December 13, 2024

by Dr. Plastic Picker

My memories of my journey through climate and health and environmental health advocacy is intertwined with trying to spend more time with our daughter. Yesterday was the rare afternoon I had off with her. The previous afternoons I was at a podcast interview at the Conrad Prebys talking about the Tijuana Sewage Crisis. And the other afternoon I was working, and the other afternoon/evening I was on a panel discussion on social justice and environmental health advocacy at UCSD School of Medicine. The previous week I was very sick with likely rotavirus. So it is important to emphasize that yesterday afternoon was my rare afternoon I had to spend with her.

I had picked her up on time after school and she had a good day at school. She was brimming with those little stories that need to be heard. The quizzes that went well, those assignments that did not. The friends that noticed her eyelashes, and the boys that notice too much. And the exciting little tidbits of news and gossip about junior and seniors that she wants to share with me. Who is applying where early decision? Who is going out with who, and what kind of dates would be fun to have? Showing me her sketches for her next project. Sharing bits and pieces of back and forth about family. She always wants to hear about my work gossip and going-ons.

But yesterday during what was mostly a happy afternoon driving down our usual route, with a quick detour to buy a birthday gift and get a snack and a quick walk at Hazard Center – became this overwhelming sense of doom and foreboding because I needed to call into Irvine City Council meeting as there was a surprise last minute meeting called as the new Irvine City Council was trying to pull Irvine from OC Power Authority. In the end the city council meeting and making comments took 5 hours. During those 5 hours, we finished our walk and our snack. We finished buying presents for her friend’s birthday and two secret santa gifts for my work friends. We even picked up dry cleaning. We got home, and I was able to make a relatively health dinner and I finished my virtual testimony after waiting 3 hours. I even finished all my charts and did lab results and charting while listening in on the meeting.

But what I want to tell Mayor Larry and who I will remember, a fellow Vietnamese-American, Councilmember James Mai – is that you completely ruined my afternoon with my daughter. You ruined what should have been a happy rare free afternoon and evening, because you successfully tried to start the process of removing Irvine City from OC Power Authority. Your focus and complete meanness and negative energy and negativity, and your complete inability to listen to the overwhelming community comments/support of OCPA was disheartening. And yes I remember especially every single Vietnamese-American individual in that council chamber room that voted and worked AGAINST CHILDREN and AGAINST CLIMATE. I identify with you. I see your faces and your names, and I feel akin to you. And that hurt the most. I hope I never meet any of you socially and you never ask for my help. I’ll probably help if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ll always remember when YOU DID THE WRONG THING and I never have to like you.

This is my emotional journey as a climate and health physician and as a mother. Mostly yesterday was a wonderful day, but it was also a godawfully bad day and I can’t believe there were Vietnamese-American politicians involved with this. You are not part of my tribe anymore because you have caused harm to all children including Vietnamese ones.