In solidarity with the AAPI community

BY KARLA AVALOS

Much like last year with the murder of George Floyd in broad daylight, now we find ourselves in a moment of racial reckoning as we continue to witness daily violent attacks against members of American and Pacific Islander community all over the country.

In the last few weeks, the assaults seem to be increasingly targeting elders of Asian descent who are just going about their day running errands, walking to church or on their way home. Other reported assaults consist of racist slurs hurled at people minding their business.

But these attacks peaked last week when six women of Asian descent were murdered in Georgia at three different massage parlors as a man walked in their place of work with an AR-15 and murdered them in cold blood.

These are the victims of bigotry and of great injustices whose only offense was to exist while trying to live their lives at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

CONThe hatred against Asian Americans began last year when former president Trump riled up his supporters when he started propagating lies about COVID-19 by calling it the “China virus” or the “Wuhan virus” with evident racist undertones.

BY TRISHA ANAS

With the rise in hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, there is no shortage of words to describe what emotions I feel as a Filipino American; anger, sadness and disappointment above all else.

Anger toward those inclined to attack our friends, our elders and our community.

Sadness for those who have lost loved ones or have had to watch the senseless acts of violence while feeling helpless. Disappointment toward the country we so desperately wanted to be accepted into, but instead were greeted by the silence of so many who enjoy aspects of our cultures while we suffer.

The Los Angeles Times reports that since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, there’s been an increase in both verbal and physical racially motivated attacks on AAPIs.

The organization, Stop AAPI Hate, formed last March “in response to attacks related to the perception that Asians were responsible for the coronavirus because of its origins in Wuhan, China,” according to the LA Times.

The number of attacks, the Times said, was around 3,800 from March 2020 to February 2021.

could not “sufficiently show a rationale for the decision made to close outdoor dining.” mloizzo.roundupnews@gmail.com

Outdoor dining is a blessing in disguise because of how safe officials are trying to keep it. No one is at parks mandating people staying at least six feet apart or wearing masks while they’re having picnics.

Before outdoor dining reopened, there were nearly no safe activiåties for people to do that got them out of their houses. There was a massive spike in mental health issues during the lockdown.

With the reopening of outdoor dining, people are finally allowed to leave their house and see their friends to get the serotonin their brains need to have a healthy mentality.

Not only did the shutdown result in a spike of mental health issues, it also destroyed small businesses and restaurants, causing many of them to close permanently.

Now that restaurants are allowed to serve customers, hundreds of residents have their jobs back making this a huge opportunity for small business owners to make the money they need to save their businesses.

The reopening of outdoor dining is one of the first good things that’s happened since the new year. It’s showing a sign that things are starting to slowly go back to normal, and that we will get through such a dark time in all of our lives.

BY DOMINIQUE DUNGO

After one year of trying to be safe and obeying stayat-home orders, COVID-19 cases are still spiking. Outdoor dining provides options for customers to enjoy their food while keeping their distance with each other maskless.

But is it worth the risk of possibly affecting employees and other customers who could pass it on to their loved ones and endanger their lives for the luxury?

According to Healthline, while many restaurant owners are frustrated at the tighter restrictions on their businesses, some public health experts say the restrictions are necessary to reign in the spread of the virus.

Healthline added that people are spending an extended period of time in close contact with other people, and they have to take their masks off to eat and drink.

Los Angeles County’s outdoor dining will slow down the process of reducing new cases and continue to create an unsafe environment for everyone.

KTLA news reported the risk of transmitting COVID-19 increases when people from different households gather in close proximity for extended periods without masks or other face coverings talking and laughing.

Forcing waiters to serve customers and have close contact with cooks and other coworkers is unfair and can cause excessive stress.

Food service workers who serve and clean up leftover trash and utensils from customers daily have a greater chance of catching the virus and unknowingly taking those germs home with them.

Restaurant owners should think about their employees and consider their health and safety, remembering that they also matter and satisfying customers by providing availability to eat at their location should be the last thing on their mind.

Unemployment rates have skyrocketed ever since the pandemic began. People are either struggling to find a job or losing one. At this point, there is no choice saying no to any job that’s available.

The urgency for customers to eat out at restaurants shows that no matter the circumstances, lavishness at fancy restaurants and fine dining matters most.

Food delivery services like GrubHub, Uber Eats, and Postmates are readily available and convenient for people to stay safe while eating their favorite meals in the comfort of their own home.

With vaccines slowly in motion, President Biden is pushing and expecting to provide every American adult the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May, but that shouldn’t mean we should move forward without remembering to still take precautions and consider other people’s risks.

ddungo.roundupnews@gmail.com

Privileged people are letting their prejudices, fears, hatred and distrust of others supersede their humanity and compassion for other fellow human beings.

And also, there seems to be an unrelenting resistance to accept this country’s rich diversity, the fact that we are a nation made of immigrants, and that diversity makes our nation stronger and more powerful.

This rise in attacks caused by anti-Asian rhetoric was confirmed in the alarming and devastating report released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. This study assessed that hate crimes against AAPI people have seen an increase of 150% between 2019 and 2020.

Lamentably, these attacks are not relenting even after the pleas of dozens of human rights organizations and activists as well as mass rallies and protests around the country for an end to violence against members of the AAPI community.

But what’s more devastating is that our fellow Asian Americans feel unsafe when making the difficult decision to go outside or feel fearful for their elders being in danger when they are out and alone.

We must defeat ignorance, prejudice, xenophobia, racism and violence against Asian Americans.

We must stand united and condemn all racially motivated attacks against members of the AAPI community, decry anti-Asian hate speech, and for the public to do the right thing by stepping forward and intervene if they see an injustice being perpetrated against a member of this community.

We need to be allies by staying alert and supporting our Asian peers, our friends and our neighbors because their identity is more than a race: they are human like all of us.

This is an urgent call for unity and solidarity as members of the AAPI community deserve kindness, dignity and respect and to live their lives in peace.

However, this is not the first time the AAPI community has faced bouts of discrimination.

According to an article on One Down, during the wave of Filipino immigrants during the 1920s, “mobs burned down workers’ living quarters, threw stones at Filipinos in the streets and threatened Filipinos with ultimatums to leave the county or die.”

Another instance of injustice against Asian Americans was the placement of Japanese internment camps during WWII. The U.S. History website reports that over 127,000 people were imprisoned because of their Japanese ancestry, despite their American citizenship.

The Huffington Post wrote that many Japanese Americans during WWII faced a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment, including “bigoted sloagans,” and “racists attitudes perpetuated by government officials.”

The New American Economy Research Fund reports that there are approximately 1.4 million AAPI healthcare workers in the country who have worked on the frontlines during the COVID-19 crisis. So, why are so many Americans treating them with hatred?

In light of the recent violence, I strongly believe that to stay quiet while these incidents are happening daily is hurting our community.

I am tired of worrying for my safety as well as the safety of my loved ones.

I don’t want to live in fear.

This is not a matter of politics. Acts of racism and violence should be condemned. What the AAPI community needs most right now is solidarity and support.

‘Asian’ is not a virus, racism is. tanas.roundupnews@gmail.com