Sunday Solidarity

Hong Kong has a huge population of foreign women (mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia) who work as maids or in local parlance, "Helpers."  Sundays are when they get to be a bit free:

"Once they arrive in Hong Kong, workers must be on call day and night. Many families relegate helpers to sleeping in hallways or on the kitchen floor. Shorted checks, physical abuse, and sexual assault are all too common, to say nothing of the everyday discrimination that Southeast Asians face from the territory’s Cantonese majority. With little spare income, and often poor education, most domestic workers bear these hardships in silence. The few avenues of legal recourse they have are prohibitively expensive, difficult to navigate, and can take weeks or months. If a helper is fired, she has just two weeks to find work elsewhere before she’s deported. But no one can take away their Sunday. Which is why, since the 1980s, as a critical mass of Filipino migrants took to the streets, domestic workers have made the thousands-strong outings a weekly ritual.

One pair of young friends celebrates a birthday with a lavishly decorated cake. Ladies at the next camp are doing each other’s hair. At a third, a woman snacks on a handful of melon seeds while nose-deep in a pamphlet on migrant workers’ rights.

'Sunday is when migrant workers can meet friends from their countries,' says Phosuk Gasing, an executive committee member of the IDWF who’s worked as a helper in Hong Kong for 26 years. 'They can speak the same language, taste food from their homes, and share problems and how to solve them.' The IDWF’s on-the-ground affiliate, the Federation of Asian Domestic Workers Unions, represents migrants to the government, disseminates educational materials, and advocates for survivors of human trafficking and employer abuse."

Click through for some great pictures as well.

 

Truer Words

Noah Berlatsky has a modest proposal -- "Bad Ideas Aren't Worth Debating":

"But would it? Would American intellectual life really lose out because we aren’t debating whether women who have abortions should be hanged? What does Williamson’s cruel, bigoted refusal to use Laverne Cox’s proper pronouns add to 'American intellectual life'? Our public discourse ― or for that matter life on earth ― is not enriched but imperiled by ignorant, ideological efforts to cast doubt on the consensus around climate change.

The issue is not left intolerance. The issue is that conservative intellectuals make bad, often nonsensical arguments, and spout opinions that are hateful and harmful on their face."

Among the many pathologies of American culture, one of the most insidious is that any idea, however stupid, misbegotten, or ass-backwards, is worthy of a response in the name of "balance."

White Violence

Kashana Cauley's title says it all -- America is defined by "A Culture of Violent White Guys":

"It may seem weird to tie this idea of encouraged violence to a culture called 'white guys,' because white guys don’t necessarily identify as white guys—they often see themselves as just guys. But culture is both a set of positive affirmations about the value of one’s self and one’s group affiliations and a set of negative rules about what people shouldn’t do if they want to continue belonging to society. Blackness, as an example, is defined as much by someone’s skin color or the history of black contributions to the world as by the things that black people are culturally discouraged from doing, like openly carrying guns. If culture is, in part, what you can get away with, then violence is a part of white culture.

So it’s sadly not surprising that we occasionally end up with guys like [Austin letter-bomb terrorist] Conditt, or Timothy McVeigh, or the Unabomber, who step beyond the norms governing violence in this country. Especially in an era where the president has indicated that domestic terrorism, which is largely committed by white guys, isn’t an enforcement priority. We have to teach our white guys who feel angry or sad that violence isn’t the answer."

Stating the obvious here, but circa 2018 it's telling that a white Christian conservative dude literally blowing up black people cannot be called a terrorist, he is merely misunderstood.

To Meat, Or Not To Meat

South Koreans love meat.  As a teacher, when I ask my beginner-level students what their favorite food is, the answer is often immediate -- "meat!"  Then I try to explain how this sounds very strange in English, like something a dinosaur or a rabid dog might say, and I confuse them to no end and earn my Bad Teacher Badge for the week.

But is change possible?  Can vegetarian or even vegan lifestyles make a dent in arguably the only country in Asia that doesn't maintain some semblance of a meat-less lifestyle tradition?  Maybe, but it won't be easy:

"Many vegans in Korea are often forced to make up lies just to get through various social gatherings. 

According to the raw food instructor Kim, people from her monthly vegan gathering are often forced to come up with some smart moves to prevent awkward situations while eating out with others, especially with colleagues.

'Some of them told me that they either lie that they’re taking oriental medicine as an excuse to avoid eating meat or continuously flip over the meat being grilled so that nobody notices that he or she is not eating it,' said Kim. 

'This happens because vegans are often regarded as people who need to be attended to, and both sides don’t want that to happen every time they eat together.'

Regarding the social pressure, Prof. Chun Sang-chin, who teaches in the department of sociology at Sogang University, said, 'Korean society has a strong social pressure to be in sync with others rather than tolerating an individual’s choices. This trend is not only seen among people of older generations, but also among young people in their 20s and 30s.'”

The rule of thumb in Asia, if you want to find a vegetarian meal, is to find either Buddhist temple-style restaurants or an Indian joint.  Alas, this won't work in almost all of South Korea.  The article mentions that at least in Seoul you might have some options, but outside of the capitol vegetarianism is either misunderstood, treated with suspicion, or more likely met with both confusion and derision.  I've even encountered situations where a waiter will swear up and down that a menu item is vegetarian, then return -- mixed vegetables!  On a bed of fried rice containing big chunks of ham!  Vegetarian perfection!

As someone trying to eat less meat these days, but still far from a full-blown vegetarian, I'd love to see this trend take hold outside of Seoul as well.  Daegu does have a few nice Indian places, as well as a Loving Hut.  But the latter is problematic.  First, I'm not convinced their menu is "all organic" (frozen, microwaved dumplings rarely are).  Second, you're easing your conscience regarding animals at the expense of supporting a gosh-durn cult.

Honestly, if you're moving to South Korea and take your vegetarian or vegan lifestyle at all seriously, be prepared to cook 95% of your meals for yourself.  (Fresh fruit and vegetables are easy to obtain, once you find a good local grocer.)  But expect plenty of awkward meals, especially with co-workers, where you'll be stared at like the killjoy you are as you nibble on small bites of plain white rice.

(Even kimchi, as healthy and delicious as it is, isn't vegetarian.)

March For Our Lives

I'm cynical by nature, and this is obviously not an era of optimism in America, or anywhere else in the world.

So I'll take my moments of inspiration as they come.

This Is Why They Pay Me The Big Bucks

Passive voice was taught today.

Stating The Obvious

Trump is going to fire Mueller and Republicans will do nothing.

Register to vote for this November. "Good" Republicans will not save us from Trump.

— Stormy Jamesiels (@wetcasements) March 21, 2018

Nature's Revenge

The film version of Annihilation is truly excellent, with a rare performance by Natalie Portman that I actually enjoyed.  (For me, she's usually just kind of there without really bringing much to her parts).  In fact, the cast overall is a good one (Jennifer Jason Leigh brings a lot of layers to her performance as well), and the pacing is pretty much perfect with a genuinely uncanny ending that won't leave you any time soon.

Other things I appreciated -- based on the first novel of a trilogy, it would have been in keeping with the times to set up the second and third books for future cash-grabs sequels but no, Alex Garland settled on making a sci-fi opus that comes in under two hours but tells just as much of a story as necessary.

It's a shame that in a world of endless comic-book spin-offs (many of which I enjoy!  honestly!) a truly great, thoughtful, intentionally slow-paced, and relatively low-budget sci-fi flick literally can't make any money.

If you enjoyed the film, do yourself a favor and read the books which are a lot different in terms of characters and plot, but pretty similar in mood and themes.

#MeToo

#MeToo has arrived in South Korea:

"The Me Too movement has received endorsement by President Moon Jae-in, who on Sunday reiterated his support as he pledged to eliminate sexual misconduct and gender-based discrimination. 

'Recently, our society, along with the Me Too movement, is in the midst of a crucial change,' Moon said in a congratulatory message for a ceremony commemorating the March 8 International Women’s Day in central Seoul.

'The Me Too movement is leading Korea toward becoming a society in which sexual equality and women’s rights are realized and the dignity of all people is respected.'"

And while the movement is a breath of fresh air in a highly traditional society, two suicides involving men accused of sexual abuse have already occurred.

What Have You Been Listening To, Teacher James?

Park Ji-ha, "Sounds Heard From The Moon"

I've been digging into the music of Park Ji-ha via Youtube and a recent Pitchfork review.  It's remarkable stuff, as she plays a blend of Korean and Western instruments in a minimal, hypnotic style.  Sometimes she sings, but as far as I can tell she usually doesn't.

I'm off to downtown to do some shopping, and I'm going to definitely try and pick up some of her music while there.  Also, some Indian / Nepalese food at Balaji because that's how I roll.

Humble

I don't like to brag or nothing but I taught the shit out of the present perfect continuous tense this morning. #ESLthuglife

— Stormy Jamesiels (@wetcasements) March 13, 2018