FCC Doesn’t Want West Bay Money
“The Daly Machine?” (Nov. 10) suggests that the Filipino Community Center is vying for West Bay’s frozen funds.
The FCC has no intention of applying for West Bay’s withheld funding should it become available. We are focused on serving the Filipino community in the Excelsior, and the recent debacle surrounding West Bay does not change that.
We believe that the frozen West Bay funds should serve Filipinos in the South of Market.
Terrence Valen
Organizational Director
Filipino Community Center (FCC)
San Francisco, Calif.
Go Sister of Fire!
Congratulations Beckie (“Masaki is a Sister of Fire,” Nov. 3) on a job well done! I am honored to work with you as a sister in the struggle. Keep up the good fight! We are all with you!
Cheryl Franklin-Golden
SafeQuest
Solano, Calif.
Need Not Apply
I am naturally disturbed, but not surprised at my alma mater (“Racial Tension at U of Michigan,” Nov. 10). When I graduated in 1962, a big aerospace firm recruiting at the job placement office said, “No Asian students need to apply.” My son also went to University of Michigan and graduated in 1984. His classmates booed him at commencement. Now my granddaughter, 14, thinks highly of this university.
S. Woo
Via e-mail
As a University of Michigan alumnus, I want students and graduates to be concerned about the human element, making the world a better place and accepting the concept of diversity. Students and student-athletes (“Racial Tension at U of Michigan,” Nov. 10) engaging in illegal or racist activity should be expelled. There are probably 100 folks who would be happy to take their places in a University of Michigan classroom.
Jay Strotkamp
Via e-mail
White Whitewashing
The plot of Chinese actors (“‘Memoirs’ … A Casting Controversy,” Nov. 17) playing Japanese characters in a film directed by a white American Jew, produced by Hollywood and based on a book by another white man, reveals a continuing ignorance and a deliberate attempt to whitewash identities.
The “whitification” of historical characters such as Pocahontas in Disney’s cartoon is the ultimate desecration, or at least the white man’s version of all non-white peoples. We are all alike. It takes one to know one because whites are whites and are no longer in touch with their European roots, and unable to distinguish themselves from each other. The white man only exists in America.
Robert Toyama
San Francisco, Calif.
Love Without Borders
The world is moving closer to the day (“Gita, Mildred and the Freedom to Marry,” Nov. 10) when all families share the same rights. Unfortunately, the United States is lagging behind other countries granting same-sex partners the right to immigrate to be together.
As a United States citizen, I hope to return to my home in the United States with my family. Until then, I am lucky to live in exile in a country that respects the rights of all its citizens, gay and straight.
Martha McDevitt-Pugh
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Dirty Laundry
[Editor’s Note: This letter was forwarded to us by the 80-20 Initiative]
Robert W. Humphreys
President and CEO, Delta Apparel
2750 Premiere Parkway, Suite 100
Duluth, GA 30097
Dear Mr. Humphreys:
I was shocked and saddened to see one of your T-shirts at Spencer’s of a Buddha with this message, “I might be fat but I have a huge cock.”
Your T-shirt of the Buddha now is insulting to Buddha and to the people who revere Buddha at the same level as Jesus.
This leads to another issue. There is another T-shirt of an Asian with the caption, “ … hung out.” The portrayal of the Asian guy is not a flattering one. He is short, ugly with crooked teeth. Imagine what would happen if you had portrayed African Americans stereotypically in your shirts.
Please stop producing those T-shirts and recall those shirts that are already in the store.
Steve Kuo
Via e-mail
Cc: Atlanta Buddhist Association, 80-20 Initiative