I read a post by a blog friend that was about coffee and writing – mostly about writing. It’s a great post and so, check it out here at Everything is Bad for You.
I zoomed in on his mention of coffee; his first step to writing well.
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Well, I love coffee. In fact, I have a possible addiction to coffee. He stated he drinks Cafe Bustelo instant. I drink instant Nescafe Columbian. After reading his blog I’m going to try Cafe Bustelo.
I used to be a total coffee snob. I’d only drink French pressed coffee or brewed. Lately, since I lost everything, I’ve existed on the lesser things of life.
I do miss freshly brewed coffee. My mum doesn’t have enough room in her small kitchen for a coffeemaker and so, I bought her a tea kettle for her tea. It doesn’t hurt that I can make myself instant coffee.
My mum has never liked coffee, and has only drank tea her whole life. I know, weird, Right? How can you go through life only drinking tea? Look what they are missing: Addiction. Stomach problems. Ulcers. The jitters and staying up around the clock because you’re so full of caffeine.
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I’ve considered tea…. but only for a moment.
I also used a French press. Coarsely grounded my own roasted beans. I used special water. I was really into my coffee press.
I got sick because the coffee was too strong – rich – for my stomach. But boy, did my slow death taste great.
Anyhoo, that’s my rant on my love of coffee. Please let me know if you drink coffee or tea? What’s your addiction?
I’m not addicted but I do enjoy whiskey every so often. I’ll have some about once a month or every three months. So, when I drink whiskey I like it to be worth my time drinking.
I found some Suntory Toki. It’s a decent whiskey from Japan – very smooth and light. I’m not a big fan of the stronger whiskeys from Ireland like Jameson or, the Scottish Glenfiddich. They’re good but not my type. My dad used to drink Crown Royal every Christmas. My son likes Maker’s Mark. I used to drink Jameson a lot more. I actually found the best whiskey in the world in Texas by a small brewery. It was called Silver Star. Man, somehow it caught on how great a whiskey it was and when I first bought it, I got it for a good price and the owner actually signed my bottle. Now, it’s crazy expensive. It is honestly the best whiskey I’ve had.
But its best to stick to non-alcoholic drinks and less dangerous addictions.
The Difference between Racism and Stereotype
I love when the internet makes a non-issue an issue. (The internet – talk about an addiction.) That has been commonplace since around 10 or so, years ago. It’s kind of strange for us adults to watch how the world has changed and how life repeats itself.
It’s happened, and not to bring attention to something that needs to die as quickly as it rose its ugly head – I’m going to give my two cents on reality as an older person who’s been around and is very multi-racial. I’m mixed with so many races I am sure every joke applies to me. I even have Jewish and black blood in my ancestry. A true American mix. The only race I don’t have in me is Asian but yeah, I’m mostly Hispanic, Native American, Jewish, European, German and Black.
So, this is racism for all the kids who don’t know the difference between a stereotype joke and actual racism.
Racism: is all about hate and inequity. Racism is when you think yourself better or lesser than another simply because of ethnicity, social standing, or culture. Racism is based in hatred and cruelty.
This can go back to the factors of true cruelty which is judgment. You are playing judge of another. You are placing yourself above another. If I was teaching a Sunday Bible study I would talk on judging others and how it is the worse sin that has ever raised its ugly head.
So, ironically, judgement is what makes the internet such a cancellation magnet. People thinking they are being justice warriors become judgment dealers. Do you get that?
Racism is an ugly creature that rare few have in their life. There is true racism that hurts, kills and destroys another. I have not met many true racists in my life but when I have come across them it is obvious because of the intentional hatred for someone on no merit other than they are different than the person who hates them. Whether that is real or not. It’s usually associated with the color of skin but racism has further reach than this.
Joking about stereotypes is comedy. It’s been used through the centuries and we all laugh because in reality we aren’t racists. We recognize there is a glimmer of truth, but also a distorted lie in a stereotype. Black comedians have joked for decades about their own culture. They have that right. Mexicans joke about being Mexicans. There is a really funny Asian comedian I watch that jokes about Asian stereotypes. We like to laugh at ourselves and our crazy relatives. The fact my Hispanic family always makes you eat if you enter their house. I do that. I’ve become an old Hispanic lady. I’ll make you eat food if you come into my house.
It’s an unspoken rule that you can only joke about your own race or you are labeled a racist for being intelligent enough to see how stereotypes in your fellow humans is kind of funny.
We are all kind of funny.
Back in the 70’s George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and so many others used racial stereotypes in jokes. SNL began with lots of stereotype jokes. The 90’s were rife with some really cutting edge shows that noticed tokenism and racial matters and made it into parody. Intelligent creators like South Park, Dave Chappelle and animators were so free in the 90’s.
Let’s face it. All the Asian women I have dated like hot water. I don’t know why. Does that make me racist if I point out it might be an Asian woman thing? I don’t know. I’m just saying that every Asian woman I’ve known likes hot water.
Every Asian friend I have likes fried chicken; especially my Korean friends. I don’t know. Is it cause they’re Asian? Probably not. Is it true all Filipino’s like Jollibee? That’s a stereotype and I don’t know. I just hear Filipinos talk about it all the time.
Why am I talking about Asians so much? I’m in love with a beautiful Chinese woman and have been for over five years. I don’t know if we are best friends, girlfriends, or engaged. We were engaged when we thought our borders were more open. I’ve shown pictures of us together. I just know that at our age we don’t see one another with anyone else in this world or lifetime. She’s my bestie. And she ALWAYS drinks hot water. We’d go out and get her a cup of hot water.
It’s actually good for the stomach. Maybe I should drink more hot water.
Anyway, please kids out there just learning about life, learn the difference between racial stereotype and racism. Its a very large gap. And please, don’t take yourself too seriously. We are all in this world together. Hate doesn’t belong.
Justifying your hatred toward another person is just a reason for you yourself to hate. You end up being the hater. And in reality, that’s kind of racist.
Thank you for reading. Step back and look at what is real and what is truth. You’ll have a better soul for it.
This song is from the Niji Melody Time. This was my favorite that Millie Parfait sang. She has been very sick and hospitalized with the dreaded disease in this world. Please keep her in your prayers and listen to her lovely singing.
I don’t know why but this song reminded me of Grace. Let’s lie down in the center of Tokyo some day. 🙂
Please enjoy your week of searching and seeking and finding that one who can walk through life with you. I hope you find love.
Love you Gracie! 🙂 ❤ Always
the unlit cigarette 
Thanks for the link! I’m happy it could help with creating a more insightful post than mine. You make some great points about the use of stereotypes in jokes here. Part of my background is Arab, and I think we have some similarities to Hispanic cultures (at least in the “you’re going to eat if you visit” way.) There are definitely some jokes about the various Arab cultures, or the Mediterranean ones my family’s a lot closer to culturally, that we can make in the same way. So much of it has to do with the context of who and how the joke is made, anyway.
Speaking of that, when I was in Lebanon, I noticed everyone drank Nescafe instant at home. You can get Turkish coffee pretty much everywhere, in restaurants and on the street, and it is made at home, but it takes a lot more time and attention to make Turkish than instant with some powdered milk and sugar as it’s usually taken. Coffee and tea are everywhere there, I think partly because of the Islamic ban on alcohol — not that all Muslims follow that rule, of course, but my family does so it was always caffeine as the drug of choice.
That’s some good whiskey. When I drank I used to prefer bourbon, but I had a few kinds of Japanese whiskey and liked those as well. Sadly those days are behind me — if I could have handled the stuff responsibly it would be different, but as you say, there are far more harmful things to be addicted to than coffee. I follow the rules now at least!
Great singing, and I hope Millie feels better soon — I understand she’s recovering now. I’ll be looking forward to her return once she’s fully rested.
Finally, hope you can be together with the one you love as well. I don’t have that partner, or not yet at least. My family’s determined to find her, anyway!
You’re welcome. I love your blog. Thank you so much. I truly hope one day Grace and I will be together. Both of us have family responsibilities that keep us away from one another right now. That, and money. It’s the love story of the ages, poets and writers have told over and over again.
Anyway, I’d love to try Turkish coffee. It sounds good. Yes, we have to be careful how we handle our drinks. Moderation is always good. I used to drink more tea. When I got back from Scotland I was drinking tea all the time with a bit of milk and sugar. Now, almost in defiance of my mum, I drink only coffee. Haha I’m just a bad child, I suppose.
Millie updates her members on her situation (I think she’ll be in the hospital another couple days or so and she’s on a ventilator). You still need to become a Robe Enjoyer and join the “not-a-cult.” 😀
And you are so right that it depends on the context. If there is no hate or animosity behind then let the stereotype remain a stereotype, laugh and let it go. That is the adult response. And step back. Think over why “you” thought it was racist. Perhaps, deep inside you yourself are thinking a way maybe “you” should not be thinking.
Most people don’t take themselves that seriously except maybe a very, very few.
There are more horrid things in the world than making an off-handed comment about race. Over 150 people just died in South Korea during what should have been a happy Halloween celebration. There are countless people dying in a war in the Ukraine. Someone’s parent just died. Every day I drive and see homeless people in the street, needing their most basic necessities, like food and water, given. There are more and more, every day.
We live – mostly America – in such a privileged land all we can think to do is fight over petty things on Twitter and then feel we’ve won a great war.
History shows through genocide and draconian laws that racism is ugly and horrible. It has nothing to do with stereotypes but everything to do with hate.
I just want people to have the proper perspective on the world they are living. Wake up and realize we are all human together.
Anyway, I just jumped on my soapbox once again. I hope you have a good rest of your week, AK. 🙂
Ah, you got me. I think I’ll join her membership when she returns. She deserves the support for sure.
No problem about jumping on the soapbox either. I do that all the time. There’s more than enough wrong with the world to talk about it. And same to you, hope you have a good week!