FreshSuperCool.com

I know this post is going to sound like it’s based on prejudice or racial profiling or what not. Perhaps it is. Perhaps it’s not. I’m speaking from the point of view of entrepreneurs and business owners. Regardless of the color of the business owners, I am 150% certain they will agree.

There is a middle class neighborhood in New Jersey called Pal Park. Of course, for any area with any good school district, Asians (in this case, Koreans) will flock there. In fact, 38% of them are Koreans.  Being the entrepreneurial people they are, you’ll notice that Broad Ave is filled predominantly with small Korean businesses. No bid deal. Standard stuff.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that there are a LOT more day laborers standing around the corners waiting for “work” (i.e. labor intensive gig like home improvement, moving, landscaping, etc.). 

I know a lot of people (of all race) look down upon this, but not me. Instead of becoming a liability and drain to the economic system in a country that they’re new to, they are (somewhat) taking control over their financial lives. Sure, it might not be the most effective, especially hanging around “your friend” who’s your direct competition and not really marketing themselves, but at least better than nothing.

Here’s what I’ve noticed one time.

There was a corner where there was a rather large pocket of these migrant workers. Behind them were two restaurants separated by a pharmacy/hardware store. Judging by the sign and the stuff stuck on their glass wall, I can tell that the two restaurants were serving similar food. In fact, they BOTH had a lunch special sign at exact same price of $7.99.

But in front of the one on the right was where most of the workers were hanging around. My guess? Better visibility from both sides of the street. I’m guessing it wasn’t because it was warmer since the wind was mighty powerful the whole day. Why would you want to be out in open on a cold windy day?

I saw a trickle of people parking across the street during the lunch rush hour, then crossing the street to get to the restaurants. A couple of them actually STOPPED for a second or two as if they were making a split second decision about which of the two to enter. Out of the two, the one on the LEFT (with less migrant workers hanging out) received 9/12 customers (I couldn’t stand there long enough to get a larger “sampling” because I arm pit started to get cold).

This is probably my opinion and that’s all it is. My guess is that they were making a judgement: which one do I go to and make the least amount of “fuss” or most safe or what not. Whatever the reason, they made a clear choice that the one on the left is the best bet.

If you were the owner of the restaurant on the right and notice a large group of day migrant laborers hanging around your store AND noticed that you are losing your customers, how would you feel?

Then I moved on… I went onto a local bakery (korean owned) and noticed that 90% of them were once again, day laborers. I asked jokingly if they serve Korean baked goods (she laughed) and she went OFF like I was her psychiatrist. She was telling me how she’s losing business because how her high sales transaction customers were not coming in because these laborers have “muscled” them out. In their defense, I asked if these laborers have caused trouble or if they just hang around without buying anything (i did notice a group of 7 laborers but with just one guy holding coffee in his hand), she said no. In fact, this problem is seasonal. When it gets cold or when the economy’s slow, this effect gets worse.

I asked her about the two restaurants on the corner and whether or not if their food or service is any different. She said, I can barely tell. The only reason she goes to the one on the right is because it’s 15 steps less. I asked her if she eats at either still, and she did. But she says she goes to the one on the left because she’s uncomfortable going to the one on the right. Why? The day laborers.

I am certain this issue isn’t something localized to this neighborhood. This issue must exist pretty much anywhere from a global urban city like LA to a tiny little town in the outskirts of Atlanta, GA where there is a growing economy and thus a growing need for cheap labor.

But as a local business owner who makes his/her living through foot traffic, seeing the day migrant workers loitering around must have an impact on sales. No sales = no income = no business. With failing businesses comes bad economy and thus no labor jobs. Of course, this problem is not one directional. I blame the Korean contractors / employers who are feeding this issue by hiring them. There can’t be a supply with a demand.

What’s the solution? I have no idea. We can’t possibly deport all of them because well, we NEED them as much as they need us. We can’t let cops be INS either because well, that’s not their jobs. (Would you rather have cops catch illegal immigrants or catch rapists and killers? They are both breaking the law but if you had to choose between an illegal immigrant day laborer who’s mowing your lawn vs. a guy who’s about to stab you for your wallet, i am no psychic but I can predict with relative certainty that you’ll chooose the latter.)

How about designating a place or part of town? Instead of affecting everyone and employers having to drive around, set a place where they (laborers and potential employers) can go. Sure, some call it Home Depot in California.. in east, they call it Lowes (bad joke, badabump), but at least they won’t affect EVERYONE in the business community whose presence is physical (i.e. retail).

Side Note

My family and I came here legally through a very lengthy and VERY bureaucratic process. Everyone one of us became Americans within last decade or so, and I am very proud of what we’ve achieved. I personally support immigration, as long as it’s legal and with due process. No “cutting in line” regardless of who you are: a poor farmer from a third world country or well politically connected person from another rich country. We all stand in line. I feel for the immigrants and the social and economic challenges they face, because my parents and I were there. We know the pain. We can relate to the pain. 

But I’ve noticed that people rally behind and support the issue of “freedom and equality for ALL, including illegal immigratns” are hypocrites. They’re just like people who want economic development, but don’t want a sky scraper coming to their town. 

They are all NIMBYs (not in my back yard). They’ll fight for a cause as long as that cause does not affect their personal lives.

Tweet This Post 

In 2005, after the tragic deaths of tens of thounsands of people in Southeast Asia, the people at Hot 97 radio had the nerve to record a song making FUN of asians. Not just Asians, the Asians that actually died during this tragedy:

Skip to 4:00 on the time scroll bar. But if you want to get the FULL depth of how racist this MC is, listen to the whole thing. She won’t even let her Asian guests talk.

There’s was a FURY of responses from the Asian community, but by far the best one is from the Asian American rapper Jin:

So did Hot 97 respond to this by firing the MC that recorded + played this fucked up racist song? Pssh. Nope. She was let go for a while, then Hot 97 re-hired her. When was she fired? IN 2008!!!! 

I share Mr.Obama’s vision of unity, but I do not agree that we will be one. We will never be one. We need to celebrate diversity instead of trying to be a nation of mutts. But asshole like this make it hard to believe that Obama’s or any other vision of getting along will EVER become a reality.

Tweet This Post 

I had the most odd dream because

1. i can CLEARLY recall the details - including shapes, size, color.
2. I actually felt emotions that seemed too real

The dream starts without with me walking with a guy from high school I knew (who used be scrawny but now is built like a friggin’ American Gladiator). We were talking about life ambitions, especially business. We were walking in South San Francisco in the industrial complex areas with nothing but ugly warehouses and roads.

So we get to this part where there’s this big ugly building blocking our path. Similar but not exactly the same as this building:

Except that this building was leaning against the hill and we were on top of the hill (wishing to go down to the sealevel, i.e. floor 0). I asked him if we should walk around or climb DOWN the side of the building. Of course, this HAD to be a dream because we both agree on clumbing DOWN the friggin’ building.

So we climb down the side and realized, ‘oh shit, we’re in trouble’. At this point, i actually felt FEAR of falling. I could not explain how this fear felt so real, but i could tell my body was tense and my hands were clenching for my own dear life. After we climb down a few stories,  alas… salvation. Some dude was taking a smoking break and he noticed us. Without even asking, he knew we made that dumb decision to climb down. In fact, it was the actor Keith David (the general from the movie Armageddon):

He says, “come on in, you dolts”. So we jump off the wall and land on the balcony. We follow him into the building, which it turns out is a federal government building. Apparently, they were on high security alert and all intruders were to be shot on premises. Damn.

Keith David tells us that we’re not the only dolts that have tried this and is quite familar with what we have to do get out. He tells us to go into this room and look for the secret escape door that leads out of the building. So my HS buddy and I go in but there’s nothing. Actually there are two hidden doors, but they’re only big enough to put my hand through. I open them and there’s some radioactive chemical shield like clothese. Apparently we were suppose to wear them because I found two that fit our bodies. So we wear them but we’re stuck. At this point, i can actually HEAR people outside in the hallway looking for intruders.

My friend and I are getting worried, then the salvation. The escape door opens and a janitor comes out. At this point, I decide to fake it to make it. I tell him to hush as if we’re on a secret mission and since he was surprised himself, i guess he thought we were real. He told us that we’re going to encounter other “secret” stuff on our way and that we should act cool because those people are regulars here. He lets us into the escape path and way we go.

We end up in this hallway where there are secret corporate “stuff” going on. There was a Microsoft office with some lady shouting inside. We decide to tippy toe out of the hallway to the exit, bypassing some more secret corporate offices.

When we reach the exit, there’s a staircase leading to the main floor.  On our way down, i saw Britney Spears, some pro athletes (who i only know by face, not by name), and some other celebrities I do not know the names of.

By the time we exit the building and to the streets, there’s a homeless guy out there eating cereal telling us that he’s our biggest fan. When we ask him what the hell he’s talking about, he tells us that we’re on TV. We look up and there we are, climbing down the building and caught on camera. They don’t know who we are because the camera couldn’t zoom in that close. All the anchor person said was “one asian man and one caucasian man”. There my HS buddy and I decide to split up and disappear into the crowd.

The end.

I don’t know if this dream is anything significant enough to warrant a blog post, but heck, if this wasn’t a dream and I really AM a fugitive, at least you all know.

Tweet This Post