“So when 9-11 happened I was in high school. My dad sits everybody down. He’s like, “Hasan, whatever you do, do not tell people you’re Muslim or talk about politics.” “Alright, Dad, I’ll just hide it. This just rubs off.” We’re sitting there. Phone rings. I run, but my dad beats me to the phone. “Hello?” I grab the second phone. I hear a voice. “Hey, you sand ******, where’s Osama?” He looks at me. “You can hear me, right? You fucking dune coon. Where’s Osama?” “Hey, 2631 Regatta Lane, that’s where you live, right? I’m going to fucking kill you.” Click. And my dad’s looking at me. Do you ever see your parents, and you see the mortality in them? I’m looking at my dad and I see all five-seven of him. And that’s when I realize I’m a darapok. I’m a scaredy-cat. We can speak two languages. We can speak at home and outside. I should have said something. I didn’t. We sit down. I hear “thud, thud, thud” outside. Me and Dad run outside and all the windows on the Camry are smashed in. My backpack’s open. “Fuck, they stole my stuff.” I reach and I pull out my backpack. Pieces of glass get caught in my arm. Now blood is gushing down my arm, and I’m pissed, I’m fucking mad. Fuck this, man! These kids know where we live, they’re timing this, so they’re watching us. So I’m looking in the trees, the bushes… I look back in the middle of the street, my dad is in the middle of the road sweeping glass out of the road like he works at a barbershop. “We’ve got customers. Log kya kahenge? We’ve got to clean this up.” Zen! Brown Mr Miyagi, just, like, not saying a word. I’m like, “Why aren’t you saying something? I’m asking you, say something!” He looks at me and goes, “Hasan… These things happen, and these things will continue to happen. That’s the price we pay for being here.” That’s when I was like, “We really are from two different generations.” BMX bikes aside. My dad’s from that generation where he feels like if you come to this country, you pay the American dream tax. You endure racism, and if it doesn’t cost you your life, pay it. There you go, Uncle Sam. But for me, I was born here. So I actually have the audacity of equality. I’m like, “I’m in Honors Gov, I have it right here. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. All men created equal.” It says it right here, I’m equal. I’m equal. I don’t deserve this. But as soon as I say that… He looks at me like I believe in Santa. “Hasan, you’ll never understand.” “I’ll never understand? Dad, you’re the guy that will argue with the cashier at Costco when he doesn’t let you return used underwear. And now you want to be the bigger man? Now you’re like, ‘Let’s be reasonable with the bigots.’ What?” And then he just walks back into the house with glass in his feet. And I honestly don’t know who is more right. Maybe he’s right. Put your head down. Be a doctor, get a house in the burbs, let them call them whatever you want. But isn’t it our job to push the needle forward little by little? Isn’t that how all this stuff happens? I don’t know. The pendulum swings back and forth for me. And I know 9/11 is a super touchy subject. I understand. Because when it happened, everyone in America felt like their country was under attack. But on that night, September 12th, it was the first night of so many nights where my family’s loyalty to this country was under attack. And it always sucks. As immigrants we always have to put on these press releases to prove our patriotism. We’re auditioning. “We love this country, please believe me.” Nobody loves this country more than us.”
This is an amazing comic. Thank you to the author for putting everything into an easy to understand format.
Most people have a hard time reading scientific journals (and honestly scientists can have a hard time too) so it’s important to asses articles and information to figure out if they have support for the claims they make.
Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions about vaccines. I am currently pursuing a bioengineering degree and would be more than happy to help everyone learn.
pumpkin spice latte - mysteriously always on trend, dreams of going to Paris, secretive whispering, chronically stressed, fancy headphones, watching the rain with a friend, seems innocent but isn’t, binge watching halloween movies
chai tea - cobblestone streets, rainfalls at night, buys fresh flowers, long gazes, practices their handwriting, heavy perfume, reads literature classics, old architecture, plays old vinyl records, the feel of flannel against skin
apple cider - crafty, actually works out, unique music taste, feels like they have too much to do, goes to indie festivals, wears patterned socks, changing hair colors, infectious laughter, can’t let their happy facade down, cookies and milk
cappuccino - kind of overworked, the feel of cold fingers around a hot mug, oversized shirts, talkative, exhilarating adrenaline rushes, befriending the barista, foggy mornings, desperately tries to be organized, tears at 2 am
hot chocolate - a hugger, not taking any bullshit, fiercely loyal, singing in the shower, oversized sweaters, rich colors, difficult to read, wants a Vespa, bonfire nights, polaroids, soft spoken, has a thousand nicknames, introverted
No, no, you have no idea. It actually IS the beginning of the whole so-called “kawaii culture”. And it started because girls started using mechanical pencils, which provided fine handwriting. After being banished (more precisely, during the 80s), this kind of writing started being used in products like magazines and make-up. And, during this time, icons we usually associate with the whole kawaii industry (like the characters from Sanrio) came to life too.
And what many people don’t realize is that this subculture was born as a way for young girls to express themselves in their own way. And it was also used as something against the adult life and the traditional culture, often seen as dull and boring and oppressive. By embracing cuteness, these young girls (and adult women, after a while) were showing non-conformation with the current standards.
So yep. Kawaii is important, and it all started with cute, simple handwritting a few hearts and cat faces in some girls’ school notebooks <3
!!!!!
NO OK THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!
This is also how the kawaii fashions started! Girls began dressing in cute and off beat styles for themsleves, they were criticized by adult figures telling them “you’ll never find a husband if you dress that way!” to which they began to reply “Good!”
All the Japanese subcultures and fashions that evolved out of this became a rebellion to tradition and the starch gender roles and expectations the adults were forcing on the younger generations. As early as the 70s and still to this day you’ll see an emphasis on child-like fashion and themes in more kawaii styles and the dismissal of the male gaze with styles like lolita (a lot of western people assume lolita is somehow sexual due to the name of the fashion, but ask any Japanese lolita and they will tell you that men hate the style and find it unattractive which is sometimes a large reason they gravitate towards the style - they can express their femininity and individuality while remaining independent and without the pressure to appeal to men)
Its so so so important to understand the hyper cute and ‘odd’ fashions of Japanese girls carry such a huge message of feminism and reclaiming of their own lives.
so are you telling me that Japan’s punk phase was really the kawaii phase
Kawaii is so goth
Metal heads Stan for our sisters in lace
I did not know this but I love this form of feminism!
-FemaleWarrior, She/They
Which is why you get bands like BABYMETAL, which toured with Judas Priest for a while, looking like this:
everyone knock it off with the “everyone talked about notre dame but nobody’s talking about amazonia!!” it’s fucking because the brazilian news was being massively suppressed by the brazilian fascist government and their president, and the news on the fires finally leaked not even 2 days ago. this isn’t people not caring. it’s a fascist government attempting to silence their news. stop taking away from the issue - the amazon rainforest is on fucking FIRE. stop guilting people into not knowing about something that JUST got leaked out of a fascist state 2 days ago.
