Dear Tumblr,
Look, I know it’s annoying and tiring, what with our xenophobic,
racist, capitalist, and ableist world and its nonstop injustices and
grievances. But as a Chinese-American woman who’s experienced my fair share of
verbal harassment for my race and gender, I’d really appreciate it if you would
take a moment to read and reflect about the anti-AAPI hate crimes taking place
not just recently, but since before the beginning of the pandemic. It’s too
easy to sweep these things under the rug in the interest of attending to more
urgent crises and social justice movements, but the AAPI community shouldn’t be
an afterthought in the big picture of things, especially marginalized groups
within this group, including working class, sex workers, those who don’t fit
into so-called “model minority”. Credits to Dear Asian Youth on IG. I haven’t seen it shared on Tumblr yet, but maybe it has already; either way, it would be nice if you could reblog it as well. If you’d
rather not read, feel free to keep scrolling but unfollow me first. Image ID at
the end.
Image ID:
Image 1: On March 16th, a gunman murdered 8
people at several Asian-run massage spas in Atlanta. Six of the victims were
Asian women. CW: violence, mass shooting, racism, death
Image 2: What happened: At 4:50 PM, the first shooting occurred
at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, where four people were murdered. Around
5:47 PM, Atlanta police responded to another shooting that occurred at Gold
Spa, where they found three women shot. While at the scene, police received a
report of shots fired at Aromatherapy Spa, where the body of another woman was
found.
The police later arrested the shooter in Crisp County at
approximately 8:00 PM, who later told law enforcement that he has a “sexual
addiction.”
Image 3: Fetishization: Cherokee County sheriff Jay Baker reduced
the shooting to the perpetrator having a “really bad day” because he wanted to “eliminate”
a “temptation” from his “sexual addiction.”
This justification stems from “yellow fever”, an outdated
and racist ideology that objectifies and fetishizes Asian women and contributes
to the dehumanization of sex workers. Yellow fever promotes the belief that
Asian women are exotic, submissive, and docile.
Comments like “love you long time” and “happy ending”
continue to stigmatize, fetishize, and downplay violence against Asian women.
Image 4: Despite evidence of racial bias, many publicized
attacks during the pandemic have not been treated as hate crimes, leaving many
in the AAPI community to believe that anti-Asian violence is not being taken
seriously. These crimes are rooted in racism and hatred towards Asian
communities. CALL IT A HATE CRIME.
Image 5: RISE IN ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIMES: Stop AAPI Hate
recently released its latest national report, which shows that 3,795 anti-Asian
hate incidents have been recorded from March 2020 to February 2021. A majority
of these incidents (68%) were reported by women.
The increase in anti-Asian sentiment can be partially
attributed to the widespread use of terms such as “Kung Flu,” “Chinese Virus,”
and “Wuhan Virus” by high-profile officials such as former U.S. President Donald
Trump. Many continue to use these terms, despite how it has instigated
harassment and violence toward the Asian community.
Image 6: A GLOBAL ISSUE: The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes
is not a uniquely American issue. In countries with significant Asian
populations such as Canada and the United Kingdom, hate crimes against Asians
are also increasing.
Canada: In Vancouver, hate crimes against Asian Canadians
rose by 717%. Hate crimes in Ottawa increased by 57%, with most of the victims
being of East or Southeast Asian descent. Montreal reported a spike of 30 hate
crimes and racist acts specifically targeting Asians.
UK: The UK has seen a 300% increase in hate crimes targeting
East and Southeast Asians since the start of the pandemic. Anti-Asian hate
crimes have increased after every lockdown period, rising from 261 to 395 per
month between April and June 2020.
Image 7: WHAT CAN YOU DO? Check the tagged accounts! Share
this post to raise awareness. Share resources and informative posts on social
media:
·
Safety Tips from Stop AAPI Hate
·
Stay Safe from Hate booklet by the Asian
American Federation
Donate to
the cause
·
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum,
Georgia Chapter
·
Asian American Advocacy Fund (AASF)
·
Butterfly, an Asian and migrant sex workers
network
Check in
and support your Asian friends. Use your voice to uplift and amplify the AAPI
community.
Image 8:
Attend Bystander Intervention Training from Hollaback! & AAJC and call out
microaggressions and racist jokes.
Follow
Asian news and activists
Support working
class Asian families by supporting their businesses
Mental Health
Resources
·
CalHOPE emotional support hotline: 833-317-HOPE
·
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
(NQAPIA) (nqapia.org)
·
Asian Mental Health Collective (asianmhc.org)
We demand
more than solidarity. We want solutions.
Image 9:
SOURCES
·
NPR: 8 People, Many of Them Asian, Shot Dead At
Atlanta-Area Massage Parlors; Man Arrested
·
AP News: Georgia massage parlor shootings leave
8 dead; man captured
·
Huffington Post: In 2021, Asian Canadians Document
Hate Crimes To Be Believed
·
NBC News: Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by
nearly 150% in 2020, mostly in NY and LA, new report says
·
STOP AAPI HATE NATIONAL REPORT
End Image ID.