E-mail to Manuel

[x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com]

To: de la Rocha, Manuel
From: Yoshida, Shiro
Subject: Blood, family, etc.

Manuel,

First off, I'm e-mailing you rather than commenting on any of the threads so as to avoid confrontations with others. I can hardly imagine a productive conversation between you and me when others can see what we're saying.

So. Everything you say about family and blood and the like? I agree with you. I come from a culture that highly respects the institution of the family and values blood relations. The idea of "choosing" one's family is alien to me. Actually, it's disgustingly American. You hear how politicians are always griping about the "disintegration of the American family?" I think that it's because Americans ignore or even dispose of their actual blood families, and in their places formulate groupings based on unstable ties. But that is beside the point.

Even though my immediate family is dead and I have been cast out of my clan, I know that I am still a Yoshida. Samurai or ronin, no one can take that away from me. Anyone who tries will find themselves standing before Enma Daioh, waiting to be sentenced to Hell. I refuse to have my name and my identity stripped from me because people do not like me or I refuse to follow the orders of others. I am who I am and what I am despite what anyone else wishes.

In short, I sympathize with you (as much as I can, given the differences of our circumstances). If you would like to discuss this further, I am available.

-Shiro