What was then is still now.

I received this e-mail from Sara Felder who teaches playwriting at SF State University.

Hi Philip, I got this email (below) from one of my students and I wanted to share it with you. He makes a devastating connection between the racism of the time of the play and what many Asian-Americans are experiencing now. When I asked him if I could share it with you, he said yes and wanted me to offer his ‘sincere thanks for a wonderful play.’

Best,

Sara

This was the letter below:

Dear Professor Felder,

I didn’t get a chance to mention this in class but, my favorite line from Yankee Dawg is on page 31 of the play, ‘I’m an American. Three fucking generations, I’m an American. And this goddam movie comes along and make me feel like I don’t belong here. Like I’m the enemy. I belong here. I wanted to rip the whole goddamn fucking place up.’ This particular line spoke to me because all you have to do is replace the word ‘movie’ with ‘virus’ and that is exactly what I am feeling right now. So thank you.

Sincerely,

Tom Chu