story — posts

on the face of it, roguture is ‘just’ a humble business venture that happens to teach english and roast coffee. but as i see it, roguture is so much more, and provides an example of what living free, mixed, and non-binary is like– free in spite of the pressures to conform that come from identity politics, mixed in understanding that who they are is a composite of multiple influences, and non-binary in that their actions are ethical and fluid, not moral and determined. roguture is an expression of life that thrives in spite of the negative affects of binary forces.

editorialDaniel ChenJune 6, 2018coffee, mixed, identity, japan, wa, positivity, empowerment, roguture, organic, flow, affects, creativity, story

lone wolf pt.2

"To describe my background, I choose to use a word that is traditionally associated with mutt breeds, sterile mules, hybrid plants, or the unnatural. Mixed. I choose to use this word because it flies in the face of what I consider to be a celebration of inbreeding, religious homogeneity, and the hive-mind. Honestly though, being ‘mixed’ only has a negative connotation if you think certain things should remain separate."

editorialDaniel ChenFebruary 27, 2018mixed, race and ethnicity, group identity, story, relationships, solitude, identity

lone wolf pt.1

"i refused to go down the same tragic path. i was proud of who i was and didn’t need a larger group to validate me. i chose to be a “lone-wolf” over trying to pass for anything other than what i knew i was– mixed. i refused to sacrifice my family’s historical narrative, and my own personal experiences, to serve the greater good of a ‘group’ identity that would never fully accept me as i am..."