Well, well, there's a whole lot [of key issues in the community]; there's so many. I guess there's the really big thing I'm worried about right now is that I think our country is headed towards fascism. I mean, I think it has been for quite a while, but it's really it's accelerated and it's right out in front, like not that long ago to describe to say something you thought our society and its politics were white supremacist. That was kind of a no no. You know, you never talked about that. I remember being at the De Anza College at some different kinds of activities or events or making presentations and working with faculty. And I said, Is it all right to say white supremacy? And they go, Yeah, go ahead. And then somebody else, after the program came up to me, I'm glad you're the one who said they're not me, because, you know, they just felt that was really uncomfortable. But now it's like right out in front, right in front of our faces. So I to me, the most important thing that I want all the communities to do is really unite and understand that they have to to work together to to go against this extreme white nationalist movement that's happening. And it's very, very serious. And that I think that's see, now I'm losing my train of thought.

So that that's one of the big things that I think is impacting in particular the community that I'm most concerned with is the Japanese American community. So I what my concern is how to unite and bring together the Japanese community, Japanese American community. I think that it's not as strong as it used to be in some ways. And I and I think that there's a lot of separations between the generations in our community. A lot of it was caused by what happened in World War II, and a lot of a lot of the same issues affecting everybody, especially in Silicon Valley here with the extreme pressures on people not being able to afford to live here, having jobs that are so either if they have a job, it's tremendously stressful and it's very hard to be involved in any kind of community or civic life. And because of these separations between the generations, I think there's a lot of information being lost. My generation, I think, had to really fight to understand our past and how to work with the older generations, like my parents and my grandparents. So I'm hoping that there's a way that we can bring this continuity of all these generations back together again so we can actually help speed up some of the learning before it's lost.

And I guess the reason why that's so important is because if we don't develop this kind of strong identity, I don't think our community can survive. And I think there's a lot of very valuable things that the identity as a Japanese American can help young people who want identify as Japanese American and older people, too, who are starting to come back to the community, help them understand what their role is in this society, especially fighting against white supremacy and especially fighting for any kind of social justice. Because my feeling is if we don't know who we are, we don't know where we came from. It's very hard to take a stand for justice because it's very hard to understand how you fit into things and what you actually can do. So I explained that when I was doing being involved in all these other issues that weren't Japanese American exactly. It still affected me as a Japanese American because, one, I have something to base my comparisons on. Oh, look at all these come all these. This is like New Years for Japanese Americans. And what that meant to me also, I understood, you know, when people talked about Japanese Americans being forced out of their communities to go into camps, being interrogated by the FBI. I can relate to what these people are telling me. Oh, yeah, so and so got picked up by the Border Patrol. Can you believe that? They were trying to take their kid to school, and he took them away. And so it's not like, Oh, that's really bad. I mean, I know it's bad, but I can immediately have this feeling inside me like that xounds like what happened to people I know.

You know, that sounds like what happened to Issei, Nisei, and some of the fears they must had. And then it also started me making me better understand my parents’ generation that they went through a lot of these feelings like this and seeing this in mexicanos and other people in the African Americans telling us about police violence, I could see look at my own parents and grandparents differently. I could see like, you know, they said, you know, my my, my dad's. And I was you know, it didn't really affect me that much. What happened to me then? It affected the older people. But he was he just was just short of graduating from high school. And he got he had to move out of California. So I realize he must have felt the same things. He was an a little kid, you know. So what I'm trying to say is I think that this helping to understand your own identity, where you came from, gives you a base to operate from, to understand and evaluate other things you're seeing. And I think it might seem kind of contradictory, but I think it helps you be more open and have broader mind to work with other groups. You know, in a real deep way, not just being an ally. I think that's what people say, just being an ally and supporting these other. It's actually really feeling some of the things these people are saying and actually being more available to see what's happening and possibly what these people are feeling, even if you can't speak their language very well.

Well, I think you really hit the nail on the head in terms of one of the big issues here because when I said I think there are separations from the generations, I don't think it's as easily solved as like, well, let's just start an internship program or a leadership training program. I think those are very good, but I think you have to do more than that. And one thing I'm really hoping more sansei do and help the rest of us sansei think about those of us who have been involved in the community and feel really strongly about the need to be involved in the community. Really reflect on more what the conditions were when we did that, because I think it's very different than what it is now. My identity as what what people call an activist. It's difficult because I think that term is very problematic because it makes it sound like it's very individualistic only it's it's in. So it maybe if young people, oh, I want to be an activist or I want to be involved in things, they have to find this perfect thing that fits them as the individual, whoever they think they are at the time. But that's probably changing. But when I think about it, I don't think I ever really referred to myself as an activist back then. I mean, I understood what the term was and but it was more like I'm part of a movement, you know, whatever at the time that movement was in. So at one time it was a social justice movement for, you know, radically changing society. Or other times it was being part of the Asian American student movement. And there are certain demands that we were trying to put forth on ethnic studies, but it's always an identity as being part of a movement. And I realize it's just really different now. And so I don't have an answer. That's what I'm struggling to figure out now.

What are the conditions now? And I would think that the main thing is I'd really like to see much more back and forth discussion between the generations and in a very open way and both sides to be very open minded because I've seen people my age range, I think it's getting better. But at the very beginning when they when the older people were working with, the younger people was like, man, what's wrong with these young people? They don't do this; they don't do that. They don't know anything. And then we'd hear complaints from the young people saying, these old people are really hard to deal with. So I think both I think I think we just need a lot more discussions. I'm just talking about the Japanese American community right now. I'd really like to see organizations like the museum here, Japanese American Museum and other community groups really, really try to struggle with the need for this kind of dialog with the different generations.

It's not just let's get some young people together and the old people and tell them, you know, what to do or the other way around. Just get some young person to tell them what's happening with them. And then old people will learn. You have to get them together and have more discussions like, what do you think is really happening right now in the world? You know, and if things are really different, how can how can we help together figure out how all of us can have a better entry point? Because it's not just young people we're meeting older sansei like my my age range, who hasn't been involved at all because all of the things I was involved in, I don't think I don't have a scientific analysis of this, but I don't think a lot of sansei were actually involved and it was probably a very small percentage of Japanese Americans sansei, that were involved in some of these struggles that I mentioned. So some some of the Japanese Americans my age are starting to get more interested now that their kids are grown up and they're trying to think about their own identity. Maybe they're volunteering here at the museum or something. And so there's a lot of opportunity, I think, to have more more of a dialogue. So that doesn't really answer your question.

And I don't have, oh, just do this for young people or do that for young people and this will help them. I think it's a struggle on both ends. The older people are really, really struggling to reflect on how they what happened to them when if they were involved in things and how it relates to the conditions at that time and then be really open to learning out what is it like to be a young person now in the conditions? It's not just because they have Internet and new technology. The politics is also different. And so I think we have to we have to solve this problem together. That's how I look at it. It's not not just some old person or maybe in a few years I get older, then I'll get really wise and then I can go tell people what to do. I know I have to learn what's going on. Just as you know, the younger people have to do it too. So I will do it together.

(Interviewer) And earlier you said you had grant writing experience. I feel like this is the perfect proposal to do focus groups and community, you know, multi-generational engagement.

No, no. Younger people should do that because I'm too old now, so I can’t.

(Interviewer) So what are your thoughts about this kind of this retrenchment of this just vitriol against a like Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, but also juxtaposed with the model minority?

Wow. That's a that's a big one. And those are actually really things that I think about a lot because I'm very worried about it, because when I talk about white supremacy, those are kind of the ingredients of it for Asian Americans, what it looks like, you know, this extreme hate and it doesn't matter what kind of Asian you are, it makes no difference whether you're a slightly lighter color or darker. I mean, you're an Asian, you're an Asian. You know, it doesn't matter what kind of job you have. So to me, helping people see this, that we're all in this together and we have to do something. And then the model minority thing is really important because that's used to divide Asians from other people, Asian Americans, from other groups of people who are also facing this kind of hate, because it's not just Asians who are facing this kind of violence, but, you know, other people of color have been facing this for a long time, just alongside of Asians. So I know those are the big things that we really have to unite the communities to deal with. So I realize there's only so much I can do. So the one thing that I'm really committed to is making sure the Japanese American community plays a role in combating this violence, in this hatred, and the model minority myth and stereotype and the model minority strategy used to divide us and helps our community, Japanese Americans understand why it's so important to join forces with all these other communities and other groups, because that's the only way to deal with anti-Asian hate, is not just to talk about as an Asian, you know, and I don't really care about anybody else.

You have to join together with everybody. Otherwise there's really isn't much you can do. And that means working with progressive white people. Because when I say white supremacy, I don't mean anything about hating white people at all. It this is just the reality. And this is somebody that's how it was built. And there are strong, strong sectors in the general population that considers themselves white that also oppose this. So our community, Japanese American community, I want it to be in a place where it can work with all of these people and use what we've learned our history to help other people and also use our history to learn and understand better the history of all these other people. Because to me, that's really the key. If we don't understand our own history, we can't understand why things are happening to Asians now. Like why? Why are they hating us now? I'm a Japanese American, you know, my family's been here a long time, so why do they think I'm from China? How dare they? But actually understanding. Well, no, that's kind of the way it's been ever since Asians came here.

Well, I think there was a question on the list about what kind of story that I wanted to share. Well, I couldn't think of when all that came into my mind are childhood stories, which have nothing to do with anything because I just couldn't get them out of my head. I think what I want to do now with, you know, I'm getting older, so I'm starting to think about how much time left I have. Who knows what will happen to me? I really, really want to help. Help be part of changing the narrative of Japanese American history. I think it's gotten stuck in a lot of ways. You mentioned the model minority thing. I think our community is still really stuck in that and it's very, very negative because it really keeps us from seeing our own history very well. So changing the narrative means putting it in the context of the history of the rest of the people in their struggles. Like for the Japanese American Museum, I really encouraging them a number of years ago to start putting us more in the context of the experience of other immigrants. And I know that they're trying to do that more now, which is really good.

So I really, really want them, museums like this and other organizations in community, whether they're museums or not, to start talking more about our experience, that shows how what it has in common with all the other people in this society, rather than making it a exceptionalist kind of a statement like Japanese Americans are great, you know, because we proved were loyal during World War II and we're the model minority and we do all these things better than other people and not understanding that when they say that their what they're doing is they're comparing themselves to white society and they're saying we're always going to be second class. In other words, we're not equals. That's why we always have to defend ourselves rather than just saying, this is our experience. And I think there's a lot to learn from it. And I am on the same level as all these other people. All these other people, and I'm going to work with all of these other people to make this society better. So I really want to be part of creating a Japanese American narrative that help teach people that because it's much more inclusive in the end and it's much more hopeful and it has much more power, I think.

Yeah, and just the last thing I'll say is that the Japanese American narrative, it's for some odd reason, it leaves out the reparations movement, the Japanese American redress movement. It's just like it just magically happened somehow. And because maybe because there's something special about Japanese Americans or something or or so loyal or something. But it was a political struggle. And so Japanese Americans can learn a lot by learning that history and understanding that. And then it's easier, I think, for people to see now is a political struggle. And it was necessary. So reparations and things like reparations for other communities in this country are needed for African Americans, for Indigenous people, all the other people, because this is what it means to fight, to be seen as an equal and have equality and if you're going to have democracy, you have to do it.