Racism is Toxic!

I attended the last half of an environmental injustice lecture on why minority groups tend to be left out of the green movement today. The different movements happening in and around campus and the city: students distributing donated (compact flouresence light) CFL bulbs and educating about them to underpriveleged neighborhood, sustainable food development, etc. Here are some of the reasons why the green movement have been inaccessible to underprivileged or minority groups:
1. Sustainable food alternatives isn't really sustainable when you have no money to sustain it with.
2. They grow boring foods. Where's my bok choy or water spinach.
3. CFL are... an investment, but expensive.

*Note: I missed a decent part of the presentations, so what I put here is probably a skin deep review of the problem*

Helen Zia at Bryn Mawr

I came across this event on Facebook. Helen Zia is a renowned Asian American and gay rights activist. She has been quoted by former president Bill Clinton in two separate speeches at the Rose Gardens. Her work on the Vincent Chin case was documented in the Academy Award nominated "Who Killed Vincent Chin?"
She will be talking at Bryn Mawr in an event titled "Crossing Boundaries in a 'Minority' Majority America and Other Diversity Challenges." If you're in the area, you should go. I would.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Dalton Hall Room 300, Bryn Mawr, PA
Click Here for the Facebook event.

Tongzhi in Love (彼岸浮生 - bi an fu sheng)

I just came across this documentary at angryasianman.com's post titled "the oscar-winning work of ruby yang." Tongzhi (同志), from my knowledge, is slang for gay. It's offical meaning is comarde, but I'm not sure who uses it in that sense anymore. However, it is widely used and the accepted term for gay that I know of in Hong Kong.

According to the website synopsis, Tongzhi in Love follows the life of Frog Cui and his friends, gay men living in Beijing. Frog, who is now 28 years old, is conflicted between his gay identity and identity as a Chinese man who must fullfill his filial duties. His mother arrives in town to find girlfriends; he knows he cannot delay any further. Frog decides to come out to his family. He and his friend Xiang Feng travel back to the family village, but things do not turn out as planned.

"Of the three filial offenses, failing to maintain the subsequent generation is the worst.”
– Confucian Teaching

This film is directed by the Oscar and Acadamey Award winning Ruby Yang. She recieved both the Oscar and the Academy Award for her documentary, The Blood of Yingzhou District, about HIV/AIDS in China.

Click Here for Tongzhi in Love Offical Site