So We Are Finally Talking about Anti-Asian Racism?
My Personal Letter to the World as an Asian Woman
Dear World,
Congratulations. So I guess we are finally talking about anti-Asian racism. After so many years of ignorance, congrats on finally deciding to acknowledge Anti-Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) xenophobia as a prevalent societal issue.
I’m angry and annoyed that society has been turning a blind eye to the rise of Anti-Asian hate crimes throughout the pandemic. It’s concerning that it took the public physical abuse of a 91-year-old man in New York Chinatown for us to shed light on this. It’s appalling that anti-Asian hate crime was dismissed as a widespread issue worth addressing until the abuse turned to homicide.
But hey, at least we are taking steps.
I’m tired. I’m sick and tired of North American culture pretending to accept us. You may give us jobs, but we are still just “guests”. Immigrants who do not belong, no matter how long we’ve been here. Our value is as not-overly-assertive-or-talkative professionals that will make the workplace smarter without causing any problems. Lifetime immigrants on the outside looking in
North American culture views all Asian people as a giant herd. So when one Asian person does something wrong — even if that person is halfway across the world and bears no relation to us — the blame is propagated to our entire ethnicity.
And there has been no better example than the COVID-19 pandemic. Or, to quote the ex-POTUS and way too many people around the world, the “Chinese Virus”.
Let me start by saying how fucking tired I am of hearing people call this the “Chinese Virus”. Yes, we get that this pandemic sucks. Yes, you want your life back to normal. But this label is only promoting hate against the Asian population — particularly against Asian-Americans and Asian-Canadians who have nothing more to do with the virus than their white next-door neighbour.
Since the pandemic began a year ago, over 4000 Anti-Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) crimes have been reported, and anti-Asian crimes have risen 150% — despite overall crime dropping substantially. And that is just the reported stuff. Based on the horror stories I’ve heard from friends and family, I guarantee the number is way higher.
And don’t you dare tell me that this would happen to anyone else if the origin country was switched. Because that is very very very fake.
Let’s talk about risk. By April 2020, the United States already had more COVID-19 cases than China. An Asian-American was more likely to catch COVID from their neighbor than any relative in mainland China. Yet Asians across the country were being avoided with a 10-foot pole.
Wanna talk origin stories? We can do that too. A few months ago, when a really contagious Covid-19 strand that originated from UK made it to North America, did people start yelling obscenities at the random white folk they passed on the street.
No, I don’t think so. After all, chances are, they aren’t from the UK. Even if they were, they probably haven’t visited recently.
But one look at me — or at anyone who looks at me — and you decide that it is appropriate to tell me to “Go back from where I came from”.
Dear person who is yelling racial slurs at me, this is where I came from. I was fucking born here.
I am a third-generation Chinese Canadian. My parents were both born and raised in Canada. My entire upbringing was within the borders of this country. Yet somehow, when someone asks where I’m from, “Toronto, Canada” is never ever the right answer.
I am bilingual, but not in the way you probably expect. I grew up in an English-speaking household. I took French-immersion up until I was 18. I know enough Mandarin to talk to my grandparents or get by in sticky situations. But my English — and even my French, are lightyears ahead of my Chinese language skills.
Yet, at first sight, everyone assumes my English is broken or accented. Or even better, they assume they can use me as a translator in the aisles of Dollarama (hey what’s up 10-year-old me).
So ya, I can go back to where I came from if you’d like. But I’m pretty sure the Toronto Children’s hospital would not be happy to see a random healthy girl wandering their halls.
Oh sorry? Is it bothering you that I am speaking up? That I am being assertive? Am I running your fantasy of cute little Asian submissives? Well, I really fucking hope I am.
Let me tell you something. It’s hard enough holding a floor as a woman. So it sure as hell doesn’t help that the entire world thinks that Asians — men and women alike — are nothing but antisocial geeks with a knack for math. What a wonderful poster girl for submission I am.
Did you know that Asian women — both young and old — are among the most vulnerable populations to street crime? Because we are constantly being told to be quiet, agreeable, and not make a fuss. And people know that. And they take advantage of that.
Well, I am tired of being taken advantage of. I am tired of watching anti-Asian hate-crimes. And I am tired of no one standing up to it.
So I’m glad that FINALLY, we are talking about Anti-Asian racism. I just hope that it doesn’t take elderly abuse and homicide to keep this conversation going.
Sincerely,
Me
