OPINION / U.S.A.
July 20, 2015
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7
TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA
I’ve always wanted
to be Donald Trump.
I want his chunky gold Rolex
and his sleek white Learjet.
I want his utter independence
from considering, then
considering again, how folks
he fears or folks he loves,
are likely to feel in his wake .
n Polo
Finding Mr. Trump the
right thank-you card
A
couple of weekends ago I went to a
Hallmark store. I went to find
Donald Trump a thank-you card.
Just the right one. And you know, it was
really hard to do.
Now, please know that Hallmark is not a
place I go. I went once, okay maybe more
than once, that time I fell suddenly and
inexplicably in love. And yes, back then,
just like my Independence Day weekend
visit, there wasn’t another natty guapo
cruising that place. So as quietly and
quickly as I could, I studied aisle after
aisle of Hallmark cards. Serious cards,
funny cards, weepy cards.
Con permisso, if I may, for the benefit of
our city’s 1-in-5 foreign-born neighbors
who may not know about him, let me insert
a brief bio about Mr. Trump: Donald John
Trump, Sr. earns billions from product and
property developments, from his line of
executive menswear and other high-end
consumer goodies, from sports events,
from his reality-TV show and the Miss
Universe pageant.
Mr. Trump is also running for president
of the United States. And some weeks ago,
he said some reckless things about
Mexicans in America. Ugly things. Untrue
things.
Pero, ma’af — but, pardon me — allow
me to assert here, because full disclosure is
one of those American aspirations that
Portlanders from all over our achy earth so
admire — that I am very conflicted by Mr.
Trump. My feelings, like his excesses,
swing wild. As wild as that feral love affair
that originally sent me to the Hallmark
store.
You see, I’ve always wanted to be Donald
Trump. I want his chunky gold Rolex and
his sleek white Learjet. I want his utter
independence from considering, then
considering again, how folks he fears or
folks he loves, are likely to feel in his wake
— so different from how we traditional
folks are obliged to be. Indeed, it’s not just
him, this entire amazing nation sends us
newcomers swerving, from breathless
inspiration to staggering disappointment.
Getting the right card for all this — is
really hard.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
waves upon his arrival at a house party in Bedford,
New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
The thing is, we love Mr. Trump because
he’s just another immigrant mom’s
unwashed kid. Sure, he’s a bit much, but
every anxious African and Asian parent,
every ambitious Arab, Caribbean, and
Pacific Islander, every dreamy Russian-
and Spanish-speaking Portlander, is awed
by his bling. There are Hallmark cards
addressing this awe, but the perfecto card
must also acknowledge his knuckle-
headedness.
It’s a lot like our crazy cousin Jesse, he’s
just as excessive, but we love him anyway.
In fact, our old-school aunties actually
need this clown around — “Hati-hati, Joh!
Watch out, Boy! Don’ you dare embarrass
us, like him do.” And you know, both our
state and our federal constitutions
embrace them too. We love smart and
stupid speech. For this unconditional love,
Hallmark carries cards.
Anyway, everywhere regular folks who
know Americans, know that middle
America is solid and simply kind. “Yanks!”
— our elders still call those soldierboys
who freed us from Imperial Japan’s brutal
occupation. They fondly recall guys named
“Detroit,” “Red,” and “Tommy Gun.”
Guapos rooted firmly and rooted only to
their American creed of hard-hard work, of
loyalty to family, of readiness to clobber
cruel government.
Which gets me to a third, complicated
kind of thank-you card. One honoring our
nation’s institutional complexity. The
thing is, Mr. Trump’s bigotry startled lots
of our political, commercial, and media
giants into removing his brands from local
store shelves, from national TV, and from
the international stage. Finding a card for
this gyroscopic reflex was even harder.
But I did it.
For a man like Mr. Trump, for a country
like ours, I picked a winner out of three
pretty finalists. Then I selected an
envelope of powder blue — ahead of
contenders sunflower and sea mist.
“You find everything you need, sir?” a
concerned elder auntie, three rows of fur-
rowed brow, asked me. I paid and thanked
her. I thanked Donald John Trump, Sr.
and thanked our America too.
Iwakuma goes 8 innings, Mariners beat Angels 5-0
By Daimon Eklund
The Associated Press
S
SCENIC SERVICES. Jose Ventilacion, a minister in the Iglesia ni Cristo church,
stands near the highway in Scenic, South Dakota. Ventilacion told the Rapid City Jour-
nal that services are now held in Scenic Community Hall on Thursdays and Sundays.
The church purchased the town of Scenic in 2011. (Sean Ryan/Rapid City Journal
via AP)
Philippine-based church starts
services in town it bought
SCENIC, S.D. (AP) — A Philippines-based church that bought up
the small South Dakota town of Scenic four years ago has started
holding services.
Services are held in Scenic Community Hall on Thursdays and
Sundays, minister Jose Ventilacion told the Rapid City Journal. The
church thought it best to start by “reaching out to people and build
from there,” he said.
Iglesia ni Cristo, which translates from Tagalog to English as
“Church of Christ,” effectively bought the town from a longtime
resident for about $700,000 in 2011. The church didn’t divulge its
plans and that created some unease in the area.
The church wants to build a house of worship, but needs to build its
membership first, said Ventilacion, who arrived in South Dakota in
April. Attendance is steadily rising, he said, with about 10 to 15
members from Sturgis, Deadwood, Scenic, and Rapid City.
“We’ve extended invitations to anyone who might be interested,
and we’ve extended invitations to some of our Native American
friends who were living on the nearby reservation,” Ventilacion said.
“Anyone who wants to learn about us is welcome.”
In the Philippines, Iglesia ni Cristo is the second-largest Christian
church with about 2.25 million members. The church has ministries
in 100 different countries, including the U.S., where Ventilacion
estimates it has members and services in up to 40 states.
The group’s connection to South Dakota stems from a number of
Filipino-American military members who were stationed in Rapid
City and were practicing Iglesia ni Cristo members.
Ventilacion isn’t able to speak to the full extent of the church’s
plans for Scenic because he wasn’t involved in the 46-acre land
purchase, he said. But it still hasn’t filed for building permits or
tax-exempt status.
Scenic is about 45 miles southeast of Rapid City.
EATTLE — When the ball
came off David Freese’s
bat in the first inning, it
looked like the Los Angeles
Angels were going to jump out to a
big early lead. A diving catch by
Seattle right fielder Nelson Cruz
made sure it didn’t happen.
Cruz’s catch with the bases
loaded and two outs in the first
inning ended the only offensive
threat for the Angels as Seattle
Mariners starter Hisashi Iwa-
kuma pitched eight shutout in-
nings in Seattle’s 5-0 win against
the Angels.
The first three Los Angeles
batters reached base against
Iwakuma, but the Angels weren’t
able to come away with any runs.
Albert Pujols struck out and Erick
Aybar grounded into a fielder’s
choice before Cruz’s catch ended
the inning.
“That was a bullet,” Angels
manager Mike Scioscia said.
“From where we were it looked
like it had a chance to get in the
gap.”
It was the second game back
from the disabled list for
Iwakuma (1-1), who gave up three
hits and two walks, and struck out
six. He retired the last 13 batters
he faced in his longest outing
since going eight innings in
Philadelphia last August 19.
In his first start back against
the Tigers, Iwakuma allowed five
runs and eight hits in five innings,
and early on it looked like this
would be another rough start.
“Right after contact, I kinda
had a pretty good idea that he was
probably going to get there,”
Freese said. “The fact that it
didn’t fall was big. Obviously
early in the game, but Iwakuma
8 SHUTOUT INNINGS. Seattle Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma delivers a pitch
during a Major League Baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels in Seattle. Iwakuma
pitched eight shutout innings in Seattle’s 5-0 win. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
had it going, so those runs
definitely would have mattered.”
Los Angeles starting pitcher
C.J. Wilson (7-7) gave up three
runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings,
walking four and striking out five.
It was the ninth time in his last 10
starts that Wilson lasted at least
six innings.
“It’s a gritty performance,”
Scioscia said. “He threw a lot of
pitches. As the game wore on, I
think he got a little better with his
command, but was kind of on the
edge all night.”
Mark Trumbo had two RBI
singles for the Mariners, the
fourth straight game with at least
two hits for Trumbo.
Cruz also helped out at the
plate as well as in the field, going 3
for 3 with a double and three runs
scored.
The Mariners scored twice in
the second inning. Jesus Montero
drew a bases-loaded walk with no
outs and Brad Miller drove in a
run with a sacrifice fly to center
field.
Trumbo’s run-scoring single in
the third gave Seattle a 3-0 lead.
In the seventh, the Mariners
picked up two runs after Wilson
was replaced on RBI singles by
Trumbo and Logan Morrison.
q
Citizen Min:
Never Give Up!
Continued from page 6
translated as:
There are those who fight for a
day, and they are good.
Those who fight for a year, and
they are very good.
There are those who fight for
many years, and they are better.
But those who fight all their
lives, they are indispensable.
Holly holds her father’s own
personal motto close to her heart:
“We are born into this world for a
purpose, and that is to make it a
better place.”
To learn more about Minoru
Yasui, visit <www.minoruyasui
tribute.org>. For information
about Never Give Up! The Story of
Minoru Yasui, visit <www.
theatrediaspora.org>.