rice cracker fan mail and a little more on "chink"

From our show in San Francisco--I got this email and was thrilled that my rice cracker joke made sense to a real person---

Dear Kate,
I just wanted to thank-you for doing what you do. I saw your show at Brava tonight and immediately went home and e-mailed everyone I knew to tell them to go see your show, all while listening to your CD. I have a feeling I will take in a few more shows before you leave.

For the first time in my life I have a word to describe myself. Not half-breed, banana, twinkie, etc. I am a ricecracker and I am proud. I could never say Asian-American, because my dad is English and Eurasian, well, just never seemed right. Now, ricecracker, that is something I can live with. I had never heard that expression before and I am so glad that I finally have.

When I was growing up the word "chink" was so hurtful. It wasn't so much the word, it was the way it was said. That and the "Chinese, Japanese, ouh wee, look at these, dirty knees." I didn't figure out what that one was about until I was an adult. I never thought I would ever be able to use that word, but after your show and reading your chink theory, I will use it with pride.

Your show and the anthology Half and Half have done so much to finally make me feel not only comfortable in my own skin, but proud as well. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.

Sincerely,
Tavia

P.S. Nip-chink is so beautiful, I think I may be in love:)

Am happy to oblige with a photo from the show of "nip chink" aka Satomi Shikata the excellent dancer who also does double time as our resident cyber butoh in Slanty Eyed Mama performances. When we were touring Chink-O-Rama more actively we each had a chink name: Nip Chink, Afro Chink, Euro Chink etc. In any discussions of the word itself, one of the first things we talk about is that at some point in our lives we have all been called chink--adn we all know others: Thai people, Japanese people, Hapas, Laotians, Vietnamese people all called "chink". Which sort of renders the word meaningless and a composite racist name which removes a person's actual cultural identity and replaces it with the stereotypes and phobias the speaker is applying to asian americans. One of the tenets of racism against asian americans is that we are "all the same" all "look the same" etc. so chink, implies that we are all chinese-- that is the bigot's idea of what a "chinaman" is. In chinkorama we put an epithet about our own actual heritage next to the word chink to qualify occupy and disenfranchise the word.