Friday, January 7, 2011

Why are men so stab-able?

I was chatting with a friend of a friend, Bee.  He was telling me that he was reading up on business books which were fun.  I jokingly said it was the opposite of fun because I'm terrible at anything related to econ, stats, or business.  To which he replied:

"bc you had easy ride in life opportunity always at your doors unlike us, we have to create them"

I was/am pissed.  I think it boils down to the fact that I see this as a Hmong issue, as him labeling me as a "white" middle class Hmong who had it good, went to school for fashion design, traveled to all sorts of countries, and has fun pictures that usually have alcoholic drinks in them.  He doesn't know anything about me to judge my life.  Certainly, I may have had an easier life than him, but I would not qualify my life as "easy".  It's this issue where people judge me and say I'm not Hmong enough or I'm not doing enough for the Hmong community.  F you and F you too.  Why can't I be a multidimensional person with interests?  Just because I'm Hmong doesn't mean I have to blindly honor General Vang Pao.  It doesn't mean that I have to relish my role as a woman, defined by my marital status and the number of kids I can pop out before I'm 30.  I get angry about this because my view of Hmongness is very inclusive.  But once people start putting out qualifiers, I start failing them.  And once I start failing them, I start rejecting everything and resenting the heavy hand of culture.  because i'm immature like that.  so, let me be inclusive and let me be mature.

I guess he just triggered outrage in me because i felt the underlying accusation of hmongness and the sense that I need to validate my suffering in order to qualify as a human being.  I use frivolity as a coping mechanism because the seriousness of life is exhausting - it's the only way that I can work in development and handle my family relationships.

Anyways, he broke off the conversation because he had to head out.  Hombre better explain himself later, or someone is going to get stabbed.

4 comments:

  1. this made me mad too! he must not be a very good friend then...or a new friend who deserves to be cut off at the balls!

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  3. You have every right to be angry. It pisses me off when people have the "I pulled myself up by the bootstraps" syndrome and think life is easier for everyone else. In grad school especially, I knew a lot of folks studying sociology, anthro, poli sci etc. who were so open-minded about other cultures' racial and economic issues, but were blinded to their own white privilege and bourgeois tastes. People need to be thankful for what they have and not begrudge others their life choices and opportunities. This dude seems to suffer from "bootstrap syndrome." Watch out! This is how Tea Partyers are created...

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  4. Can I get a "helllllllll yea"??

    agreed.

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