Carolyn Classen

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen, a life long Democrat, was born & raised in the State of Hawaii, was a Legislative Aide for U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye on Capitol Hill, and practiced law for a while. In Tucson she worked as a tribal staff attorney for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and later was the Interim Executive Director of the now defunct Domestic Violence Commission. In 2008 she became a “My Tucson” guest columnist for the Tucson Citizen newspaper, then continued blogging for Tucsoncitizen.com for over four and a half years. Her blogsite was entitled “Carolyn’s Community” about community events and some political news, until Gannett Publishing shut down the site on January 31, 2014. She started with Blog for Arizona on Feb. 11, 2014. Part time she sat as a Hearing Officer in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts Small Claims Division since April, 2005 for 15 years. She is married to University of Arizona Distinguished Professor Albrecht Classen, a native of Germany. They have one son, who lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and daughter. She is also the Editor of the Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition website, www.southernazjapan.org (since Jan. 2013).

Dear white people: we Asians don’t all look alike

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I don’t know how many times people here in Arizona say to me “you look like someone I know”, or “Are you such and such person?” and of course it is usually not me, so I politely reply “no”.  Sometimes just to be a bit contrary, I reply “Yes, we Asians all look alike”  meaning “I forgive you for not being able to differentiate me from another Asian you have met”.   It’s sad that many white people can’t seem to tell us Asians apart. A doctor at UAMC recently came up to me and called me “Catherine” by mistake.  And it’s impolite to single out a so-called “minority person” by their facial features.

Ok, so honestly I must look like every other Asian woman around Tucson:  slim, long black hair (though mine is getting SP – salt/pepper) and wire rim glasses.  Plus an oriental face, yellowish skin tone, the usual “perpetual immigrant/foreigner” Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Vietnamese/Laotian look.  I could be anyone of those ethnicities, or mixtures thereof.

Recently though, a Hispanic woman mistook me for a Navajo woman friend of hers up north on the reservation. That was more flattering, as I know people have sometimes asked me what tribe I belong to, and I usually just smile and say that I’m not Native American, but I would like to be.

Then there’s the rude folks, who ask me “what country are you from?” so I usually reply “America” since Hawaii is really part of the U.S. (the last time I checked).  Hawaii became the 50th state back in August, 1959, and was an American trust territory since 1898. I was born there on one of the islands. I even have an authentic long-form birth certificate to prove it.  But then they keep asking, as they need to know what racial group to put me in, and usually I give up and reply truthfully that both sets of grandparents left Japan for the Kingdom of Hawaii/Trust Territory of Hawaii to work on the sugar plantations (in 1892 and 1910).

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Donate to Bike in a Box

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For 5 years now numerous Tucsonans have donated $ to buy bikes for 500 underprivileged students in Tucson.  This project has been spearheaded by community activist Jesse Lugo, who ran unsuccessfully for the Ward 5 seat on the Tucson City Council in the Democratic primary of 2001. All info about this program at www.lugocharities.com.  The … Read more

Struggle for artistic self in “Billy Bates”

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billybates

I was one of about 100 people who got to see the free preview of a new independent film “Billy Bates” at the Loft Cinema on Sunday, prior to its release nationwide tomorrow.  From the Loft’s website:

From director Jennifer DeLia and producer Julie Pacino comes a fascinating and absorbing portrait of a troubled artist, Billy Bates, walking the tight rope between brilliance and madness. Billy seeks solace in his beautiful lover, Kaia, an angelic singer he meets at an art show. As the two together attempt to navigate his mind-bending reality, the film becomes a cacophony of voices, music, and memories that take us through Billy’s kaleidoscopic world of underground parties, a psychotic break, and on the rise as an artist. All throughout this journey, Billy creates his newest body of work and is coined ‘the Warhol of his generation.’ Billy Bates stars James Wirt and Savannah Welch and features Margherita Missoni, Josephine de La Baume, Zoe Twitt, and Sally Golan. Music by Moby’s band The Little Death, the Trishas, the late Arthur Russell, and more. Original artwork by Burton Machen and featuring works from Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Jean-Michel Basquiat. (Dir. by Jennifer DeLia, 2013, USA, 80 mins., Not Rated) Digital

 

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Final vote tally for TUSD Governing Board election

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Pima County Elections Division finally finished up tallying the provisional and early ballots for the 2014 General Election. Here’s the final count for the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) governing board race, which was a 9 way race for 2 nonpartisan seats.

Long term incumbent Adelita Grijalva has prevailed and had been leading since election night (November 4, 2014).  The results for the 2nd seat has been close as indicated by the final tally, with incumbent Micheal Hicks winning re-election by 517 votes.

Newcomer Jen Darland (parent/activist) who came in 3rd had received many union endorsements (including Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce) and from the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Weekly newspapers.

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Local Tucson Activists complete Great March for Climate Action

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Press release from Tucsonans John Jorgensen and Mary DeCamp:

Two local environmental activists just completed an eight month walk across America to raise awareness and to encourage action on our changing climate.  The trek of over 3,000 miles brought together young and old walkers, with ages ranging from 3 to 83 years old.  Tucsonans  John Jorgensen, a retired science teacher, and Mary DeCamp, Tucson’s 2011 Green Party Mayoral candidate, walked with the group.

The Great March for Climate Action set out amid torrential downpours in Los Angeles, CA on March 1, 2014 on their path to Washington, DC, walking and camping along the route.  The group typically numbered around 40, though 350 different individuals registered to walk at various times along the way and thousands followed the progress online as virtual Marchers.

The traveling band averaged about 15 miles a day, following a path that took them through the drought-stricken southwest, along the route of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, and through the heart of fracking operations in Ohio and Pennsylvania.  They met with citizens in the communities they crossed where the locals hosted rallies, pot-lucks, discussion groups, presentations, and parties.

Many nights were spent camping in tents, especially in the west where national parks are common.  In more populous areas, churches, schools, and community centers opened their doors to house the sleepy Marchers.   Waterless, chemical-free eco-commodes were towed along to service Marchers needing restroom breaks.  A large truck carried the tents, camping gear, and clothing for the walkers, and another smaller truck was outfitted with a refrigerator, water tanks, camp stoves, food, and cooking utensils to serve as a kitchen.  A solar generator provided the electricity needed to power the refrigerator, phones, computers, and other electronics used on the Climate March.

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