Alicia Krielaart
Contributing Writer
“8 Dead in Atlanta Spa Shootings, With Fears of Anti-Asian Bias.” “New York man charged with hate crime in Asian American attack that bystanders watched without helping.” “Asian 7-Eleven worker punched in face in Manhattan.”
Shot. Attacked. Hated. Punched.
As an Asian who has grown up in the United States, these crimes and acts of violence are not surprising to me. I’m disappointed but not surprised. However, the familiarity of this hatred is still a bitter pang. Just because I am familiar with this senseless violence doesn’t mean that I should accept it. As an Asian adoptee, I’ve struggled with understanding my identity and the microaggressions I’ve experienced throughout my years have only heightened my feelings of loss and sorrow from being culturally and physically disconnected from my heritage.
Microaggressions have followed me throughout my life such as typical Asian ‘jokes’ that are passed for a quick laugh. “Oh aren’t you supposed to be good at math?” Why should my ethnicity dictate what academic talents I may or may not possess? Asking “No, where are you really from?” Why are you invalidating my experiences as an Asian in America? Why are you asking me about my ethnicity? Does evaluating my ethnicity affect my worth as a human being? Or my favorite is, “You’re pretty cute for an Asian girl. I’m into Asian girls, they’re supposed to be more submissive and cutesy, you know?” One, I’m beautiful just the way I am, regardless of my appearance and two, what type of sick comments do you think are appropriate for when you’re trying to flirt? Why did you think this was a good approach?
These sickening comments, ‘socially accepted’ jokes and ‘justified’ questions are commonly used and accepted. This acceptance and ignorance towards Asians in America needs to stop. It’s what allows hate to spread and racism to flourish. It’s what has divided our society. It’s what allows for people to sympathize with those who hurt our community. People who swore to protect us even said, “Yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did” when describing the gunman behind the Atlanta spa shooting. It’s what allows politicians to call a devastating virus that’s taken the lives of millions the “China virus.”
As humans how can we let this cycle of hatred and pain continue? But more importantly how can we prevent this from poisoning our society?