A HORRIBLE ATTITUDE

Neither my landlady nor my apartment mate get down to Chinatown often, especially during this pandemic. Both of them purchase their groceries locally, either at the small market on the corner of California and Polk streets, or at the Trader Joe's further up. Exceptionally at Whole Foods, which is also nearby.

In all honesty I do not particularly like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I feel that the food stores in Chinatown cater more to my type. I do not buy much -- it's only me eating, one person -- and I do not need very fancy stuff. I don't really like the culture of those places.
They're kind of yuppie. Snooty. White.

There is a difference being a middle-aged white guy surrounded by yuppies, and a middle-aged white guy who speaks Cantonese shopping for groceries in Chinatown. It feels more comfortable, and I know what I want.

[What do I want? Yauchoi. Fu qua. Honey Loquat Candy. Lee Kum Kee curry sauce. Hot sauce. Sambal. A single potato. Meltyblend chocolates. Lobak. Charsiu turnovers. Egg tarts. Kwan Miao noodles. Cheung fan.]

Yesterday I shopped at four stores on or near Stockton Street, and a bakery.
I got exactly what I wanted, had some pleasant chit chat.
Bought some pastries for other people.
Saw people I knew.



This morning, my apartment mate breakfasted on some of the pastries I brought back in front of her computer, getting upset at the news. Which is understandable, as every day brings a new roster of outrages, assaults on Asian Americans, casual violence by a thirty nine year old man against a seventy five year old Asian woman down on Market Street (she beat the crap out of him), elderly Chinese gentleman needing stitches, self-serving non-ameliorative poofle by Republicans about the racial hatred that they enabled, hand wringing by authorities what can we do what can we do?

Plus bland tut-tut-tutting by public figures and civic leaders.

On the other hand, I'm fairly used to the idea that there are some pretty shitty people in this country. In the first month after I returned several years ago, two people told me to go back where I came from (because of my accent), and a fellow student informed me that "we beat up people like you where I come from". A veteran, unaware that my relatives on both sides, multiple generations, had served in the United States Military, told me that "we liberated you people, you ought to be grateful", and I was called a god-damned communist.

All of that still happens occasionally.
Born here, but still a "foreigner".
I'm not really "one of us".
And I should shut up.

So yeah, there are some perfectly vicious people here. It was only a matter of time before that came bubbling to the surface. There has always been a deep vein of bigotry, intolerance, and xenophobia in this country. And white self-righteous Christianity.

Basically, everywhere between Treasure Island and Brooklyn is shitheadistan, speckled with some good people. I have no wish to meet "the real America"; I've dealt with those fuckers already. Don't want to visit those places either.

No one in their right mind would.




==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================