Op-ed: The pain and fear of anti-Asian hate crimes hits close to home winniesun
For most of elementary school, my teachers would tell my parents that I was a great student, but that I just didn't talk much. At that time, I was naïve and thought if I didn't speak up, the bullies wouldn't see me and just leave me alone.
Today, with anti-Asian hate crimes on the rise, many in Asian communities fear for the safety of their parents, elderly friends, neighbors and children. They wonder whether they will be attacked if they go to a supermarket, walk their dog around the block or even just go to school. Crimes against Asian senior citizens have risen by an alarming rate. There are far too many news reports of Asians being beaten, stabbed or killed — and for no reason other than for being Asian. During the pandemic, one of the last routines of normalcy is to be able to visit the grocery store, and yet now we encourage our parents to stay home and have the groceries delivered when possible. To that point, I set up a grocery delivery service for my mother even as she craves to visit the market and shop for herself. She feels trapped and further isolated. However, communities are taking action. We are seeing groups of all ages and all nationalities stand up in solidarity against hate. Volunteer groups started patrolling in predominantly Asian senior neighborhoods, and neighbors are helping other neighbors. A Bay Area resident of Hispanic descent, Jacob Azevedo, recently posted an offer on Instagram to walk with anyone who felt unsafe in Oakland's Chinatown area. The post was shared widely and within days included almost 300 volunteers who had reached out to him on the project they called Compassion in Oakland.Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images Increasingly, Asian Americans and their allies are stepping forward to combat hate crimes and improve understanding. Everyone can help by supporting an AAPI-owned business, standing up against hate crimes and letting community members know they are heard and valued. A good friend, Jen Louie, founder of Sixth Sense Consulting, turned a racist incident into an opportunity for better understanding and acceptance of others. Louie, whose parents immigrated from China, lives with her husband in Fort Bragg, California, home to very few other Asian Americans. Louie learned from a social media post that a woman ordered a "Covid-cake" for her child's birthday from a local bakery. It was decorated with a caricature of a "Chinaman," with an attempt at humor in relation to the coronavirus."When I found out that the customer who ordered the cake was also an immigrant woman like me, a mother like me, it hurt even more," Louie said. "I could not fail let this go without expressing the damage this cake can do."
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