“I’m angry and sad, numb and disappointed, but not surprised—the dramatic surge of attacks on the AAPI community needs to be addressed.
I’m thinking of the Asian women in my family—me and my mom here, and all my aunties and my po-po in Taiwan. My heart hurts knowing it could’ve been them.
My blood boils and my heart hurts for the immigrants, especially women, who keep their heads up, working the jobs you all don’t want, for days and nights, while others mock and look down on them when they are just trying to make ends meet.
You fear for your parents’ safety—we all do because it’s a universal feeling. So I implore you to keep this in mind and choose not to ignore when someone within your reach says or does something unjust.
I urge you to examine your own behaviors and how you may be gaslighting or perpetuating certain stereotypes. And take time to educate yourself: read about model minority, the history of anti-Asian racism, Yellow Peril.
It starts with our education and the lack of school curriculums, lack of representation, lack of media. The education system is truly failing POC communities.
They graze past the discrimination and violence but can spend three whole chapters on how Hudson’s Bay came to be (Canadians are not any better, but they like to think they are). It’s as if people have to really suffer and be dehumanized for people to pay attention to the fact that racism actually exists under the model minority stereotype.
And lastly, an excerpt from Sari Li: ‘The very concept of respectability is one that can kill and it unfairly splits the AAPI community into two camps: those who are deserving of respect and help, and those who aren’t. It also shows how the difference of who is respected and who isn’t could be the difference between life and death.'”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Erin of Vancouver. You can follow her journey on Instagram. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.
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