1 year ago: little did we know, it will be the last time

 One year ago today, was Friday the 13th. It was the last day of the 3rd quarter and Spring Break was about to begin.  I was a Library Assistant at Kalākaua Middle School.

 It was the week when the sports world has started to shut down tournaments, seasons, you name it!

At the time, I thought it was all overkill. I mean, we've been through the news cycles surrounding SARS, H1N1, Zika, Ebola. I thought "here we go again, it will just fade away like those other viruses". 

Don't get me wrong, we were taking precautions that week.  I was wiping door handles, chairs, tables & more, all throughout the library.  Students & faculty were reminded to wash & sanitize their hands. 

But still, most of us just assumed that students will return to school right after Spring Break, just like normal, just that this time, we'll nag them more about washing their hands. 

Wednesdays were usually early release days for students so that faculty could have their meetings after-school in the library. But that week, we had no faculty meeting because the library was being prepped for the school's honor society induction ceremony for new members later in the evening.  The ceremony went as normally scheduled, though I could hear whispers of "it's because of the virus" when the vice-principal did fist-bumps instead of handshakes to the new inductees. 

Friday the 13th however, there were more announcements of cancellations.

I was in the library's restroom when I heard the school's intercom. I could barely hear it in there so I didn't know what was said. 

A few minutes later, morning recess started. I expected the normal routine of students coming to the library to borrow books, do computer work or assist me in circulation.  But then a large group of students came in all at once wearing the T-Shirts for the school's hip-hop dance crew (Dancers DeeLite). Because I didn't really hear the intercom's announcement, I didn't know they were all to meet at the library during morning recess. While there, the vice-principal announced that their upcoming event was canceled. There were literally tears coming out of the student's eyes when that was announced. That shows how much the event meant to them. To them, the dance crew wasn't just something to do, it was a way of life. 

The library's student helpers were watching all of that being announced and they felt sad for the dance crew too!

As for Dancers DeeLite, they did a performance outside during lunch recess. I could hear the music from within the library, which had fewer students than normal inside.

Also during lunch recess that day, I was talking to the library student helpers and I said "only now I realized it's Friday the 13th, no wonder why things are so weird today". 

 I still remember which students were helping at morning recess and lunch recess that day. 

I developed a close bond with those student library helpers. I was like a mentor to them, a trusted adult on campus. 

And the sad thing about that day is that little did we know, it would be the last time! 

 The last time me and those student library helpers will ever see each other.

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During Spring Break, I was on campus to help organize incoming books headed for a classroom, work on temp ID's, as well as sanitize the library. Then in the middle of the week (3/18/2020), it was announced that all non-essential state workers were to stay home. The lockdown has officially started.

For the entire 4th quarter, the schools were shut-down and all instruction was done either online or through worksheet packets. 

While I had a strong bond with the library student helpers, my relations with the head librarian were strained beyond repair. At the end of the school year, I decided I would be better off leaving the position. I already blogged about the issue at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/08/restrain-this.html

While I am glad to be away from the head librarian, the saddest part was that I never had the chance to say goodbye to the library student helpers in person.  There's a possibility I might never see them again.

When it is their time, I might attend their high school graduation. Most of the students from Kalākaua Middle School transition to Farrington High School.  Since it's hard to predict the future, you never know who might end up going to a different school by the time their senior year rolls around.  And even if I do attend, I might not be able to find everyone that I expect to be there. And if I do find them, will they remember who I am, since so much life has happened for them that I might be a faded memory for them.

Maybe we've been so traumatized by the coronavirus crisis that they still might restrict the number of people gathering for the graduation even a few years from now. 

But then again, I've worked as a substitute teacher for 13 years and sometimes former students come up to me at random times & places. At times, they had to tell me their name because they have grown so much that I didn't even recognize them.  That might be the case for the library student helpers from Kalākaua Middle School. 

Speedy Gonzales and Latin@ stereotypes

 Now that the estate of Dr. Seuss has withdrawn 6 titles from further publication due to the appearance of non-woke characters, there have been further conversations about old cartoon characters. 

NY Times opinion writer Charles Blow wrote about that issue and ignited further controversy over his criticism of Speedy Gonzales being a stereotype of Mexican culture.

link to that article:https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/opinion/suess-books-race-bias.html

copyright: Warner Brothers

However, many people of Mexican & other Latin American ancestries love Speedy Gonzales. 

https://notthebee.com/article/it-was-more-than-just-pepe-le-pew-new-york-times-columnist-went-after-speedy-gonzales-too-and-his-failure-was-epic

https://remezcla.com/culture/latinos-debate-speedy-gonzales-a-racist-caricature/

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/gabriel-iglesias-cancel-culture-defending-speedy-gonzales-space-jam-sequel

We don't want "woke" saviors trying to save us from cartoon characters. Our cultures emphasize having a sense of humor about ourselves.  Even if the character was based on a stereotype, we don't take that stuff personal.

I was talking about this issue with my older brother, who has been to Mexico more than me, and we both agreed that Speedy Gonzales wasn't something to be offended about. We also criticized the over-reactions to other cartoon characters from the Loony Tunes and the Simpsons.

If you want to talk about stereotypes, I think realistic fiction movies like "Blood In, Blood Out" contribute to way more misunderstanding about Mexican culture than some cartoon character. Don't get wrong, we need movies like that to represent life for some Mexican-Americans in the barrios of California.

 However, being in Hawaii, I noticed that the movie "Blood In, Blood Out" is popular among Pacific Islanders, but some of them have the mistaken assumption that the movie represents the culture of the average Mexican. When they find out my dad is from Mexico, they assume he would talk & dress like the characters from that movie! HELL NO! The Mexican side of my family is from Oaxaca, which is FAR from the US-Mexico border.  They don't use words like "ese" or "vato", and they don't drive lowriders or wear khakis!   But the funny thing is that if you tell those same Pacific Islanders that Polynesians and Micronesians are the same, they will get offended! (Don't get me wrong: I got nothing but love for the Pacific Islanders, and a lot of them have been a blessing to my life! I just got to let them know that movie isn't my family's reality!)

As for the Puerto Rican side of my family, a few months before my grandmother died, we were watching one of the TV stations that played old movies. It was one of those John Wayne's western movies. While we were watching, my grandma said she loved seeing those Latino characters in John Wayne's movies .  

My mind was thinking "the woke activists of today would have a fit about the way those Latino characters are portrayed in those old films" 

But the important thing is that: my grandma and her generation has been through so much struggles growing up that minor issues like the "wokeness" of fictional characters are of ZERO importance to them. Even with all the traumas my grandma has been through, she also had a sense of humor about herself and would laugh along with whatever Latin@ characters would be on TV, even if it wouldn't pass the "wokeness" test of today!  

Happy pics don't erase the fact you're traumatized

 In a recent  blog post, I mentioned this

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/02/journalist-and-friends-who-insist-on.html

I also had "friends" who are on the opposite extreme. These "friends" want me to be silent about traumas at all times. They tell me "let it go, don't let it get to you" . Yet, when I point out their hypocrisies, they act all hurt and called my other friends acting all traumatized because I pointed out these hypocrisies.

and

Actually, I did blog about that one "friend" who advised me to not blog about my past traumas . At the time, I mentioned his name.  He then called my other friends in emotional distress, which is more proof of his hypocrisy. I took down that blog post in hopes we could reunite in the 20th year reunion. He didn't show up! 

But he did write blog posts expressing emotional distress about my blog posts expressing disagreement with him (nevermind that he advised me not to blog about my traumas) though he didn't mention my name. I took the high road by not adding fuel to the fire. But if he does respond to this, I can guarantee more fuel! 

The funniest part of that person's blog was his blog post called "The Traumatized Chronicles " in which he posted pictures of vacations, friends, and reunions to somehow prove that he wasn't traumatized when I blogged about his hypocrisies!   Even funnier was some of those photos were taken BEFORE I traumatized him with my expose of his hypocrisies. 

In other words, if you were traumatized in 2013, photos from a 2009 reunion and a 2008 vacation with friends in no way disproved that you were traumatized in 2013. 

And you can post all kinds of party pics, take fantastic vacations all over the world & win awards from the years after, that doesn't disprove you were traumatized in 2013!

I extended an olive branch by inviting that person to a reunion in 2014 & 2019 ---- he didn't show up to either one! If he did, I would've said "hi", shake his hand and we could've ended the whole beef right there! 

In 2024, he'll be invited again, that's if the pandemic is over!  We can shake hands, talk story and take some cool party pics. It may not erase past traumas, but it will finally show that he can practice what he preaches and prove that he can truly "let it go"! 

Open the Unemployment Insurance office already

Nobody was ready for the pandemic and errors were inevitable. But most institutions have been able to adjust over the last 12 months.

Hawaii's Unemployment Insurance (UI) office was uniquely unprepared, and it wasn't only because of the increasing demand for their services. It's one thing for an institution to be understaffed during emergency situations. But it's magnified when the institution hasn't updated their computer system in decades.! Their database was based on a 1980's era computer system that wasn't meant for a 21st century world

learn more at https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/05/how-an-antiquated-it-system-failed-thousands-of-hawaiis-unemployed/

Understandably, the UI office was closed to the public when the coronavirus crisis hit our shores.

But over time, they should've been able to figure out how to accommodate the public, especially when dealing with clients who may not have internet access at home! Especially when almost nobody has the time or patience to call an overwhelmed call center!

But the most insulting excuse for not reopening the UI office to the public was the fear of angry clients coming in.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/02/20/hawaii-news/state-makes-big-dent-in-jobless-claim-backlog/

And it’s unlikely that state labor officials will open their offices for in-person visits for people seeking additional help anytime soon, even though Hawaii is vaccinating essential state workers. The department’s director remains concerned that local offices would be overwhelmed by thousands of angry, unemployed residents, imperiling her employees’ safety.

This got me writing a letter to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser which got published in today's edition

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/02/25/editorial/letters/letters-ui-offices-must-open-for-in-person-assistance/

The state’s unemployment insurance (UI) office remains closed to the public due to worries about angry UI applicants showing up (“Hawaii makes big dent in jobless claim backlog, but the call center remains overwhelmed,” Star-Advertiser, Feb. 20).

Well, what do officials think retail employees have been dealing with this whole time? They are confronted by angry customers all the time, yet the stores still open. Meanwhile, many unemployed people lack access to computers and are having their mental health affected by calling the UI phone that almost never gets answered.

Those people need in-person services. The UI office had months to plan how to install Plexiglass, implement social distancing procedures and hire security officers, all to assist unemployed residents who need assistance ASAP.

It’s time for the state to stop making excuses and start living in the real world everyone else lives in, and open the UI offices already.

Pablo Wegesend

Right after I emailed that letter, I realized I forgot to mention an important point: Continuing to keep the UI office closed to avoid angry people WILL ONLY CREATE MORE ANGER from the public! 

People want solutions and they are tired of waiting! They are angry that they are out of a job, out of money to survive, and out of hope! 

And even worse, THEY ARE ANGRY that the very people that are supposed to help them are unavailable!

THEY ARE ANGRY that they have to waste hours on the phone trying to call someone who might not answer!

THEY ARE ANGRY because they can't afford computers or smartphones to email their concerns, and THEY ARE ANGRY at this elitist snobbery that expects everyone to have the latest iPhone or iPad,  nevermind that the reason they need help is that they have difficulty affording food and shelter, and therefore not even able to get the latest gadgets!

And most importantly, THEY ARE EVEN MORE ANGRY NOW because UI is running away from the people instead of running to help the people!

And the most important thing to know about anger is that if the problem is not solved, THAT ANGER WILL  GROW AND GROW AND GROW! When that anger grows, it becomes very dangerous!

If the UI office had reopened to the public last November, that anger from the public would have calmed down by now! 

Had the UI office reopened last November (let's say the 2nd of the month, since it was a Monday), yes the first few days would've been rough with the angry clients. But after a few weeks, more people would've had their issues resolved, and therefore less angry people coming in. The amount of angry people will be less than before. Things would've been a little more chill by now (late February 2021) had the UI office reopened months ago!

But because the UI office insists on being closed, the anger among the people will continue to grow, bringing in more rage once the office actually opens! 

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And get this, almost every other institution adjusted to the new reality. I currently work at a fashion retail store, we had to adjust our ways. We implemented social distancing measures, we implemented outbreak prevention measures (for example, I'm the one who wipes all the high-touch points throughout the store), we implemented curbside pickup, we accommodate delivery workers from DoorDash, we do returns/exchanges in one location, and much much more.

Do we get unreasonable angry customers at times? Definitely. We've seen entitled customers having a meltdown over simple requests for identification, being notified that we ran out of gift boxes, and even requests to follow covid-19 guidelines. But because we have been open for months, most customers are chill because we don't fear dealing with their issues in person, we embrace dealing with their issues in person.  And many times, the customers leave the store happier than they were when they came in. 

One thing that the UI office needs to learn is this: We can't run away from our problems all the time. Time to stop being scared, start being brave, and start working with the people! 

Did I contradict myself on de-platforming & cancelling

 Earlier this month, I had a blog post about de-platforming people from social media

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/02/on-de-platforming-social-media-users.html

one of my quotes from the blog post

As for me personally, I'd rather not advocate de-platforming anyone. I want the voices of others (especially the voices I hate) to be available so that we can keep track of them. 

and

So I say let the bad guys talk on social media. Censoring them isn't going to make them go away! 

And more importantly, the solution to bad uses of speech is to make good use of speech.

Deplatforming is a lazy way to act like your opponents don't exist! It "protects" you from actually working on your talking points! 

But wait a minute, a few months earlier, I advocated that 98.5  fire the Wake-Up Crew for their repulsive humor

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/11/fire-985-wake-up-crew.html

For too long, the people of Hawaii have been too silent about these Wake Up Crew jerks because they're afraid of being accused of "not being able to take a joke"!

I say that 98.5 should fire the Wake Up Crew!

and

To anyone who responds by saying "free speech" and "cancel culture", if I acted the same way these Wake Up Crew jerks act at any job I ever had, I would've been fired!

"Free speech" only means you can't be jailed for expressing your opinions. "Free speech" doesn't mean you're entitled to a job! 

So why the mixed messages from me?  

Because I want repulsive scum like the Wake Up Crew to lose their lucrative corporate sponsorships and turn them into broke losers whose social media following is too small to be major influences but still have the space to self-destruct in public view.  I want them to be broke but still be spied upon!

With their radio show, Wake Up Crew had the reach to be heard when people walk into gas stations playing their show in the background. Just imagine stopping by to refill your gas tank or to even buy some snacks and hearing that garbage in the background. You just went to get out of there ASAP!   But off the radio, their voices are pushed into the fringe, gas stations are playing something else in the background. 

I'm sure the same situation gets played millions of times throughout the continental USA where right-wing radio is more popular, with people wanting to get the hell out of the gas stations that might be playing this pro-Trump nonsense in the background. 

And also this:  with having their radio show, the Wake Up Crew felt emboldened to spew their repulsive jokes about the homeless, disabled and ethnic groups. But without their radio show, they can't get paid for such garbage. They can talk all the crap on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram but it brings in no money. So now they have come to the crossroads: they can continue to make their jokes to a dwindling audience or they can wise up, grow up and be more cognizant of what they say on social media.  With their being fired from the radio show, they're more careful on social media without being de-platformed there! 

So yeah, I'll fire the bigots from radio, TV & other profitable venues, but let them be spied on social media where they'll just be another sad, broke chumps with no real influence beyond their inner circle! 

Rush Limbaugh

 The master of conservative talk radio, Rush Limbaugh, died last week at the age of 70!

photo by Gage Skidmore

Rush Limbaugh

While he wasn't the first in the game, he elevated the political talk radio format into the mainstream and spawned many imitators! 

Limbaugh became a national household name in the late 80s going into the 90s.   This was an era when the center-left had a near-monopoly of the media, and Fox News was not yet in existence. In fact, Roger Ailes was a producer of Limbaugh's short-lived TV show before starting Fox News under Rupert Murdoch in 1996. And don't forget, the Internet was in its infancy at the time and was a few years away from being mainstream. 

Limbaugh was also a best-selling author with his books "The Way Things Ought to Be" and "See I Told You So". 

While politics is a serious topic, Limbaugh was talented in making political discussions entertaining even if you didn't agree with him. 

He did expose the hypocrisies of the Democrats and liberal activists. However, he was always a kiss-ass to the Republican Party, and never contradicted the main leaders of the party even when they flip-flopped in their positions. 

The Left did claim that Limbaugh was a white supremacist, a misogynist, and a homophobe.

I don't believe Limbaugh was a white supremacist, though he could be tone-deaf at times. There's a difference between being a hardcore bigot vs being occasionally tone-deaf. I'll never encourage either, but Limbaugh was more in the tone-deaf category. In fact, as I mentioned in previous posts, Hawaii's former 98.5 Wake Up Crew was way more vulgar and bigoted than Limbaugh

(blog posts on 98.5 Wake Up Crew)

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2017/05/wake-up-with-brown-privilege.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/11/fire-985-wake-up-crew.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2020/12/bullies-get-dunked-on.html

In fact, Walter Williams was a guest host, and James Golden (aka Bo Snerdly) was a producer on his show. Both were African-Americans. 

link to Bo Snerdly's interview after Limbaugh's death https://news.yahoo.com/rush-limbaugh-incredibly-great-human-150644012.html

Some of the alleged racist quotes attributed to Limbaugh were found to be unsubstantiated accorded to Snopes

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/rush-limbaugh-racist-quotes/

Last year, Limbaugh did call Charlamagne Tha God's Breakfast Club (a talk show that is popular among hip-hop audiences) and expressed his disgust towards the cops who killed George Floyd, but he also disagreed with the concept of "white privilege".  While he did convince that he wasn't a hardcore bigot, it still comes across as  tone-deaf. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y1vGD7bNEg

I did remember listening to Limbaugh's show when he made fun of the name of a Chinese pilot who crashed into a US spy-plane in the early 2000's. I remember being in the same room with a friend of Asian ancestry when we heard it, and we definitely cringed at that joke! 

Limbaugh was also tone-deaf on gender issues.  He mocked a liberal activist for being a "slut" for lobbying the government to subsidize birth control and mocked the appearance of Democrat women.  

Some of Limbaugh's statements did go BEYOND mere tone-deafness and were truly deplorable & repulsive.

For example, in the early 90s, he had a segment mocking gay men who were dying of AIDS. Limbaugh later apologized.

https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-rush-limbaugh-mock-aids-death-radio-show-1570282

He also mocked Micheal J Fox's symptoms of Parkinson's Disease after he made an ad supporting Democrat candidates. 

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/rush-limbaugh-death-michael-j-fox/

He also mocked Kurt Cobain after his suicide in 1994. However, later in life, just like Cobain,  Limbaugh became addicted to drugs he started taking to ease his physical pains.  Be careful what you make fun of, it might soon be you. 

For these statements, many will never forgive Rush Limbaugh, and many celebrated his death on social media.

Being that I once listened to his show in the early 2000s and I did read his books, I knew there was a Rush Limbaugh beyond these cringe-worthy statements. I knew he had valuable insights on politics, economics & more.

However, as a public figure, you have to understand that once you make cringe-worthy statements, you lose the trust of millions, regardless of whatever good things you may have said. You claim "it's not fair" but so what? You can only push people around so much before they say "I'm done with you". 

I say the new generation of radio/TV/podcast hosts can learn from Limbaugh's comedic talents without abusing such talents. 

Journalists and "friends" who insist on asking about traumas!

I saw this article about how pop singer Mandy Moore refused to give an interview with a journalist who insists on asking about past traumas that she already discussed multiple times already!

https://www.scarymommy.com/mandy-moore-interview-canceled-trauma/

In an Instagram story, Moore shared an email with an interviewer where they explain that unless Moore is willing to talk about her first husband (who we won’t name here out of respect for her), they would not go forward with the interview.

Moore posted a screenshot of the email (with names redacted, of course) alongside her own public statement explaining why it’s so violating for a reporter to act like they (and the world) are entitled to access to the most traumatic parts of her life on demand. 

 

I agree with Moore's approach (though I personally wouldn't redact names, but that's just how I roll) because I've had "friends" who insisted on asking me questions about past traumas, even though it involved past conflicts with people I haven't even seen in over a decade! I snapped at those so-called "friends", and sent them emails calling them "energy vampires" because constant discussions of those types of things drain my energy!

That same "friend" even had the nerve to ask me if I had mental illnesses and Aspergers.

Excuse me, who appointed you to be my psychiatrist?

If you're not my psychiatrist (or a similar type of professional), then don't ask me these questions.

I also had "friends" who are on the opposite extreme. These "friends" want me to be silent about traumas at all times. They tell me "let it go, don't let it get to you" . Yet, when I point out their hypocrisies, they act all hurt and called my other friends acting all traumatized because I pointed out these hypocrisies.

I HATE talking about traumas. I'm more comfortable writing about past traumas than I am talking about it! 

This is where my blog comes in! I write it out, leave it for the world to read it. But that's all the world is going to get from me! 

As for those so-called "friends" who advise me to not blog about my traumas, they are not my allies, they are my enemies to be destroyed!

Actually, I did blog about that one "friend" who advised me to not blog about my past traumas . At the time, I mentioned his name.  He then called my other friends in emotional distress, which is more proof of his hypocrisy. I took down that blog post in hopes we could reunite in the 20th year reunion. He didn't show up! 

But he did write blog  posts expressing emotional distress about my blog posts expressing disagreement with him (nevermind that he advised me not to blog about my traumas) though he didn't mention my name. I took the high road by not adding fuel to the fire. But if he does respond to this, I can guarantee more fuel! 

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As far as I'm concerned, real friends will back you up when you're dealing with a problem, but they also won't insist that you keep talking about it! Real friends will also give you space with some moments of silence which does wonders in de-escalating situations.

 Real friends will also boost your spirit by talking about common enjoyable interests. By talking about common enjoyable interests and participating in enjoyable activities, you contribute to boosting your friends' spirits and their mental health.  :)