Ahh, the pressure!

An article from CNN ...

"Push to achieve tied to suicide in Asian-American women"

Some interesting points:

"Asian-American women ages 15-24 have the highest suicide rate of women in any race or ethnic group in that age group. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Asian-American women in that age range."

"First and foremost, they say 'model minority' pressure -- the pressure some Asian-American families put on children to be high achievers at school and professionally -- helps explain the problem."

"Family pressure often affects girls more than boys, according to Dr. Dung Ngo, a psychologist at Baylor University in Texas. 'When I go talk to high school students and ask them if they experience pressure, the majority who raised their hands were the girls,' he said."

Perhaps pressure would help explain this case:

"Wannabe freshman outwits Stanford"

I'd like to know what the statistics are for Asian-American boys and men, particularly adoptees. About 10 years ago, a close male friend committed suicide. I know another who tried. Both Korean adoptees.

In my friend's case, I'll never know for sure of course what led him to his decision, but I can think of two factors in his life that contributed to his depression: a profound sense of grief and loss surrounding his adoption, and unfortunately, rejection from his love interest, a Korean adoptee who wasn't attracted to Asian men.

In the latter case, I know there had been pressure from his parents to change his major in college. He wanted to be a writer. They thought he should go into business or finance.

I was fortunate, I guess. My parents supported my choice in majors in college -- once I actually decided on one.

Going home

I was planning to go back home to visit family in July for a wedding open house, but looks like I'll be returning home much sooner for a memorial service instead.

The open house was canceled, and last night I found out my aunt died on Sunday. I was about an hour and a half away from the city, and on the drive back, I basically cried the whole way home.

I keep thinking about how much influence my aunt had on my life and career. She first introduced me to editing, design and fonts -- and this was before computers and Quark XPress. Years ago, my aunt and uncle owned a small magazine, and I stayed with them one summer, working at their office.

I remember sharing with her the joys of brownies, shopping 'til we dropped, and learning to crochet. Then there were the family camping trips to my aunt and uncle's lake property in Wisconsin, and spending weekends at her house, which was always a major treat.

And I blame her for my Coke addiction. (Man, was she relieved when Coca-Cola came out with Coke Classic after its new Coke fiasco.)

She called me her "favorite niece" -- granted, I was her only niece -- and she was my favorite aunt.

I can't believe she's gone.

I feel so bad for my cousin. As the only child of an only child, she doesn't have much family left. Since moving to San Francisco, I haven't kept in touch as much as I should have.

My parents said I didn't have to fly back for the service, but I want to go home -- I need to go home.

CNN on Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

CNN has some special coverage this month for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. It even has a special section (oooh, aahhh) on its Web site -- Uncovering America: The Asian-American Journey.

Baby deposit

"Japan Has Drop Box for Unwanted Babies"

A Japanese hospital opened the country's only anonymous drop box for unwanted infants Thursday despite government admonitions against abandoning babies.

The baby drop-off, called "Crane's Cradle," was opened by the Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in the southern city of Kumamoto as a way to discourage abortions and the abandonment of infants in unsafe public places. The hospital described it as a parent's last resort.

A small hatch on the side of the hospital allows people to drop off babies in an incubator 24 hours a day, while an alarm will notify hospital staff of the new arrival. The infants will initially be cared for by the hospital and then put up for adoption.

When I was in Italy, I saw an old building that had been used as an orphanage. The building had a revolving drop box for babies. I read that there was some kind of system to alert the nuns who ran the orphanage that a baby had been left in the box.

Heroes

Amazing animal stories ...

"Dogs, cat honoured for heroism"

"Three dogs and one cat were inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame for feats of bravery and determination that saved lives."

Go to jail. Go directly to jail.

Ha! Paris Hilton will be living the real "simple life" for 45 days. A judge ordered her to jail for 45 days for violating her probation. Guess her parents' money couldn't bail her out of this one.

"Paris Hilton sentenced to 45 days in jail"

"Hilton wept and her mother, Kathy, yelled at the prosecutor, "You're pathetic," as the packed courtroom cleared.

"The stunning decision capped a two-hour hearing in which prosecutors argued that Hilton was thumbing her nose at the court and seeking to be placed above the law, while defense lawyers said she was being singled out for harsh treatment because of her celebrity."

She's lucky she didn't have her ass thrown in jail the first time she got pulled over after her alcohol-related reckless driving incident.

Dumb ass.

U.S. troops used 'comfort women'

"Documents: U.S. troops used 'comfort women' after WWII"

Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in World War II has a little-known sequel: After its surrender -- with tacit approval from the U.S. occupation authorities -- Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for American GIs.

An Associated Press review of historical documents and records -- some never before translated into English -- shows American authorities permitted the official brothel system to operate despite internal reports that women were being coerced into prostitution. The Americans also had full knowledge by then of Japan's atrocious treatment of women in countries across Asia that it conquered during the war.

Tens of thousands of women were employed to provide cheap sex to U.S. troops until the spring of 1946, when Gen. Douglas MacArthur shut the brothels down.

The article also states that the brothels were operated by the Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA) and that "occupation GIs paid upfront and were given tickets and condoms. The first RAA brothel, called Komachien -- The Babe Garden -- had 38 women, but due to high demand that was quickly increased to 100. Each woman serviced from 15 to 60 clients a day."

"American historian John Dower, in his book "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of WWII," says the charge for a short session with a prostitute was 15 yen, or about a dollar, roughly the cost of half a pack of cigarettes."

"Amid complaints from military chaplains and concerns that disclosure of the brothels would embarrass the occupation forces back in the United States, on March 25, 1946, MacArthur placed all brothels, comfort stations and other places of prostitution off limits. The RAA soon collapsed.

MacArthur's primary concern was not only a moral one.

By that time, Tanaka says, more than a quarter of all American GIs in the occupation forces had a sexually transmitted disease."

Thanks to a fellow blogger for this CNN article.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

To celebrate the month, KQED in the Bay Area is featuring a special lineup.

Check out the program listings on the KQED Web site.

Hmm, after looking through the program guide, I'm disappointed to see that there are no programs specifically featuring Korea or Korean Americans. What's up with that?