22 West Magazine - September 2018

Issue 83.01 August 27, 2018 www.22WestMedia.com

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2018

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Issue 83.01

DIGRESS WITH JESS

CONTENTS FESTIVE FALL CONCERT SCHEDULE 15 must-see L.A. concert tours left in 2018

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STAFF Jess Kung, Editor-in-Chief editorinchief@22westmedia.com Yessenia Sanchez, Managing Editor managingeditor@22westmedia.com Tara Thomas, Art Director artdirector@22westmedia.com Lola Olvera, Lead Copy Editor Kristi Alarcon, Editor Jarrod Castillo, Editor Isabelle Cruz, Editor Kirsten Hernandez, Editor Karla Lopez, Editor Dawn Perkins, Editor Shyanne Riberal-Norton, Editor

CONTRIBUTORS James Chow, Contributor Logan Cross, Contributor Seth Issac Everett, Contributor John Fajardo, Contributor Abigail Roxas, Contributor Nicole Swayne, Contributor

COVER DESIGN Seth Issac Everett, Contributing Artist CONTACT US Mail: 1212 Bellflower Blvd. Suite 116 Long Beach, CA 90815 Phone: 562.985.4867 E-mail: editorinchief@22westmedia.com

By Jess Kung Editor-In-Chief Welcome to the latest iteration of 22 West Magazine! I’m going to get the self congratulatory stuff out of the way now: I’m really happy with what we’ve produced, especially as an almost entirely new staff.

I’m incredibly grateful for the time everyone put into this. If this is our starting point, I can’t wait to see where we go.

Our stories this month, for the most part, are connected by the idea of isolation and being on the margins. It’s a bizarrely universal experience, being lonely.

It’s easy to be lonely if you’re coming in to a new school. Maybe you’re transitioning in from high school, and the responsibility you now have over yourself is overwhelming. Maybe you’ve transferred in, and it’s going to be that much harder to make new friends all over again.

But maybe not. Lonely doesn’t mean alone, whatever.

I’m lead to believe (guess who has a queer theory minor?) that our emotions and reactions are not formed inside us, because we don’t operate as individuals. Everything about our identities and circumstances effect the situations we’re put in and how we react to them. Sometimes conflicts and confusion arise just because we all learn to think differently. So when do you feel lonely, and what does that reflect about how you move through the world?

You might notice that Asian-ness got spilled throughout the issue, three stories feature Asian topics. It’s not like, an agenda of mine, it’s just the kind of story on my radar.

Your radar probably looks very different, and I want to hear about it! Come in to USU 116 on Mondays at 2 p.m., or Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and tell me your stories, or send your ideas to pitches@22westmedia.com Take it easy, y’all.

WOMEN’S SPORTS PREVIEW

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High expectations for the upcoming season

THE POWER OF PUNGMUL

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Empowering a community is just a beat away

A LASTING EFFECT

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Long Beach murals reflect culture of the city

SINGAPORE AND THE SPOTLIGHT

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Spoiler-light review and reflection

AT A CROSSROADS CSULB alum speaks out after racist road rage incident

KING OF THE HILL, PAUPER OF THE VALLEY The life of Republican staffers in Washington, D.C.

EMERGENCY SERVICE Content warning: discussion of suicide

ON BEING ROOTED Finding out what home means to you

THE MOTHER AND THE VALLEY A folk tale

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Disclaimer and Publication Information: 22 West Magazine is published using ad money and partial funding provided by the Associated Students, Inc. All Editorials are the opinions of their individual authors, not the magazine, ASI nor LBSU. All students are welcome and encouraged to be a part of the staff. All letters to the editor will be considered for publication. However, LBSU students will have precedence. Please include name and major for all submissions. They are subject to editing and will not be returned. Letters may or may not be edited for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and length. 22 West Magazine will publish anonymous letters, articles, editorials, and illustration, but must have your name and information attached for our records. Letters to the editor should be no longer than 500 words. 22 West Magazine assumes no responsibility, nor is it liable, for claims of its advertisers.

Grievance procedures are available in the Associated Students business office.

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FESTIVE FALL CONCERT SCHEDULE 15 must-see L.A. concert tours left in 2018

By Kristi Alarcon Editor Your go-to-guide for everything you need to know about your favorite musical artists’ tour dates. From live music, gigs and tours throughout the Los Angeles area, you are sure to find something to your liking with the variety of musical genres provided such as: rap, hip-hop, R&B, pop, alternative rock and indie pop.

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BTS STAPLES Center @ 6 & 8 p.m Sept. 5-6 & Sept. 8-9 Starting at $246

Phoenix The Observatory & Fonda Theatre @ 8 & 9 p.m.

Sept. 5-7 & Sept. 10-12 Starting at $76

Foster the People The Observatory @ 8 p.m.

Sept. 18-19 & Sept. 24 Starting at $40

Kali Uchis and Gabriel GarzonMontano The Observatory @ 8 p.m.

Sept. 20 Starting at $40

Beyonce and Jay-Z Rose Bowl @ 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 22-23 Starting at $79

Childish Gambino, Rae Sremmurd and Vince Staples The Forum @ 7:30 p.m.

Sep. 26 & Oct. 3 Starting at $49

Chief Keef The Wiltern Oct. 4 @ 7 p.m.

Starting at $5

Foo Fighters Glen Helen Amphitheater @ 11 a.m.

Oct. 6 Starting at $49

5 Seconds of Summer and The Aces Greek Theatre @ 8 p.m.

Oct. 12 Starting at $69

Drake and Migos STAPLES Center & The Forum @ 7 p.m.

Oct. 12-14, Oct. 16-17 & Oct. 19 Starting at $79

Arctic Monkeys The Hollywood Bowl @ 7 p.m.

Oct. 16-17 Starting at $37

Lil Pump The Observatory & Hollywood Palladium Oct. 31, Nov. 1 & Nov. 6 @ 7 & 8 p.m.

Starting at $35

Azizi Gibson The Observatory & The Roxy Theatre Nov. 13 & Nov. 16 @ 7:30 & 11 p.m.

Starting at $20

Good Charlotte Hollywood Palladium @ 6 p.m.

Nov. 21 Starting at $38

Travis Scott, Trippie Redd, Gunna and Sheck Wes The Forum @ 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 Starting at $59

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL AND SOCCER PREVIEW High expectations for the upcoming season Story by Jarrod Castillo Editor When the 2017-2018 season started for Long Beach State’s women’s basketball and soccer teams, both teams were on similar yet vastly different trajectories.

They were similar in that the year prior, both reached the Big West Tournament in their respective league despite the former lost in the first round while the latter won the entire tournament.

That’s where the similarities end, however.

After being the second-best team in the Big West Conference in 2016-2017, Long Beach State’s women’s basketball team underwent significant turnover, signaling a rebuild.

Meanwhile, the soccer team looked to capitalize on the momentum of the previous year and rightly so, expectations were high but untimely injuries derailed the momentum.

It started with 2016 Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the fulcrum of The Beach’s offense, forward Ashley Gonzales suffering a season-ending knee injury in an early-season contest against UCLA. Then defender/forward and 2017 Big West Defensive Player of the Year Kaitlin Fregulia went down with a season-ending injury of her own amid a rough patch.

That spelled disaster for the team and caused them to miss the tournament for the first time in three years.

After Gonzales got hurt last year, The Beach had 13 different players score and another 12 assist. This was something that head coach Mauricio Ingrassia hopes to see more this season.

“I think we’ll have a good balance, I think we have a lot of players that can score,” he said. “I think we have a solid team so I’m expecting goals to come from different places.”

Though the team lost its first game against UCLA, 1-0, on Aug. 17, Ingrassia says it’s “amazing” to have Gonzales back in the lineup.

“To have her back is great for her, but also great for the program, great for our community, great for our fans,” Ingrassia said.

That said, Gonzales played 67 minutes and 63 minutes in their first two games against UCLA and SMU respectively. That was by design, according to Ingrassia.

“She has to ease into these high-level competition. You’ve got to remember that she’s been off for a year,” Ingrassia said.

According to a poll conducted by coaches, The Beach was slated to finish second in the conference though Ingrassia said that the players only worry about what’s on the pitch.

With 18 letter winners returning from the 2017 team (nine starters) and a bevy of new players on the team, Ingrassia says that the players have gotten along “great” and that it’s been easy integrating them into the program.

“There’s a couple of them that have already made significant impacts on the pitch, so we’re hoping to integrate more in the next coming weeks,” he said.

Although the team has already played two games

(1-1-0), Ingrassia hopes that fans will come and support the team at home at George Allen Field. More so once conference play starts because those are “worth the price of admission” and can be considered as “finals,” he said.

On the other hand, the basketball team underwent a significant shift last season, with Jody Wynn and her coaching staff departing. Jeff Cammon was hired as head coach to rebuild and lay a foundation for future seasons though there were growing pains.

The team started 2-8 and at one point, lost 13-straight. When conference play began, the team lost its first eight games by an average of 12.8 points per game (PPG).

That was expected from a team

playing seven freshmen (with one leading the team in scoring) and four upperclassmen remaining from previous squads. However, instead of giving up, something clicked.

The team went 6-2 in its last eight, including a five-game winning streak winning led by sophomore guard Shanaijah Davison’s and senior guard Cecily Wilson’s 19.8 ppg and 15.4 ppg, respectively.

They snuck into the tournament but were eliminated by UC Riverside, 79-66, in the first round.

This offseason, Cammon said the team worked on getting mentally stronger and talked about how to be a better teammate on-and-off the court. Plus, the experience of playing through adversity, getting to

Photos by John Fajardo Contributor

the tournament and playing in late game situations is something Cammon says will help.

“I think the experience that those younger kids received last year will pay dividends because now they’ve been in those situations,” Cammon said.

With most of the squad returning and working on team philosophies, the ceiling’s high for this team though Cammon says they still need to work on defensive rebounding and to limit turnovers this season.

“I think if we could defensive rebound, I think if we could take care of the basketball, I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “I think the other things will take care of themselves.”

That ceiling will be even higher if Davison becomes more efficient on both offense and defense.

“She’s [Davison] is a natural-born scorer, that’s in her DNA. So to get her to see the value in other things takes a lot, but it’s something that she has committed to, and actually, she’s gotten better,” Cammon said.

Furthermore, if sophomore forward Naomi Hunt’s progresses nicely, those two could feasibly be the teams’ final one-two punch on offense.

“We feel like her progression has been … to be more physical, I thought she worked on her body in the weight room, and she’s a little more comfortable with her back to the basket, which is going to make us better,” he said.

Cammon also says that Hunt’s confidence radiates throughout the locker room and challenges her to be more vocal as other players’ respect her and will listen to what she says.

Additionally, Cammon says that senior guard Martina McCowan can potentially be Defensive Player of the Year in the conference.

“She doesn’t have to score anything to be that much of a presence and make that much of an impact on the game and be that impact player for us,” he said.

Also, adding two transfers in guard Sydney Bordonaro and forward Cydnee Kinslow alongside freshman guard Justina King will only bolster the squad.

“We are happy to welcome these three young ladies to The Beach family,” Cammon said in a press release.

“All three have what it takes to make huge impacts right away.”

In the end, expect a better showing this season. With a focused soccer team this year, they can beat any team, in conference or not. Conversely, the basketball team fought in the waning games of last season and so look for a sharper squad brimming with confidence on both sides of the ball.

If both teams play to their capabilities, they could be on top of the Big West Conference in their respective sports.

Only time will tell.

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THE POWER OF PUNGMUL Empowering a community is just a beat away

By Nicole Swayne Contributor

When most people think of Korean culture, they think of Korean pop artists like BTS blowing up the charts or chowing down Bulgogi at their favorite Korean barbecue place. And while attending K-con is a way to delve into a variety of cultural elements, it is not the end all be all and cannot truly capture the essence of how diverse this culture can really be.

I discovered this for myself one year I went and felt like the cultural aspects had been lost along the way and essentially the commercialization of the event sort of ruined the experience for me.

This summer, I took an internship at a Korean American non-profit organization and had the opportunity to experience Korean culture in a completely different setting. I believe that this program has allowed me to understand multiple narratives and in turn, gain diverse perspectives of the Korean community holistically.

I have to say, though, that my favorite

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part of the internship was learning about the history of an old Korean folk tradition known as Pungmul. This tradition derives from farming culture and how drumming was used to raise the spirits of the workers. It is also mirrors the repetition of farming with a repetitive momentum given to the instrument. Participatory performances require all members and creates a community through music.

After learning about Pungmul, we were given the chance to participate by learning: how to play Korean instruments like Janggu, Puk, and Kkenggari, how to sing and chant in Korean, and how to dance and twirl even with a drum strapped to my back. This was very new to me, especially being someone who has no prior knowledge of percussion instruments. I have a vague understanding of how to play violin, ukulele, and piano.

But, these instruments are all based in music theory so drumming became a whole new experience in itself.

I really felt like a beginner going into the lesson because I did not even know how to hold the Janggu or how to strike the two-sided drum.

And without notes to memorize, it became apparent to me that I had to let the drum lead me. Drumming is a very impulsive stimulus, making your heart beat loud in your chest

like having close seating at a venue for your favorite concert. It is also very addicting, I kept wanting to play no matter how much my hands were hurting after six to eight hour practice sessions.

There was a ton of multi-tasking that was happening, but to my surprise I caught on quickly. I was extremely afraid to hit the drum really hard and be loud with it at first, especially because I am used to making softer, more meticulous movements. But the more I played, the stronger I felt and the more I fell in love with it.

In just took two weeks of drumming lessons, I learned so much! It was a

instrument exists in typically more maledominated spaces and it is rare to have a female instructor. She reflected that “being a woman that is helping to teach Pungmul feels empowering!”

Nara’s story of self is also empowering to me. I believe that drumming is not only a great way to blow off steam, but a physical way to take up space. Taking up space is something that is hard to do, especially as a woman when we are so aware of the space that we are given and how we navigate through the world.

Growing up, I can relate to this because I used to not be too confident in myself and struggled to be assertive. I was

“I love the sense of community that it brings.”

– Nara Kim rewarding experience and cultural exchange, especially watching a strong Korean female lead our group. The instructor for the group was Nara Kim, an Asian American activist that teaches lessons at her alma mater, USC. She first learned how to play from a club, Haneulsori that she described “became a family and an avenue to learn more about [her] Korean roots as well as a way to make friends with the other schools like UCI and UCLA.” After graduating, she was able to utilize Pungmul as a political tool at marches and rallies and create a sense of community. I was inspired by her experience with Korean drumming, especially because this

aware of every movement I made and limited space I took up in public spaces and verbal conversations. But, when I was drumming I felt so strong being able to take up space in constructive ways and even lead the group at one point.

I also had the opportunity to challenge the misogyny that exists in our culture and build community with my coworkers and connect more to them. Without talking, we were able to connect to each other and harmonize, drumming to the same beat. I want to continue to do cultural exchanges and learn about other people’s narratives more authentically like I did in this way. And I hope people have the opportunity to do the same.

A LASTING EFFECT: HOW ART GETS BETTER WITH AGE

rd s (2016) an Bouleva The Dracula rd and Oce a v le u o B h Long Beac

Long Beach murals reflect the culture of the city Story and Photos by Tara Thomas Art Director This summer a number of striking wall murals were created for the 2018 POW! WOW! Festival, a week-long event celebrating art and culture in Long Beach.

The plan for this story was to find a mural, admire it, take a few pictures and move on to the next. Yet, out of the 20 art pieces beautifying the city, only a few of them were crossed off my list. Instead I spent most of the day venturing around areas of Long Beach that I had never explored by foot before. I even found several other gorgeous murals that were not even part

of this year’s festival. While the day did not go exactly as planned, this experience seems to highlight the whole idea behind the POW! WOW! Organization: to kickstart the beautification of the city, to influence citizens to contribute to the quality of their own neighborhoods, and to encourage non-locals to explore them.

Here are some of the official murals — and a few gems off the beaten path —I was able to check out during my citywide scavenger hunt.

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Dragon76 (2016) Alamo Co urt and Ea st 1st

s, it sure had the al POW! WOW! mural gin ori the of ge e on t no trying to send a messa While this piece was emotional, and it was s wa it t, ach ran Be vib ng s Lo wa a It ll s case, Jon Ha making of one. mmunity with art. In thi sh co pli n om ow acc e’s to on rs ing ne tor ow about res local business s able to reach out to and one day based tattoo artist, wa op the artist frequents rsh rbe ba a to ed ect nn f, with co is ll wa He took it upon himsel this mission. The “ugly wall in the alley.” e of the of typ d the tire s h wa wit he ce he decided tore the spa neighboring pub, to res a of rt po . sup od l rho cia bo an the fin in the neigh come a point of pride graffiti that has since be

ManOne, Hozoi and Bears (2001) Cherry Avenue an d 14th Street

Street

This dynam ic steam p un took some influence fr k samurai mural is vibrant de om Drago one can se piction tha n76’s Japa e empowe t no doub nese roots ring word and “Revo t . As part o s such as lution,” wh f the artw “Reconstru ich is fittin regards to o rk ct g io to the the n,” “Rege city and co me of the neration” mmunity d Dragon76 POW! WO evelopme is a n W! Project n in t. cr edibly tale WOW! Fe in nted artist stivals in Ja who has b pan and Ta and live pa e e n iw involved w inting perf an and ha ormances. s a long h ith POW! istory of m ural-makin g

Another non-POW! WO W! mural graces the side of a 99 Cents On residential neighborho ly store in a od. While the piece is noticeably aged, it de an impact. The theme finitely stills hold of this mural seems to be musical and featur personalized lyrics on es the artists’ each age of sheet mu sic. Each member, in language, Bears’ in Fre their respective nch, Hozoi’s in English, and ManOne’s in Span their artistic purpose ish, expresses and gratitudes to add a personal touch to the outside of the already piece. Being developed areas of do wntown, this mural see been kept surprisingly ms to have free of stray graffiti an d still hangs on after 17 long years.

Whether they are new or old, murals are a lasting form of art that can stand the test of time. POW! WOW! has already made a huge mark on the landscape of

Long Beach in just four short years, and hopefully there will be many more to come. There is still much more ground, or should I say, walls, to cover.

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SINGAPORE AND THE SPOTLIGHT A spoiler-light review and reflection

by Isabelle Cruz Editor As an Asian American, I was always distant from Asian media unless my family forced me to interact with it. It never really interested me because I was so Americanized. The first time I saw an advertisement for “Crazy Rich Asians,” it was at the 626 Night Market in Arcadia, where people were tabling to get support. I was surprised that I was intrigued by the premise. It made me think: Have I ever seen any kind of movie where Asian Americans are the leads, play a role that doesn’t have to do with any stereotype, and actually weave culture into the plot?

Funnily enough, I got invited to an experience of a lifetime: to attend the premiere for the movie, where I learned how it felt to be “seen” in the media as something other than a geek, a martial arts master or a gang member.

It was overwhelming, in a good way. I’m sure this is how the majority of Asian Americans felt after seeing this movie.

The spotlight is on the Asian community.

“Crazy Rich Asians,” directed by Jon M. Chu, is about upper class Asians from Singapore, who come from old money and are raised under strict traditions. They are not the same as Asian Americans, who grow up estranged from their roots. I felt this film did a good job at uniting Asians and Asian Americans, and the overall response to the film was overwhelming support. It sold out theaters, non-Asians watched it and gave support, and it led to calls for more films with a diverse cast (this movie had an ALL Asian main cast from various Asian nationalities).

This movie is a huge break for Asian representation in Western media, at least for this generation. Representation is how other people learn you exist. Wherever they are watching, clicking or viewing from, and popular films can be a way to show audiences new worlds. Hopefully the response to this film is a driving force to keep representing Asians in the media and

Illustration by Abigail Roxas supporting Asian American productions.

The movie is based off of the novel of the same name. Written by Kevin Kwan, the story was inspired by Kwan’s own wealthy roots in Singapore. The plot starts when Nick Young (Henry Golding) asks longtime girlfriend Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) to accompany him to his best friend’s wedding and to finally meet his family in Singapore for the first time.

Some might have recognized Wu from her previous role as the mom on the hit television show “Fresh Off The Boat” or Golding as the host of the BBC’s “The Travel Show;” it was interesting to see them do big movie roles. They had good chemistry on screen (and off), and the way their characters d e v e l o p e d seemed genuine and organic, especially the way Golding looked at Wu in the scene when they dance at the wedding reception.

Some highlights of being a ‘crazy rich Asian’ were shown through the movie’s setting. Those that aren’t familiar with the country of Singapore might not suspect that a small country in Southeast Asia is the third richest country in the world. The level of wealth is shown through Nick’s Singaporean friends and family. There are scenes of characters shopping at top designer boutiques, as if spending a couple million dollars on a shopping spree is a normal thing. The movie also dives into the culture of Singapore by showing places like Lau Pa Sat’s Singaporean delicacies or the Peranakan Houses, historical homes of Chinese immigrants all the way from the 15th century. I can say I learned a lot about this place without traveling there.

The movie showed the sacrifices people are willing to make for the ones they love. Nick’s mother and grandmother pulled the most weight, trying to pull him and Rachel apart. Nick’s family is very traditional, and they care a lot about protecting their image and their

“Representation is how other people learn you exist”

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inner circle. From Nick’s family’s point of view, Rachel is the Asian American commoner who was keeping Nick from coming home. She didn’t bring anything to the table aside from American values such as independence and choosing your own happiness over family. There is a scene where Nick’s mother calls Rachel “Chinese American” as if it were an insult. However, Rachel made Nick think about his choices and what he was willing to give up — to be happy or to be the obedient son that chose family first.

The main ethnic group shown in this film is light skinned East Asians.

According to a 2016 survey, the population of Singapore is actually 76.1 percent Chinese, 15 percent Malay and 7.4 percent Asian Indian. The movie lacks Southeast Asians that would normally be found in Singapore. Despite that drawback, I think it was okay for this movie to focus on the relatively homogenous group in Singapore that is wealthy and privileged. It is still good to keep in mind this isn’t the only kind of Asian out there.

The comedy in this film is enjoyable, even though some jokes are taken too far. There is a scene where a character tells his kid to eat his food, criticizing how skinny Rachel was and how the kid would

end up like her if the chicken nuggets were not eaten. It’s normal for certain Asian communities to be criticized or to openly criticize others about their body shape, but it’s a joke that lands differently depending on who’s hearing it. Based on my experience as an Asian American, I’ve noticed that traditional Asians in this culture have a general beauty ideal which favors light skinned, skinny bodies. There is always that one relative at the family gathering that brings up “not eating enough” but also “needing to eat less and exercise more.”

It makes me uncomfortable, personally, but I understand it is a result of starvation culture and they can’t help it. So when it is pointed out as a joke in the movie, I roll my eyes at these comments. It’s not a totally bad thing, but it is a ‘thing’ in this community.

Overall, I would say this movie had a great plot, tone and casting. Despite my few criticisms, I would say this is a win for the Asian community and I hope there will be continuing support for people of color in Hollywood movies. I highly recommend this movie if you’re in for a rom-com full of laughs and life lessons, or if you’re a hopeless romantic that wants to someday fall in love with a rich person.

AT A CROSSROADS Long Beach State alum deals with aftermath of racist road rage incident

By James Chow

Contributor

With the advent of social media, people can spread information quickly with just a click of a retweet button.

Anything from an off-color, misogynistic joke to a viral video of people yelling hateful slurs at another is fair game when presented to a website of inquisitive users. The court of social media can reach thousands to millions of people in a matter of minutes.

This is why social media users are cautioned to be careful what they post.

Any misinformed or misinterpreted post can lead to online witch hunts, a term that describes when numerous online accounts search for and attack a user for an alleged act, sometimes without firm basis.

One Long Beach State alum shared his experience of a racial incident that went viral, then spun out of his control.

The graduate was the victim of a road rage incident on July 18 in Long Beach, where a man verbally attacked him regarding his race.

The alum, who wishes to keep his identity from being published further, posted dash cam footage of the incident on Facebook, Reddit and YouTube. In the video, the perpetrator yelled slurs at the graduate and called him ‘a little Asian piece of shit.’ Although the alum initially intended to bring the man to justice, he felt guilty for bringing more attention to the issue than needed.

Days after the footage was released and covered by the Long Beach Post, another victim of the same man’s verbal abuse spoke out on Facebook group ‘Asian Social Issues.’ An internet mob quickly mobilized, identifying the aggressor as Roy Zion.

In the aftermath of the coverage, social media users have called for Liberty Mutual Insurance, which was marked as an associated company with Zion, to cease his employment. On July 23, the company confirmed Zion was not employed by them.

“At first my mind was thinking

about justice, exposure and identification so I could bring [him] to the police to handle,” the graduate said. “I never intended for a witch hunt to happen, and for that I am sorry to the family and relatives of the man who tried to attack me.”

Public humiliation on social media are not uncommon. Journalist Jon Ronson’s “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” tells the plights of various social media users who’ve been condemned for what they post.

In one instance, Ronson tells the story of Justine Sacco, who tweeted off-color jokes to her 170 followers hoping to get a laugh. One tweet was a joke conflating her whiteness to an immunity to AIDS while traveling to Africa. A few hours later into her plane ride, she was a trending topic on Twitter on the receiving end of lots of negative criticism.

Sacco’s commentary birthed an army of angry social media users, and she didn’t understand why they took her jokes seriously. “[O]nly an insane person would think that white people don’t get AIDS,” Sacco said in a passage of Ronson’s book. “To me, it was so insane a comment for an American to make I thought there was no way that anyone could possibly think it was a literal statement.”

British television series Black Mirror also touched on online witch hunts. Its third season finale, “Hated in the Nation,” explores the dangers of online public shaming as two police investigators attempt to solve a series of murders; the victims are, at first, killed as a result of having the most #Deathtohashtags dedicated to them.

Critics of these online witch

hunts voice the difficulty of stopping them once they’ve started. Craig Charles, editor of debunking website ThatNonsense, once called these “witch hunts on steroids,” as thousands of social media users move in to attack mode.

Despite the initial sense of justice in giving negative attention to Zion, the Long Beach State graduate feels unhappy with his decision to post the video, and remorseful toward the perpetrator.

“My case was not the first incident, and I believe in first-time forgiveness,” the Cal State alumnus said. “The surfacing of a second incident with the same man changed my attitude towards him because it was clear he had issues controlling small frustrating instances.”

After the incident, the alum put himself in the shoes of Zion, a step that helped in his forgiveness of the perpetrator.

Screenshot by Nextshark.com: Man assaults driver on Orange Avenue in Long Beach, California as seen on viral video.

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KING OF THE HILL, The life of Republican staffers in Washington, D.C.

By Kirsten Hernandez Editor

“I can’t spend time with people who actively work to [ensure] the success of a president that they themselves don’t even believe in. It’s foolishness.”

- Anonymous House intern

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If you learn anything about D.C. from working in the political realm, it’s that the social circles resemble that of a mid-2000s high school movie.

Everyone on what is colloquially known as “The Hill” is doing anything and everything to get their 15 minutes of fame. If you’re not doing that, then you probably don’t have the ego required to make it in professional politics.

As anyone who’s been on the Internet in the past three years should know, Democrats have been having a very hard time in Washington recently. For the first time in modern history, conservatives are in control of all three branches of government.

If you think that the Republican party hasn’t taken advantage of this, think again. During my time on The Hill this summer, family separations at the border began, labor unions had more regulations placed upon them and President #45 scored his second nominee to the nation’s highest court.

While Democrats and progressives have done everything from advocating for Trump’s impeachment to authoring bills of resistance, they lack the one thing that matters in Congress: numbers.

While liberals can’t do anything significant to change the tide of the political atmosphere until November, the citizens of Washington, D.C. have cooked up their own resistance tactic.

Alienation.

While the city’s political implants come from all different types of political ideologies, statistics show that the natives to the District are “extremely leftleaning.” Since the District got the right to vote in 1960, it has been the most reliably democratic district in the United States, and voted overwhelmingly (91% to 4%) in favor of Hillary Clinton in 2016. The city is home to large minority population, with large African American, disabled, and LGBT communities, all of which are being threatened by the president’s current policies.

Wherever you go, you are welcomed with a plethora of rainbow flags and “Hate has no home here” signs. This summer in particular, the saying “Families belong together” was plastered every place possible.

The most popular parts of the city

shut down for the annual pride parade, where “Fuck Donald Trump!” was a rallying cry. The citizens of D.C. are the ideal image of what it means to resist.

The liberal atmosphere in the city has a strong influence on how democrats view themselves on the Hill. Office happy hours within the California House delegation feature copious amounts of Republican bashing, and no, the staff of the 14 Republican congressmen weren’t invited to the party. In fact, many events that in the past had been considered bipartisan have quietly become closed to members of the Grand Ol’ Party. The justification?

“As a progressive, I can’t say that I ever really enjoyed hanging out with conservatives, but I considered it the price of doing business,” says a fellow summer House intern on the condition of anonymity. (The only thing more common than attention seekers on the Hill are mandatory non-disclosure agreements.)

“Now? I can’t spend time with people who actively work to [ensure] the success of a president that they themselves don’t even believe in. It’s foolishness.”

Every little slip-up from a conservative politician created storms in the clique known as the Democratic delegation’s email thread. Articles such as The Cut’s “Trump Staffers Can’t Get Laid” were used as a taunting device for months, and when Congressman Dana Rohrabacher from Orange County was implicated in a Sacha Baron Cohen gag stating that he was in favor of arming preschoolers with military grade firearms, we considered it a personal victory in a sea of electoral defeats.

While a lot of Trump staffers would never publicly state that they feel ostracized, their mannerisms aren’t of a party that has enormous political power. During my time in a non-partisan fellowship, typical introductions and pleasantries were made difficult by the fact that many people didn’t want to state that they were indeed conservative, even though the name of our office was printed on all of our ID badges. In an article printed in Politico Magazine, a map was included to show that Trump staffers went as far as to

PAUPER OF THE VALLEY “...the GOP is the bully that you make fun of with your friends, but that still has the strength to throw you in the trash can every day after school.” create communities of staffers on the border of the city in order to (ironically) create a “safe space” free of judgments by outsiders.

While funny anecdotes on the dating difficulties of Trump staffers and videos of presidential advisors getting publicly ostracized kept me and many others entertained on numerous occasions during my internship, we have to think, what kind of move are we really trying to make? Despite the resistance movement getting stronger and stronger, Donald J. Trump still sits in the oval office, Republicans are still passing oppressive bills and every day a new challenge to our democracy comes forth. If we want to stick to the analogy of high school movies, the GOP is the bully that you make fun of with your friends, but that still has the strength to throw you in the trash can every day after school. I’m not trying to make the argument for civility, but bad sound bites and silly articles aren’t the way to taking back the House. If you want to kick them where it actually hurts, go fucking vote.

That’s how we get the last laugh.

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EMERGENCY SERVICE

By Jess Kung Editor-in-Chief Content warning: Discussion of suicide.

I’ve internalized the fact that I am ill again, and I’ve convinced myself to not commit suicide, but I can’t help but still want to die. I’m staring at the linoleum of the hallway, the central nerve of this wing of the psychiatric hospital.

While I wait to read and sign papers, two more patients arrive. Later, I overhear that they’re taking more than twice as many people as anticipated today.

My clothes are in a bag and all I’m wearing is a gown; I had to hold the back in place so my bare ass wouldn’t hang out when I walked. They give me another gown for my back. Somebody walks in with street clothes. I feel stupid. I could’ve just come straight here, avoided the emergency room charge.

The tag from the last hospital says things about me I never wear on my sleeve. It adds to the unreality. Maybe I’m just not here, alive when I don’t want to be, being addressed by a name I don’t use.

A nurse aid takes

my paperwork and goes through it with me. This time, I’ve put myself on a voluntary hold. The first time, I was 15.

The first time, it was an involuntary hold.

The official term is a 50150. They put me in a room with five other patients. The adolescent ward is a continuous teen movie: moment after moment of solidarity between kids from completely different worlds and completely different circumstances.

The morning I wake up there, after an early morning blood drawing, I hear my new roommates. I had been sleeping on my stomach and my haircut led someone to believe I was in the wrong room. It’s why I cut my hair that way, but I start to worry that it’s going to cause trouble.

One of them reassures me that my face gave me away. I don’t know how to feel about that because on one hand, I’m safe. On the other, I have to pretend to be something I’m not.

Six years later, I have the same problem.

This time, I’m half a year into hormonal transition. I don’t know if my face is going to save me this time. I’m non-binary and I can’t read gender when I look in the mirror anymore.

I have to hope for the opposite of normal — that people read me as the gender on my ID.

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As the nurse aid processes my paperwork, I know I’m going to be placed in a room where I will stick out.

“I’m transgender. Is that going to be OK?” The nurse aid looks at me, calm but slightly dead-eyed. It’s probably long into his shift. He

tells me that they’ve had transgender patients before, then leads me through a room to a shared bathroom with the stuff I’m allowed to keep. My clothes but not my belt, and five dollars and some change from my wallet, stuffed into a tube meant for urine samples.

In the bathroom, I have to prove to the nurse I’m not hiding anything.

Embarrassed, I flash my front, then my back.

The nurse leaves.

I look in the mirror. This is going to suck, but at least I can put pants on.

I spend a lot of time in the common room. One of my roommates is in a bad way like, “refuses to leave the room, having full conversations with the voices in their head” bad. They demand for the lights to always be low (ideally off) and they’re alternately respectful and belligerent towards the staff.

They have an awful relationship with my other roommate, who needs a wheelchair and a full-time nurse assistant and likes having the lights on. My first night, I am warned of how bad their behavior is and how they torment everyone in the same room. The nurse nods along.

The first time I am alone with them, I’m just trying to take a nap. It’s already tough to sleep in the incredibly cold room, but I end up listening to one side of the dialogue my roommate is having with their voices.

“Drop dead now,” they intone regularly.

“D. D. N.” It’s a lot of rage and betrayal. I hope that they are caught up enough in their voices that I can be overlooked but at some point, I have to adjust my back on the thin mattress.

They start talking about how there’s an interloper in the room, probably a lazy staff member taking a nap.

“What are you doing here?” they ask, and

then ask again. I’m pretty sure they’re actually talking to me now.

“Look,” I say. “I was placed in this room, and if you don’t like it you can tell them to move me.”

“Shut up,” they say. “Oh, stuff it. Drop dead now. D. D. N.”

Their conversation continues and I leave the room. I can’t sleep.

Later, when nurses bring our meds for the night, my roommate sits up from bed to ask why someone from the wrong gender is in the room. This nurse seems a little bit over it, probably because they just threw a tantrum over taking their medication.

“Look. Why would we put someone in the other gender’s room?”

My roommates thinks about it. “A transgender?”

The nurse shrugs, “That’s not for me to say.”

If you think you are at risk of harming yourself (but not immediately), you don’t have to go through extravagant emergency room services like I did - you can check into a mental or behavioral health urgent care. There are two in Long Beach at these addresses: The Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center, Long Beach 3210 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90807 Telecare Mental Health Urgent Care Center 6060 Paramount Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90805

I don’t know what you think happens in a psychiatric facility, but it’s mostly stuff to prevent the patients from hurting themselves or others while they prepare for the next step. It’s purgatory.

There were two group therapy sessions a day, mostly lead by a tall islander dude with a huge grin and a ukulele. He leads us through super basic self-care tips. He’s very well-meaning.

He repeats the same instructions before every session: Respect each other and don’t interrupt.

One day, a difficult patient interrupts him. He tells him to raise his hand, and when the patient doesn’t — he’s trying to understand why he needs to raise his hand — he sends him back to his room.

The group therapist loses his composure and he turns away from the group to take deep breaths. Someone giggles.

He’s not much better off than us.

Having previously been in an adolescent ward, I find the experience here relatively similar. A lot of younger people are generally in for suicide attempts and a sense of gallows humor underlies our interactions.

In the adult ward, however, there are many more people who’ve been in and out of this system for years. They’re

between here and other hospitals, group homes, their parent’s place, board and cares and parole.

I befriend a woman who’s 86, 87 at the end of July. I help her with the puzzles and games they give out at activity time because she’s never had to do a puzzle as busywork. She tells me about her life and I hold her hand as she worries about her uncertain future.

When I meet her she’s in a wheelchair, but she tells me that she’s never needed one before — at this facility they just wanted her to use it.

The staff make no illusions to care about anyone’s individual problem, which is unfortunate in an environment where most people are experiencing some of the most intense problems in their lives. Personally, I just needed them to keep me from trying to crush my skull against every medium-hard surface. It was enough that they made me promise to not hurt myself and that they had to check in on everybody every half hour.

But I had things like health insurance, an education and a future. You can’t leave without planning your next steps, so your actual long-term solution is up to chance. Will you be able to maintain going to therapy?

Will your next board and care treat you well?

The psychiatric ward isn’t a place to get better; it’s a place to get stable.

A nurse told me as much. It’s no more disruptive to put a trans person in a room than it is someone who needs full time care, someone who can’t escape the voices in their head.

The nurses are already stretched thin, the doctors and therapists and social workers are almost literally juggling people. The system didn’t fit me, but then again, it doesn’t fit anyone. Unless you build a community with other patients, you’ll be left alone with your thoughts. And your thoughts are what probably got you here in the first place.

One evening, I go in to grab something from my bed. A light is on, the switch out of reach of someone who hates to get out of bed.

“Here, let me get this light,” I say quietly.

As I look to the figure, hiding under the thin blankets, I turn the light off and head out the door.

I think I hear a thank you.

“The system didn’t fit me, but then again, it doesn’t fit anyone.”

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ON BEING ROOTED Finding out what home means to you

By Logan Cross Contributor

Conceptually, we can find many similarities in the growth of humans and plants. Water, sunlight, nourishment and even kind words are all necessary in the development of both organisms. Evidence suggests that plants even exhibit the same senses as humans — plants can see, touch, smell, hear and taste the environment around them.

Although the manifestations of these similarities differ greatly from human to plant, the fact that we can still find these similarities leads us to believe that finding inspiration in nature, not only for reasons involving art and beauty, but also [for] health and wellness, may not be such a far stretch.

In particular, humans and plants, in order to successfully grow and develop into full and active beings, must first have roots — both literal and metaphorical. Whether they be in the ground or in a hometown, roots are essential for the plant or human when it comes to finding a place to call home.

Like humans, a large percentage of what makes up the plant is unseen on the surface. The organism is composed of millions of minute genetic details that interweave and interact to produce something completely new, something the world has not seen before. No two beings are exactly the same. It’s the roots of these life forms that have the strongest influence on why the body is the way it is.

Finding our roots, as human beings, takes time. A plant doesn’t grow its roots overnight, and neither do we. A seed is planted, and with the right circumstances, the roots can flourish and grow into something great. In the right environment, the plant reaches its full potential; so can we.

We find our roots in our environment — in the land we live on, in the air we breathe, and in the people we choose to be around. Our roots are our home, and they take time to prepare and nurture. The more time we [spend] cultivating an environment where our roots can thrive, the more enriched our lives become.

Even when we must become uprooted, when we must move away from the land we’ve come to know and love, we know the benefits of being rooted. We know how good it feels to have a place to call home. We know how good it feels to belong.

So we try again. We cultivate the land, and we begin again. It takes time, sweat and labor, and it forces us to learn something new. We have to adjust and break out of our comfort zone. From this discomfort comes growth, and from that growth, we again find ourselves rooted.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson

This piece was originally published on Healer Mag.

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THE MOTHER AND THE VALLEY Story and Illustration by Seth Issac Everett Contributor

There once did live a Mother and her two babes in a grand castle at the center of a great valley. The valley, in its vast openness, found joy only in throwing itself into sudden frenzy and deliberate rage. What the Mother needed, the valley would provide for sparingly. And what the valley would provide always came with a condition.

“I will give you a heel of bread if only you could fix my castle windows, for my storm has shattered every pane of glass,” the valley would say. The castle that the family of three occupied was large and hollow, and held little more than what was required for survival. The Mother would work away at the request of the valley to repair any damage it had done in exchange for provisions. With babes slung on her back, she labored away for their sustenance.

Upon completion of her tasks, the Mother always asked, “Great valley, must your storms be so near to the castle and my babes?” The valley was quick to anger and this did broil its emotions ever so much. It would shriek back, “Am I not the one who delivers you the wealth of my land? Am I not the one who protects you from the beasts of the night?”

“Forgive me, great valley! I forget my place,” the Mother would always reply. The provisions granted the family of three were always meager, but the Mother had a plan.

At a moment’s notice, the dry dustiness of the valley would be overcome by raging storms and violent whirlwinds. The Mother, concerned for her babes, asked the valley, “Dear great valley, will you not grant my babes a blanket capable of weathering your rages, for they are ever so

gentle and I would surely despair without them.”

The great valley considered her request, replying, “The babes shall have such so that my rages may swell!” and swell the valley’s rages did. The Mother now worked harder while her babes were kept swaddled in the gift of the valley, protected.

The valley raged and roared without reason or rhyme. Each bout of wrath grew more severe than the last. The castle became decrepit and ravaged from the valley’s outbursts. “I gave you the blanket so that your children may survive my rage and yet you lack in your duties!” howled the valley.

The castle was in shambles. The Mother, in her great efforts to maintain it, could not keep up with the wanton rage of the valley. “Forgive me, great valley, for I am weak and need more provisions so your furor may reach its crest,” said the Mother.

“My wrath knows no bounds!” the valley responded. “You shall have the provisions so that my rages may last for days and nights.” And last for days and nights the valley’s rages did as the Mother and her babes kept themselves strong with the valley’s food and water.

The castle, nearly reduced to its foundation, was too much for the Mother to keep up with. “Great valley, for your provisions and protection of my babes I am immensely thankful,” she said. “But these bricks are all too much for me to carry. Is there not a gift you may give so that I may be quicker to assist in your fury?”

The valley halted its rage. “I give to you a sack from which whatever you place in it becomes endless in quantity, so that the bricks you lay may be readily available to you.” The Mother replied, “Thank you, great valley! Now your boundless rages may know no end.”

And end the valley’s rages did not.

“Am I not the one who protects you from the beasts of the night?”

Storms boomed and tore across the land. It was then that the Mother slung her babes close to her breast and shielded them with the blanket. She stowed her provisions in the sack and the quantities became endless. She rushed away to escape the valley. The valley roared and rumbled after her, but to no avail. It could not touch them, for the blanket provided protection. It could not starve them, for their food was unlimited. The Mother ran and ran as the howls and shrieks of the valley fainted behind her.

Only when the dry dustiness of the valley became a lush and vibrant hill range did the Mother slow her pace.

Streams, plants, and animals of great variety populated this rich land. The Mother, with her knowledge of building and maintaining a castle, did construct for herself and her babes a marvelous little cottage. The land, within its ample collection of flora and fauna, harbored no single voice for the Mother to answer to. She and her babes became a part of the land and thrived with it, even improving it. The valley raged alone. It remained isolated amongst its rubble pile of a castle, forever.

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The Grunion is a work of satire. It in no way reflects the views of 22 West Magazine or Associated Students, Inc.

The Grunion An Alternative Home for Alternative Facts since 1978

HATED FOR HATING? Conservative Student Speaks Out

By Yilo Miannopoulos I want to cut to the chase. I don’t feel safe on the campus of Long Beach State University.

Since I started school here as a freshman in 2016, it’s been nearly impossible to go anywhere in the city of Long Beach without getting dirty looks. I feel so excluded and hated that I don’t come to class half the time, and my grades are suffering because of it. People have made comments about my cultural wear and have even tried to take it off of me without permission. The “no barriers” signs plastered everywhere at school are like a taunt to my pain.

My campus discriminates against me for being a Trump supporter. The fact that I am systematically discriminated against is crazy. A place of higher education isn’t the place to push your damn liberal ideas, like that “LGBT people are humans too” and that “poor people deserve a living wage”.

I don’t come to school to get fed propaganda, and that’s all that I’m getting here. I am a conservative. It’s who I am, and the fact that I’m being brainwashed into being a tolerant human being is disgusting.

I just think it’s ridiculous because I’m not even that hateful or anything, I have an uncle-in-law that’s liberal.

The snowflakes on the far left consistently tell me that being a dick to people because they believe something different is “wrong,” but they don’t feel like I deserve that I deserve to be extended the same courtesies.

It really isn’t my fault that these people have thin skins. So, I can’t practice my culture just because the majority of people tell me that I can’t “call ICE on my noisy black neighbors” or tell the gay kid in my class that he’s going to be deported to Mexico? That, my friends, is discrimination.

I’m just tired of this intolerance. The one place I actually feel safe at CSULB is when I’m at my campus chapter of College Republicans, but even then, liberals manage to fuck that up with their incessant hatred too. Every week, our club puts out the free speech ball where anyone and everyone is welcome to write whatever they 16

want on it. By the end of the day, most of the ball is covered in hate speech disparaging our renowned leaders. They clearly don’t understand free speech, because they wrote things that they knew we wouldn’t like. Do you think it feels good to read “Donald Trump can suck my balls” repeatedly?

There’s none of that gay shit with Trump, so cut the slander. For your information, Trump only has sex with women he’s paid fair and square. The best women. Beautiful women, the best big-ticket ones money can buy. It’s perfectly legal, ask Michael Cohen.

Speaking of women, being a conservative in one of the most liberal parts of Southern California makes it extremely hard to get laid. I go on Tinder every night to see that I have no matches, and those who do match with me only do so in order to tell me that I should go fuck myself. For the record, ladies, I do fuck myself, because none of you wanna step up to the plate.

There was finally an app designed for Trump supporters and I jumped at the chance to join, but the only woman that was on the service was my sister. Still swiped right, though. Tina always looks like a snack in her MAGA hat. Too bad we don’t have marriage equality for siblings in this nanny state we live in.

Campus life is tough when there’s no place for our voices to bounce off some walls. During the ‘16–’17 academic year, out of twelve speakers at university hosted events, zero identified as conservative. At this point I might as well transfer to a school in Orange County, there at least I can shove my hate and beliefs down people’s throats and have a little support. Attending Trump rallies and free speech protests I at least want feel secure and safe. I can’t even remember the last time I shouted a homophobic slur or punched a black person without someone calling me out and saying some pretty mean stuff.

So for all the conservative students who just got to CSULB, let me give you a little advice: transfer now. Being conservative isn’t just a lifestyle, it’s how God made us. Any school that doesn’t support the fact that we were born this way and it’s not a choice doesn’t deserve us.