The ongoing global pandemic—a physically and emotionally taxing ordeal—has had negative impacts on everyone around the world. However, a distinct level of resentment has been reserved for people of Asian descent.
Some people have taken it upon themselves to scapegoat Asians since the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China. One article from Today News estimates that hate crimes against them have increased by 150%.
According to Asian advocacy director John Sifton (Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide), this discrimination has escalated into such widespread violence that it’s become a necessity for governments to begin enacting policies to prevent it.
Several public service announcements have been released to educate bystanders about how to intervene in attempts at Asian discrimination and/or violence.
This has also drawn attention to the fact that prejudice against Asian often just isn’t considered: Asian Americans have been given the title “model minority”. Such a title has stereotyped an entire group of people as high-earning and immensely successful.
Not only does this paint other minorities as simply not “working hard enough” to achieve success, but also depicts any Asians who don’t abide by the stereotype as outliers who aren’t the norm of their race.
In reality, the Asian community is incredibly diverse and composed of people from different ethnic backgrounds, different incomes, and varying levels of education.
Part of what left Asians so vulnerable to shameless acts of violent crime was the lack of understanding that they aren’t a “special” or “untouchable” class of humans that know no struggle.
The term minority doesn’t refer to how large a particular group is: it’s used for groups that have less social and political power than the ruling “majority” and Asian Americans absolutely fall under this category.
There is no “model minority” and there’s no excuse for bigotry.
I find it so unbelievably cruel that an entire race is receiving hate in mass quantities simply because of the originating point of a virus. In America especially, I think this issue began to gain further traction when it was reinforced by former President Donald Trump when he referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus.” This statement was not only degrading, but extremely unprofessional. This then allowed people to be blatantly racist and publicly reveal their lack of education with no repercussions or remorse. Racial tension can only be solved when we as a society come together and come to appreciate our differences instead of hating each other for them. To close, I just wanted to mention how much I loved your closing statement. I thought it was quite powerful and effective because of its direct nature.
This is always an important topic, but over the recent events of the pandemic, it has become increasingly crucial to cover. One of my best friends from high school is Asian and her family owns a Chinese/Japanese restaurant where her and her younger brother and other family members work shifts multiple times a week to keep it afloat. I remember when the pandemic hit, and when accusations went flying, and when people began to turn words into actions. Their restaurant is located right next to a bar, and at a certain point, her parents forbade my friend and her younger brother from helping out at the restaurant out of fear that it was too dangerous with all of the alcohol-filled and prejudice-filled people right next to it. This was something that really made my heart sink, especially seeing the fear and disappointment in her eyes as she explained to me why she suddenly had all of this free time. I am appalled by how little was done at any scale to prevent or even intervene these hate crimes, it seems like the world is just sitting idly by and watching.
I think this is a really important topic to bring into discussion. I really like how you brought up the idea of Asians being the “model minority”. As a half-Indian person myself, there really is a set expectation for how Asian Americans are supposed to achieve in school but never the benefits of such expectations. At times it feels like Asian Americans are in-between; we’re expected to work hard and go above and beyond but at the same times keep quiet about troubles like facing racism in the everyday life. It’s so unfortunate as well that many Asian Americans are not seen as being properly American never mind the fact that some have been around for generations or even those who are first gen Americans who know nothing but the lives lived here. I like your last statement, it’s powerful and fitting for this situation.