George Takei speechy thing
Teal deer: GT is awesome, but we knew that.
so first eas the fancy-shmancy reception -- maybe twenty people or so? Most of it was just receptiony, food nibbles and wine, but they did take Mr. Takei around and introduce him individually to people. I am horribly shy at this sort of thing but I had informed my dad and stepmom of my desires (meet him, get autograph, get photo) so they were able to help make sure it happened.
He is completely made of awesome. Very friendly, very nice in a way that didn't feel forced; you get the clear impression that he enjoys this sort of thing. And I got to meet his husband Brad, who seems equally awesome (the impression I was left with was, for some reason, that of a gigantic teddy bear). And he (Georgw, not Brad) brought up that Star Trek is returning to TV *and* that the producer is very much in line with Roddenberry'a vision (to which I agreed with him that one of the biggest hollownesses of the reboot is that it's just flashy action adventure without the social commentary and philosophical underpinnings of the original series).
And then I got a picture with him (I will share, I promise, but they werent taken with my camera and I don't have the best ones yet) and he was shuffled off to the next person and I sat there for a while grinning like an idiot.
The talk itself excellent -- obviously not his first time giving it, but good. It was partly about his experience with internment (he was 5-8) and the issues with the loyalty questionnaire, partly his experience with acting particularly with Star Trek (and I hadn’t realised the continental aspect, America:Kirk Europe:Scotty Africa:Uhura Asia:Sulu, plus Spock as the outsider), partly his experience as a gay man. The question session turned political of course, but. Still awesomesauce and I adore him.
The stuff about internment was nothing like I remember learning in schools. I mean, I remember learning about the internment camps, and at some point I read Farewell to Manzanar even though I barely remember much about it, but it didn't make an impression on me at the time. But especially given the current political climate and the anti-Muslim (and by extension anyone who looks middle eastern ish) and some of the stuff said by a certain presidential candidate, listening to someone recount their actual experiences -- including the aftermath, where it was near impossible to find housing or jobs or anything and where his younger sister at one point started crying and wanted to "go home", i.e. back to the camp, and where his teacher called him "that jap boy" -- \*shivers\*
And the loyalty questionnaire. I'm sure it got a sentence in the history books, where naive kid me was thinking "well duh who wouldn't sign", and it wasn't until Alliance came out that I realised there was more to it, and not until tonight that it really sunk in. Of the two problematic questions, one asked them to swear loyalty to the US and renounce any loyalty to the Emperor of Japan (which, among other issues, could be read as implying or admitting existing/prior loyalty to Japan); the other, the "will you serve your country" question that was a no-brainer for kid me, was more straightforward but still divisive, since some wanted to say "you took us away from our home and community and job, locked us away in this place, ignored our constitutional right to liberty, and you want us to go off and die for you? Fuck no", which, because government, got the no-answerers arrested for draft dodging (never mind that anyone of Jaoanese descent who tried to volunteer, pre-internment, was rejected) and their families moved to a different, worse camp with fucking *tanks* patrolling the perimeter and augh.
Note: there may be factual errors in the above. This is just my recollection of what GT was saying.
And the narrative of his experience being gay -- pre-AIDS-crisis, when there were gay bars hidden here and there but always the constant fear of police raids, which could lead to losing jobs or families or who knows what else; the AIDS epidemic; and the more recent changes, some good (legalizing gay marriage) and some bad (transgender bathroom nonsense) -- makes me appreciate living now, when there is so much more awareness and acceptance of GSM stuff. I may not be "out" on RL spaces, but the fact that I can say openly on the internet that I am asexual and pan-romantic and kinky, and that it won't come bite me on the ass later? Fucking awesome. Yes, our society has a long way to go, but it's better than it was. And part of that is because of the visibility of people like him.
Anyway. After the talk there was a 30-min q/a session, and of course there were a fair number of political topics -- and I find that I agree with all the political opinions he stated (including commentary on the two California propositions dealing with the death penalty, one to abolish it and one to speed up the process by limiting appeals, and commentary on gun control or lack therof), which is nice as it's always disappointing when an idol says something you don't agree with :grin:
Cross-posted between DW (here) and LJ. Comments welcome in either place; DW has
comments
so first eas the fancy-shmancy reception -- maybe twenty people or so? Most of it was just receptiony, food nibbles and wine, but they did take Mr. Takei around and introduce him individually to people. I am horribly shy at this sort of thing but I had informed my dad and stepmom of my desires (meet him, get autograph, get photo) so they were able to help make sure it happened.
He is completely made of awesome. Very friendly, very nice in a way that didn't feel forced; you get the clear impression that he enjoys this sort of thing. And I got to meet his husband Brad, who seems equally awesome (the impression I was left with was, for some reason, that of a gigantic teddy bear). And he (Georgw, not Brad) brought up that Star Trek is returning to TV *and* that the producer is very much in line with Roddenberry'a vision (to which I agreed with him that one of the biggest hollownesses of the reboot is that it's just flashy action adventure without the social commentary and philosophical underpinnings of the original series).
And then I got a picture with him (I will share, I promise, but they werent taken with my camera and I don't have the best ones yet) and he was shuffled off to the next person and I sat there for a while grinning like an idiot.
The talk itself excellent -- obviously not his first time giving it, but good. It was partly about his experience with internment (he was 5-8) and the issues with the loyalty questionnaire, partly his experience with acting particularly with Star Trek (and I hadn’t realised the continental aspect, America:Kirk Europe:Scotty Africa:Uhura Asia:Sulu, plus Spock as the outsider), partly his experience as a gay man. The question session turned political of course, but. Still awesomesauce and I adore him.
The stuff about internment was nothing like I remember learning in schools. I mean, I remember learning about the internment camps, and at some point I read Farewell to Manzanar even though I barely remember much about it, but it didn't make an impression on me at the time. But especially given the current political climate and the anti-Muslim (and by extension anyone who looks middle eastern ish) and some of the stuff said by a certain presidential candidate, listening to someone recount their actual experiences -- including the aftermath, where it was near impossible to find housing or jobs or anything and where his younger sister at one point started crying and wanted to "go home", i.e. back to the camp, and where his teacher called him "that jap boy" -- \*shivers\*
And the loyalty questionnaire. I'm sure it got a sentence in the history books, where naive kid me was thinking "well duh who wouldn't sign", and it wasn't until Alliance came out that I realised there was more to it, and not until tonight that it really sunk in. Of the two problematic questions, one asked them to swear loyalty to the US and renounce any loyalty to the Emperor of Japan (which, among other issues, could be read as implying or admitting existing/prior loyalty to Japan); the other, the "will you serve your country" question that was a no-brainer for kid me, was more straightforward but still divisive, since some wanted to say "you took us away from our home and community and job, locked us away in this place, ignored our constitutional right to liberty, and you want us to go off and die for you? Fuck no", which, because government, got the no-answerers arrested for draft dodging (never mind that anyone of Jaoanese descent who tried to volunteer, pre-internment, was rejected) and their families moved to a different, worse camp with fucking *tanks* patrolling the perimeter and augh.
Note: there may be factual errors in the above. This is just my recollection of what GT was saying.
And the narrative of his experience being gay -- pre-AIDS-crisis, when there were gay bars hidden here and there but always the constant fear of police raids, which could lead to losing jobs or families or who knows what else; the AIDS epidemic; and the more recent changes, some good (legalizing gay marriage) and some bad (transgender bathroom nonsense) -- makes me appreciate living now, when there is so much more awareness and acceptance of GSM stuff. I may not be "out" on RL spaces, but the fact that I can say openly on the internet that I am asexual and pan-romantic and kinky, and that it won't come bite me on the ass later? Fucking awesome. Yes, our society has a long way to go, but it's better than it was. And part of that is because of the visibility of people like him.
Anyway. After the talk there was a 30-min q/a session, and of course there were a fair number of political topics -- and I find that I agree with all the political opinions he stated (including commentary on the two California propositions dealing with the death penalty, one to abolish it and one to speed up the process by limiting appeals, and commentary on gun control or lack therof), which is nice as it's always disappointing when an idol says something you don't agree with :grin:
Cross-posted between DW (here) and LJ. Comments welcome in either place; DW has
comments