Monthly Archives: July 2013

One of the hottest news in last few days is a case that is considered to be a hate crime by many people; an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by a “Hispanic” neighbourhood watch leader, and he was found not guilty. According to an internet article, Obama: ‘Trayvon Martin could have been me’, U.S. President Barack Obama told something touching in his personal remarks. He also mentioned,

There are very few African-American men in this country who have not had the experience of being followed when they are shopping at a department store. That includes me.
There are probably very few African-American men who have not had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me – at least before I was a senator.

I have experienced something like this in three countries: Tonga, Spain, and Canada. In Tonga, I was harassed and abused daily in some ways. Literally, daily. Many of them threw stones at me. In Barcelona, Spain, if I went to a store, guards always stared at me while they even did not watch Spanish and Caucasian customers, and cashiers always used a fake bill detector to accept my 10-Euro bill while they did not use it to accept even 50-Euro bills from Spanish and Caucasians. If I went to a museum, a staff member always quietly followed me a few meters behind. In Hamilton, Canada, non-Asian cashiers in many stores, whether they are white or coloured, obviously changed their attitude toward me and toward Caucasians. If I said “how are you?”, most of them ignored. If I walked in town or sat down on a bench in a park, some people stared at me.

What is even worse than discrimination itself is that some people do not understand discrimination; they say those who are discriminated against are to be blamed because they did something bad. I know it because some people have blamed me for being discriminated against (and I hated them). Any discrimination is irrational, but they don’t know it.

What helps those who are discriminated against is to be understood by someone. When I was looking for a job after graduating from University of Calgary, some people suggested me looking for a job in Europe. I always said “I don’t like that option because Europeans are generally less generous to foreigners than Canadians are”. (It was after living in Barcelona and before living in Hamilton) All of my Caucasian classmates said, “come on, don’t worry about that”. Only an African student said “I know it. It’s a common problem between us.”

Probably President Obama knows this feeling. I admire him, and appreciate his remarks.

阿部真央 (Abe Mao), or “Abema”, is one of my most favorite Japanese singers. Her songs are very touching. She is young, and seems to feel same things that I felt when I was around her age. Now I’m old, but her singing touches me. One of her songs, 17歳の唄 (17 year old’s song) goes like this. (originally written in Japanese, and translated by me)

Something sad happened. In the same sky where I used to find cloud animals when I was little, I cannot find anything any more, any more.

A few days ago, I found something incredible in the sky.

I don’t know how many people would agree, but to me, the clouds look like a red phoenix and a black tiger facing off. The phoenix is very impressive. I can see wings, an S-shape neck, a crest, and a gorgeous tail. I magnified and processed the image to make it clear.

In one way, I can say this is mother nature’s incredible creation. In another way, I can say I am still sensitive and perceptive. When I found the clouds, there ware many people, but I did not see anyone else who was looking at the sky. Good to know my heart is still younger than 17. By the way, one of other Abema’s sensitive songs is 19歳の唄 (19 year old’s song). I’m way older than 19, but this song touches me.

As I wrote in a previous post, I am looking for a job again. Probably I will do a non-design job again. Whether I am a professional designer or not, I want to retain the sensitivity and perception as a designer.