When I was thirteen or maybe fourteen, I went to Korea with my family. I had been before, but was now newly a teenager and finally aware of all the expectations that weighed on me as a gyopo—a Korean raised overseas. I understood the obligation I had to the aunts and uncles who stayed behind […]
Once there was a girl who couldn’t say what she wanted to say. Whenever she talked, her words were so heavy they fell to the floor without reaching the intended ears of those who needed to listen. People stumbled over her words, not seeing them, or completely ignored them, kicking them under the carpet. The […]
A week ago as I write this, at age 46, I told my mom that I identified as non-binary. A few nights before that, my parents had come with me to a play about a woman in small-town Texas whose daughter declares herself to be genderqueer, and the series of personal and community struggles that […]
You’ve made your phone calls. You’ve rallied. You’ve begged for town halls. What else can you do? Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Make your legislators picture your face when they think about your issue. I’m here to walk you through meeting effectively with your representatives to the federal or state government. I […]
The fourth episode of the seventh season of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory—titled “The Raiders Minimization”—has apparently become a classic. I say “apparently” because, though I am not a habitual watcher, I have become keenly aware of this half hour of television by dint of being dragged into the same discussion about it […]
My so-called qualifications: I’ve been a community organizer for fifteen years. I’ve helped organize hundreds of direct actions, ranging from tame sidewalk rallies to occupations of government office building lobbies to tent cities on vacant bank-owned properties. I’ve gotten arrested in Central Park at a midnight protest; I’ve been illegally barred from public legislative hearings; […]
“I know there’s no way I can convince you this is not one of their tricks. But I don’t care. I am me.” —Alan Moore, “Valerie’s Letter,” V for Vendetta (1988) I started writing this piece in a tiny room in what is possibly the cheapest apartment in Manhattan. I’ve been cooped up here for […]
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Imagine that you live in a city of villains. Your city has a billionaire playboy. He lives on top of the hill. You don’t know much about him, other than what you read in the papers about his romantic exploits and elaborate black-tie parties. You had a gig once offloading decorative antique suits of armor […]
Everything we believe is a story. That red in a traffic light means “stop” while green means “go.” The idea of Western scientific thinking as free of bias. That peanut butter and jelly is the perfect kid’s meal. The American dream. Everything. Whether they’re good stories or bad stories isn’t the point. What matters is […]