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Here in Canada, we have something called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document which is entrenched in our constitution. This document celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. According to the Canadian government’s website, section two, which lists our fundamental freedoms as Canadians guarantees the freedom of media and press. Of course, you can’t explicitly target groups or individuals with hate, but I’m worried that the line on what really DOES constitute hate broadens to a point that we can’t even say what we want to say anymore. We’re getting there. I know many people (myself included) who don’t want to be boxed in because of our ethnicity, but worry that if we talk about how we celebrate our heritages, would be told that we need to “decolonize our thinking” and start thinking from the perspective of people of our background. Huh? What does that mean, our “background?” Everyone has a different background. My background is different from my parents, both culturally and generationally. We have different experiences. My parents and I might share a genetic background, but our experiences are different. But sometimes, I worry about saying something wrong/not PC by today’s standards. I think we all are. I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to have a perspective at all. I was heavily critical of Girl Guides of Canada changing “Brownies” to “Embers” (at least they didn’t use “Comets,” which I was not happy to see make the final list) as well as Ryerson’s change to Toronto Metropolitan University (why didn’t they use a name of an Indigenous person of historical signifacance?). I was very open about it and thank goodness I’m not a celebrity. I’d probably have been kicked off social/cancelled! If we truly want equity, shouldn’t we be looking at the REAL issues? Like, for example, language challenges that many immigrants face? Mental health of their children who face stress and anxiety because they straddle two cultures? Why does one have to be so careful when they ask how someone can bridge two cultures, to help the two cultures understand why they feel a certain way (e.g. culture one has very set gender rules and cannot understand WHY one identifies as non-binary (and to be honest, I STILL don’t fully understand it myself). Or simply how to explain that students in Canada are expected to speak up in class and why it’s important for them to do so. There are times when we should be allowed to be critical of other cultures). Why do we (or rather, DE&I groups) forget that they have two cultures? I want to (and will) continue to discuss this in an open manner, and not have people stop me from doing so because my views don’t fit the current “woke” narrative. One of my biggest peeves is how we discuss social class. But that’s for another article or podcast.

Sure, the Charter still guarantees me my right to talk about it, but for how long? And when are we going to stop being so sensitive (Mother’s Day is coming up and this is the first year I’ve seen emails about opting out of receiving Are going to get to a point where we’re interpreting the Charter in such a way that one might no longer be able to do so? We’re already destroying history. Why do we want to cancel figures who are now considered racist (or sexist, or anything ___ist)? Why can’t we learn from mistakes, or discuss why we now see it as wrong? I studied post WWII China in university as a history major. The Cultural Revolution AWFUL and CRUEL (and I’m being nice about this). Traditional Chinese culture, something that is thousands of years old, was basically, well, CANCELLED (that wasn’t all. There was also a human-created famine). If we’re not careful, we’re heading towards this kind of society. And with inflation, sure, there’d be a “famine” as well. Historical figures, be it Aristotle or Confucius, had views that would be considered wrong by 2023 standards. Yet, without them, our modern cultures would NOT exist. We can’t erase these guys from the books just because they said something that would be considered “cancellable” today. A lot of people don’t seem to understand this. And these people have a lot of clout. Enough to influence governments. I worry about what we can and cannot say in media in the future.

Image credit: Amahce/Shutterstock

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This was dropped over a week ago. I’ve also realized that I never post show notes on the blog version, so I’ll start doing so for this episode:

Cynthia talks about looking forward to going to her first in-person Seder since the Before Times and a rant about diversity, identity and feeling shamed about being who she is.

John McWhorter: “I Did Not Feel the Need to See People Like Me on TV or in Books”

Opening Theme: “Progress is Inevitable” by Black Rhomb

Closing Theme: “Landing Place” by Mark July (both courtesy of ShutterStock)

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And also, what DO I sound like? Do you think the way you speak shows your ethnic heritage, even if you don’t have an accent? Do tell!

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Can YOUR kids sit through a 75 minute, three course dinner at age four? I don’t think I would have made it back in the day…hahaha…

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Thoughts? Did you like the movie? Why or why not?

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In the short special above, you’ll get to hear how the Lunar New Year is celebrated in the Cheng Mintz household. And yes, it can be a bit non-traditional! Do you follow traditional customs of your heritage or do you do things YOUR way? Is it important to you that things are done “properly?” Why or why not? I’d love to hear your views!

Image credit: AKSPS/Shutterstock

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This story could easily have been called Samosa, Ravioli, Pierogi or even Chocolate Chip Cookies or Apple Pie. In other words, it could have been about ANY culture. And I like that. There’s a lot of focus on “diversity” these days, but often, it seems really fake. It’s like, you HAVE to have a white character (usually not ethnic-specific…I mean, where are the characters of say, Italian, Polish or Irish heritage? I don’t see a lot of that, especially Italian or Polish. Sorry, I went to Catholic school for a few years), one black character and another, Asian? And why, with the non-white characters, do they have to emphasize the ethnic/cultural heritages of said characters? Maybe it’s just my circle, but Asians with names like Sophie, Jessica and Michael are more common than names from their ancestral heritages. Many people from my generation can barely read/write their ancestral languages, so why would they only use a cultural name for their child? It rings false to write names out phonetically when you can barely write it (if at all) in its original language if it does not use the roman alphabet (it’s different for a non-Spanish or Italian speaker to name their child Maria). That said, my son has both a “western” name and one in Chinese – one in which I can actually read and write. The latter is not on his official documents. Yet, those involved in adding diversity to books, television shows, movies and so forth seem to be adamant in making it that way. Why? Are children REALLY seeing themselves if it’s done that way? Plus they seem to be very focused on first generation – you know, with parents from the old world.

I think universality, a story like Bao, is much more realistic. It might be presented a certain way, with characters of ONE culture, but it’s easy to relate to if you’re NOT from that background. Think (if you’re NOT looking at something focused on children) My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Diversity isn’t only about seeing/reading about characters that LOOK like you, it’s about characters you can RELATE to. It makes zero sense to me if there’s an Asian character in a book or screen, but they are, I don’t know, a punk rocker who is fifth generation Canadian and has lived on her own since she was 15 years old. I wouldn’t get it. I might find her story interesting, but she has nothing to do with what I can relate to. I probably find more to relate to reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (one of my favourite books, by the way) – Francie Nolan’s determination and drive is what many girls should strive to be like. I can probably relate MORE to a 1950s boarding school student who is a second or third generation student at his school. The problem is, many people who want more diversity don’t seem to understand that. They dismiss that. I see it everywhere. And I think it’s sad.

I’m not saying that it’s not important to have characters from a wide range of ethno-religious-cultural backgrounds, I’m just saying that they shouldn’t always make it so stereotypical, so CULTURE FOCUSED. I actually think that, if not done carefully (like they did in Bao), can send out the wrong message. The longer people are here, the more integrated they become – while still retaining portions of their own culture. I’m not really understanding WHY it’s necessary to discuss and focus ONLY on the first generation. Not every person of ABC heritage knows how to, say, make dishes from that culture, for example. Rather, even if they DID – to an extent – they might include elements of flavours from cultures they grew up with. Something like that would be more relatable to someone whose parents are children of immigrants. Unfortunately, that’s not what publishers likely want. In fact, some diversity activists would say that the author who wrote that book needs to be “decolonized.” However, I think that story has more universality – which IS important in an increasingly diverse world – than focusing on the first generation’s culture. It eventually won’t be realistic. Cultures evolve, even in the old world.

Universality is important, regardless of what the background of a character is. I really can’t understand why the big focus is ONLY on one’s appearance. The tendency to “over-fix” diversity these days becomes too fake, too idealized, and, honestly, annoying. It’s like how I’ve (along with fans of the original) been rolling my eyes at and hate-watching And Just Like That…(you can read my post on the show here). To be honest, I’ve stopped hate-watching. I’m sure you can guess why.

Maybe I just live in a different world. But people have to understand that my so-called “world” is still a kind of reality. And it’s highly unfair to dismiss that. Of course, I’m pretty much preaching to a choir. Because people who speak from this perspective are few and far between. Mostly because we fear being cancelled.

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Speaking of kids, Jr. Mintz started preschool in September. He started school with a very limited vocabulary for his age, and has since vastly improved. He still isn’t where he should be and still refers to himself in the third person, but we’re hoping that a year of school would greatly help! If he gets to go back to in-person school, that is. The provincial government has already announced a delay (by only a couple of days) in the start of school. He needs the in-person interaction.

I haven’t experimented too much with food most of the year. I mean, I made Cin Cin Mien during the Lunar New Year, which was inspired by dan dan mien, and then towards the end of the year (okay, last week), I made pain au cacao, a take on my weekly soda bread with a hint of cacao powder and cacao nibs. It’s actually really good (to me, anyway) and I’ll be posting the recipe soon. I recently found a YouTube recipe channel where the chef/host/whatever you call her makes somewhat every day type foods using the kinds of ingredients I’m more likely to have at home (for example, the only sweeteners I have at home are maple syrup and honey. I don’t have other sugars (unless it’s something that’s already sweetened like desserts, chocolate, fruit spreads or fruit…if fruit counts at all) and am not about to go out to buy any if my baking experiment fails. I think a lot of people fail to understand this. One person suggested recipes using agave. Well, I don’t have agave and I don’t think you can sub maple syrup or honey 1:1). She recently uploaded a homemade pasta dish using, believe it or not, tuna. She uses fresh, but I think it can work with canned. Or even with salmon or other types of fish. The most unique one uses self-rising flour and ice cream (!!!!!)

Another thing this year: I left the invisible disabilities podcast and started my own. Cynthia Talks Life (DelectablyChic! or Otherwise) talks about, well, issues I’m passionate about. This season, topics ranged from being a child of immigrants to my views on diversity, identity and inclusion (let’s just say that I’m NOT a big fan of current DE&I narratives because it’s actually NOT very inclusive. I’ve been told to “shut up” enough times (worse is when I’m told that I’m “centring” (WTH does that mean? Self-centred?)). You’ll have to listen to the episode to get my perspective. But whatever…the leadership is never going to allow differing perspectives. Sad, but that’s the way they are), to mom/parent-shaming and food. I plan to drop another season in 2022, probably starting in March.

I’m otherwise exhausted. I don’t even know if I know how to be “normal” anymore. Here’s hoping that 2022 will be much better!!!

Image by: Volha Barysevich/ShutterStock

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