Why I am writing this

I really don’t profess to know a lot about anything. I like to talk politics, law, and religion, but my knowledge of these things is just superficial. However, there is one subject that has been a constant companion of mine, and therefore I have become somewhat of an expert in it; and that subject is race. Not in an anthropological way, but in a sociological way. I have never taken a class on it, but I’ve been an involuntary student of it for the last 28 years. My classroom has been the schoolyard, the street, the church, and wherever else I come into contact with the human race.

While race is becoming less and less of an issue in America since the civil rights movement, it’s still a part of everyone’s lives, especially those who find themselves in the category of “minority.” In some ways, it is a part of my life on a daily basis. I know some of you will think, “But why? Just stop thinking about it so much and it won’t be such an issue anymore.” But it just hasn’t been that simple. Even if I had ignored it with all my might, I wouldn’t have ever been able escape it. I may have been more apathetic, which I have done pretty successfully (well, at least I think so), but because of the way society is, I would have never been able to completely avoid it.

I’m going to try my best to make this blog light-hearted because honestly, most of this stuff is pretty funny, and I really just consider it as part of life and in some ways, no big deal. It’s entertaining stuff. Some of you will relate to me completely, and some, not at all. Some of this stuff will make you mad-either for me or at me. Some of this stuff will make you think that racism is alive and well, while others will think that I am crying over spilled milk. But whatever you think or feel, these are real instances from my life that have made an impact on me in way or another.

In addition to entertainment value, I hope to create a sense of awareness of a social issue that for some people is pretty nonexistent. Racism is often thought of as a thing of the past. I have met countless people who don’t really believe me when I tell them that racism is real and that it is still happening, let alone happening to Asians. In fact, even if they do acknowledge racism, they will almost always think that it only affects African Americans, or that it is a rather rare social malady that is limited to the few sensational stories you hear on the news. While this blog will not contain stories of what sociologists call “classic racism” (lynching, apartheid, and the like), it will be about the everyday, the subtle, even the mundane, and every once in a while the insane things that happen to me because… race happens.