Back in America, 4 days and counting

I got back a few days ago, I'm still unpacking...

Some of the highlights so far:

* Friday morning I was in the audience for a CNN/The Root discussion about being Young and Black in America. As a veteran of so many of these Washington talking events I am less than enthusiastic about them these days. Still, I bumped into a few friends, some of whom are neither young nor black. The discussion seemed so 1980s, with the panelists trying to figure out how to politically empower young black people. I guess it was appropriate then that the head of the NAACP was there. His most irrelevant concern was about hate talk radio...or I guess Rush Limbaugh being on the air all these years explains the high level of black-on-black crime.

20 years later, how is the Stop the Violence movement working out?

The highlight of this particular panel was running into old friend David Plotz, who is now editor of Salon Magazine. I don't think I've seen him since college but he recognized me. I forgot to get his contact info, I'll have to follow up.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN White House correspondent and moderator of this particular panel, was college roommates with one of my best friends. I said hello to Malveaux, took a picture with my cell phone that didn't come out. I thought to remind her that I knew her back when she knew me, but skipped it because she was (predictably) in a hurry to scoot out of there.

* Friday evening I went to a Congressional Black Caucus reception hosted by two black congresswomen I don't like very much. Anyway, it is always fun networking and eating the finger food at such events. I took photos with a couple of folks, including the ambassador to Nigeria.

The reception was sponsored by several big oil companies.

I do always enjoy hearing Congressional Democrats from Texas saying sweet things about oil companies that happen to be located in their districts.

* Saturday morning I got up early to hand out leaflets publicizing a rally for DC School Choice this Wednesday. It is pretty clear that the program will get killed, thanks to the inaction of Mayor Fenty and the City Council, and the actions of President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

I have mixed feelings about this, as someone who actively pushed for the legislation five years ago. Fenty, Obama and the Democrats should roast in hell for this (and many other things). The public schools in DC remain lousy, the various levels of government would do better to allow children a choice to find schools that work for them.

On the other hand, five years later, it should be parents, not advocates, who are handing out leaflets and holding rallies. Still, I will be at the rally this Wednesday holding a protest sign.

*Sunday morning I got up early again, this time to meet with some people talking about Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point. Whereas some people will only show up to talk about a book that is currently on the New York Times Best Sellers list, I enjoy discussions where perspective and time allow us to more fully evaluate a book. In many cases at forums about recently released books, most people haven't read it/have read only reviews about it.

It was a good reminder that Gladwell made many good points in the book. One of the main things that caught my attention was his point that there are three kinds of people: Connectors, Mavens, Persuaders.

This week I will try to resume swing dancing, someone I finally got into when I was in South Korea. I still have some actual work to do while I'm here so I'll try to get to it.

Speaking of the 1980s, here's one of my all-time favorite videos.

Self-Destruction from 1989!

CJL

"Yoegi Anjuseyo!"

* I have a short reflection in today's Korea Times about an encounter with an unfriendly looking Korean man on the subway. It was a reminder not to be too quick in judging people in Korea. 09-13-2011 16:47 'Yeogi Anjeuseyo!' By Casey Lartigue Jr. The recent incident in which an American English teacher bullied an elderly Korean man and other passengers on the bus reminded me of a more pleasing incident from years ago. I was on the subway, taking the train outside of Seoul for a work assignment. I have the habit of standing on the subway to strategically position myself near the doors in case my stop magically appears. On that particular day, there was a Korean man STARING at me. Not just looking at me, but intensely staring at me. He had an incredible frown on his face. Not just for one stop, but for several stops the guy just kept staring at me. If I had known more Korean then I would have been able to curse him ...

Rich talking back

The rich are talked about very often in negative terms, but how often do the rich respond in kind? Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who inherited most of her money but apparently has also done very well with it, recently railed against class warfare and had some advice for the non-rich : "There is no monopoly on becoming a millionaire," she writes. "If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking, or smoking and socializing and more time working." She complained about politicians raising taxes, regulations that slow investment, and other anti-business policies that harm the poor. "If you want to help the poor and our next generation, make investment, reinvenstment and businesses welcome."

Michael Breen discussion at 10 Magazine

Yesterday I attended a discussion with writer Michael Breen, hosted by Barry Welsh. Very often, when I attend a speech or discussion about a topic I know a lot about, I often think about ways the speaker/facilitator/discussant could have done better. But I didn't feel that way about Breen, it was one of those times that I really felt like I had a lot to learn and should listen more than talk. He's been in Korea for three decades, working as a reporter, commentator, communications specialist. He reminds me of Andrei Lankov in that his analysis seems to be based on observation of how things work rather than trying to get the world to fit his biases. I don't know him, so his friends may say he is a raging ideologue, but that's not the impression I had yesterday and based on his writings. Michael Breen (L) and Casey Lartigue I first read his book The Koreans about a decade ago. It was a delightful read, that was both warm to Koreans but also critical at times. Yes...

Humanitarian with a guillotine (Korea Times, February 1, 2013) by Casey Lartigue, Jr.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, `` I’m from the government, and I’m here to help .” For many well-intentioned activists, politicians, and intellectuals, that should be updated as: ``We are here to help you. You’re under arrest.” For example, ``sex workers” around the world oppose anti-prostitution laws. Prostitutes may not know the theoretical arguments but they do know in reality that prohibiting prostitution means they lack protection in dealing with abusive pimps and madams, violent patrons and crooked cops. Locally, a Korean woman busted for prostitution recently appealed to the courts pleading , ``I cannot survive without this job. I don’t want to be treated as a criminal for making a living the only way I can.” How should someone who genuinely wants to help her respond? If you say ``arrest her” then you are qualified to be a “harmful humanitarian.” In your desire to help, you have elimin...

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

Yeonmi Park, February 14, 2014, making her debut! Yesterday I was one of the speakers at a special session on North Korean refugees at the Canadian Maple International School. Wow, it was a wonderful time! * Yeon-Mi Park delivered her first major speech in English. She was wonderful! She told her story (35 minute speech without notes), discussed different aspects of North Korea, and then handled questions from students for more than an hour. She did seem to be nervous at the beginning-she took a deep breath just as she started, looked at me, then told her story from her heart. * Returning from the speech, I told Yeonmi that she had star potential. She told me that she didn't believe it, but I told her that the way she handled Q&A and told her story, I would be lucky to have her still returning my phone calls within a year. * The students had many questions. They have been learning about North Korea. They are now reading "Escape from Camp 14" featuring Shin Dong-h...

The Casey Lartigue Show!

Search This Blog