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Is this... is this a rant? I think this might be a rant. Okay, here we go. I am ranting. This is a rant about writing marginalizations that aren& #39;t yours but you claim them anyway because of a spouse& #39;s marginalization wheeeeEEEEEEE (1/8)
Context: My husband is of Japanese descent. His grandmother emigrated to the US from Japan. His mom taught me how to make yakiniku and gyoza from scratch. We have old photos and keepsakes of the Japanese family pre-WWII. BUT... (2/8)
I am not Japanese. At all. Not in any way. My in-laws are, but that heritage doesn& #39;t extend to me. Just because my family is Japanese doesn& #39;t mean I am, and it ESPECIALLY doesn& #39;t mean I now have permission to tell their stories. (3/8)
In Wyoming, near to where my husband& #39;s family lived before they moved where we live now, is a Japanese internment camp. It& #39;s a museum that you can tour and learn about the history of Japanese internment in the US. A history I& #39;ve had to teach my kids about. (4/8)
My kids are of Japanese descent, so the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII is part of their history. And my husband said, "Hey you should write a kids book about the internment camps for them." To which I immediately responded, "FUCK no." (5/8)
That is NOT my story to tell. I have NO right to a story about a Japanese internment camp. One of my kids might want to tell that story some day, but not me. Never me. Even if I do a load of research. Even if the story is done well. Even then. Not my story. NOT. MY. STORY. (6/8)
So to anyone out there wondering to themselves: "Hey, I& #39;m not xyz marginalization, but my spouse is. Can I write a book about that marginalization& #39;s traumas?" The answer is... sure. You can write whatever you want. But... (7/8)
If that story is MY marginalization 
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✡️" title="Davids-Stern" aria-label="Emoji: Davids-Stern"> you can expect me to come for you. Because I& #39;m tired of it. The Jews are tired. Stop stealing our heritage. Stop pillaging our stories. My people& #39;s history doesn& #39;t belong to you. You know who you are.
End of rant. Time for challah. (8/8)
End of rant. Time for challah. (8/8)
