Sorry, Bro Quotes

“Armenian food isn’t simply food, it’s a testament to tradition passed on through the generations where our ancestors used ingredients they were cultivating and connected to. It’s all about the shared tradition, people coming together to create and eat. Our food stands for survival and is a stand against cultural erasure.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“We’re bordering two nations that would rather we didn’t exist. Turkey tried its best to eliminate us and denies it happened. And Azerbaijan, on the other side, claims we stole their land—us, the indigenous civilization that has lived there for three millennia. It’s . . .”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Erebuni throws up her hands. “What am I supposed to think after all this? You’re bi but not, you’re engaged but not. Even at work, you want to confront your boss in theory but you don’t do it head-on. I want to scream, ‘Pick one!’ You want everything and everyone, it seems. You can’t play whatever side is most convenient at the moment.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“There's a moon ring on her index finger, and with her other hand she pinches the moon and twists the ring all the way around and back. I want to be that moon. The I immediately tell myself to dial it back.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“So you’re saying I’m not allowed to report on an Armenian story because our culture isn’t sexy enough for white millennials?” because no one can deny that sounds bad.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“When she pulls away, I see that part of my berry-pink lipstick has rubbed off on her, and I remember how I would wipe it off Trevor immediately (or sometimes not kiss him when I had lipstick on) since he got mad at me one time for not telling him.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“And, yes, cool, Turkish people should come to these events, too, but, uh, not like this.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“So, for all my mom knows, I am as straight as Taylor Swift (my mortal enemy).”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“I don't need to do a quick self-assessment to know that I read as super-duper straight. And, let's be real, a basic bitch. My hair is long past my shoulders, styled and sleek and very conventional. She's seen me in two dresses (and on the news, a million more dresses). My makeup is fairly heavy, not caked on, but I'm used to applying TV layers. I wear a lot of eyeliner. I have a variety of liquid matte lipsticks and berry lip glosses. I talk like a valley girl and drive a Honda Civic (at least it's not a white Jetta).”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Damn, why is it so sexy to hear her say that she’s good at something, especially when that thing involves me possibly going to her place and seeing her magic (I can’t believe that’s a sentence I’m thinking in real life).”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“I’m suddenly thankful that I disappointed the women in my family by failing miserably at their passions.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“For all my mom knows, I am as straight as Taylor Swift (my mortal enemy).”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“A pain heaves inside me, that my own aunt, my dad’s sister, would see me as someone worthy of contempt, kindling for the gossip fire. I’ve known her my whole life. Laughed at her jokes, eaten her food. It hurts, though I know she’s wrong. It may never stop hurting.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“I know what Dad would think. He would hate it. All those fears about attention seeking, oversharing, those are seeds planted by Dad. He wouldn’t want the world to know that his daughter was into women, that she was not a perfect specimen of straight, white America.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“but it wasn’t the photo’s fault. That photo strip contained the only pictures of Erebuni and me together, and even if I never see or speak to her again, I want to have it. A memory of when things were very, very good.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“What am I supposed to think after all this? You’re bi but not, you’re engaged but not. Even at work, you want to confront your boss in theory but you don’t do it head-on.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“It seems like you have no regard for your family and are doing rash things to embarrass us.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“You should have mentioned that earlier. We, our local news team, are not in the business of reporting on hundred-year-old history. Mark, call her offices, see if you can get her to agree to talk about something else. Maybe the increase in crime downtown.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Less than nothing. I have two full-on platforms to talk to the public—Instagram and the local news—and I’ve squandered them.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“How you can say that when you create events to spread lies and propaganda? We know the truth: Armenians are the perpetrators, but you play victim to the whole world. You act so innocent, but you are the killers and the rapists—”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“You are here discussing the so-called Armenian genocide when there are hundreds of documents proving that it ever existed. In fact, my ancestors are from the Mardin region, where Armenians committed genocides against us. It’s documented in my family that Armenians came in the night, murdered the men, raped the women, beheaded—”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“What many people don’t realize about the continued denial of the first genocide of the twentieth century is that the very identity of modern Turkey hinges upon it. The political turmoil in Turkey during the First World War was the ideal backdrop for genocide. Armenians were classic scapegoats; we see it today.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“It’s not. It’s wild. It makes me look like a lion.” She cocks her head. “And that’s bad? Sounds inspiring to me. I want to be a lion.” Despite myself, I laugh. She appears so earnest. She touches her curls, which are also sticky-slick with rain. “My hair’s curly, too. I’ve learned it’s all about the cut and how you feel in it.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“It almost makes me want to cast all my primary-color dresses into the sea and restart my career as an herbal witch.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Some people can get away with living with their parents and never telling them where they are, but I sure as hell am not one of them.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“but unfortunately it seems to be the correct size for my boobs. Welcome to my everyday clothing dilemma. I catch the saleslady’s”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“who Armenians are, can’t find the place on a map, and they don’t care to anyway.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Lately, she can get defensive if I question her intelligence or abilities, and I suspect it’s because she’s retired after decades of being a high school math teacher”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“A chance to not mute my culture for the rest of my life.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro

“Trevor: how dismissive he’s always been about my Armenianness; how while I was on the phone with Diana and said a couple of phrases in Armenian, he jokingly told me to “stop talking that devil language.”
― Taleen Voskuni, Sorry, Bro