The rise in Asian racism
As the COVID-19 pandemic ensues, Asian American racism heightens
Graphic by Melissa Liu, Managing Print & Design Editor
Anshi Vajpayee, Opinions Editor & Krystal Wu, Staff Writer
On Jan. 28, gruesome security footage from a quiet neighborhood in San Francisco city recorded 84-year-old Thai-American Vicha Ratanapakdee being shoved to the ground while taking his daily walk. It was one of the several racially-fueled hate crimes against those of Asian descent in that week alone. Such incidents led to public outcry, and many have attributed their rise to COVID-19’s origins in China.
“I think that Asian American hate crimes are terrible and should not happen, especially because the people that have been targeted are the elderly. I cannot imagine my grandparents or people I am close to being targeted like that,” Ryan Li, a junior at Northview, said.
As a student of Chinese-Vietnamese descent, Li discusses the proximity and emotions Asian racism has brought upon him. While he is upset about the situations found in the news, Li shares that he has, fortunately, not been in a similar one before, likely due to the high percentage of Asian Americans living within Johns Creek. However, he explains how he would react if he ever encountered racism, with the mindset of delegitimizing racist rhetoric.
“If I am called a racial slur or something like that, I would try my best to ignore it as that is my optimal response. ‘If you do not acknowledge that hatred, then you do not lend it validity’ is my philosophy,” Li said.
Simply because of the color of his skin, Li could be a potential victim of Asian hate crimes. As an Asian American, anti-Asian racism is constantly a relevant topic to him, but unfortunately, not everyone in the United States shares the same sentiment. Li believes in order for there to be change, enough members of society must first recognize the problem and consider it an urgent one.
“I think a lot of prejudice and injustice is already ingrained for those who think this way. Those are the ones who are teaching it to their children and allow them to grow up and think this way,” Li said. “In the education system, it can be a really powerful tool to help break the cycle; [the first step is to] try to get the education early about these social and prejudicial issues.”
When children are young, the actions of those close to them easily influence their beliefs and actions growing up. Therefore, the ability to educate and maintain consistency upon the topic lies not only with the parents but with schools as well, according to Li.
Sophomore Casey Wong, who is of Chinese-Malaysian descent, agrees that a racist upbringing can lead to the belief that Asian Americans, even those who have lived in the U.S. their entire lives, are perpetual outsiders. In personal interactions, Wong sees this mentality manifest in the form of microaggressions, whether it be questions about where she is really from or comments that she is more fluent in English than expected.
“We aren’t ever really accepted into American society because we’re not what you think of when you think of a ‘good’ American citizen,” Wong said. “We’re seen as foreigners despite being a citizen our entire life.”
Wong feels that remaining outspoken about hate crimes against Asian Americans is a key part of dismantling such prejudices altogether. Through social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, Wong uses her voice to spread awareness about all injustices, including those outside the scope of Asian American issues.
“One of the biggest things we should push as a society is unity and solidarity, especially POC [People of Color] solidarity.”
By alienating Asian American hate crimes as an issue that only pertains to people of Southeast or East Asian descent, Wong believes a sense of American unity is lost and Asian Americans are left to fend for themselves.
“We should stop isolating it to just an Asian American issue. We should discuss it as an American issue,” Wong said. “When you isolate a group, it makes it seem like it's only an Asian American issue, and that at the same time makes it seem like only Asian Americans have to care about it.”
Like many others, she is becoming increasingly fearful that she could one day be a victim of race-related violence. As stories of Asians being assaulted, spat on, or even stabbed flood the news, she cannot help but wonder if she is next.
“This anxiety does not help, especially since my parents are very afraid to even go out to the grocery store or attend certain things,” Wong said. “We'd rather order it or have somebody else pick it up for us to avoid these dangerous situations.”
Speaking on the topic at a local level, Principal Brian Downey discusses the changes he and other community leaders have made regarding the recent social justice and equality movements from the spring of 2020 until now.
“We formed an advisory group with parents, students, teachers, and myself, and we ended up calling ourselves Northview United,” Downey said. “We have declared that Northview will be deemed a safe place for all our students. Now [the question] is, ‘What actions do we need to take to ensure that?’”
Northview United was initially formed after a series of racial injustices became widely reported in the summer of 2020, including the coverage of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of the police. In response to calls for urgent action from Northview students and staff, it aims to make community members more aware of the social injustice and racism occurring both nationally and locally. Their main course of action is through the course curriculum, with many teachers within Northview United altering lesson plans to incorporate social inequality into their lessons. When applying education to the COVID-19 pandemic and Asian involvement, they hope to educate students on the facts and science behind the virus to prevent students from believing misconceptions about the situation.
Another of Northview United’s approaches is the connection of students and teachers. Through the organization, students may step forward and report race-based incidents inflicted upon them or other students if they wish. While Downey shares that he has yet to receive news of any specific, student-related Asian hate crimes, he admits that they may be happening without his knowledge.
“I have seen many national stories about Asians being targeted due to COVID-19. Do we know any situations where you or someone you know has been on the receiving end because of COVID-19 or anything related to that?” Downey said.
The fact that many microaggressions and incidences of racism are not reported means that oftentimes, these issues still go untalked about, even in the local community. A great hope of Northview United is that students will feel empowered and bold enough to share any situation with the teachers of Northview or trusted adults in order to ensure students feel safe and other students understand the consequences of their offensive actions. As a member of Northview United, Assistant Principal LeMetra Dismuke not only pushes for change and the guarantee of Northview as a safe space for students but also hopes students learn how to treat others equally and speak out against any incidents involving prejudice that occur.
“We see our students taking on the role of ambassadors almost for saying ‘This is the Northview way. We do not speak divisive language,’” she said.
In terms of the recent rise of Asian-related hate crimes, Northview United is gradually helping to foster an environment where teachers and staff, as well as students, are not afraid to speak up in situations of injustice.
“It has pressured me in the sense that I will not act out in a way that would put a big light on me, but this whole incident has pushed me to not be silent, [to acknowledge] that everything going around is real, that it is affecting everyone,” Counselor Cindy Lee said.
By taking small steps to fight the far-reaching systems of racial oppression in place, Northview United hopes to do its part in a larger battle against all forms of prejudice around the world.
“We're trying to change the culture. We're not just doing something where we check the box off and move on,” Dismuke said. “We want it to truly be a culture changer where you know, at Northview, [racism] is not tolerated.”
