>For the most part...alot of the okayplayers <BR>>here don't seem to have a <BR>>problem with Toshi's 'do...brother who said <BR>>that alot of Japanese youth are <BR>>paying as much as $75 to <BR>>get their hair dreaded is very <BR>>right...We are often oblivious to the <BR>>fact that Americans set the trends <BR>>for the majority of other nations...we <BR>>live in a consumerist society where <BR>>what is pure and righteous is <BR>>exploited and water-down...this is not a <BR>>new concept, we all know this..and <BR>>on that note...I'd like to leave <BR>>a poem for all of you <BR>>in okayland to digest...this was the <BR>>poem that helped me take the <BR>>pot at a recent poetry slam <BR>>on campus here... <BR>>Inspired by Isangmahal- "One Love" <BR>>America has made a mockery of my <BR>>race In a country where my <BR>>skin Has never hesitated to <BR>>make me feel displaced I watch <BR>>the collage of fashionable ignorance... <BR>>Bindis worn on the foreheads of sisters <BR>>whose skin pales in comparison to <BR>>the colors of the culture <BR>>from whence it came Mandarin collars <BR>>seen wrapped around Western necks Demi <BR>>Moore was not the first to <BR>>explore white men's fetish with Chinadoll <BR>>exoticism Sarongs, thongs, and tantalizing advertisements <BR>>of instant spirituality in an incense <BR>>stick Guaranteeing nirvana in 30 days <BR>>or your money back Tai Chi <BR>>and Tao te Ching self-help books <BR>>Buddhism in a box for those <BR>>do-it-yourselfers Sacrilegous Tibetan beads adorn the <BR>>wrists of guys who..."like girls who <BR>>wear Abercrombie & Fitch Chinese food <BR>>IS THE SHIT!!!" <BR>>I need not walk too far before <BR>>being bombarded with Kanji and Sanskrit <BR>>T-shirts emblazoned with elaborate Chinese characters <BR>>that read....'shirt' Tattoos pierce the delicate <BR>>skin of women's ankles that read....'foot' <BR>>And if you think the general <BR>>public is sweatin' us Then the <BR>>entertainment industry is sucking our dick! <BR>>Repulsed as I flip through music <BR>>videos Sisquo the "dragon" Prancing around <BR>>Chinatown with not one Asian sister <BR>>to be found! Foxy Brown playing <BR>>into the one-drop rule of clever <BR>>marketing schemes to capitalize on her <BR>>slanted eyes <BR>>GET OFF IT!! <BR>>Because when my people no longer become <BR>>lucrative We will still be living <BR>>in oppression But my ancient kingdom <BR>>lives My ancient kingdom lives <BR>>See, my culture runs deep Like still <BR>>waters twisting and turning In <BR>>a land where silence is a <BR>>golden mine of knowledge Reaped by <BR>>learning how to read the secrets <BR>>of survival encoded in the floating <BR>>intonations of a bamboo flute And <BR>>the language of our history Pantomimed <BR>>by divine dancers flying upon <BR>>wings of fingertips We built colossal <BR>>shrines to pay homage to the <BR>>force that keeps our crops growing <BR>>Spending lazy afternoons like The Roots <BR>>Slithering down the River Mekong As <BR>>temple gongs acknowledge the setting sun <BR>>Stretching its fingers to illuminate gold-leafed <BR>>statues...captured in an eternal pose <BR>>Confused and disturbed by these warrior images <BR>>we use for protection You pass <BR>>us off as a nation of <BR>>civilized savages But must I remind <BR>>you that in the feudal days <BR>>of lords and ladies We bathed <BR>>Rather than mask the stench of <BR>>imperialism under layers of white powder <BR>>We bathed in the waters <BR>>of the Euphrates and the Nile <BR>>And spoke in tongues borne from <BR>>the womb of mother earth While <BR>>you hide behind the mask of <BR>>PC terms like "diversity" and "multiculturalism" <BR>>Ingrain words like "resident alien" as <BR>>a slick ploy to construct a <BR>>mentality that I am a foreigner <BR>>in a country that was stolen <BR>>from my people And exploit my <BR>>race to compensate for the lack <BR>>of color your culture cannot provide <BR>><BR>>But my ancient kingdom lives... And you <BR>>would not want to pee on <BR>>the electric fence owned by half <BR>>the world Yes, we are half <BR>>the world! Exclaim my brothers and <BR>>sisters of Isangmahal Isangmahal calls for <BR>>insurrection through Art To dismantle the <BR>>pyramid of social mobilization And replace <BR>>it with the ancient intllectual circle <BR>>called The Cipher <BR>>We thrive by passing kwum kit-food for <BR>>thought This is how my ancient <BR>>kingdom survives This is how my <BR>>ancient kingdom lives <BR>>Ikalat muna- pass it around <BR>>This is how my ancient kingdom lives <BR>>Ikalat muna- pass it around <BR>>My ancient kingdom lives <BR>>Ikalat muna kwum kit Pass the thought <BR>>around... <BR>>-pax- <P><BR>