I am posting the following to the 44s. It’s funny because there are two entirely different audiences on this site vs. the 44s. I love the 44s site, but the fact is that I’m getting older, and the things that concern me these days are not always the same as what concerned me in the past. bigWOWO’s audience, to a large degree, is much more suitable for my current age and mindset.
Here’s my post:
(Artwork from Hilary Page)
The awesome admins of BicoastalBitchin sent me this link to one of their blog posts. It’s about the media and their portrayal of Asian people. The blogger specifically focuses on AF/WM. When I read it, I cracked up laughing. It reminded me of the grand old days of 44-dom, when I would read General Tojo, Dialectic the Stealth MC, Xian, Maogirl, Catty, and Seoulbrother going back and forth on the CCB’s and other similar topics. That was five years ago when the 44s was new, carving out a very influential niche in the Asian American blogosphere. That was how the 44s built its reputation–for better or for worse. Now, the 44s, like many other sites that began during that era, is facing mid-life.
The best sites in the AA blogosphere grew up on militancy and calls for action. From Asianguy to ModelMinority to even Goldsea, militant passion was the way things were done. These days, however, most AA sites have shifted down to the point of…well, tasting like sawdust. ModelMinority became so militant that many lost perspective. Goldsea became overly tame. Asianguy died. The 44s was going well until the latest melee, which came by way of certain people (led by a certain person) complaining, then not contributing when the owners provided space.
With that last fracas and our attempts to pacify some very angry people, my own blogging momentum was broken. I volunteered to take some time off from the site to make room for other opinions (which were never delivered), but it never really felt the same coming back. Blogging is like a conversation, and once you stop talking, it’s hard to resume. In retrospect however, it probably would’ve happened anyway, regardless of whether or not there was an angry person to expedite it. The fact is that I am getting older. I’m out of the loop when it comes to what people here are used to talking about. It’s a natural progression. For example, it’s crazy for me to talk about the IR disparity much, considering the fact that I’m married with kids and haven’t dated anyone new–white, black, or Asian–in a very very long time. I don’t deal very much with the music and culture that young people listen to today. More often, I deal with problems like getting my children to eat or teaching kids empathy. And the sleep…what sleep? I get six hours a night if I’m lucky. There’s little opportunity for militancy here. Activism, yes, but not militant activism. We need both. The 44s should be urban and somewhat militant. That’s the spirit of the site.
It’s sad what is happening to the AA blogosphere. It’s not just the 44s; it’s all the activist or former activist sites. The militancy is gone, and the result has been a slew of pop culture sites that talk about stuff like Paris Hilton and Bai Ling. There’s nothing wrong with pop culture, but it’ll be a sad day when that yearning for justice is no longer present. I know some people feel differently, but I lose patience when I have to sift through nonsense created by “liberal, ineffectual tools.” (not my feelings about 8A, Ernie, but since people keep bringing that quote up despite the fact that it was written by a one-time commenter on the 44s eons ago, I may as well repeat it and keep the reputation alive 
).
I support BcB and their fearless questioning of the status quo. Thank you BcB for continuing to raise awareness and keeping up the fight for social justice. I hope the 44s can revive itself, and I hope new people will come here to learn and to allow the 44s to teach them as it has taught me. Facebook has grown, but it won’t replace what I and others like me have accomplished through this site. In the meantime, I’m old, gray, and starting to feel my age in the blogosphere.
Young people, please participate. Old people need you. Asian American needs you. Keep up the fight. BcB, keep up the good work!
(Note: We have lots of spammers applying for membership, so if you get denied, please contact Lopan so that he can see you’re a real person.)
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Hey, you gotta admit; “ineffectual liberal tools” is a pretty awesome soundbite. I’m thinking about making t-shirts out of it.
And FWIW, what you bring up goes for a lot of activists growing older. Even the ones that don’t get kids… it’s like something kicks in at middle age where you’re like, “eh, I don’t feel like going out and changing the world. I’m much more comfortable in this environment that I’m already familiar with.” Human instinct, really, nothing wrong with that. It’s just a matter of figuring out how you want to pass the torch with 44s, or if you’d rather have it remembered as a legacy.
Thanks, Ernie! I liked “ineffectual liberal tools” too.
Nice to see you here. I heard you guys had a night out yesterday. If I ever make it down to the Bay Area, I’ll try to get in touch with you guys!
I agree with you. I think that was the central issue with the 44s–do we grow with it, or do we just be thankful for all the awesome things that happened before? I also agree that it’s not the end of the world if a group comes to an end and we just remember it as a legacy. Actually, that was one thing I loved about the mini-dramas in Japan–they tell an awesome story, and then they just end. They know when to call it quits. It’s not like “90210,” which should’ve died permanently on the day Brenda left!
One thing that I thought I mentioned in the post (but somehow forgot) is that most readers of bigWOWO are older. Most of us are in our thirties or forties, which creates an entirely different atmosphere from the younger sites. I think the readers and commenters here helped shape my writing and thinking during my time off. So maybe this site is the next step in my own evolution. I guess being able to evolve is not a bad thing.
Anyway, good to see you here!
B, we must be on the same wavelength, because I was thinking about posting on the crappy state of the AA blogosphere myself. Forums and blogs have a development and life expectancy all their own.
I totally remember Asianguy.com. I can’t believe you mentioned it, because I thought I was the only one who knew of that site (which may be why it’s no longer). When I visited that site, I thought to myself, “This is the way the AA internet presence needs to evolve into: subverting racism through humor. Transmuting negative experiences into positive.”
But I would imagine it was too much for this one guy to do. We’re all kind of going at this on our own, and this is partly why blogs and YouTube channels stop producing.
Militancy is great, but it only takes you so far. Wars were not meant to be protracted affairs. Even Malcolm X came around in the end.
Good points, James.
I was actually looking around at the AA blogosphere this morning, and I saw this site: Asians Not Brainwashed by the Media. If you look at the forum section, they actually link to a lot of 44s posts. There’s also a Facebook page where lots of discussion takes place. Maybe this is just the 44s passing the torch to a new generation. (The founder of the ANBW Facebook group was a member of the 44s for a little while. I liked the guy, but he was a bit too young for the graying 44 population.). Virtually ALL of the ANBM discussion points have been mentioned on the 44s, the same way almost almost everything we on the 44s have said had also been said by Frank Chin in one form or another during the 70′s. It’s not original, but it’s a discussion that should take place among young people.
I met one of the old-time 44s in NYC this past summer, and he was a huge Asianguy contributor, as was the aforementioned “Seoulbrotherno1,” who was also a huge 44s contributor back in the day. We talked a bit about Asianguy–I don’t know the whole story, but the old-time 44 does. Asianguy was an awesome site, but as you mention, it probably just expanded past its useful life. Maybe the saying is right–empires come and go.
Hi jaehwan,
I’m actually an old member of 44′s, and I’m right there with you. Back in the day, I wrote about my dating and relationship experiences, and shared my thoughts on the IR debate.
Now, I’m a mother of a 10-month-old baby who’s half-Korean and half-Filipino. At this point, I probably outgrew the IR talk, and are more concerned with other issues like becoming a conscious consumer, raising a kid who’s culturally aware, and hearing about other relationship dynamics between AA couples. And all this PUA discussion wasn’t helping either.
In the end, I sought out sites that I had more in common with. It’s similar to dating, I guess. Back when I was in my 20s, I was open to meeting different people with different backgrounds, POVs, etc., even if it was a bad combination. I’d chalk it up for the sake of experience. Now that I’m older, I know what I like and what’s best for me, and I gravitate towards these attributes.
Perhaps when I have time, I’ll go back to 44s and reply to that thread…
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Thanks, Davin’s mom!
I am 100% in agreement with you. One just hits a certain age, and one knows what one thinks. One becomes more confident, more certain, and one focuses on different areas of life. It becomes hard to think only about the issues of youth–rampant IR, PUA, etc.–because one eventually moves on. Of course it’s still important, but we just concentrate on different things, things that are much more relevant to people at our stage of life.
Thanks for your comments!
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