smatterings of stuff

[tielan]

Japan and other countries have put a travel warning out for the USA. Australia hasn't yet, but that's mostly because most Australians are Caucasian or white-passing.

TBH I wouldn't be so sure that my rights would be respected in the USA, even as an Australian citizen in the USA, simply because I'm Asian. And I'm not convinced that my Australian citizenship (by birth, to an Australian by birth) would even be respected by the Australian government simply because I'm not white or white-passing.

As it is, I'm a little nervous about travelling to Indonesia next year. The East Asians are not wholly favoured of the South East Asians (largely because the East Asian cultures have practised their own form of imperialism and colonialism on SE Asian countries), and most of the friends who've been successfully to Indonesia and Bali are white.

I might have been more blase about travel ten years ago, but the gaping wounds of our bigotries weren't so likely to spit infectious pus back then.

--

NSW is trying to get abortion off the criminal code.

*sigh*

This is going about as well as expected.

--

I learned last night that a previous minister of our church wouldn't let a couple get confirmed in their faith (a number of years ago) because they were living together but not married at the time. The couple is in my bible study and they said that in the country where they come from, they had to be confirmed in order to get married in a church (heavily Catholic country). Years later they're married now, not bitter about what the church did - more amused - and they serve in the church and are integrated parts of the community which is surely the grace of God at work in their lives.

Still, I sometimes wonder if we let our dogma get in the way of our love. We're more concerned about being 'correct Christians' than 'loving Christians'.

--

Listening to Jen Hatmaker's 'For The Love' podcast this week, which features an interview with the two women from the 'Pantsuit Politics' podcast: Sarah (from the left) and Beth (from the right).

Extremely good value; I highly recommend.

--

You've heard of the tea lady...now meet...the cake man!

Comments

[velithya]

I sure as hell aren't travelling to the US right now and I am white. The shootings are just getting too much. :/

[tielan]

Hey, are you actually in Perth? I’m thinking of making a trip over to Perth to see the Popup Globe productions: Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Measure for Measure at least (I’ve already seen A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Sydney)...

Would you have any interest in seeing any of them with me? I’ve asked another East Coast friend, but I don’t know whether she’ll be able. Also, I’m likely to want to see ALL THE SHOWS in as short a time as possible.

Right now, my timeline is around 2nd or 3rd weekend in October – after school holidays are done (I hope)!

[velithya]

I am actually in Perth, yes :)

awww normally I would! The thing is, in a week I start work back on the TV show (it got renewed for season 2! And they asked me back to work on it! Yay!) so I'm about to start working 50 - 60 hour weeks from then until Christmas, so on my weekends I tend to be a very limp noodle. OTL

Having said that, I would certainly be up for a shorter catch up (weekend depending; the other thing about working 50 - 60 hour weeks is that I have to cram in all of my appointments like OT into the weekend so I may or may not have things on) like morning tea or something... once you confirm travel dates & are within two weeks of the weekend in question let me know and I'll check my diary and see if I can meet you somewhere with cupcakes!

[tielan]

I'll definitely let you know! I have to work out times and dates and then flights and accomodation...

[velithya]

I wish it was cheaper to fly to and from Perth to the eastern states :|

[wpadmirer]

Traveling is getting complicated everywhere. As an American, I'm not sure how I'd be welcomed anywhere, and with good reason. (sigh)

In the past when Pat and I traveled in Europe we were always mistaken for Canadians because we didn't wear t-shirts with brand names on them. (Used to crack us up.) I wonder if we could still get away with that?

[tielan]

I suspect what you'd get is a lot of discomfort (as in "how the hell did your country manage to become such a shitshow in two years?") but you'd probably be mostly okay on the safety front...

LOL @ the brandnames. I have to admit, I've never noticed what brands people are wearing...

[wpadmirer]

According to the Europeans we talked to, most Americans wear shirts that have the brand names in big letters on the front. After we came home we noticed that yes, HOLLISTER or names like that were in big letters across the front of many shirts. Apparently that's a very American thing.

[raine]

I grew up with a racist paternal grandmother, so I've had the experience of going to talk to my Filipina mother and then having my grandmother recoil as if I was suddenly contaminated. ::sigh:: They're both dead now, but my mom was way more gracious about it than I ever would be. I think about that a lot these days. (I pass for white unless you know I'm half-Filipina and it's summer and I've been in the sun.)

I really hope we turn back this godawful tide of hate, but part of me feels like we're reliving history we should have learned from.

[tielan]

It's all a little terrifying: a convergence of things all at once that's changed the way we see and do the world...

[lilysea]

I'm starting to feel that travel is a-okay...so long as you're white

And not-Disabled - I've lost count of the number of times airlines have broken or lost people's wheelchairs;

Disabled and/or autistic people have been kicked off flights for being Disabled and/or autistic;

security screeners have separated people from the mobility aides they need, or even physically removed their surgically implanted devices, causing extensive physical damage that needed additional surgery to repair...

[lilysea]

Japan and other countries have put a travel warning out for the USA. Australia hasn't yet, but that's mostly because most Australians are Caucasian or white-passing.

I misread this at first pass as "Japan and other countries have put out a travel warning for Australia"

and thought

"Yeah, considering some of the stories I've seen on https://www.abc.net.au/news/ recently about racist behaviour in Australia, that seems about right."

Which... is saying something. I don't know if the problem is getting worse here, or if it is the same as it ever was, but getting more news coverage.

[beatrice_otter]

I'm so sorry my country is turning more obviously into a shitshow.

[tielan]

Well, a lot of Western countries (specifically the ones influenced by Murdoch Media) are becoming shitshows in one way or another...

[ladyjax]

I'm just in a holding pattern about what fresh hell is coming down the pike the closer we get to the election. Any travel we'll be doing will be in state. I want to go to Alaska next year and Shirley wants to take me but I have worries - about her getting hassled about any number of things starting with her last name and then adding on that she's a butch lesbian. They're on high alert at her job - not to let the ICE agents and and not to turn over any of the kitchen staff.

I try not to be too cynical about "this is not who we are" because, well, obviously, it's been like this for a lot of people to different degrees since forever.

On the upside, if you haven't listened to Austin Channing Brown on Jen Hatmaker's podcast, you should. She's a pretty powerful speaker.

[tielan]

The next 18 months is going to be horrific. Anyone who falls outside of the White American Christian Male 'norm' is going to be a target of anyone with a grudge and the desire to make someone else hurt. :(

Ooh, I didn't know Channing Brown had been on the podcast! I'll look it up!