My Spirit Animal

Dear Blog Diary,

My spirit animal: Panda

Cute, cuddly, rolling around in nature eating Asian food. And, as much as I love a fine dim sum experience, I’m always down for some dirty, low-brow, Americanized shopping mall Chinese food. 

How authentic can you really get anyway? And what is authentic? I draw the line at the chicken embryo. If I’m in China, mannn I would have to use the Force and speak to Bourdain to get through that one because I’ll be damned if I refuse another culture’s food in their home in their country, but chicken embryos are a hill I’ll die on. Maybe the bat soup from 2020.

Did you know you can’t say “spirit animal” anymore? Its origins derives from Natives from what is today the US. Funny how people will call out cultural appropriation for using a term like spirit animal but just lump Natives as one group as if they’re all the same. Half the time when someone criticizes you, they don’t actually have any knowledge or connection to who you’re offending. 

It is my opinion that the Comanche are the second coolest people to ever walk this earth, second only to the Samurai. Comanche were just brutal people. Read Empire of the Summer Moon, you’ll get it. 

I admit, I’m drawn to them for their most famous chief, and the last “chief” to exist of any tribe, Quanah Parker. The Americans outlawed the term “chief” to assimilate the Natives into the US and also cut them off from their way of life. His mother was white and was assimilated into the Comanche as a little girl. He was a man of two worlds. He was basically friends with Teddy Roosevelt, and also brutally killed so many people in raids. Cut out their tongue, eyes, arms, legs, and let’s quote Fight Club, “Gotta get his balls.” I wonder what his spirit animal was.

I do believe the vast majority of people are sensible and don’t go nuts into political stuff. Everybody has a soft spot for something. I really do think it’s just the internet that makes people think that the extremes are common. They’re not.

And I believe you can embrace a person’s beauty and their demons at the same time. 

Best,

E

#ARTiculate