Mourning for Our Nation

Last night and today on Twitter I went through all the stages of grief. You can see my reaction there. At this moment the KKK is marching in celebration of Trump's win.

Over 50 million people hate me, my friends and my family; it's beyond comprehension. I always warned about the alt-right and the deep seeded racism in this country. Never would've thought we'd be here today.

I'm scared ya'll. I'm not sure if I'll ever love America the way I once did. My heart is broken. My mind is exhausted. My eyes are tired. And it's now sunk in that America was never great, we just said it enough that we believed it. I'm gonna need time to process this.

I am Frank Chow and fuck this message

Comments

Desert Son said…
Frank Chow,

Totally random stranger from the electronic maelstrom who reads your Twitter feed (though I do not have a Twitter account, hence this medium in an attempt to reach out).

Saw your recent: “Question to the hive mind. I'm trying to get a gift for my Muslim neighbor, who's had a difficult time of late. What's a good gift?”

I am not a Muslim, so if you’re looking for something specific to that religion I can’t help. That said, if you want a neighborly, “hey-just-standing-with-you-in-solidarity-in-the-horror-of-our-times” type gift I had some thoughts (with apologies if you’ve already got these covered or this is NOT the kind of thing you’re looking for):

1. Groceries (everything from essentials like toilet paper to delights like stuffed olives, keeping in mind any halal restrictions they may observe). We all need groceries, and food is life. Also userufl are things, like light bulbs, batteries, and laundry detergent. How often have we all checked a drawer and said, “Oh, come on! No bulbs? Gah!”?

2. Gift card to a hardware store. Whether re-hanging a picture of a loved one or repainting an entire room, it’s nice to know someone else helped shoulder the burden of cost.

3. Gift card to a restaurant, especially if you might know a good one that your neighbor hasn’t tried yet. This is kind of like suggestion 1, with a little bit of “get dressed up and go out and have fun on the town” thrown in.

4. A donation in their name to a good cause you know the person would support, maybe a local mosque, or poverty relief, or educational initiative, or health care provision, or similar.

5. Concert tickets! Though I recommend this one only if you have a good idea of their taste in music, obviously.

Unfortunately I’m terrible at the “oh, I just totally happened to be at the local boutique and just happened to pick up the absolutely perfect gift in your size!” type of gift. So, with people I don’t know as well as those really close to me, I default to the practical-but-essential.

Anyway, apologies for my tendency to long-winded composition. I’m out there in the world with you and your neighbor, trying to do my part to stand against the bad shit that’s going down, trying to recognize my damn privilege, trying to amplify other voices, trying to remember what it means to combine decency with compassion. Thank you for your work and your words, your time, energy, perspective, experience, and expertise.

Take care, and I hope this weekend finds you delightfully surprised by something beautiful. With greetings from Chicago.

Still learning,

Robert
February 25, 2017 at 10:37 AM
Asian-American Pundit said…
Robert,

Thank you for the list of recommendations! These are all thoughtful and awesome. I can't thank you enough. Apologies for not getting back sooner as I'm terrible at checking my blog these days (promise I'll get back to it).

It means a great deal that you read my screeds on Twitter and that this particular question provoked a response. I'm too often left wondering what I can do and your list brought great perspective. I tend to overthink.

For my neighbors, it's been especially stressful and trying. They are wonderful people who are doing their best despite hate, bigotry and ignorance. My hope is that they see the good and others will see the good in them. I won't stop raging, fighting and sharing kindness when I can. Again, thank you, it means more than you know.

Best,

Frank
April 26, 2017 at 10:43 PM
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