Hello readers! I was doing a little bit of thinking today about some of my favorite things to do--doing anti-oppression work and learning all about other cultures. That got me thinking about some of my favorite places to visit, ethnic enclaves in major metropolitan areas. I realized, then, that as a white anti-racist ally, I always try to be respectful and not obnoxious when I visit these places. Don't you hate seeing the person who is gawking at everything and acting like the community is a museum and not a place where real, living people actually live and work? I can't stand it either!
So I figured that I could create a how-to guide for visiting these wonderful places in a respectful and informed manner. Is this guide complete? Absolutely not, as I'm sure that others will have something to offer based on their own living experiences. Besides, at the end of the day, I do not live in such a community and would love to hear about the experiences of those who do. But for now, this is an ally's guide to visiting an ethnic enclave. The examples I'm using are in Chicago, but the guide can be transferred to other areas.
1. Do your homework. This is a big one. It would behoove you to learn about the population of the neighborhood you're visiting, what their history is and how they made their mark on their area. This will inform you as to why it looks the way it does and how its population has changed over time. For example, Pilsen on the west side of Chicago has a huge Latino/a population now. However, it was originally a haven for Eastern Europeans when it was first settled. Take a little time and learn before you go.
2. Don't stare. Or make judgmental comments. Show some respect. You are not visiting a theme park. People live and work in these areas, and they are just trying to live their lives just like you are. They don't need to hear the clueless visitor asking why everything is "so weird" in earshot of them or staring at them in a way that makes them uncomfortable. They are not there to cater to you. How would you feel if someone came into your area and started criticizing everything?
3. Get your learnin' on! Take advantage of the museums or libraries there. You never know what you might learn about the community. Ask the docents questions: that's what they're there for, and they'll probably be happy to talk. (The Chinese-American Museum of Chicago in Armour Square has some super-cool docents, and they're always around.)
4. Think before you speak. Consider how what you're saying might come across. Being along Argyle Street in Chicago and calling it "New Chinatown" is not only offensive, but it's totally incorrect. (Argyle has a large Vietnamese-American population.) And another thing, if the area is not home to a population who spoke English in their home country, do not talk slowly and loudly to those you meet these. I am sure that most of them understand what you are saying and do not need to be talked down to. The folks at the Puerto Rican Day parade understand what you're saying. No need to treat them like they don't.
5. Ask questions. If you don't know what a sign says, just ask. Chances are, someone will tell you and not be snotty about it. I may be 3/8 Greek, but I speak English and Spanish. I do not speak Greek and cannot read the words. So I'm always grateful for the nice folks in Greektown who can tell me what the signs and displays at stores say. Ask nicely and you shall hear. And feel free to ask what's in a dish at a restaurant if you don't know. The servers will be happy to tell you.
6. Watch your language. Make sure your language reflects how that community identifies. Saying the word "Oriental" in a predominantly Asian area is not going to endear you to the locals. I mean it. That term is so outdated. Or if you are in a primarily Latino area, do not start talking about "illegal aliens." You will sound so rude and racist, and no one needs that.
7. I'm going to shout out to Donna Haraway here. Situate your knowledge. Going back to #1, learn the context of what you're seeing and apply that to your actions in the ethnic enclave. I get that you might not have seen anything like the ornate architecture along Chinatown's Wentworth Avenue anywhere else in Chicago. However, you might want to recall the context of it and remember that those dragons and tilework were a huge assertion by the Chinese American community's right to belong when they first settled the area. Internalize that understanding.
8. Be adventurous. Feel free to pick up something fun in one of the shops. (I am seriously craving a trip to Devon Avenue soon.) Try to avoid chains, though, and make your shopping local. Your purchase will go to those who live and work in that community, not some soulless corporation.
This is only a partial list, coming from an ally. However, this should help make your cultural travels more respectful and will help you get the most out of your experience. And now it has made me want to visit all of those places I mentioned! Who's coming with me?
Friday, March 2, 2012
Here's to you, Maryland!
Maryland is now the 8th state for marriage equality!
Yeah Maryland! Way to go!!!!
Now let's get our equality on in the other 42 states....
Yeah Maryland! Way to go!!!!
Now let's get our equality on in the other 42 states....
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Table for one
So I've been in my above-the-shop location for a while now (though that does not mean I'm all unpacked, that is a work in progress!). I'm not complaining about my setup, as it's quite nice to be in the heart of the downtown and able to walk anywhere I need to go. I like that the downtown has a good variety of events to attend and some great civic spirit.
But this is going to be an entry on another aspect of my life. I live on my own. That's always been my goal, and I'm glad I achieved that goal. Although I'm an outgoing person, I like my me-time and sometimes need a space of my own where there isn't anyone else. What I've noticed, though, is something kind of interesting when I start to cook my dinner or prepare my breakfast. The sizes and prices of food are really not at all conducive to cooking solo. Whenever I go grocery shopping at a supermarket (I'm not counting the ethnic groceries I love), it seems like many of the bigger items cost a lot less than the smaller ones. I don't get it. Shouldn't you be paying less if you're getting less? But no, I see gallons of milk that cost less than half-gallons and enormous boxes of cereal and cuts of meat. I mean, what's a single girl to do? I've sometimes bought the big sizes of food that isn't perishable, like pastas and jars of veggies for the sauce. Then they will last longer because it's just me eating them. If I've got my class, I'll make a bigger batch so I have leftovers. But that doesn't always work with dairy products, produce, eggs, and other things that are better off fresh. What do I do then? If I buy the gallon of milk, I save money, but there's no way that I'm going to drink it all in the 2 weeks or so that it lasts. And I feel awful about wasting food. If I buy the half gallon, I will drink it all, but I have to pay more for it. So what gives?
It's really strange that this is the case. More and more Americans are living solo, so I'm certainly not an anomaly. And this is not a call for a roommate; like I said, I like my current setup as it is. I just don't get why the food companies don't get it.
Or maybe this is just a sign that I need to throw a great big dinner party so I can use the big sizes AND save money! ;)
But this is going to be an entry on another aspect of my life. I live on my own. That's always been my goal, and I'm glad I achieved that goal. Although I'm an outgoing person, I like my me-time and sometimes need a space of my own where there isn't anyone else. What I've noticed, though, is something kind of interesting when I start to cook my dinner or prepare my breakfast. The sizes and prices of food are really not at all conducive to cooking solo. Whenever I go grocery shopping at a supermarket (I'm not counting the ethnic groceries I love), it seems like many of the bigger items cost a lot less than the smaller ones. I don't get it. Shouldn't you be paying less if you're getting less? But no, I see gallons of milk that cost less than half-gallons and enormous boxes of cereal and cuts of meat. I mean, what's a single girl to do? I've sometimes bought the big sizes of food that isn't perishable, like pastas and jars of veggies for the sauce. Then they will last longer because it's just me eating them. If I've got my class, I'll make a bigger batch so I have leftovers. But that doesn't always work with dairy products, produce, eggs, and other things that are better off fresh. What do I do then? If I buy the gallon of milk, I save money, but there's no way that I'm going to drink it all in the 2 weeks or so that it lasts. And I feel awful about wasting food. If I buy the half gallon, I will drink it all, but I have to pay more for it. So what gives?
It's really strange that this is the case. More and more Americans are living solo, so I'm certainly not an anomaly. And this is not a call for a roommate; like I said, I like my current setup as it is. I just don't get why the food companies don't get it.
Or maybe this is just a sign that I need to throw a great big dinner party so I can use the big sizes AND save money! ;)
Friday, February 24, 2012
Life above the shop
So it's not much of a secret that I live above a shop along the main thoroughfare of my town. I have always been a big, big fan of mixed use development and see it as a great and sustainable form of architecture. My building's seriously old--it was built in the 1930s, and a somewhat nondescript entryway leads up into some pretty vintage apartments. The apartment was love at first sight, and I really like living there. My sister once said, "Some girls live to shop, but you live over the shop!" and she's right. I don't mind that it doesn't have a dishwasher or that I have to use a window unit for my air conditioning. Living in the downtown historical district more than makes up for any disadvantages my complex has.
Along the lines of my life in the historic district, I really got to wondering about what things were like before. My town's got a long history, and this building's quite old. They've worked hard to keep the downtown viable but with the older features of the buildings preserved (unlike my once and always hometown, which really fell into decline). My own unit's kind of unusual, as it had originally been 2 studios (and before that, just rooms for rent) that were joined together. Most of the units here were originally rooms for rent. So....it makes me wonder at times when I'm overlooking the main street or in my room hearing the cars go by (I've come to like that sound). What kind of people were here before? Did they work in the shops below me, and which shops were those? (I doubt my downstairs neighbors have been here 100+ years.) Did they have spouses? And what brought them here? Since I have the equivalent of 2 studios, what were each of their residents like? I'm really curious. I love local history, so I'll be checking out some of the town's archives when I get the chance, but I'm wondering what they might say about my building.
There's just this really cool sense that something and someone has been here before. I like that.
Along the lines of my life in the historic district, I really got to wondering about what things were like before. My town's got a long history, and this building's quite old. They've worked hard to keep the downtown viable but with the older features of the buildings preserved (unlike my once and always hometown, which really fell into decline). My own unit's kind of unusual, as it had originally been 2 studios (and before that, just rooms for rent) that were joined together. Most of the units here were originally rooms for rent. So....it makes me wonder at times when I'm overlooking the main street or in my room hearing the cars go by (I've come to like that sound). What kind of people were here before? Did they work in the shops below me, and which shops were those? (I doubt my downstairs neighbors have been here 100+ years.) Did they have spouses? And what brought them here? Since I have the equivalent of 2 studios, what were each of their residents like? I'm really curious. I love local history, so I'll be checking out some of the town's archives when I get the chance, but I'm wondering what they might say about my building.
There's just this really cool sense that something and someone has been here before. I like that.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fired up!
Fired up ain't gonna take it no more
Tied up ain't gonna take it no more
You say cool down, we say step down
You're breaking my mother's heart
Fired up ain't gonna take it no more
Tied up ain't gonna take it no more
You say cool down, we say step down
You're breaking my mother's heart
Children need schools more than they need jails
That's where our society fails
First seven years creates the child's foundation
Mandatory for a healthy nation
How could we forget that the children come first
We left them alone and they died of thirst
Mothers and fathers confused and forlorn
When the children are missing there's something wrong
Can't just focus on kids with wealth
Can't pick and choose who gets the health care
Take an honest look at the great divide
Looks dangerously similar to genocide
Fired up ain't gonna take it no more
Tied up ain't gonna take it no more
You say cool down, we say step down
You're breaking my mother's heart
Shame shame!
Ain't gonna take it no more
Tied up ain't gonna take it no more
You say cool down, we say step down
You break another mother's heart
Performed by Holly Near. I love how she sang at the very first Take Back the Night on the back of a big truck.
What does it take?
I have time on my hands. Well, I would've spent the time doing other things, but considering that I am currently waiting to hear back about a repair I need, I figure I will fill that time. So I figure I will discuss something that's been eating at me for quite a while.
As a crisis worker, I hear a LOT of difficult and traumatic stories. I'm trained to do this, and frankly, I've come to see it as a privilege that people I haven't met are trusting me with their stories. That is not easy for them to do. Additionally, as a crisis worker, I try to work for social service and social change. While it's important to treat a problem, it's also important to consider why that problem even exists and what can be done about it.
Recently, I learned that a student at a local high school in a very affluent community was very brutally attacked and left for dead a couple of months ago. The story broke all over the papers, and I really felt awful for the young woman and what she's been through. I've spoken to many people from this community, and they've had a lot of questions for me about how they can talk to their kids and families about what happened. I'm glad there's some sort of a dialogue about this--frankly, I think our silence on these issues allows them to foster and go unreported. It just makes me angry that a very highly publicized and very horrific case is what spurred this community into awareness and action. I cannot and will not discuss specific client cases due to confidentiality, but I do know that this one case is one drop in a pretty enormous bucket of survivors in this particular town. Just because the town is so wealthy and well-off does not make it crime-free.
But that got me thinking...what does it take to move people to action? The realization that yes, this could happen to them, in their community? The realization that no matter how much you do to "reduce your risk," the only thing that will reduce your risk of rape is to never be around a rapist in the first place?? (Yes, I'm playing Alex the Advocate here. Can't turn that off!) Why is it that a particularly horrific and publicized event gets people talking and mobilized, yet the cases that happen daily warrant no attention?
I don't know the answers to these questions. Not now, with too much caffeine in my system and too little sleep. I guess I will close with a quote from the divine Cherie Moraga. Read it and think about it in the context of this entry. This is from her poem, "What Does It Take?" from her amazing book Loving in the War Years:
If they took you,
I would take to the streets
scream, BLOODY MURDER.
What does it take to move me?
your death
that I have ignored
in the deaths of other women?
Isn't the possibility
of your dying
enough?
I love that poem, but I think it's applicable for here. Why does this one story get everyone fired up, but not the thousands of others? And like Ms. Moraga mentioned, isn't the possibility that it could happen bad enough? I guess now that they are fired up, I hope this momentum lasts.
As a crisis worker, I hear a LOT of difficult and traumatic stories. I'm trained to do this, and frankly, I've come to see it as a privilege that people I haven't met are trusting me with their stories. That is not easy for them to do. Additionally, as a crisis worker, I try to work for social service and social change. While it's important to treat a problem, it's also important to consider why that problem even exists and what can be done about it.
Recently, I learned that a student at a local high school in a very affluent community was very brutally attacked and left for dead a couple of months ago. The story broke all over the papers, and I really felt awful for the young woman and what she's been through. I've spoken to many people from this community, and they've had a lot of questions for me about how they can talk to their kids and families about what happened. I'm glad there's some sort of a dialogue about this--frankly, I think our silence on these issues allows them to foster and go unreported. It just makes me angry that a very highly publicized and very horrific case is what spurred this community into awareness and action. I cannot and will not discuss specific client cases due to confidentiality, but I do know that this one case is one drop in a pretty enormous bucket of survivors in this particular town. Just because the town is so wealthy and well-off does not make it crime-free.
But that got me thinking...what does it take to move people to action? The realization that yes, this could happen to them, in their community? The realization that no matter how much you do to "reduce your risk," the only thing that will reduce your risk of rape is to never be around a rapist in the first place?? (Yes, I'm playing Alex the Advocate here. Can't turn that off!) Why is it that a particularly horrific and publicized event gets people talking and mobilized, yet the cases that happen daily warrant no attention?
I don't know the answers to these questions. Not now, with too much caffeine in my system and too little sleep. I guess I will close with a quote from the divine Cherie Moraga. Read it and think about it in the context of this entry. This is from her poem, "What Does It Take?" from her amazing book Loving in the War Years:
If they took you,
I would take to the streets
scream, BLOODY MURDER.
What does it take to move me?
your death
that I have ignored
in the deaths of other women?
Isn't the possibility
of your dying
enough?
I love that poem, but I think it's applicable for here. Why does this one story get everyone fired up, but not the thousands of others? And like Ms. Moraga mentioned, isn't the possibility that it could happen bad enough? I guess now that they are fired up, I hope this momentum lasts.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Quoth the revel
All righty, friends and admirers and probably some detractors of the Revel. Listen up here! I've gotten soooo many requests to see my new place (even before my move!), so I figured I had to write this and get it off my chest. After I move, I would be more than happy to have you all over (except the detractors, they can stay home and detract).
However, if you're planning to visit the Haus of Revel, you gotta play by the Haus Rules.
And here are some of the Haus Rules (I'm paying homage to my German heritage here with the spelling):
However, if you're planning to visit the Haus of Revel, you gotta play by the Haus Rules.
And here are some of the Haus Rules (I'm paying homage to my German heritage here with the spelling):
- I've had people from all stripes ask me what I am paying in rent, and if I had a dime for every time I was asked, I would have...$1.50 or so. So I will make this super-easy to those of you who might be wondering what my rent is and just put it out there. My rent is....AFFORDABLE FOR ME. That is the truth, and that is all you're going to get from me.
- I respect different points of view and enjoy a hearty debate. That said, if I hear any neo-con nonsense coming out of any of my guests, I am sending the offending guest down to the sidewalks. Via air mail, special delivery. Nothing in my lease (or conscience) that prohibits defenestration! I survived Bush for 8 years, I have faith that you can survive Obama for 8 years as well.
- It's called a galley for a reason. If I am providing you with a meal, you may be my guest during the meal. Then after the meal, you are officially part of my pirate crew and will join me in my galley kitchen to help me clean up and do the dishes!
- Your pets (excluding service animals). My place. Never the twain shall meet.
- You can never have too much coffee. Expect me to have it at the ready. At any hour of the day.
- Texting while driving is really dangerous. (I have a friend who died after being hit by a texting driver.) Texting while I am trying to talk to you is really stupid and rude and will earn you a suspension of invites to future Haus of Revel events.
- If I am hosting a holiday, we are not going to spend it with a silly game on the TV or sandwiching the holiday between two silly games. AT ALL. That even includes my beloved Fighting Illini, Lady Blue Demons, and White Sox. It's a holiday so consider this day a holiday from watching the silly sports game. You're welcome.
- Look, I understand about public transportation getting in late and getting stuck in traffic. Totally understandable. However, you know what I feel about being late. There is no such thing as "Fashionably Late." Unless the situation is out of your control, you're either On Time or you're Rude. Please do not be rude.
- Like I said, I enjoy asking and answering questions. However, I also reserve the right to deny you future Haus of Revel invites if you ask if my parents are helping me foot the bill or find the place. Short answer: My haus search was 100% done by me and paid for by me. If I had accepted help or financial assistance, I would not have spent almost a year trying to find the place!
- I know you love where you live. I'm happy you love your apartment or house or other dwelling place, really. That does not mean you get to make comparisons about what your place has that mine does not. If you feel the need to comment on the superiority of your place/area, then kindly do us all a favor and go back there.
- Yes, Virginia, people still do live in apartments that are over shops. I am living in one (and so are the other tenants in my complex), therefore, people must still do this. Can't tell you how many people have said, "I didn't even know people still did that!"
- AND FINALLY the haus rules are subject to expansion at any given time!
That is all. Revel has spoken. Pay attention, and you may find yourself invited back to see me or to paint the downtown in which I live.
Now back to packing...
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