It’s hard to reconcile Santa Claus and Christmas.

Here’s an interesting bit of Engrish that tries to do so.

And here’s a bit of news from Orissa, India that tries to do so as well. As I slept comfortably and self-righteous in my bed last night, one man died and thirty were injured as they worshiped on Christmas. All in all, ten churches were burned.

Their crime? Converting the dalits, also known as “untouchables”, to Christianity. Literally and figuratively, dalits are the outcasts, as in without a caste. In a Hindu society based on caste, they are the ones who are hardly human, and even to set your eyes on them is thought to bring you bad luck, touch  them and it’s considered a sin; hence the name, “untouchables.”

But of course, Hindus don’t want them to be Christian either. They don’t like the fact that these untouchables could be bought and converted so easily with food and warmth by these subversive missionaries, iconoclasts, imperialists, Westerners, and this crazy one called Jesus…they would rather burn them than to have them touched.

Even today, it seems, there is no room in the inn. Merry Christmas, in the truest sense of the word.

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This is quickly becoming a mirror site for Neatorama, but hey, the coverage of interesting stories from Asia is always fun.

There’s got to be more to this hip-hop thing if it’s appealing to older people on the mainland, right? <shrug> I have no idea if my parents would dig this, but maybe I’ll get them some G-Unit for Christmas.

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I’m so angry right now.

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A clip of this new documentary, Adopted, was in the last Asian American Survey on YouTube, but I didn’t pay that much attention to the fact that the stereotypes directed towards adopted Asian kids are what many of us who weren’t adopted also face. I suppose in some sense we can all relate very closely to them. Check out the trailer and click on the link above for resources and information on the documentary.

I have a few friends who were adopted, but we’ve never spoken deeply about the experience. I know that they identify heavily with Asians and are attracted to it, much as I am. And much like myself, it is an intentional and uphill battle. My cultural identity seems to work on some sort of Sisyphean gradient, and I suppose I need to wrestle now with how I pass this on with my mixed marriage and soon-to-be mixed child.

In my experience, there was a point in my adolescence when the thought occurred to me that my whole family didn’t belong here. That even though we called this place home, it didn’t feel like it enough. And it dawned on me that my parents were just as lonely and as displaced as I was.

I understand now that I am trying to do a balancing act of reaching back and looking forward at the same time, trying to recover as much of my identity as possible so that I can move forward with some confidence–a theology inspired by Jason Bourne, if you will. We can walk this road together, we are siblings…adopted or not.

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It’s that time again, to dip into the vaults of YouTube and see what is out there in terms of Asian Americana…

First up is a new vlogger, Ken Tenaka, an adopted Japanese looking for his parents in California. I’m not sure if it’s a true story, but this lesson in Japanese seems to be a valuable lesson!

How To Speak Fluent Japanese Without Saying A Word – Ken Tenaka

Asian Stereotypes, as described by Dr. Richard Lee – all the more authoritative since he’s a doctor!

And for the more graphically inclined, Asian American Stereotypes

Future Rock Stars of America (Asian American documentary) – this is an awesome clip of Asian American musicians out there. I haven’t heard of them before, but I’ll be checking them out more and looking to support more Asian American artists in my area. Warning: language

Margaret Cho – Asian American. Whether you like her or not, there is no denying her talent and ability to speak and express herself.

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Let me share this video I found on Neatorama (yes, I love this site) by first saying that I think it’s particularly profound in this season of Advent. I know there is a lot more political commentary going on than my brain can handle, but it’s sharp. Without further ado, I present Al Franken’s Supply-side Jesus…

Check out this commentary from a couple of years ago about this cartoon:

One of the great sources of liberal confusion is the cognitive dissonance of deeply religious Christians prioritizing discrimination against gays, and to a lesser extent abortion, over peace and poverty reduction; or as I like to put it, “why does Jesus Christ believe in trickle down economics”?[Warning: huge oversimplifications to follow]

Supply-side Jesus, as Al Franken calls him, is best seen in different responses to the poll question “Do you think that poor people can get ahead in this world through hard work and responsibility?” low- and and middle-income Republicans will say “yes”, while low-, middle-, and upper-income Democrats will say “no”. In the conservative world view, those who are wealthy in this world are entitled to their good fortune because they have earned it, while poverty is almost a sign of moral failing. This lack of emphasis on social welfare spending among conservatives stems from the Calvinist (and later Baptist) tradition that success in this world is a sign of grace. Also, unlike the Catholic and mainline protestant tradition, faith need not be accompanied by good works to achieve salvation. So there is no need to look out for your fellow man or woman who isn’t getting by; after all, as long as you believe in Jesus Christ,you’ll be saved, so why not just concentrate on converting their souls to God rather than giving them access to health care?….

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I still think of Virginia Tech fairly regularly. My soon-to-be written paper on incongruent cultural identity formation resulting in violence is because of Seung-Hui Cho.

I recently heard that the prophet Jeremiah often re-told the horrific scenes of the destruction of Israel to the scattered people in order to re-live the trauma as a way to bring about healing. To talk about it and to re-visit it in order that we might move on.

It seems in the digital, Xbox 360 world,  we truly can re-visit that disaster that was in very strange ways. h/t to Hawty McBloggy for this post. and the following video: (and yes, feel free not to watch it as it adds a surreality to what happened that day).

I don’t know what to think. I watched the video a little stunned…it seemed a little comical and yet painfully magnetic. It’s strange to see a video game re-enact a real-life massacre. I’m not offended, but I…I don’t know what I feel. I am reminded of how truth is in so many ways, so much more powerful, visceral, tragic and meaningful than any fiction. And I still…grieve in my small ways.

Can someone help me find the address of the Cho family?

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