Some Post-MCM Scotland 2018 Ramblings

In light of the lack of long form written content on this blog, I felt it right to post something after MCM Scotland 2018. Something that requires me to do a bit more thinking while I put words to paper, or in this case screen. Something that isn't as quickfire as a Facebook status update or a Tweet.

Content/Trigger Warning: I do bring up mental health topics here, including references to suicidal thoughts and general negativity, so keep that in mind before you read on.

So, MCM Scotland 2018 came and went. I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite the fact that it really is nothing more than a large dealers hall with maybe a few panels going on at the peripheries. But then it has always been like that since I started going in 2013. So I am used to it. Doesn't stop me attending when I can because I still find it enjoyable and there are not many geek type of events north of the border. However, I admit that about 2 year ago, I started to have a crisis of confidence, not just regarding attending MCM Scotland but going to any geek event, especially the fan run "residential" conventions I've been going to for a long time, the major ones being Amecon and until it's demise, Ayacon.

Y U SO SRS?? (AKA: Why the sudden mood whiplash?)

Some may be confused about the recent more serious tone of my first post in a while and wondered why I made it. Well, aside from that certain Overwatch cosplay incident, a discussion between friends that sadly lead to disagreement between them prompted me to try to articulate some of the incidents of racism that I've had to deal with throughout my life. There isn't any particular political view I was trying to push in this instance though. Just thought it might be useful to try to give people an idea of things are like for those of us who are non-white.

Often a lot of the attention regarding ethnic minorities is focused on Asians (In the British sense of the word rather than the American sense i.e. South Asians such as Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis rather than other Asians like Chinese, Koreans and Japanese) or on Black people. There has always been, anecdotally, this feeling in the Chinese community that reporting incidents to the police or other authorities is pointless as either nothing will be done or things will get worse. Also the Chinese have always been less visible in the UK, even as more and more Mainland Chinese appear overseas to study or fill in gaps in industries which have not been able to fill vacancies with local talent. In some ways this is a good thing as it means some of the heat is taken off us compared to other ethnic minorities but when things happen to us, it does get a lot of coverage.

Anyway, I am going to ramble about another topic. Relationships...

The R Word from my Perspective

It's been a while, to put it mildly.

Most of the time I prefer to type my thoughts in rapid fire on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Maybe not be best places to vent or state strong opinions especially recently, as these sites have become more and more polarised and problematic. Contrary to what people like to think, you are not entitled to your own opinion any more and anything that deviates from the echo chamber will result in a lot of anger, resentment and harassment heading your way.

Today, I thought I might take some time to post about a bit of a problematic subject. One that probably is pretty relevant given the world may be taking a few steps back in social progress and equality. Some may accuse me of taking the "Social Justice Warriors" path in posting about this, but I thought it might be interesting to recount my own experiences when it came to racial discrimination.

Land of my Forefathers

A few weeks ago, from the time of me starting this blog post, I finally set off on a holiday I had set my eyes on for some time. For two weeks from mid-April I set off for Hong Kong. A place where a large number of my relatives still reside and a place I have not been back to since 2011. I went there expecting to get some relaxation and have some fun. What I did not expect to do was to come back with a renewed sense of my ethnic background, a moment of self-discovery and a better understanding of the kind of sacrifices my grandparents and parents generation made to give me and possibly countless many others of the diaspora I'm part of, the opportunities my grandparents and parents never had.

Of Racism, Freedom of Speech and Top Gear hosts...

Earlier this evening, at the time of writing this entry, a relative fell ill. I will not mention this relatives identity for privacy reasons but suffice to say, s/he was feeling rather poorly and we had to help him/her to the doctors out of hours clinic.

After some waiting, the doctor came out and was immediately concerned about both the condition of the family member and whether or not we could communicate with her, asking "Do any of you speak English?" which was understandable given we all looked like foreigners. Although the situation was pretty serious with said relative unable to walk over to the doctors office easily, I ended up replying, albeit humourously, "Well, I certainly hope so! We have been living in the area for several years!"

To be fair, the poor doctor was rather embarrassed at that faux pas...