Please join me in sending love, prayers and hope to the Reibel family. Beautiful Rosie has courageously fought a brain tumor for more than two years. Today her family received sad news that the cancer may be back.
This leaves me feeling incredibly sad, angry and helpless. I think the best I can do is send my love and ask each of you to do the same. Please keep her in your thoughts, hope for the best and wish for courage for her entire family.
Showing posts with label sad things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sad things. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Our First Racial Slur
Hawaii is a melting pot, a complete mish-mash of cultures and ethnicities. There's never been a day where we haven't been aware that we are the outsiders. Today, however, it was thrown right in our face.
Today Bryan and I walked to the museum for the last day of a Hawaii architect exhibit that I'd been wanting to see. After our cultural adventure, we stopped by McDonalds for a very non-cultural treat. Upon exiting McDonalds, we obliviously walked in front of the Drive Thru exit lane. I heard a engine revving, looked over my shoulder, and lightly shoved Bryan to move out of the car's way. The car then hit the gas fast, but not too fast to yell out "Go ahead, take your time.. YOU'RE WHITE!"
Stunned, we looked at each other, "did you hear that?" Then we laughed, and high-fived. Our first racial slur.
Then it sunk in. Wait, what??
Did she mean to imply that as being white we're privileged? We were the ones walking out of McDonalds when they were driving. Or perhaps that because we're white we must therefore be slowpokes? I don't want to point racial fingers but there are other ethnicities in Hawaii that carry the stereotype of being lazy and slow.
On we walked, laughing but knowing it bothered both of us a bit.
Respecting all that is Hawaii, I promise. And recognizing it is a melting pot that doesn't really melt - where each culture group maintains and shouts with pride their differences. I am still stunned that this was more or less shouted in our face. I truly believe we would never curse our neighbor by the color of their skin. Sure, we might sit in our car and think a mean thought about the Lexus driver as they cut us off on the freeway. But faced with the reality of shouting it at them, I believe we'd quickly realize the errors of our ways and keep our mouth shut. Too bad this woman didn't keep her mouth shut because she certainly left a bad taste in mine.
Today Bryan and I walked to the museum for the last day of a Hawaii architect exhibit that I'd been wanting to see. After our cultural adventure, we stopped by McDonalds for a very non-cultural treat. Upon exiting McDonalds, we obliviously walked in front of the Drive Thru exit lane. I heard a engine revving, looked over my shoulder, and lightly shoved Bryan to move out of the car's way. The car then hit the gas fast, but not too fast to yell out "Go ahead, take your time.. YOU'RE WHITE!"
Stunned, we looked at each other, "did you hear that?" Then we laughed, and high-fived. Our first racial slur.
Then it sunk in. Wait, what??
Did she mean to imply that as being white we're privileged? We were the ones walking out of McDonalds when they were driving. Or perhaps that because we're white we must therefore be slowpokes? I don't want to point racial fingers but there are other ethnicities in Hawaii that carry the stereotype of being lazy and slow.
On we walked, laughing but knowing it bothered both of us a bit.
Respecting all that is Hawaii, I promise. And recognizing it is a melting pot that doesn't really melt - where each culture group maintains and shouts with pride their differences. I am still stunned that this was more or less shouted in our face. I truly believe we would never curse our neighbor by the color of their skin. Sure, we might sit in our car and think a mean thought about the Lexus driver as they cut us off on the freeway. But faced with the reality of shouting it at them, I believe we'd quickly realize the errors of our ways and keep our mouth shut. Too bad this woman didn't keep her mouth shut because she certainly left a bad taste in mine.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Warning: Not a Happy Post
Right around the time I was seriously deciding I needed to leave San Francisco and move to Hawaii a whole bunch of really awful things happened around me. None of them directly affected me, aside from witnessing them.
One Sunday during my drive home from Costco, I sort of witnessed someone fall or jump from a building. I didn't actually see the fall/jump but heard the thump and then saw the body. Luckily that person survived at least until the next day in the hospital. But it shook me up thoroughly.
Not much longer after that a strip club near my office (I know!) had some sort of robbery/hostage/gunpoint thing that required police activity and circling helicopters ALL DAY. The sound of helicopters overhead for hours on end makes you think and feel things you never really want to confront. It feels all war-like even though it's a strip club and I believe everyone made it out of okay.
On one particular very-overwhelming city day I came home to see that someone had graffiti'd our garage door. Which is actually quite funny (albeit rude!) but on that day it pushed me over the edge and I thought "the city is too much, it's too nasty, I must get out of here!"
Then, a man was shot and killed two blocks from my house for no good reason at all. Awful, awful, awful! And too much for me to absorb or brush off.
I had made up my mind that the city had too many crazies, too much violence, and too much drama. And I assumed that by leaving the city I would find somewhere with less nastiness and more calm. But don't get me wrong, there is beauty and niceness every single minute of every day in San Francisco. It is a magical place even considering the bad things I encountered.
I figured Hawaii would be immune to most of that craziness. It's small, it's happy, sunny, warm. Family is key here. People have big cookouts at the beach. They wear flowers in their hair! But the truth is, it's no different. There is just as many incomprehensible things happening everyday.
This morning a woman jumped from a parking garage (our parking garage) just a block from Bryan and my offices. My co-worker saw her body on the concrete before the police got to the scene. I saw the police in the parking garage and later saw the sheet-covered body on the ground.
It's just icky that these things happen. It's sad and it's scary. And it's pretty gross. And I guess I just don't take it lightly. But now I can say with certainty that it has nothing to do with the city. San Francisco or Honolulu. Downtown or in a small town, sad things will happen.
One Sunday during my drive home from Costco, I sort of witnessed someone fall or jump from a building. I didn't actually see the fall/jump but heard the thump and then saw the body. Luckily that person survived at least until the next day in the hospital. But it shook me up thoroughly.
Not much longer after that a strip club near my office (I know!) had some sort of robbery/hostage/gunpoint thing that required police activity and circling helicopters ALL DAY. The sound of helicopters overhead for hours on end makes you think and feel things you never really want to confront. It feels all war-like even though it's a strip club and I believe everyone made it out of okay.
On one particular very-overwhelming city day I came home to see that someone had graffiti'd our garage door. Which is actually quite funny (albeit rude!) but on that day it pushed me over the edge and I thought "the city is too much, it's too nasty, I must get out of here!"
Then, a man was shot and killed two blocks from my house for no good reason at all. Awful, awful, awful! And too much for me to absorb or brush off.
I had made up my mind that the city had too many crazies, too much violence, and too much drama. And I assumed that by leaving the city I would find somewhere with less nastiness and more calm. But don't get me wrong, there is beauty and niceness every single minute of every day in San Francisco. It is a magical place even considering the bad things I encountered.
I figured Hawaii would be immune to most of that craziness. It's small, it's happy, sunny, warm. Family is key here. People have big cookouts at the beach. They wear flowers in their hair! But the truth is, it's no different. There is just as many incomprehensible things happening everyday.
This morning a woman jumped from a parking garage (our parking garage) just a block from Bryan and my offices. My co-worker saw her body on the concrete before the police got to the scene. I saw the police in the parking garage and later saw the sheet-covered body on the ground.
It's just icky that these things happen. It's sad and it's scary. And it's pretty gross. And I guess I just don't take it lightly. But now I can say with certainty that it has nothing to do with the city. San Francisco or Honolulu. Downtown or in a small town, sad things will happen.
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