When it Rains, it Pours…

 I just posted my thoughts last week and was just gonna veg today after scattering Robert’s ashes and listening to his entire interview with the Chinatown Rising people yesterday.  He shared how the 1977 Golden Dragon massacre impacted his life, and it pained me to hear much of what he had to struggle with because he didn’t have counselors or therapists to talk to. As if the Buffalo shootings weren’t enough last week, there was another elementary school shooting in which 19 kids and 2 teachers were killed. When it rains, it pours, and it seems to keep pouring because hardly a week goes by when I hear about another mass shooting event. I’ve become somewhat numb to these mass shootings as sort of a self-protection mode to avoid a spiral into anger and depression…. Especially when I hear that parents have to give DNA samples so that their kids can be identified because their faces and bodies were so damaged by the gunfire… and then it’s followed up with an NRA convention in the same state, and Trump goes to speak… and the Secret Service didn’t allow guns at the NRA convention to keep HIM safe. Hypocrisy much?

Thankfully, I watched the First Chinese Baptist Church zoom recording from yesterday after the girls left this morning. I knew that they would talk and pray about the shooting and world events because they always do. They never ignore the elephant in the room.  Still, I was caught unawares of the tears I shed when a cute little girl sang “You are my all in all” with her mother at the beginning of service. The song was beautiful, of course, but it was just the fact that 19 children like her were gunned down less than a week ago and are unrecognizable because of the bullets to their faces and heads.  

Pastor Sebastian then followed up with a lament about gun violence which expressed my thoughts and feelings as well.  Pastor Chris O gave a message on “Why Jesus Ascended” and tied it into “Why do these things happen? And what can we do?”  The short answers are no surprise - Bad things happen because we live in a broken world (or as my daughters aptly put it, the world is effed up.) And what we can do is start with ourselves - We can do what we can do to help one person at a time, moving towards love, justice, peace and hope… and then work with other folks to help more people.  Chris O said it in a much more compelling way and I recommend you watch her message here: https://fb.watch/dkHjusdXWj/

I will continue to help people as much as I can, as well as organizations who are trying to help in areas of social justice… and I will research areas in which I can help with gun culture and mental health.  So far, this is the best article I’ve read to date with solutions, written by a former military gun owner. Basically he’d like to implement the NRA Rules into law. Just like drunk driving laws didn’t stop drunk driving, it does hold people accountable and slowly changed the drinking culture. We need to do the same thing with gun culture. In addition to this, mental health needs to be destigmatized so that people get help for themselves (and their kids) sooner as suicide by gun is very prevalent. I’ve been passionate about gun control laws since the Golden Dragon Massacre when Robert was shot and Calvin was killed.  I was only 15 years old then, and had no idea why God would allow this then… just as I still question it now at the age of 60.  But I’m now in the position and mindset to at least try to make a difference.  I hope you will too.  

https://www.stonekettle.com/2015/06/bang-bang-sanity.html

Reflections on 2022 So Far - Death, Ukraine, Racist Attacks, Roe v Wade, COVID

My last blog was in January and I vowed to write something at least once a quarter.  Technically, we’re still in the second quarter of 2022 but it’s been about 4 months since my last blog. 

On a personal level, it’s been an eventful year.  My brother-in-law Robert died on March 1 of cardiopulmonary arrest. Since then, family members and friends have been going to the family home in SF regularly to clean it up and get it ready for an estate sale. Ro was a collector and had an eclectic collection of Art Deco, Chinese furniture, Hawaiian art, antique luggage, Hotel and Airline dishes and silver serving dishes, amongst other items. In life, he also had a wide variety of friends and family members from all walks of life; and he loved them all and prioritized his relationships.  In addition to prepping the house for the estate sale, we’d been planning his Hawaiian-themed celebration of life which we held last weekend.  It was basically a party  for all of us who knew him to come together for some food and drink… and a hula performed by his long-time buddy… and I believe it was something he would’ve enjoyed attending.  While we had a video of pics and music, interspersed with short memories that people shared of Robert, there was no formal service with speakers. We wanted people to just share amongst themselves and remember Ro in a happy party setting.

Video: https://youtu.be/r_Kf946qxQ8

Program: https://1drv.ms/w/s!AmJeZz1KhQW7kjoYzjritjfFL5yU

Hula: https://youtu.be/nVqb4vrGLes

The family will join together again next weekend to scatter his ashes in the Bay (he requested near the Golden Gate Bridge), but we will continue to miss him til we meet again. 

Moving on to world events at large…. Normally I link all the resources I discuss in my blog, but I honestly don’t have the energy for that right now.  Maybe I’ll update/edit it later… but for now I’ll just try to share off the top of my head in no particular order.

Russia started their invasion of Ukraine in February.  As always, people attack others for resources - be it land, oil, power or whatever resource they want. Most of the Western world stands with Ukraine and millions of their citizens have had to seek refuge in other countries. Ukraine, with assistance from the U.S. and other allies, have been able to resist Russia’s attacks… but they’ve still lost many lives. As a result, there’s global inflation on prices of oil and goods and, of course, the GOP is trying to blame Biden for it so that they can try to get more Republicans into office. 

Last week, there was a racially hate-motivated attack on a Black community in Buffalo, NY.  Also last week, a Dallas gunman shot three Korean women in a hair salon as attacks on AAPI continue. White Supremacy is obviously a huge issue in this country but, in my view, many White Evangelicals and Republicans don’t really care because THEIR community isn’t being impacted.  Tucker Carlson and all the other hate mongerers talk about the Great Replacement Theory (White folks being replaced by Jews and POC) which fuels these White Supremacists with more hatred to go after POC.

There was also a Supreme Court document leak indicating that SCOTUS will soon overturn Roe v Wade.  I have always been and remain pro-choice.  Of course GOP will say I am pro-abortion but they are two different things.  Nobody I know, including those who have had abortions, think “Yeah, I like abortion-Let me go get one now!” I don’t know how many people have told me, “My mom got unexpectedly pregnant with me and I’m glad she had me instead of getting an abortion.”  And I’m like, “Yeah, I’m happy that she got to make that CHOICE too!”  I have known enough girls/women who have had abortions and would have had one whether it was legal or not.  With Roe v Wade, they can get one without putting their health at risk. I prefer to address the cause of unwanted pregnancies with birth control, sex ed, and public assistance for parents who do have children and need help.  I can go on and on about this, but Pastor John Pavlovitz says it better than I can here:

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/07/19/dear-pro-life-christian-youve-already-lost/

COVID is starting to surge again, but I am relieved that vaccines, treatments and PPE is now more widely available. While I feel people are getting too reckless, I will continue to take precautions with my and my parents’ health.  We will continue to get boosted every 5-6 months if we can, wear masks in indoor public settings, and try to keep socially distant when out and about. I’m thankful to the Biden Administration for making all this available to folks and hope my friends and family members take advantage of it.

No matter all the bad stuff above that’s been happening, I am thankful to God for providing me a faith community like the First Chinese Baptist Church of SF. The pastors there pray regularly about world events because they know that Jesus wants us to “Stand in the Gap” (shout out to Chris O’s message today) to help others get to know Him AND do His work.  While the Southern Baptist Convention deals with the latest sexual abuse reports… and the SF Archbishop denies communion to Nancy Pelosi… it’s nice to be part of a church that strives, not to judge, but to help people come to Christ and be Christ to one another.