization you believe in. Even if it’s only a few dollars, every bit helps. There are countless organizations who are doing WORK, and that takes money. For me, It’s the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. I donate to them on the regular, and it’s one way to show them support. I also just gave to Kal Penn’s fundraiser. He had someone tell him he doesn’t fucking belong in America, so he started a fundraiser to help Syrian refugees in that asshole’s name. His goal was to raise $2,500. So far, he’s raised nearly $675,000. You can donate here.
  7. Volunteer to help. Another thing most nonprofit organizations need are volunteers. Give as much time as you can to an issue that you are passionate about.
  8. Protest. It’s your right as an American (so far) to protest. Do it. Join others and lift up your voices in protest at what this administration is doing. Be warned, however, that if you’re not an American citizen, make sure your people know where you are and know your rights.
  9. Talk about it on social media and off. Share information. Speak out. Talk about it. Silence is not an option at this time.
  10. Create. If you’re the creative type, one of the best thing you can do is keep on creating. Some of the best art is created under an oppressive regime, and this is certainly one of those. So, keep painting. Keep writing. Keep sculpting. Keep singing, dancing, acting, Keep fucking creating.
  11. Support your friends who are in minority groups. Reach out to them and tell them that you love them, are worried about them, and are fighting for them. Listen to what they want/need from you, and visit them if you can.
  12. Support other people who are protesting and marching, even if you cannot. Let them know you are with them and thank them for protesting and marching. Everyone needs support.
  13. Take a break. This is very important, even though I listed it last. When times are dark as they are now, it’s hard to feel as if you can walk away, even for an hour or two. “The world is burning! I can’t eat cake now.” Yes, you can. You can bake a cake, eat it, watch a show, read a book, take a walk, hug your cat/dog/human friend-partner-person. What’s more, you’ll be able to do more if you recharge your batteries from time to time. Be kind to yourself if you can’t do anything on my list today. Take care of yourself and try again tomorrow. In the meantime, watch a cat video. That always cheers me up.

In fact, here’s Maru looking utterly adorable in a Kamakura house.

See? I bet your blood pressure has dropped twenty points already.

My point is, yes, we must resist. We must defy the totalitarian regime that is now occupying the White House. But that doesn’t mean we can’t also have a laugh or a good read along the way. We have to rejuvenate before we continue to protest because we are not are not fucking ready to make nice.

 

 

*Or St. Paul. Details are fuzzy.

**With a few exceptions such as Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham.

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