Have you seen Justice In June?
A '10 minutes a day' primer on how to educate oneself as an ally of the Black community.
A '10 minutes a day' primer on how to educate oneself as an ally of the Black community.
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Last week, my mother - an Australian citizen for over 50 years and an Australian resident for over 60 years - tried to change her address with an official government organisation.
They told her that neither her electoral enrolment, nor her Australian passport were sufficient evidence that she was an Australian citizen, and she needed her citizenship papers.
AND THIS IS HOW IT BEGINS.
After fifty years, do you think she still has her citizenship papers? And if they still have the records somewhere, do you think that she can get them cheaply and easily? Do you think the process would be simple to go through for someone who, perhaps, doesn't speak good English - ftr, my mother speaks excellent English although she's going a little deaf. My mother may be up to jumping through whatever hoops are put forward - how many others aren't?
And it raises questions, doesn't it?
Am I safe anymore? Is my citizenship truly unassailable if I'm not white? I was born to non-white Australians - one born here, one immigrated and naturalised here - will I get the benefit of the doubt, or will I spend the rest of my life proving my Australian bona fides? The far end of that question is: will I spend part of my life in a camp like George Takei and other Americans like him did - my goods and property and rights forfeit, my citizenship and loyalty in doubt - simply for being born non-white in a time of conflict?
I said a couple of weeks ago that Australians of Chinese descent were far too successful - individually and collectively - for White Australians to let us pass by without them taking a stab at us. I sincerely didn't think it would be this prophetic (or this personal) this soon.
They told her that neither her electoral enrolment, nor her Australian passport were sufficient evidence that she was an Australian citizen, and she needed her citizenship papers.
AND THIS IS HOW IT BEGINS.
After fifty years, do you think she still has her citizenship papers? And if they still have the records somewhere, do you think that she can get them cheaply and easily? Do you think the process would be simple to go through for someone who, perhaps, doesn't speak good English - ftr, my mother speaks excellent English although she's going a little deaf. My mother may be up to jumping through whatever hoops are put forward - how many others aren't?
And it raises questions, doesn't it?
Am I safe anymore? Is my citizenship truly unassailable if I'm not white? I was born to non-white Australians - one born here, one immigrated and naturalised here - will I get the benefit of the doubt, or will I spend the rest of my life proving my Australian bona fides? The far end of that question is: will I spend part of my life in a camp like George Takei and other Americans like him did - my goods and property and rights forfeit, my citizenship and loyalty in doubt - simply for being born non-white in a time of conflict?
I said a couple of weeks ago that Australians of Chinese descent were far too successful - individually and collectively - for White Australians to let us pass by without them taking a stab at us. I sincerely didn't think it would be this prophetic (or this personal) this soon.
I was only going to give up alcohol for a month, but I wasn’t prepared for the impact it had
I drank to pretend my life was more interesting. Feeling slow or a little sad in the mornings was so normal I barely noticed it.
Frankly, I don’t think I could handle if my life got any more interesting. I do like a drink every now and then – a glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner.
--
The Guardian : Jail if by sea, through the gaps in the system if by air.
When Trump says ‘infested’ we know he’s talking about people of colour: And again the burden of explanation falls disproportionately on non-whites.
--
I Kissed Christianity Goodbye.
( more links and thinks )
--
Male directors don’t really capture the intimacy of female friendships.
( they're not the only ones )
--
Chinese Australian History predates the First Fleet
( erasure from Australian history )
I drank to pretend my life was more interesting. Feeling slow or a little sad in the mornings was so normal I barely noticed it.
Frankly, I don’t think I could handle if my life got any more interesting. I do like a drink every now and then – a glass of wine or a cocktail with dinner.
--
The Guardian : Jail if by sea, through the gaps in the system if by air.
When Trump says ‘infested’ we know he’s talking about people of colour: And again the burden of explanation falls disproportionately on non-whites.
--
I Kissed Christianity Goodbye.
( more links and thinks )
--
Male directors don’t really capture the intimacy of female friendships.
( they're not the only ones )
--
Chinese Australian History predates the First Fleet
( erasure from Australian history )
So.
The worst thing about this challenge has been seeing how innately racist some of the people doing the challenge are.
The FB group for the last couple of days has been full of posts about going back to 'real food' or 'proper food' or 'things you can actually eat', because rice, lentils, chickpeas, and sardines (also: vegetable oil and flour) are, apparently, not food eaten by real or proper people.
Which...I shouldn't have to explain that here. I feel like I want to do that over there thoug.
Language matters. We know the difference between 'asylum-seekers' and 'refugees' vs 'queue-jumpers' and 'illegals'. Implying that the food we've been eating isn't 'real food' lays a stigma on the people stuck eating these rations day after day after day. After a while of having to eat this, refugees probably don't feel very 'real' either - caught in that no-man's-land between the life they used to have back home and the life that western governments very much don't want to allow them.
I'm trying to find a way to bring this up as politely and clearly as possible. I know there will be many people who'll dismiss this as an issue, because OMG AREN'T YOU TRIGGERED but...there might be a few people who will at least think about what they're casually Othering and the effect that has on both their perspective and the perspective of people around them.
I wonder...several of the people I saw posting about their stuff complained that they weren't getting any fundraising. But...if your underlying attitude isn't innately empathetic to refugees and people who aren't like you, then people probably aren't going to take your sudden desire to 'help' refugees very seriously.
The worst thing about this challenge has been seeing how innately racist some of the people doing the challenge are.
The FB group for the last couple of days has been full of posts about going back to 'real food' or 'proper food' or 'things you can actually eat', because rice, lentils, chickpeas, and sardines (also: vegetable oil and flour) are, apparently, not food eaten by real or proper people.
Which...I shouldn't have to explain that here. I feel like I want to do that over there thoug.
Language matters. We know the difference between 'asylum-seekers' and 'refugees' vs 'queue-jumpers' and 'illegals'. Implying that the food we've been eating isn't 'real food' lays a stigma on the people stuck eating these rations day after day after day. After a while of having to eat this, refugees probably don't feel very 'real' either - caught in that no-man's-land between the life they used to have back home and the life that western governments very much don't want to allow them.
I'm trying to find a way to bring this up as politely and clearly as possible. I know there will be many people who'll dismiss this as an issue, because OMG AREN'T YOU TRIGGERED but...there might be a few people who will at least think about what they're casually Othering and the effect that has on both their perspective and the perspective of people around them.
I wonder...several of the people I saw posting about their stuff complained that they weren't getting any fundraising. But...if your underlying attitude isn't innately empathetic to refugees and people who aren't like you, then people probably aren't going to take your sudden desire to 'help' refugees very seriously.
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In the face of HBO and their totally fucked up idea that just buys into white supremacy:
Black America: An Amazon Alt-History drama that's been greenlighted since February.
Black America: An Amazon Alt-History drama that's been greenlighted since February.
I have decided no more Ms. Nice Lady. I am an Australian born Australian, and if someone wants to know “where did you really come from?” I am going to ask them if they’re prepared to unload their history as an Australian-born child of immigrants, or else tell me about their Indigenous Australian ancestry.
I am done with microaggressions, even the unintentional ones.
No, you don’t get to ask me what’s my background and then say that yours is “Australian”. Mine is Australian. My mother is an Australian immigrant. My father is an Australian born. I am an Australian born.
I am an Australian-born Australian.
I am no more an immigrant than any white person in this damn country and I am going to FIGHT this definition all the way, calling people racist outright if necessary.
I am done with microaggressions, even the unintentional ones.
No, you don’t get to ask me what’s my background and then say that yours is “Australian”. Mine is Australian. My mother is an Australian immigrant. My father is an Australian born. I am an Australian born.
I am an Australian-born Australian.
I am no more an immigrant than any white person in this damn country and I am going to FIGHT this definition all the way, calling people racist outright if necessary.
So I finally listened to this all the way through. DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN ABOVE.
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There are so many brilliant nuances to this that I have internal flappy hands.
From King George channelling an abusive vibe, to the musical themes, to Angelica understanding her responsibilities and desires and knowing where her duty lies, to Eliza erasing herself from the narrative, to Burr's frustration with being bested again and again and again, to, oh, ALL OF IT.
The thing about this - as an Australian who hadn't the foggiest idea about who the hell Alexander Hamilton is or was and couldn't really care less - is that the musical is no more about American politics than Hamlet is about Danish royalty.
It's about humanity - about people - about individuals, personalities, their flaws, the pressures that comes upon them, their strengths and how they use those - or don't. It's about everyone having their own story, their own reasons for what they do. And it's about life and death and all the messy stuff that happens in between.
Which is why it will do well translated to other countries in the same way that Les Mis will - because what audiences understand is not the circumstances of history, but the circumstances of humanity.
And yes, it will be better if the cast remains primarily non-white in the lead roles in places like Australia and the UK. Not because of novelty, but because this story is about people rather than about dead white people - and I think that needs to be recognised. They've already given musical theatre a kick in that direction with Hamilton, now it would be good if they continued it.
Incidentally, I remember watching Wicked for the first time - in San Francisco with my friend Abby - and Fiyero was black and had the most amazing voice. When it came to Sydney and Fiyero was cast white, I was distinctly nonplussed. I mean, white!Fiyero was great, but somehow it warmed something in me to see this guy as the good hero, loved by two women, who was kind enough to agree to marry one who really wanted to marry him when he was quietly in love with the other who wasn't attainable.
Or maybe it's just that the 'agreeing to marry someone they don't love' is a storyline that's usually handed to the woman and - me being me - the reversal of the trope just appeals. This is me, after all.
Plus: Indian-Pakistani Hobbits. Go look it up if you have questions.
asfka;sjflasjfaslkfjasldkfjashfahfshjkgh;hdk
There are so many brilliant nuances to this that I have internal flappy hands.
From King George channelling an abusive vibe, to the musical themes, to Angelica understanding her responsibilities and desires and knowing where her duty lies, to Eliza erasing herself from the narrative, to Burr's frustration with being bested again and again and again, to, oh, ALL OF IT.
The thing about this - as an Australian who hadn't the foggiest idea about who the hell Alexander Hamilton is or was and couldn't really care less - is that the musical is no more about American politics than Hamlet is about Danish royalty.
It's about humanity - about people - about individuals, personalities, their flaws, the pressures that comes upon them, their strengths and how they use those - or don't. It's about everyone having their own story, their own reasons for what they do. And it's about life and death and all the messy stuff that happens in between.
Which is why it will do well translated to other countries in the same way that Les Mis will - because what audiences understand is not the circumstances of history, but the circumstances of humanity.
And yes, it will be better if the cast remains primarily non-white in the lead roles in places like Australia and the UK. Not because of novelty, but because this story is about people rather than about dead white people - and I think that needs to be recognised. They've already given musical theatre a kick in that direction with Hamilton, now it would be good if they continued it.
Incidentally, I remember watching Wicked for the first time - in San Francisco with my friend Abby - and Fiyero was black and had the most amazing voice. When it came to Sydney and Fiyero was cast white, I was distinctly nonplussed. I mean, white!Fiyero was great, but somehow it warmed something in me to see this guy as the good hero, loved by two women, who was kind enough to agree to marry one who really wanted to marry him when he was quietly in love with the other who wasn't attainable.
Or maybe it's just that the 'agreeing to marry someone they don't love' is a storyline that's usually handed to the woman and - me being me - the reversal of the trope just appeals. This is me, after all.
Plus: Indian-Pakistani Hobbits. Go look it up if you have questions.
Tags:
...and there were people screeching over Spock/Uhura, someone wrote an essay about how non-white female characters weren't usually allowed to have romances and why it was important for them to have storylines that allowed them to be active participants in their own romantic relationships and not just the exotic non-white prize for the white guy to win at the end.
Does anyone remember that essay, or, at least, the arguments that it detailed?
Does anyone remember that essay, or, at least, the arguments that it detailed?