27 years amazing, and always a lady

RIP Antoine Ashley October 1 2012

I feel odd feeling really bad about someone I didn't know personally. What is even more odd is feeling the lump in your throat develop. This reaction was almost immediate when Michael Jackson died, tears on the keyboard of the campus computer at the school library. I expected that. 

What I did not expect was the near same reaction to the death of Miss Sahara Davenport of Ru Paul's Drag Race Fame. Why? I don't cry easily. People die every day. Even famous ones. But this is not a matter of fame. Michael Jackson was an integral part of my childhood and he revolutionized an industry. Miss Davenport is a part of a revolution. Looking past the LGBTQ, GLAAD conference, and the drag, she was/is one of the beacons supporting the idea of self acceptance, being happy with who you are, and making the absolute best out of life. I owe a degree of my self confidence to her and the show. I don't have to justify it because I think I'm pretty awesome and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those thoughts. Could she have conceived how many people she had inspired? The thought is overwhelming since it seemed almost unconscious until the tears fell on the keyboard. 27 years old, and you've become a bigger inspiration than you can imagine. One could die happy having had that kind of impact. Still, 27 years seems unfair. 

Upon hearing the news my first thoughts were of Manila Luzon. I can only hope for the best. Stay strong and, in the Filipino habit, don't forget to eat. 

Here are the deepest condolences from a stranger. 

Political Pants

Living in Austin, I occasionally fall into the pool of self righteous young people who feel the need to "stick it to the man" and "hit 'em where it hurts." This behavior is not necessarily a result of living in Austin.

When I was in...6th grade there was the rumor of Tommy Hilfiger being a racist, mind you many people didn't have the internet in 1998 and snopes didn't exist at the time either. Being a minority, racists are perhaps the number one most irritating group for me followed by male chauvinists and stupid people in general. So yes, I did boycott Tommy Hilfiger to the point when I got mad at my mom for buying me a shirt of his from the thrift store. I sometimes still have to remind myself that he's not a racist because the thought stuck so deep.

I like causes. Buying Putumayo CDs, fair trade chocolate, TOMS shoes, supporting local business. Likewise, I don't show patronage to causes/ideas that I am against: Walmart, Chick-Fil-a.

I feel that stupid people shouldn't have jobs ala Hollister models who behave in a culturally offensive manner. I'm glad the models got fired. If there's one thing I've learned about Korea, don't fuck with the citizens because they can get you back. I actually smiled at the thought of the people their returning their purchases because of how these models behaved. While I know it is not right to generalize that these models are representative of the brand, they were hired to be on the more visible end of the spectrum and BOY did the shit hit the fan in their faces. While boycotting Hollister won't exactly be a sacrifice on my part because I've never thought much of the brand, now I don't even have to give it a second thought as I do not want to support the idea that you can be a numbskull and get by on your looks.

I hope this is a lesson to Abercrombie & Fitch: hiring insensitive idiots is a gamble to your brand...and they can F* you up. Now I've known an Abercrombie model, he was very smart and friendly. This was at the university so maybe hiring good looking people who went to highly diverse universities could be a step in the right direction. At the very least, I hope these kids learned their lesson: No one finds stupidity appealing.

And by returning purchases, citizens showed that they didn't want to be associated with such stupid behavior. Clothes say more about you than you think.