I opened my San Francisco Chronicle Book Review section on Sunday and, to my surprise, I found a review of Charlie Chan Is Dead 2: At Home in the World.

It’s an anthology of Asian American fiction, but not the kind that’s been popping up at bookstores with regularity since Amy Tan hit the scene.

From the review by freelance writer Wesley Yang:  “Aha, Asian American fiction — another of those books about Mama’s damn dumplings, with wronged wives and prostitutes running around everywhere, and being ‘between two cultures,’ with Grandma spouting her infernal wisdom during endless mah-jongg games. This is precisely what this updated collection of contemporary Asian American fiction is not.”

Makes me want to read it.

chinoloco

PULSE writer Harry Mok isn’t the only one annoyed with Abercrombie’s t-shirts these days. Bob Wise, the Democratic governor of West Virginia, has sent  Abercrombie executives a letter criticizing t-shirts that say “It’s all relative in West Virginia,” a statement which Wise believes unfairly stereotypes the state as a “haven for incest.” Wise has demanded that Abercromie cease selling these shirts immediately and destroy all remaining shirts so that they cannot be sold on the black market.

Abercrombie executives, of course, refuse to do so, insisting that they love all 50 states. And apparently, Abercrombie shoppers love these t-shirts, which even before the hoopla, have been selling well — for a mere $24.50 (plus tax) each.

I’m not sure which is sadder — the fact that people are willing to pay so much for Abercrombie’s t-shirts, that Wise is so outraged when his constituents must have more pressing concerns, or that this story makes the national headlines in The New York Times in the year of what many are referring to as “the most important election of your life.”

Laura Nathan-Garner

Lyricalreckoner writes:

The mayor of San Francisco decides he can’t deny marriage licenses to men who want to marry men. Several years later, the city council in Temecula, Calif. – a town that’s become home to many fundamentalist Mormons – begins issuing marriage licenses to men who want to have several wives. Several years after that, the school board in Union City, Calif. – a town that’s become a haven for Hindus – alters the Pledge of Allegiance. The students in Union City’s public schools recite a pledge to “one nation under the gods.” All these changes are done in the name of equal rights, in accord – they say – with the state’s constitution.

If it’s no infringement of an atheist’s rights to ask his daughter to pledge allegiance to a nation under one god, then it’s no infringement of a Catholic’s rights to ask his daughter to pledge allegiance to a nation under many gods, right? If two men can marry one another, then a man can have six wives, right? After all, this is America, a place where diversity is honored.

Editor’s Note: To read another reader’s response to this comment, click here.

Mister Thorne

Vacuous editorials are always frustrating, and David Brook’s column in today’s New York Times is particularly bewildering.

The heart of Brook’s argument is that “Whether you believe in God or not, the Bible and commentaries on the Bible can be read as instructions about what human beings are like and how they are likely to behave. Moreover, this biblical wisdom is deeper and more accurate than the wisdom offered by the secular social sciences …”

While I find Brook’s argument to be unfounded and bizarre, he is, of course, entitled to his own views on religion and social science. Where I pick a quarrel is in his assertion that “thoroughly secularized listeners lack the mental equipment to even begin to understand” statements made by al-Qaeda. Secularism is not at the root of why certain segments of the American population — secular or otherwise — fail to understand the motivation of those who join al-Qaeda and why the movement has been so effectively terrifying. Religiosity does not necessarily make anyone understand the allure of a violent Islamist movement. Judging from the caliber of scholarship and the intellectual rigor he demonstrates in his article, I doubt that Mr. Brooks understands what drives individuals to join al-Qaeda.

By limiting his understanding of al-Qaeda as a purely religious organization, Mr. Books fails to understand the historical, economic, political, and cultural context that has given rise to Islamist movements and their extremist segments. Mr. Brooks fails to recognize that we must adopt a complex and kaleidoscopic view of the factors that contributed to the rise in Islamist movements and the allure of al-Qaeda.

There are many factors that contribute to anti-American sentiment and the resurgence in Islamist movements that began in the 1960s and 1970s that continue today.  These factors include: the Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the failure of “modern secular nationalism,” the Egyptian-Israeli war and Arab oil embargo in 1973, the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Wahhabi oil connection, the concrete consequences of modernization in the Muslim world such as rapid population growth, an increase in urban population, mass literacy, a large young segment of the population, and high poverty and unemployment rates. Gilles Kepel, in Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, offers an excellent explanation of the subject, and I would challenge Mr. Brooks and those who share his views to understand the social, political, and historical context for al-Qaeda and to grapple with why some individuals find joining al-Qaeda to be such an attractive option. Limiting such a movement to the sphere of religion is to fail to understand its context, appeal and motivation.  

Mimi Hanaoka

The brutal 1955 murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was killed for allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, catalyzed the civil rights movement. When his mother demanded that an open coffin funeral be held to show how badly her son had been beaten, the world took notice.

While the attention received by the case ensured that the problem of racism in the South couldn’t go ignored any longer, the trial of the two white men who allegedly murdered Till illuminated the racism inherent in the justice system. Tried before an all-white jury, the defendants were, of course, acquitted.

But thanks to Keith Beauchamp, a filmmaker who set out to interview several witnesses to the murder, family members and Congressional leaders are urging the Justice Department to reopen the case 50 years later. According to witnesses, there were as many as 10 men involved in Till’s murder.

If the case does in fact return to court, will it simply reopen old wounds? Will it show how far (or how little) the U.S. justice system has come in 50 years? Or will it simply set the record straight and bring some solace to Till’s family, as proponents of reopening the case hope?

Whatever happens, I’m guessing that the Till case redux still won’t be the trial of the new millenium or gain the attention its proponents desire. After all, the plaintiffs will have to compete with Kobe and Michael, and sadly, most Americans only seem to take notice of the justice system when a celebrity’s career is at stake.

Laura Nathan-Garner

Milt Bearden, who has 30 years of experience in the C.I.A.’s Directorate of Operations, claims in today’s New York Times that Al-Qaeda “is an ideological and spiritual movement rather than a cohesive, quantifiable foe.” Without dismissing Bearden’s statement, I want to draw attention to the fact that in his terrorist recruiting video tapes, Osama bin Laden constructs a political, and not spiritual, argument for waging jihad.

In order to both understand the political nature of the jihadist argument, and to gain a sense of the powerful nature of the propaganda, it is helpful to visit the section of the
Columbia International Affairs Online website that examines bin Laden’s recruiting video tape and offers insightful analysis and commentary on the subject.  

Fawaz Gerges, in his article “Eavesdropping on Osama bin Laden,” offers a thoughtful analysis of the bin Laden’s recruiting tapes.  Gerges writes: “portrayal of infant death and malnutrition in Iraq is used effectively to stress America’s brutality and Arab rulers’ culpability in this continuing tragedy.”

Without raising questions about the legitimacy of the above mentioned US actions, I want to underscore the fact that grievances regarding the United States and its foreign policy towards the Middle East and Muslim world that have been effectively co-opted and articulated by Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden does appear in the videotape, he wears the white robes of a sheikh, he delivers speeches, and there certainly is a religious flavour to he video.  However, Richard Bulliet of Columbia University notes:  

“While religious appeals suffuse all three scenes and reference is made to the example of Muhammad and his early followers, the many and complex theological, social, and religious issues that surround discussions of jihad in Islamic intellectual history remain unmentioned.‘

What bin Laden presents in his propaganda is not a complex theological argument to wage jihad against America. Rather, his argument is a political one that draws on powerful imagery — the murder of a very young Palestinian boy named Muhammad Durra, women in Islamic dress being degraded by Israeli soldiers — and political frustration to demand that Muslims unite in an international jihad against impious governments and rescue the international Muslim community that is currently under attack. In bin Laden’s portrayal, the Saudi government is an irreligious puppet that is subservient to America and, as such, both the Saudi and the American governments are subject to jihad.  

To dismiss the call to jihad as a retrograde crusade against the western way of life is to be blind to the political and emotional arguments to wage international jihad that have been heard and answered to devastating effect.  

Mimi Hanaoka

Just to follow up on a post from Wednesday, Urban Outfitters offers women’s tees that not only say “Everybody Loves an Asian Girl,” but also “Everybody Loves a Catholic Girl,” “Everybody Loves an Italian Girl,” “Everybody Loves an Irish Girl,” “Everybody Loves a Jewish Girl” and “Everybody Loves a Latin Girl.”

So while Urban Outfitters may still be pulling an Abercrombie, the retailer is doing it to multiple ethnic, racial and religious groups.

It’s just a shirt, but as the Abercrombie episode shows, attempts at ethnic or racial humor or marketing toward a particular group can backfire. There’s a fine line between what’s funny and what’s offensive. Compare Abercrombie or Urban Outfitters’ shirts with those from Black Lava. The differences are subtle but come through clearly.

Also, the Urban Outfitters Asian Girl shirt is in that “Asian” script that’s seen on bad Chinese restaurant menus or on something that’s trying too hard to be Asian. The others are in the same font. Why is the Asian shirt singled out?

It boils down to whether the message is genuine or just a crass marketing ploy.

chinoloco

When Kerri Dunn, a visiting professor of social psychology at Claremont McKenna College, participated in a campus forum regarding hate crimes, she gave students and other school officials more than they bargained for.

Apparently, upon returning to her car after the forum, she found that her car had been vandalized. The windows were smashed in; the tires were slashed; and obscenities such as “nigger-lover” and “whore” were written in black spray paint on her vehicle.

As one might expect, Dunn reported the vandalism to the police and school officials, who cancelled classes at Claremont McKenna and six other colleges in the system. The reason? To allow students and faculty to protest the alleged hate crime.

Meanwhile, police officials responded by conducting an investigation, in which two eye-witnesses came forward and identified Dunn as the perpetrator of the crime. Yes, they claim to have seen Dunn vandalizing her own car. Though Dunn claimed to be “outraged” at such accusations, officials report that there had been inconsistencies in her story from the beginning …

All of this makes one wonder what Dunn was thinking. Was she simply crazy or seeking attention? Or was she trying to prove her point, that  the authorities would pay more attention to other issues — such as this conspiracy — rather than hate crimes that were happening on campus?

I assume that much like Kevin Spacey’s character in The Life of David Gale, Dunn was trying to prove her point. But it is unclear whether the spectacle she has created at Claremont McKenna is achieving her desired results. That is, she now stands to lose her job and has lost the respect of students and colleagues who consider her a liar. Where does the line begin and end for activists? And can sacrificing oneself for the cause ultimately undercut the cause? Or is  it the thought — the politics — that counts?

Laura Nathan-Garner

What if Shakespeare had it all wrong? If love’s more of a curse and less of a gift, if relationships are supposed to be tried without the heartache and mourning period which consumes more time than most relationships ever do? What if all these songs, these unattainable, extremely beautiful, slow and sincere ballads falsely tell us to hold out for that one true love when the reality is that she (or he) will never come?

I am wondering if I’ll ever know what its like to be in love or rather if I need to? I find it difficult to imagine my life incomplete until I find her, the one that God intended for me. Particularly in a world that is wrought with confusion, selfishness, and mystery — what if I never find her what if that was somehow not meant to be? What is the point of setting myself up for consistent disappointment instead of living with as much immediacy as I have in me?

Now don’t get me wrong … I’m not speaking though recent pain or the desire to find life anew but rather the sincere desire to know why it is we as a culture invest so much in these idyllic perceptions of what life could or should be instead of dealing with what is and what has come to be?

Perhaps I should file this away with everything else in my “I was born in the wrong damn time and will never understand any of this” folder … maybe one day it will all be made clear, but for the time being I’ll continue to contemplate the ways the love shared between Romeo and Juliet can actually be applied to the life that I lead.

DJ

Think President Bush couldn’t provide inspiration if his life depended on it? Think again.

President Bush has people singing, it seems. In a scathing new single aimed at GW, Stephan Smith sings, “You Ain’t A Cowboy.” Email members of TrueMajority.org, the activist organization founded by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, can download the mp3 of Smith’s song – that is, if they have 99 cents to spare. Sure, 99 cents seems miniscule to most, but the economy under the Bush administration has been less than kind to many (Bush & co. excluded). Apparently, the economy is so bad right now that a record number of Austinites have had to foreclose on their homes in the last month (428, to be exact). If Smith inspires enough people, though, there’s a chance that Bush will be “foreclosing” on the White House in the fall.

Laura Nathan-Garner

Urban Outfitters may be pulling an Abercrombie with its “Everybody Loves an Asian Girl” t-shirts for women.

At first glance, it seems like another play on stereotypes to get a laugh, at least for the people who aren’t the subject of the caricature.

Who’s supposed to wear this shirt? Asian women with big egos? Guys who like Asian women?

I dunno.

See for yourself.

chinoloco

What would happen if you ate nothing but food from McDonald’s three times a day for thirty days straight? You probably don’t want to know …

Morgan Spurlock just made his first film entitled Super Size Me, which addresses this question. Intrigued by the two women who sued McDonald’s for causing their obesity, Spurlock came up with what he called ”a great bad idea.“ That is, Spurlock decided to travel around the country from McDonald’s to McDonald’s to eat their food three times a day for a month. Before he began, Spurlock visited three different doctors, who all agreed that he was in excellent health. Once he began his all-McDonald’s diet, Spurlock visited these doctors every few days. Not surprisingly, he quickly gained weight. And on day 21, he began having heart palpitations, and all of his doctors, family members, and girlfriend insisted that he had proven his point and needed to stop before something terrible happened. But he continued his all-McDonald’s diet until day 30, as planned. When all was said and done, he had gained over 25 pounds and was incredibly ill. It wasn’t until two months after he ended his ”diet“ that Spurlock returned to good health (though there were still four-and-a-half pounds that he could never get rid of).

Spurlock’s film, which is both hilarious and deeply unsettling, hasn’t been released yet. But thanks to the fanfare and attention it has gained at the Sundance, Colorado Comedy Arts, and SXSW film festivals,  Super Size Me is already having an impact on McDonald’s (though McDonald’s executives have repeatedly refused to speak with Spurlock).  Just recently, McDonald’s announced that it is phasing out super-size options by the end of 2004.

Spurlock, not surprisingly, is ecstatic about the impact that his film is having on the world’s largest fast food chain. But his battle isn’t over. When I spoke with Spurlock yesterday, he said his plan is to get his film out to educational settings so that children, who are often targeted by fast food marketing campaigns, can learn just how dangerous their fast food addictions can be. By doing so, Spurlock believes he can help put in motion the combination of personal responsibility and corporate responsibility necessary to help people worldwide battle the obesity epidemic, which is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of death  in the U.S. If you’re still skeptical of the power of film or the adverse effect fast food can have on your body, make sure you see Super Size Me when it arrives in theaters around the country in May.

Laura Nathan-Garner