Standing Up for My People.

*Disclaimer: before publishing this post, I’ve made sure to do as much research and discuss this topic with different people to ensure that I’m not only providing a one-sided perspective but rather sharing an insightful piece. HOWEVER, due to my cultural background and personal experiences, there will obviously be some biased writing so please take this as opinionated journalism- if you will.

“And I truly believe if you have any type of platform and you’re going to talk about a specific topic, you need to think about all sides.”

Anon

Initially, after reading this post, I was admittedly frustrated. Frustrated because every single time I saw an Asian-American trying to speak up for themselves online, someone always managed to shift the focus to past and current racism that other groups have had to face. If someone wanted to speak up about Asian representation, racism, or discrimination against their own community- they would always be shut down by other people trying to remind them about all of the other injustices that different minority groups have already been facing. What baffled me more was that this was a fellow Asian-American woman who wrote this post. The thing is, I agree with everything that she said. Underneath every group is an array of different sub-category of people that must not be forgotten. Different minority groups- whether Black, Brown, Latinx, etc.- have been marginalized and faced racism at different intensities. We should all be supporting one another when it comes to racism, discrimination, and social injustices.

My take on this post was, yes, there are districts within the U.S. that have structural issues and there are many intersectional ways in which low-income Black and Brown communities are being the most impacted by this virus because they don’t have the same or any access to healthcare compared to other communities. Other arguments that I’ve read on the internet centered around how the Black community has always faced, and is currently facing, racism and hate crimes simply for wearing a hoodie while leaving the house. So, Asians feeling afraid to leave the house with a mask on was almost irrational and their feelings were not valid. Lastly, the argument of Asia being the most racist continent surfaced so, “Asians deserve what they dish out.”

I don’t want to speak for other countries, but most Asian countries deal with their own internal social injustices and racism. I could go into a whole tangent about how fairer-toned Asians discriminate against darker-toned Asians in other countries but that’s not what this post is about. Now, I’m positive that all minority groups who’ve immigrated to the U.S. have had to deal with their own struggles of discrimination, racism, and xenophobia. Certainly, different minority groups experience these struggles at different intensities. So, at the end of the day, just let each group go through their own injustices and speak on their personal experiences without feeling the need to compare it to others.

My ending statement to my friends that I was debating with was this:

Right now, a majority of Asian Americans are trying to speak on the fact that we are being discriminated against because COVID-19 originated in China and the President called it the “China Virus.” We’re seeing all of these injustices and hate crimes with our people being jumped, mocked, spit on, and as far as killed or threatened because of what we look like. Yes, other races have gone through the same thing and/or are experiencing systematic oppression and racism related to this pandemic but I’m not disregarding that. Personally, I’m just trying to speak my own truth without having to see people on the internet trying to tell me how I should or shouldn’t do it. And, that goes for anyone trying to stand up for a cause that’s important to them. I always go back to the breast cancer analogy in times like this because it was used in a Black Lives Matter debate and it really helped me view political tensions from a different perspective.

The analogy goes like this, if someone went up to a breast cancer foundation booth and asked, “Why aren’t you speaking about all cancers? Why are you just raising awareness for one?” Then, wouldn’t that take away from the value of the cause and, in a way, diminish the experience and personal struggles of people with breast cancer?

All people of every race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. should be able to speak their own truths without being told how to do it. Then, when the time comes for another movement or social issue that needs to be addressed and fought for that doesn’t directly affect us, then we should let the group being affected speak on their own, and support them along the way.

“All cultures and ethnicities who have been oppressed have the responsibility to stand up for one another (in some shape or form.) I think what we’re facing right now is the crab in the bucket analogy- when you have people at the bottom fighting each other when we should be fighting those at the top who put us in the bucket.”

Malik Beaver

I would like to thank my close friends for engaging in healthy debates with me to help me view things from different perspectives and understand how their communities may be experiencing these difficult times. Regardless, if they had different political stances, we were still able to respect each other’s opinions- which I feel like everyone could benefit from! In making this blog post, I’ve debated long and hard about whether or not to post this. However, I read something recently that sparked me to write this and continue the movement for Asian-American representation.

“I had two choices: let it gloss over or don’t pass up this teachable moment. Asians are often taught to stay silent and to not make waves, but I want to teach my daughters to stand up for what they believe in and speak up to things that are unjust.”

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And so, I went with the latter option and made this choice of speaking up for my people, for myself, and for my future daughter.

Thank you for reading.

-Jessica

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