![]() I’ve seen the model minority myth deployed to diminish the severity of recent violent hate crimes against elders in our community. Asian community, I love you and when you take up space it makes my heart sing. Now and in the future, if you find yourself drawn to say something that even remotely suggests that we do not experience racism or that it’s not that “bad,” stop yourself. Non-Asians, if you are silent right now the Asians in your life have noticed. All I know is that I am holding complexity, so much of it. I don’t have a nice reflection or conclusion to draw from all of this. As always, my first thoughts had been worry for my mom and my grandma, and yet she is trying to cheer me up. My mom sends me photos of the cat to cheer me up. The Chosun Ilbo and the Korea Times Atlanta edition report that he yelled “I will kill all Asians.” The American press focuses on his reported “sex addiction” and “bad day.” I am still filled with anger at the fact that the attacker was driving a Hyundai. I get almost as many gaslighting comments suggesting that racism against Asians isn’t that racist as I do messages of solidarity and care. I receive DMs from friends across multiple continents seeking to verify that I am, in fact, Asian. Some of the Black leaders I most admire share beautiful statements of love and solidarity. ![]() The next day, #AsiansAreHuman is a trending hashtag. All I found that night was a white friend’s post about making bibimbap for dinner. It would be embarrassing to disclose the amount of time I spent scrolling on Facebook and Instagram that first night, desperate to see anyone other than the Asian American activists I follow acknowledge the attacks. The day after I sent this essay for design, a white man killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in an attack that targeted Asian businesses. ![]()
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