Republican Mayor Supports Gay Marriage

In tears, he followed his heart.

Jena 6

Justice for the Jena 6

On September 20, Thursday, Afro-Latino Exonians Society (ALES) is staging a protest and encouraging students to wear black to show support.

Clarification to Previous Post

In my previous post, I was trying to illustrate the vague racial implications in our everyday lives. The purpose was not to judge, thus I have now removed any identifying factors of the characters involved. I recognize that I could have easily made the same playful comment to a friend without noticing it, and we would shrug it off afterwards. I sketched the situation, because it could be a representative of a universal phenomenon. It was most valuable and beautiful when the girls had the moment of realization and mutual understanding. I was touched to have seen it happen.

Jena 6 is in a separate sphere. I should probably have started a new post about it instead of merging the two points in my last entry, which added to implications that I did not intend to make.

Racial Vignette on a Sunny Fall Day

Sun-soaked, tummy filled with crunchy cranberry Gorgonzola salad, a few students were sitting on the bench outside a dorm. A person left the bench, then a dorm mate asked whether she was coming back, whether she could sit on the bench and proceeded to walk towards it.

"No, you're not allowed to sit on the bench," her friend blurted out.

My first thought was that the girl who was mid-way to the bench is African American. I know it wasn't the case and just a joke. She knew, too, but she added, "For two seconds, I thought you said it because I'm black."

Her friend responded, "You've been saying that a lot lately."

*shrugs, awkward laughter*

Starting

In May last school year, I received promotional mail from Dell that enabled me to create a website easily for free. I was hoping that it would gradually sort out my cluttered identities on networking sites (facebook.com, abandoned Xanga sites*), through virtual communication (AIM, MSN, emails, phone calls) and in real life (social circles in boarding school at Exeter, family/ old friends in Hong Kong). However, my lack of technological savvy limited how/ what I could express efficiently and stunted my motivation. And here I am to try anew.

My goal is still the same. I want to chronicle, linearize and expand on my flashes of fluttering thoughts. When I went to rural China this summer, I realized that a place keeps us sheltered from other aspects of ourselves that are attached to other places and people. As the blog becomes a record, I could piece together my different aspects and my motives to change how I present myself (or perhaps I change less than I think I do?). Continuing with the idea of change, in reality, everything happens in a *bang* and roll into blob. It is difficult to capture those moments in a fashion that is accessible. In writing, I unfold and layer the milliseconds of these moments to translate the effect. I linearize when narrating, and, in the process, mix in my perception. Often, perception is formed in retrospect, thus writing articulates the bangs/ blobs, while re-framing and re-molding them into something of their own.

I could do all this in a word document, but writing for an audience is meaningful. I feel more connected, and if I'm lucky I could hear from you. :) Having lay low and gone blog-hopping, I have learned a lot. Now it's time to not only take from this rich community but also contribute to it.

P.S. A relating quote:

"the 'I' who writes here must also be thought of as, itself, 'eunciated'. We all write and speak from a particular place and time, from a history and a culture which is specific. What we say is always 'in context', positioned ."

-- Cultural Identity and Diaspora, Stuart Hall

* Why did I abandon Xanga? 1) I grew out of the name of my first one, called "blazingpurple." The second one was better,"SariRewrites," but the double "ri" are confusing. 2) I came to boarding school, and Xanga is not so hot here. I still subscribe to check up on my friends at home though! 3) I lost interest in posting/ propping. It felt too much like a journal, and posts are expected to be quick accounts. I did not have the energy and determination to continue such a precedent. (I have for a while used the site to save private bits and unrefined pieces -- but this role has now been taken up by Gmail. Hmm.)