Stop Asking “Where Are You From?”
We Americans, especially those of us in urban places like the Chicagoland area, often welcome the chance to meet international people and hope to expand our knowledge of the world. When we notice that someone seems like they're from another place, we ask, "Where are...
El Idiota’s Positive Thinking
Americans like to believe we're bending towards justice, but we can no longer tell ourselves that now that we've elected Donald (or as my dad calls him, El Payaso) as our president. And those of us who didn't directly cast a vote for him, still allowed him to be...
I Was on NPR!
Jerome McDonnell is the nicest person! Hey, everyone: I was on NPR yesterday! National Public Radio (NPR) is a non-profit American news organization that provides news without advertising or government money. It's supported 100% by listerners and private grants. The...
The True Meaning of Christmas
It's my annual posting of my summary of the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. Part of our American Christmas tradition is for people to throw around the phrase "the true meaning of Christmas." What that usually means is...
The Cubs Did It
I don't like sports, but as a 23-year resident of Chicago even I felt how big it was when the Chicago Cubs baseball team won the World Series last night. Baseball is the American sport and for decades the Chicago Cubs have been the losers of the...
Why I Like Meditating Every Day
My cousin-once-removed asked me about meditation, so here's my story. I started with guided meditation when I was in my mid-twenties. I liked listening to someone else's voice as it led me through a visualization exercise that helped me relax and feel completely...
Determined
Previous post on weight & health: NPR's This American Life: "Tell Me I'm Fat" Well, since I published this post saying I'd better accept my fatness or live in the delusion of future thinness, I've chosen the latter. I was a skinny kid and stayed thin for most of...
LLAG: Love Life of an Asian Guy
My post about (the bigoted) Dr. Christiane Northrup got some response from regular readers, but I got even more response to it when I shared it on Facebook. Specifically, I follow a page called Love Life of an Asian Guy which is written by a Filipino-American man...
What To Do When You See Islamophobic Harassment
A Paris film maker and illustrator who goes by Maeril created these graphics so we'll know what to do the next time we see someone harassing someone else for appearing to be Muslim. The strategy is to create a safe space for the person being harassed and...
Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD
Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD is an internationally known expert on women's health and wrote the bestseller The Wisdom of Menopause. She has appeared in hundreds of podcasts, radio shows and television shows, including Oprah. Her writing encourages women to take control...
Wearing the Button
So I was having lunch with a young white woman in a cafe today, and a middle-aged white man leaned over and interrupted our conversation. "Excuse me. Can I ask you a question? I see you're wearing a Black Lives Matter button and can I just ask you one question?" I...
How to Apologize Properly
Do you know someone who needs a lesson on how to give a true apology? We hear a lot of false ones in public life. Here's how to say "I'm sorry" properly.