“Chink in the armor”

It’s a cliché.  It refers to an area of vulnerability.  It has traditionally been used to refer to a weak spot in a figurative suit of armor; it has been used since the 15th century.  It’s a term similar to Achilles’ heel.

I think I first heard this term during a baseball broadcast.  I think it was something like,  “He is considered to be a five-tool player, but if there’s a ‘chink in the armor’, it’d be his plate discipline.”  A five-tool player is one that can run fast, can play defense, can throw well (hard and accurately), can hit for power (home runs and extra base hits), and can hit for average.  You can fail at batting 60 percent of the time and still bat .400, which considered legendary (Ted Williams last did it in 1941).  However there are productive outs in baseball.  A sacrifice-fly may be an out, but it advances the runner.  Sacrifice bunts are similar.  Strikeouts generally aren’t helpful; they don’t advance runners for instance.  However, from a batter’s perspective, having a 15 pitch at bat that leads into a strikeout it still better than a 3 pitch at bat that leads to a strikeout.  ‘Poor plate discipline’ means a player strikes out too frequently and in too few pitches.

Having played role playing games for decades, mostly D&D (Dungeons and Dragons), I’ve also been fascinated by the descriptions of armor and all the different ways by which different types are measured.  Getting more protection generally means more disadvantages.  Full plate gives you a lot of protection.  It is also expensive; it costs more than others.  It is heavy; you need to literally carry it on your body at all times.  It encumbers you; it slows you down and forces everyone to wait for you.  It is conspicuous (noisy); you can’t do anything without attracting attention.  Is the added protection worth all the compromises?

In this case, it’s simply the name of my blog.  No more; no less.

So what’s in a name?  Coming up with a name for something as expressive as writing can be a struggle.  Names have meaning… just ask Romeo or Juliet.  A name can steer the direction of the writing.  I remember reading a passage about Robert Asprin’s Myth Adventures.  When the book went to be published, the title of the first book was originally Another Fine Mess, it was a last minute change where they used the pun and changed the title to Another Fine Myth.  They appeased the printers by claiming that it was simply a typo on the title.  This was the start of the Myth Adventures.  To me, the name of the blog needs to be meaningful.

The name serves as a constant reminder that there is no such thing as perfection.  That there’s always a ‘chink in the armor’.  Perfection is unattainable; it is a constant struggle.  Should we aspire to improve?  Absolutely!  For me, each day is an aspiration to improve over yesterday.  It’s a daily reminder, right at the top of the page, to check my own moral compass.  It’s a mnemonic to listen to other’s perspectives especially when I’m being challenged.  Life is everchanging; that’s why it’s called ‘growing’.  There is no such thing as perfection.  To be human implies to be imperfect; hence the expression “I’m only human.”

The name is also a subtle reminder to be mindful of all the compromises that we make when we put on the figurative armor.  Can we do something well when we’re always encumbered?  Can I write expressively or effectively if I’m always ‘armored’ up?  Brené Brown reminds us that there is no courage without vulnerability.  My aspiration is to write honestly and write courageously.  To do that, I must take off the figurative armor and write from a place of vulnerability.


Is the name a double entendre?  Perhaps.  After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  So yes, you can choose to read it as a racist term, in fact, it was even in recent history.  That said, consider this:

  • I am Chinese and using it is not so different than the use of N.W.A., less so even since it is an established phrase and it’s a double entendre.
  • I do not aspire to use it in a hateful way, certainly not towards Chinese or Asian people.  If you see that I don’t adhere to those standards, by all means hold me accountable.
  • There was a book published by the same name (well, with the British spelling of ‘armor’) by Marie Belloc Lowndes (an English woman) and this doesn’t set off alarms about racism.  Why is this cliché’s use more permissible by an English woman than by a Chinese man?  If my being Chinese and using the expression somehow tickling your sensibilities, isn’t that, in and of itself, a sign of your bias?
  • There are far too many derogatory terms that may be twisted to be used in clever ways.  The terms ‘slant’ and ‘slope’ are used as derogatory terms for Asians.  Think about that the next time you use the expression ‘hit the slopes’ to refer to skiing and try not think of Asian hate crimes.

For now, it is simply my home on the web.  Welcome and I hope you stay for a bit.