PRgal

I don't know why I thought it was the Raptors. My bad! I just remembered reading about it. How big is the East Asian population in Sacramento? ETA: never mind, I just looked it up. It's like 20%, with ethnic Chinese making a significant portion.

But that's different from Lunar New Year. Monkey images were plastered all over the city around that time (that year) with Happy Lunar (or Chinese) New Year in English and Chinese (well, mostly Chinese, but also in other languages too. Though other languages were more often used within cultural neighbourhoods). So yeah, you didn't even have to Google.

Because they shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. It WAS the Lunar New Year season. This happened in Toronto where there's a significant Chinese/East Asian population and many are Raptors fans. They just wanted to celebrate with the city. This is a city where mainstream stores will have Lunar New Year specials. For example, Purdy's Chocolatiers (from Vancouver, where there is ALSO a large demographic of East Asian communities) sells chocolate in Lunar New Year themed containers (I get them each year). There's nothing DIFFERENT about these chocolates though. They also sell chocolates coins (that look like loonies, or the Canadian $1 coin). Same ones are used for gelt around for Chanukkah and I've seen it used for St. Patrick's Day too. I call it "ethnic chocolate." hahaha. Department stores will also advertise for Lunar New Year. All seem to focus on the Chinese community more than other ethnicities that celebrate at that time, probably because that's their main clientele (and population). Another interesting note: In Cantonese, children are colloquially referred to as "monkeys." It's not as bad as "spawn" in English.

What's a "Hollywood liberal" besides being involved in the film industry? How is that different from a non-film liberal?

@bluegirl147 TwoP kicked me off a million years ago for not being PC enough. The boy issue reminds me of a situation years back involving some NBA team members getting upset at monkey figurines (stuffies?) being given out to attendees. The reason why they were handed out was because it was Lunar New Year and it was the Year of the Monkey. It had zilch to do with race (which is a good reminder for people to do their research. This happened in the last few years (the last time it was the Year of the Monkey) so the internet existed).

Unfortunately, many ARE. And I'm really tired of people apologizing for things that don't really need to be apologized for OR for telling me or people from my community to "decolonize" our minds. Some have gone as far suggesting that I use my Chinese name (i.e. my official, legal middle name) rather than my first (Anglo). I NEVER use it. My PARENTS don't use it. They call me "Ah Nui" ("Daughter") when they're talking about me (my son is "Ah Bee" (Baby/Little One)). My uncle on my dad's side calls my dad "Ah Goh" (Older Brother) though one of his sisters is usually referred to by her given (English) name (or Gah Jeh (older sister)...not as often since she's the second kid (said uncle is #3)). The youngest sister is Mui Mui (Younger/Little Sister). Then many ALSO expect me to know who is whom to which family member. I DON'T KNOW! Heck, fluent/native Chinese speakers get confused too!!! It can get REALLY TOXIC.

The teacher specifically wrote that with all the snow we've had over the weekend, it was the perfect chance to make them (the alternative she posted was to make footprints and mark them with food colouring. We can't mark footprints with food colouring at a park. Plus many are smudged and it's a lot easier to lose count). A LOT of the kids' assignments are outdoor centric. I get that Grade 1 homework is supposed to be fun, but at least offer an indoor alternative upfront so we don't have to email you!

I had to email my son's teacher to get an alternate assignment for him. They're working on 100s in math right how and for the week, they're supposed to make 100 snowballs at home. We live in a condo. We don't have a backyard where we can make 100 snowballs. I get that we are probably the only family in a condo, but please offer indoor work in the winter! Some people are also not fans of being outdoors or are TIRED of being in the snow after having to spend more than an hour outdoors clearing the driveway! note: assignments are turned in virtually - students/parents upload photos of their work onto an app/portal for their teachers.

And since I've seen it happen in real life (as it's happened to me), the very fact that the Mexican guy (in the case of the video) isn't "allowed" to not be offended not being addressed in diversity discussions is, in itself, not inclusive and why many people have issues. It's funny how it was addressed on a show, yet rarely in real life.

@Yeah No I’ve also seen this kind of attitude from non-Whites (mostly non-immigrant Blacks but also a few Asians who aren’t immigrants or first gen (not too many exist around here)) too.

Goodness, I thought "worst cell phone story" would be something a phone falling into the toilet or down the elevator shaft!

This is a hilarious (somewhat exaggerated, but still kind of real) clip from a show called Little Italy, Los Angeles (I've never heard of it) that has been floating around social media. It's an example of what I've faced in diversity groups in the past. The overcorrection is real.

That's exactly what I'm doing. But you know how those extremists are...on both sides of the spectrum. I always try to remind people that avoiding doesn't make them 100% clean.

I always feel like I need to justify what I do. I think it stems from being questioned so much when I was younger, especially from immigrant relatives or international relatives who don't quite seem to understand me or find my Canadian/western ways offensive to my heritage.

THIS! I once heard a woman speak really loudly in my ancestral language. Since I speak enough of it myself, I contemplated interrupting her conversation by saying something really rude (or at least as rude as I can...I really don't know any swear words in Cantonese)!

I also can’t full on boycott because of investment I have/have for my son’s education fund. Not that people are checking my account or anything.

@Dimity & @tessaray: My parents aren't the ones who'll shame me for where I shop (though they DO shame me for what I eat and what how I feed my family. Unfortunately, I can't go no contact with them since I rely on them for childcare and I work for the family), so not work or family. A lot of it DOES come from social media, but at the same time, I can't really disappear from them because where else am I going to find good support for interfaith families? I have also all but cut ties with a women's volunteer group I was heavily involved with 15-20 years ago because their idea of diversity and inclusion didn't include people like me. I'm also half glad I don't have a daughter so I don't have to deal with the ultra-PC vibe that Girl Guides of Canada has gone. My alma mater is leaning that way as well, but not to that extent. There's a reason why many people have become extremely right wing.

That's what I want to tell people, but you know how some people are. They're just going to rant on and on about what you're doing is wrong. Those people give me a lot of anxiety. And there are more of those these days than, say, 10 years ago.

Plus we can't give up our phones.

The plus side is that my neighbourhood isn’t exactly NDP central federally (though we were provincially) but I have social media friends, including the woman I used to host a podcast with who believe that I’m some sort of crazy snob. Maybe I am to them but there’s no reason to shame me.

It’s still a lot of research for some people and I am beginning to feel sick from all of that. And worried about the shaming from the extreme left. One reason to do more shopping online. I was already shamed for shopping at Weston branded stores during the boycott even though the store I frequent the most is a franchise.

I'm beginning to get stressed out regarding the do not buy list. I'm still buying SOME US-based brands (mostly skin-care related, but some foods as well. I'm avoiding clothing and most foods, but I'm not really shopping for clothes for me anyway and it's easy to get Canadian brands for my son) because I have health issues related to ingredients (as in some scents/ingredients can trigger seizures!!!) and researching a whole new line of product takes up a lot of time. A lot of the extremeness of this kind of shopping is extremely ableist. I'm also keeping any shares of US companies I already own. Selling would just be too much effort. Plus I don't want to sit on liquid cash.

Thing is, adults still get a lot of their vaccines because in most jurisdictions, anyway, they can just walk into a pharmacy and get it there.

Just registered to vote by mail for the upcoming Ontario election. For those of us who live in this province, the deadline to register to vote by mail is Friday, February 21.

He was playing rough with several of the boys. I don't even know who started it, but he seems to do well separated from the boys who tend to play that way. There was also one kid who was his BFF all last year and part of this year who really DOES have a distraction issue (can't sit as still as other kids in the class). Having him sit away from said child has helped him! Piano has too. And it's beginning to help him use his hands better as well. For a while, I mostly ignored the fact that he used his hands to eat a lot, but I'm beginning to worry, especially after his art teacher asked me if he is doing any OT. I was hoping that piano would help him use his fingers/hands a bit better, but I remember being able to hold chords well at his age. And my hands were (and still are) on the small side. He has trouble playing triads.