Comments on: Blacklava Apparel: For Asians, By Asians, But So What?

By: Blipblopblapbloobybloo

Blipblopblapbloobybloo — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:52:31 +0000

Yeah, and the author of this article has done so much more to implement social positive change. People like you are a dime a dozen. Don't ruffle any feathers, ignore problems, nod to what the white man says, and hopefully things will change. Newsflash: Asians have been doing this for over a century.

By: 8Asians.com » Meet Ryan Suda, The Man Behind Blacklava

8Asians.com » Meet Ryan Suda, The Man Behind Blacklava — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:23:39 +0000

[...] Three years ago, 8Asians contributor Akrypti pretty much laid out the foundation & history of Blacklava and offered her rather “colorful” opinions about the Asian American clothing company. [...]

By: Bertie

Bertie — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:36:00 +0000

Well if it’s a profitable gig, someone’s buying them, right?

By: Akrypti

Akrypti — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:53:13 +0000

I never believed wearing a shirt silk-screened with an in-your-face this-is-my-political-stance T-shirt and productively making social change were mutually exclusive. However, I do believe it’s tacky. Like why would I walk around town with a shirt that said “NEO-CONSERVATIVE” or “I GENERALLY SIDE WITH REPUBLICANS” on it?

Plus, if I were someone who disagreed with the message on your tee, but perhaps open to hearing the other side to understand it better, I would immediately assume that a person wearing such a tee would NOT be open to hear ME out. So I simply wouldn’t approach them and thus that person and I would never have the opportunity to engage in healthy and educational debate. What’s more, the entire time I conversed with that person, every split-second judgment I made of him or her, which we make all the time of people we just meet, would be filtered through the message on that tee. Now is that really what we want?

By: jozjozjoz

jozjozjoz — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:25:18 +0000

Ryan Suda is a friend of mine, so I’m biased. I don’t wear t-shirts, but I do like what he’s trying to do.

I don’t believe the shirts do more harm than good because if you take the context of the kind of people who are buying and wearing these shirts; for the most part they are young Asians who are informed and aware of the issues AND active in the community. I don’t believe these people would wear anything they thought was chintzy, but helps them communicate things in a non-traditional way…

I would rather Ryan make an “edgy” shirt than A&F or Gap or some other corporate conglomerate doing it and trying to make some sort of “statement” with them.

If you know Black Lava and the people who Ryan works with, they are people who are highly respected in the APA community, particularly in the arts.

I also have to take issue with when you say, “Wow, he or she is neither creative nor powerful enough to instigate social change in a productive way.” Is wearing a shirt like this and making social change mutually exclusive? Of course not.

Many people I’ve seen wearing these shirts DO make social change, not simply by wearing these shirts, but by extreme dedication to various APA causes. Some of the folks in the LA APA community who are active and vocal will support people like Ryan/Blacklava who have shown over time that they are dedicated to the causes APAs care about and aren’t just out there to make a buck.

By: Kareem

Kareem — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:45:24 +0000

As someone who loves t-shirts with silly, stupid or offensive comments on them even I wouldn’t wear these. Though part of me would love to wear the “I’m not a terrorist” shirt next time I travel and am ‘randomly’ chosen for security screening, but I don’t want to be put on any “No-Fly” lists.

By: Akrypti

Akrypti — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:04:37 +0000

I’m totally a “youth,” Xxxtine! I’m…16 years old. What, you didn’t know? ;-D

sigh…. at least the big 3-0 is still a few years away…few…

By: Akrypti

Akrypti — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:04:00 +0000

I’m totally a “youth,” Xxxtine! I’m…16 years old. What, you didn’t know? ;-D

sigh…. at least the big 3-0 is still a few years away…few…