The Good and Bad of Symbols of Power

[speedball]

Associated with every race/groups/minorities struggle, is the use of strong symbols. These symbols serve to unite disparate groups as a stronger whole, as well as provide strong imagery pointing out the bigotry that they face.

What was once used as a word to subjugate the black man, has now become a symbol of empowerment and brotherhood. On the same note, gays now freely use the fag word as a term of pride.

Though the bigotry is on a more subtle level, it exists and symbols are necessary to unite the many different facets of being "asian".

What makes the problem even harder is that there are so many diverse sets of "asians".

Can anyone provide positive symbols, words, images that represent who we are and our plight?

[Anna D]

that's kind of a slippery road. The symbols and words once used to hold blacks down are buzz words not symbols of power or unity. So some asians may try to use certain words and symbols to unite each other but be careful it could turn out to be more divisive than anything. I for one don't even hang out with blacks who use the N word. I think they're ghetto and they think I talk like a white girl.

[Dialectic]

I'm with you there Anna.

What invariably happens when there is a strong reliance on symbols among a large population is that ideology forms. Ideology is always inflexible.

People start mistaking the idea of a thing to be a thing. Rifts start to form within the population that's supposed to be unified, AND the symbol also emphasizes the separation between the people it represents and the people it doesn't.

The key, as I have been emphasizing so much, is transcedence: that is, healthy differentiation AND healthy integration.

We MUST differentiate to recognize patterns and problems. Fighting44s is differentiated based on geography (North American and maybe a bit of Australian), ethnicity ("Asian"), and somewhat on economic status (po' people don't read no internet). We can now observe the patterns surrounding North American "Asians" of mostly the "middle-class." This allows us to identify problems and formulate solutions specifically for people, organizations, and situations who fall under our set of criteria for being a "Fighting44."

If, however, any of these labels reify (become "real things") in a person's mind and he or she cannot let go of the solidity of a classification, then behaviour becomes pathological.

In our case, as ONE example, it is better to be "Asian" than "Chinese."
It is better to be "North American Asian" than "Asian."
It is better to be a "Human World Citizen" than "North American Asian."

Realities in lower (less-inclusive) levels are still ACKNOWLEGED, RETAINED, and RESPECTED, but they are no longer absolute wholes in themselves.

When a symbol or self-identity becomes a "reality," when we forget it is really a contextually useful conceptual construct, pathologies emerge and the symbol or identity defeats itself.

This is what happens, for example, in the Asian sets Vinh discusses. It happens in the Mafia, in the military, wherever someone states "I am absolutely ________." There will come a time to let go of whatever that identity is and transcend higher into a more inclusive whole. And these types of organizations, with their intense focus on obedience and loyalty, DO NOT allow you to do that.

Fighting44s is, on an an ultimate level, fighting to cease to exist: not to defeat ourselves, but to TRANSCEND ourselves. We fight for a day when we won't need the 44s. We'll still BE 44s, but there will be larger, more inclusive levels of meaning and belonging.

We are DEEP muthafuckas.

[VeryAngry]

GRADE FUCKING A PLUS!

I swear, you guys need to collect notes and write a journal or something, because a few years down the line, you'd have enough material to write a book, and you'd find your foresight handy.

I always have more faith in something that has a clearer vision.