#STOPASIANHATE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

By Lianne Iran (Advertising, Marketing and Communications, ‘22)

A 61-year-old Filipino-American man slashed in the face riding the L train in New York City.

An 84-year-old Thai man knocked to the ground and dead from his injuries in San Francisco.

A Chinese man robbed at gunpoint in his own home in Oakland.

All of these and many more, documented and undocumented, are just a few of the many Asian-American targeted incidents that have happened over the course of just one week.

This is not the first of these attacks, however. Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise in Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) targeted crime has been extremely evident as people have made the racially charged assumption that Asians are the cause of the Novel Coronavirus. In fact, the total percentage that they have risen since the beginning of the pandemic is a shocking 1,900%.

Comments from big figures, like former President Donald Trump calling the Coronavirus the “Kung Flu” or the “China Virus,” have been one of the many factors that have instigated these assumptions and added a lot of fuel to the fire for motivating these attacks in the first place.

The weight of the Coronavirus’s impact on the Asian-American community has been a lot for them to carry. According to CNN, ever since the start of the pandemic, nearly a third of Asian-Americans (or 31%) have recorded that they’ve been attacked with racist slurs or jokes with 26% of those people fearing a physical attack on them at some point.

As an Asian-American, specifically Filipino-American, living through this pandemic – although much milder than say, acts of violence – I’ve also had a few instances directed at me because of my race. On one instance, when I was just a block away from my home, a person yelled “Ni Hao” directed towards me and my mom in a very derogatory way as I walked past them. I have also had multiple people look at me in a very rude manner while riding the train, almost as if it was in disgust, while they tightened their masks in the process.

Izzy Diaz (AMC, ‘23), a Filipino-American, has also had her own experiences with anti-Asian-American racism since the outbreak of the Coronavirus. “I’ve gotten racist remarks from people who told me that I ‘ate the bat,’ or ‘You’re Asian so you have the Coronavirus’ at the beginning of the pandemic,” she said. “I’m disgusted that the fact that people like this actually exist let alone that the media doesn’t cover this enough.”

Comments and microaggressions like the ones that myself and Diaz mentioned that we have gotten throughout the pandemic are usually swept under the rug. As Diaz had mentioned, anti-Asian racism has become a huge problem for the community but also wrongfully normalized, which may be the reason why the media is not covering this issue as much as they should. The racism has shown that Asians remain as perpetual foreigners in the United States.

As of now, most of the kind of coverage that has mainly been spreading about these attacks is mainly due to grassroots social media campaigns and petitions – not as much through mainstream news outlets. While these social media campaigns have been very successful so far and have gotten the attention of politicians, celebrities and brands, like Nike and Valentino, and is now rapidly spreading, the fact that it has taken so long for people to take this issue into account is very disturbing.

This is exactly the reason why it is important for people to not stay silent on this issue and spread awareness and support Asian Americans as much as they can. Attacks on AAPI’s are getting worse and worse by the day, and it is incredibly important, now more than ever, for you to use your platform and most importantly do not be silent. The Asian-American community needs as much help as we can from non-Asians if we want change.

CNN

Here are some of the things that you can do to help:

“One thing that non-Asians can do to support the Asian-American community is to listen to our stories and to support us through GoFundMes, the AAPI Community fund, #StopAsianHate: Support AA, PayPal and donate to people who’ve lost loved ones through the attacks.” – Angela Valero (FBM, ‘22)

"It’s so important to acknowledge our voices and not shut us down or gaslight us saying stuff like “oh why are you sensitive” or “it’s just a joke.” Please also educate those who aren’t familiar with why our community can get offended [by these types of comments." – Izzy Diaz

You can also support your local Asian grocery stores, order from Asian restaurants, support Asian creatives, such as the podcast Self Evident (selfevidentshow.com/@selfevidentshow on IG), and support organizations such as Stop AAPI Hate, (@stopaapihate on Instagram) Asians 4 Anti Racism (@asians4antiracism on Instagram) and Hate Is A Virus (@hateisavirus on Instagram). Check in with your Asian friends and family as well!

In the words of Valero, to my fellow Asian-Americans who have been affected by the outcomes of the virus: “If these [attacks] are taking a toll on you, please take time to relax and give yourself a break!”

Take into consideration some mental health resources as well! Organizations such as the Asian Mental Health Collective (@asianmentalhealthcollective on Instagram) and NAMI are some of the few Asian American mental organizations you can use.

It’s very disheartening to see my Asian American community at the forefront of countless attacks and even more disheartening to see this issue not being taken as seriously as it should be.

My race is not a virus. All we want for our community is for these attacks and the xenophobia against us to stop.

My race is not a virus. All we want for our community is for these attacks and the xenophobia against us to stop.

NBC