The Racism Wolf You Love to Cry

Let’s not pretend you care about racism. Sadly, many of my fellow Americans do not even seem that concerned with truth. We care more about what supports our version of the truth, and we can all see (if we try) that is having devastating consequences.

When I first watched the video from the National Mall this past weekend featuring the now famous encounter, I was saddened and angry like most people. So, I watched it again, and it seemed so heartless. Furthermore, I personally identified with everyone present – someone of white heritage, a conservative, a Catholic, a proponent of the right to life… and a Native American. It didn’t make sense. Surely, a trained progressive would tell me that is because I am privileged not to see racism. However, a correction should be made - I choose first to see truth.

The primary account of the story was that the high school boys surrounded Nathan Phillips – a Native American Man – and ridiculed him as he peacefully played his drum. According to Phillips, he was responding to the boys who were chanting, “Build That Wall” and were acting angrily toward him and others. Of all the cameras recording this situation that day, not one seems to have recorded the purported chant. Of all video footage available, the boys do not appear to be angry. They were in effect having an impromptu pep rally, as claimed by a participant to counter or drown out the real hate – from a small group of extremely vocal “Black Hebrew Israelites.” 

If this is the same group of men who gather to preach their intolerance at Metro stops in Washington, D.C., then I am somewhat familiar with their rants, and locals usually just walk by in attempts to ignore them. On the National Mall that day, these “preachers” are recorded calling these high school students from Kentucky “dusty ass crackers,” “incest babies,” “school shooters,” and more. In addition, they made hateful references to women, Catholics, homosexuals, and even Native Americans as “Uncle Tomahawks.” Yet, no one in this national knee-jerk outcry have a tenth of the interest in denouncing this pure, blatant hate speech in their quest to confront racism. Why is that? After riding public transportation in Washington, D.C. for years, this kind of black-on-nonblack vitriol is not unheard of, and nobody raises an eyebrow. I have been threatened with gun violence, called an Anglo-Saxon, told my mother must be a whore to have a son like me - all within the Metro system and once by a Metro employee. No one stopped a bus or stepped in to protect me on the train, and certainly no one started a viral campaign to counter or promote violence against my verbal attackers. People just look the other way.

Why? Because that’s not the way racism is supposed to work. White people are racist. Republicans are racist. “Make America Great Again” caps are inherently racist. Confronting someone who is from a traditionally oppressed group is racist. So, you have a Native American with cameras rolling behind him walk up and get in the face of a white boy with a MAGA hat – who doesn’t budge - and you have liberal internet gold! Never mind, these boys were not recorded saying anything hateful. Never mind, these boys seemed to be chanting along with Mr. Phillips happily. Never mind that the boys were audibly uncomfortable with one of their own African-American classmates being called the N-word or with homosexuals being openly disparaged. Never mind that one of the other Native American instigators told the boys to “go back to Europe, where you came from; this is not your land!” No, that’s not the way racism is supposed to work.

People like to tell other people how racism works, and to some extent, I appreciate the enlightenment. However, it’s gone too far, and people have overplayed their hands. Too many people rely too heavily on this too soon, that they do the actual cause of seeking racial harmony (wait, what?) harm in the attempt to appear in the moral majority. If you rushed to judgment, you don’t care about racism, and you don’t care about the truth. You care about yourself - whether you are a news outlet trying to get clicks, a member of Congress trying to score political points, or just a regular person trying to be woke. You want to be a part of this Indian’s peace prayer chant? Calm down and see people and situations for who and what they are, regardless of what that can do for you.

Kim from the Philippines

She lit up the room with her pensive gaze, quietly waiting for her turn to board. This room was an airport gate in Cebu. A quick glance at her had me, but I never try to speak to a woman at the airport; people come and go vast distances from this place (me included), so why bother with someone you will never see again? Carry on.

However, boarding that Philippine Airlines flight 2927, I made my way through the aisle to find my seat and had to do a double-take - actually, triple-take - of my boarding pass, because that same beauty who had caught my eye was there at the window seat next to mine! Travels have taken me on many flights, and it is a rare occasion when I will actually speak a word to my seatmate - even for hours-long journeys. But this time was different. She quietly read her Bible, with all apparent desire to keep to herself for the flight. Years previous, I had interrupted a woman from reading to make her acquaintance, and it did not go nearly well enough to warrant another attempt on this occasion, however I was quickly resolute in giving it a go. I like to think that God was both my witness and my first test as Kim and I engaged about Jesus and the Bible. In the course of that relatively short inter-island flight, she nearly immediately surpassed my several main criteria for the ideal woman.

But then, what is the ideal woman or the perfect mate? Sometimes, people seem ideal, but circumstances are not. Maybe there is no perfect, or maybe we all come into one another's lives to just play a part in their puzzle, helping to make them complete at a later date... and vice-versa.

Kim and I did go on to meet in Qatar, the Philippines again, Tanzania, and throughout the United States. We are both world travelers, each making our way through our own discoveries and documenting along the way. I showed off to her, America: snowy Manhattan, the beaches of Southern California, our nation's capital, her first jazz show and rock concert, the Philly cheesesteak, key lime pie, Miami nightlife, the Golden Gate Bridge, high school football, Major League Baseball, Texas barbecue, the vast natural magnificence of Alaska, craft cocktails, and In-N-Out. While in the end, I am tempted to say she was not impressed. But could you blame her? The life of an international flight attendant is blessed with the best of the entire world; in her case, I'd say that is as it should be.

"Kim from the Philippines" is her vlog (video series) and social media persona which takes followers on tours with her to major destinations, as well as lesser-known excursions, all around the world. She takes her fans bungee jumping in Switzerland, through Cairo in a day, and even on a glass-bottom boat adventure for two in Seattle! You can find her on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

President Duterte Rings Balangiga Bell

Duterte welcomes the return of the bells from the United States

After over a century away, the bells of Balangiga were returned by the United States to the Philippines. In a handover ceremony on December 15, 2018 President Rodrigo Duterte accepted them, and the bell was rung on the island of Samar for the first time since 1901.

Duterte's Remarks Accepting the Balangiga Bells

Kuya Culture in the Philippines

In modern-day Philippines, a westerner-traveler could be forgiven at first glance of its bustling cities, English-speaking natives, and tourist-friendly resorts to conclude certain things about this vast archipelago nation. You might find it familiar. In fact, many of my observations of the cultures of the world start by noticing the differences, but taking some comforts in the similarities. On a short trip, you might even believe you have the country figured out. After all, we all belong to the human race. Why should we be so different?

I mentioned "short trip," because its easier to be somewhere for a short time; you see the top recommended sights, try the local flavors, maybe even catch a local festival of some sort. Done! Subtract that from the bucket list. I've now "been there." It actually is comforting to think we aren't all so different, and you'd be right for the most part; we're not. Our individual capabilities, our dreams, our passions - they are not so different. However, the way we do things - informed by history, religion, physical environment, economic capability, and tradition - indeed can be unique to place or nationality.

If you have spent any time in the Philippines, you know there are labels of respect that are frequently utilized. Beyond the ubiquitous "ma'am" and "sir," there are two other titles: "ate" (older sister) and "kuya" (older brother), among others. Yes, ate and kuya are terms of respect rigorously used within the the family structure, but they are also used commonly in direct reference to familiar people older than oneself (although different than a parent or grandparent) throughout the culture. On the surface, this doesn't seem to be of significant consequence, but in my many months spent in the Philippines, not only have I been "Kuya Mark" to many, but I see kuya so extensively used that it suggests Filipinos have an inherent brotherhood among themselves... as well as with foreigners who choose to accept and integrate into the culture! Your jeepney driver can be kuya. Your neighbor from whom you try to buy beer at his house in the middle of the night can be kuya. A stranger on the street in another town from whom you ask directions can be kuya. When you lend a hand to make a situation work, I believe you are being a kuya.


When I am here, I feel and see a people linked together not by skin color, ideology, or class. What I see here is not a culture that seeks an offense as the best defense, but a creed-based society. I think it is more than pure etiquette that strangers easily interact with strangers, foreigners are made to feel welcome, empathy reigns over sarcasm, and there is a brotherly bond that ties people together in a way that (though not without confrontation or moral failure) seems to make society work. Yes, every culture has its standards and rules, but I think one based so universally to the concept of respect is one that might provide some model for other nations, and indeed the world.

In Flight (2018) - Tacloban 5 Years Post-Yolanda

A remake of a video I made for All Hands Volunteers celebrating the resilience and growth of the people and cityof Tacloban on the 5th anniversary of Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. 

Life Between the Bookends

Maybe life isn't all about the ending point... certainly not about the beginning; these are bookends, or perhaps punctuation. Life is all about the middle. Strange, because most of life feels like it's building up to something - the best is always yet to come! However, what if the best is now? We thrive in always building to be stronger and better, but we ought not be awaiting a crescendo or a grand finale. Rather than a perfectly crafted symphony, life is more of an impromptu jazz jam session. Preparation certainly makes us our best, but the sweet stuff comes in the moment. We take turns stepping up to shine, while most of the time we support, try to keep up, and seek to produce something excellent, unique, and beautiful.

Dance in Peace - In Memory of Nita Lehrack

Not everyone gets a live-in godmother. For most, I imagine godparents are useful for a ceremony or are honorary title holders. Mine resided just across the hall for much of my early life. If you knew her at all, you know she always had an opinion - not one on one thing, but an opinion about everything. She was an athlete, a videographer, a storyteller... an entertainer. She took the role of deejay at a simple church St. Patrick's Day party and made herself an annual multi-act producer of lip sync concerts. She entertained our ideas and came up with grander versions, such as when I ran for my first student council office in grade school - she recommended I appeal to my voters in the oratory style of Martin Luther King, Jr. She indulged her grandchildren in what they enjoyed much in the same vigor as she shared music, dancing, basketball, and video-making with her children and me. I even did my first karaoke with her.

These are all now fond memories.

She was also a great giver of gifts; yes, astute at recognizing and attaining thoughtful things to put in boxes on special occasions, but to me, at least, she was able to bestow some others quite monumental. She was my mom's best friend for more than my whole life - a companionship that bonded two families and gave wind to each other's wings. And as my godmother, she gave me the lens to discover the tenet of forgiveness - a complicated process that recognizes both failure and dignity in some inner and outward quest for peace.

It's a quieter place now without you here, Nita, but perhaps that is the sound of you having found your own peace in which to rest... or more probably - in which to dance with angels.

Nita Lehrack

Called into Peace - August 21st, 2018

Remembered Well by Those Whom Her Spirit Touched