For years, I had a ritual on Friday mornings. It’s a subtle reference to Office Space. On Fridays, I’d wear a Hawaiian shirt to work. That’s the extent of it, but others wore them too. We were modest in count, but strong in consistency. We wore them year-round, independent of the weather. We were our Hawaiian shirt brigade. I continued even upon moving teams. One subsequent team dressed up on Fridays once a month, and I participated on both by wearing a festive tie with my Hawaiian shirt. I would not be denied.
Upon moving to a new company, I started work during the pandemic. While I could not physically participate with my teammates in wearing Hawaiian shirts on Fridays, I still established that tradition. We established a channel on our communications application dedicated to precisely this, “Hawaiian Shirt Fridays”. Even now, after we have returned to the office, we still work remotely on Fridays for the most part. A number of us dutifully post selfies of ourselves in our colorful shirts.
Lately, we’ve even added sunglasses to the mix. I also alter the image and place myself in a beach setting before posting. It all amuses me.
Our Hawaiian shirt tradition
We’ve done this for literally years. This is certainly ‘a thing’. It persists in separate social circles, to those who can dress casually to work anyway. Last year, I even contemplated whether I had enough different shirts so that I’d have a unique one for each weekly picture (around fifty); I did. My ritual represented a silly tradition that persisted and continued every Friday, regardless of the weather. It was all harmless and fun until it wasn’t.
A couple of years ago, I learned a sobering truth about these shirts and their tradition. They had become a dog whistle for white supremacy. I’ll give you some perspective on my history. Though I was born in Spain, I grew up in Puerto Rico and Florida. Warm climates, sun, sand, and palm trees are effectively infused into my blood. These shirts and this tradition became a natural extension of my cultural roots.
White supremacists have poisoned it. They have spoiled casual Tropical shirts, synonymous with fun. Allow me to say this in precisely the way that I mean it: “You guys suck.” As an Asian man, I’m unlikely to be mistaken for a white supremacist, so I’ll continue to wear my beautiful shirts.
Our Hackathon project
Years ago, I participated in a hackathon project with a dear friend. Microsoft promoted this hackathon as part of One Week. Our project was extraordinarily simple:
- We launched the app by voice.
- The app displays a webcam preview with a 10-second countdown to allow you to pose (and smile).
- Once the timer expires, it takes a picture.
- It posts this picture on the “Hawaiian Shirt Fridays” group.
That’s the extent of the app. It’s a silly project, but it makes me happy. After we finished, we went to the local party supply store for props for those pictures. We picked up a tropical photo frame cutout, similar to this one, to hold up while you pose for the picture. I also suggested getting a Tiki torch as a prop, to which she visibly winced. She explained that white nationalists used Tiki torches in their Charlottesville marches.
There you go, you have also poisoned tiki torches. “You guys suck.”
The ‘Miracle’ Olympic hockey game
I arrived in the US from Puerto Rico in 1978. By the time 1980 rolled around, the US faced the Soviets in an Olympic hockey. I barely spoke the language; I did not understand the significance of this game. Furthermore, I had not absorbed American culture enough to truly understand the animosity between the Americans and the Soviets. Lastly, I did not comprehend the ‘David versus Goliath’ context of this contest.
Years later, I watched a ’30 for 30′ documentary of this game on ESPN, called Of Miracles and Men. Now, after decades of living in the US, I can truly appreciate this story in its full context. Naturally, I also enjoyed the docudrama, named Miracle, about this very game. The film told the story from the perspective of Herb Brooks, the coach of the Olympic hockey team.
I recently watched that film again. I watched Herb Brooks develop and condition his players in precisely the way that he needed. I both loved how he changed them and hated the suffering he inflicted on them. As the film comes to a close, they naturally play the game during the film. The US hockey team first ties and then takes the lead. The US faithful in the stands at Lake Placid start to chant “USA!”.
Unexpectedly, this chanting turns my stomach. At first, I didn’t understand, but I quickly realized why. The most recent instance of hearing people chanting USA was this one. January 6th protesters seared this into my brain. It’ll take a long time for me to hear people chanting “USA!” without mentally seeing people breaking into the US Capitol building and smearing feces onto its walls.
You have also poisoned the chanting of “USA!”. “You guys suck.”
Have we spoiled rainbows for you?
I’ll concede that we have used rainbows in ways that may disagree with you. You may drive by a business that proudly flies a rainbow flag and conclude that they support the LGBTQ+ community. Alternatively, you may walk by someone wearing a rainbow-colored shirt, which elicits similar disdain. As you watch more people with rainbow-colored items during Pride Month, you grow more irritated.
You’ll then assert that ‘The Left’ has spoiled rainbows for you, and that this is somehow comparable to the instances with Hawaiian shirts, Tiki torches, and chanting “USA!”. ‘The Left’ spoils some things for you; you spoil some things for other people. It’s balanced and equitable.
Except that it’s not.
Before 2018, the Pride Flag sported the rainbow stripes and symbolized the gay community. In 2018, that flag was redesigned. The gay community concluded that its flag wasn’t sufficiently inclusive. It didn’t explicitly include transgender, white, black, and brown people, so they updated it. They updated their flag in the spirit of inclusivity and tolerance.
Some will then assert that this very flag excludes them; this flag does not represent them. This flag represents cisgender, transgender, gay, straight, bisexual, white, black, and brown people. Dare I ask which group you belong to that is not represented among those? Oh, so it does represent you.
How you have ruined things
This is not a difference of opinion. We have not reached an ‘agree to disagree’ moment. Group #1 believes that no one deserves more rights, freedoms, and privileges than others. Group #2 believes that their particular group deserves more rights, freedoms, and privileges than others. The very description of white supremacists is that they believe that white people are better. Gay people do not want more rights than you; they want the same rights as you; they want the right to marry and adopt children. If you disagree, you’re a #2, both literally and figuratively.
The reason why the Pride flag doesn’t represent you is that you are intolerant. You believe that certain people are not entitled to the same rights as you. You even show disdain towards the allies of those you dislike. Words like diversity, equity, and inclusion are dirty words, nay… sins.
The funny thing about tolerance is that to build a truly tolerant society, we must not tolerate intolerance. It’s called the Paradox of Tolerance. It’s not a simple ‘agree to disagree’ moment. However, I’ll defend your right to express yourself. I’ll tolerate your wearing Hawaiian shirts as an appalling dog whistle. Buy as many Tiki torches as you’d like to chant, “The Jews will not replace us!” in Charlottesville. Go ahead, assemble and protest peacefully even if you’re grossly misguided. You have that right.
However, not all opinions are valid. I’ll happily point out how you’re a poison to humanity; I have that right. “You guys suck.”