A Graying 44 Looks At the Current And Past Asian American Blogosphere
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(Artwork from Hilary Page)
The awesome admins of BicoastalBitchin sent me this link to one of their blog posts. It’s about the media and their portrayal of Asian people. The blogger specifically focuses on AF/WM. When I read it, I cracked up laughing. It reminded me of the grand old days of 44-dom, when I would read General Tojo, Dialectic the Stealth MC, Xian, Maogirl, Catty, and Seoulbrother going back and forth on the CCB’s and other similar topics. That was five years ago when the 44s was new, carving out a very influential niche in the Asian American blogosphere. That was how the 44s built its reputation–for better or for worse. Now, the 44s, like many other sites that began during that era, is facing mid-life.
The best sites in the AA blogosphere grew up on militancy and calls for action. From Asianguy to ModelMinority to even Goldsea, militant passion was the way things were done. These days, however, most AA sites have shifted down to the point of…well, tasting like sawdust. ModelMinority became so militant that many lost perspective. Goldsea became overly tame. Asianguy died. The 44s was going well until the latest melee, which came by way of certain people (led by a certain person) complaining, then not contributing when the owners provided space.
With that last fracas and our attempts to pacify some very angry people, my own blogging momentum was broken. I volunteered to take some time off from the site to make room for other opinions (which were never delivered), but it never really felt the same coming back. Blogging is like a conversation, and once you stop talking, it’s hard to resume. In retrospect however, it probably would’ve happened anyway, regardless of whether or not there was an angry person to expedite it. The fact is that I am getting older. I’m out of the loop when it comes to what people here are used to talking about. It’s a natural progression. For example, it’s crazy for me to talk about the IR disparity much, considering the fact that I’m married with kids and haven’t dated anyone new–white, black, or Asian–in a very very long time. I don’t deal very much with the music and culture that young people listen to today. More often, I deal with problems like getting my children to eat or teaching kids empathy. And the sleep…what sleep? I get six hours a night if I’m lucky. There’s little opportunity for militancy here. Activism, yes, but not militant activism. We need both. The 44s should be urban and somewhat militant. That’s the spirit of the site.
It’s sad what is happening to the AA blogosphere. It’s not just the 44s; it’s all the activist or former activist sites. The militancy is gone, and the result has been a slew of pop culture sites that talk about stuff like Paris Hilton and Bai Ling. There’s nothing wrong with pop culture, but it’ll be a sad day when that yearning for justice is no longer present. I know some people feel differently, but I lose patience when I have to sift through nonsense created by “liberal, ineffectual tools.” (not my feelings about 8A, Ernie, but since people keep bringing that quote up despite the fact that it was written by a one-time commenter on the 44s eons ago, I may as well repeat it and keep the reputation alive :) ).
I support BcB and their fearless questioning of the status quo. Thank you BcB for continuing to raise awareness and keeping up the fight for social justice. I hope the 44s can revive itself, and I hope new people will come here to learn and to allow the 44s to teach them as it has taught me. Facebook has grown, but it won’t replace what I and others like me have accomplished through this site. In the meantime, I’m old, gray, and starting to feel my age in the blogosphere.
Young people, please participate. Old people need you. Asian American needs you. Keep up the fight. BcB, keep up the good work!
(Note: We have lots of spammers applying for membership, so if you get denied, please contact Lopan so that he can see you’re a real person.)
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evil_FUX
4:13 pm | Mar 28, 2009Nice post jaehwan but I gotta say it’s pretty lame you’re keeping a grudge over some one that’s not here and so over this site.
jaehwan
6:25 pm | Mar 28, 2009Thanks, man.
nskripchun
8:06 pm | Mar 28, 2009It’s the nature of web communities, I think. People come and go, because in “cyber space”, the relationships are a lot less deep and based merely on long streams of text we exchange. Yes, it’s possible to have substantive conversations or at least some awareness via the internet (the success of many AA sites is proof), but as we’ve talked about before, there is an important, dare I say OLD SCHOOL element to activism and community-building: face to face contact.
I’ve participated in several online AA websites since my high school days back in 1996 as a half-bored school newspaper features editor, and while many of the sites I once surfed (A-Magazine Forum, etc.) don’t exist anymore, I still have friendships with people that I had a chance to meet “in person”. Meeting you (jaehwan), xian, Dialectic, nightshade, maogirl, etc. and I think we’ve all had a similar conversation: while the internetz can be the spark of the beginnings of activism, progress in the real world happens only via face-to-face relationships.
jaehwan
12:32 am | Mar 29, 2009Here and not over…
http://www.thefighting44s.com/archives/2009/03/28/old-advice-from-le-tigre/
Welcome back.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/trikturner/blacksheep.html
:)
Yes, I hold a grudge, but grudges disappear through dialogue. As I’ve said again and again and again, dialogue is key, which is I always prefer talking.
Anyway, on a more serious note, I was being genuine when I said I’m too old. Old old old. Young ‘uns, we need ya.
jaehwan
12:38 am | Mar 29, 2009By the way, I have no idea what the above lyrics mean. I’m not too old to have heard the Black Sheep in school, but I never got it. Not understanding hip hop lyrics is a major disadvantage in knowing pop culture…
evil_FUX
12:49 am | Mar 29, 2009Yeah, I noticed. Hmm wonder why that person’s back? I know why, do you? Really?
Not like the stuff that gets posted here (or yours) exists in a vacuum you know. And no, I had nothing to do with it.
jaehwan
5:15 pm | Mar 29, 2009I probably know why that person came back, but do I want to voice my guess out loud? Probably not. If that person wants to tell me, I’m sure that person will.
Actually, I was wondering about that. Thanks for clarifying. The thing is this: we should be able to overlook personal issues, especially if we’re trying to spread ideas. I think it’s good if that person comes back, but it would also be nice to see some original feminist content. Forums and blogs probably have useful shelf lives like many things, but no feminism site has sprouted up, so if we toss in the towel on that issue, I’d say it’s premature. AsianGUY, ModelMinority, and 44s have all been guy-focused. Feminism very well could be the next transformation on the web.