Hey! We've got another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's reader is immigration attorney Jen Tse.
Who are you?
Jennifer Tse. My friends call me Jen - with one "n," not two. And hardly anyone can pronounce my last name.
What are you?
I am a second and a half generation Chinese American. My mom was born in China, but grew up in Wichita, Kansas (hence the second and a half gen) and my dad was born in Hong Kong. I am a loud and proud UCLA Bruin, I hold a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law, and I am a former Hollywood agent wannabe before I chose a career in law. And I'm actually not that angry. I'm more often mildly irritated and occasionally frustrated.
Where are you?
Right now, in my extremely air conditioned office in Atlanta, Georgia. I've lived in California nearly all of my life, with brief stints in Sydney and New York City, but I have recently become an official resident of The South.
Where are you from?
I hail from Torrance, California (a lovely suburb of LA) where I was born and raised. I attended the original Torrance High School, home of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
What do you do?
I currently work for the Southern Poverty Law Center where I am working on a class-action human trafficking case of guestworkers from India. It is an honor to work for such an acclaimed civil rights organization, and to be paid to do great work with a group of talented, social-justice-minded, passion-driven lawyers. I aspired to do international human rights work when I decided to go to law school, but I realized how much work needs to be done here domestically, so I fell into immigration law, with an emphasis in immigrants' justice advocacy. I've done refugee work for Amnesty International in Sydney, asylum work in the Bay Area, and I was a legal intern working in human trafficking at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). I am so proud and happy when I see AALDEF's work featured on AngryAsianMan! I almost always wear hoop earrings and flip-flops, scuba dive if I can afford it, drink obscene amounts of coffee, can talk endlessly about food, vote when I catch American Idol, and shamelessly cry whenever I watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
What are you all about?
Faith. Hope. Courage. I thrive from the energy of people from all walks of life, but especially from my friends and family, my constant source of strength and laughter. My mom once chastised me in the 3rd grade when I thought I was being foolish and funny, grand standing in front of my classmates. Having embarrassed her, she set me aside and quietly reminded me: Treat all people with respect, but you treat the people who are nearest to you with an even greater level of respect.
What makes you angry?
Ignorance and injustice, generally. The exploitation of vulnerable people, especially.
CA Proposition 8
The flaws in our country's education system.
The "model minority" myth of Asian Americans.
That there are not more Asian Americans in the judiciary.
Those who speak but do not act.
Those with a misplaced sense of entitlement.
Those who lack basic consideration of others.
Rudeness.
Ann Coulter.
Being called "exotic."
P.F. Chang's and Yoshinoya. Loathesome.
How poorly UCLA did in this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament.
