If you don’t recognize this hashtag then you have been living under a rock. Since the start of the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian-Americans has risen at an increasingly large rate. Research from the reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate ,revealed that there have been over 3,800 reported roughly a year in the pandemic. This is significantly more than the 2,600 hate incidents reported from last year. Among the 3,800 crimes, majority of those cases have been against women. 68% to be exact. While the age range on the hate crimes is more focused towards the elders of the community.
Racism is rooted in the U.S
The United States as a whole has always been rooted in racism. If you are different then you are the out liar. Sadly, this has gotten worse since the presidency of a certain cheeto puff . With his hurtful and dangerous rhetoric, hate towards the AAPI (Asian-American and Pacific Islanders) community has risen. It is way worse than it was before. Data from this year shows that there have been a total of 503 incidents so far in 2021. Verbal harassment and shunning being the most common, having 68.1 percent. The third common being physical assaults’ made up of 11.1 percent of incidents. With a third of the incidents occurring at businesses, usually Asian-American owned. As a quarter of the crimes occur publicly in the streets.
“According to the data, Asian women report hate incidents 2.3 times more than men. A further examination of the submitted reports showed that in many cases, the verbal harassment that women received reflected the very intersection of racism and sexism.”
nbcnews.com
We need to stand together
The hate crimes are being more towards the “weak” and the vulnerable. Hence why the such higher rates in women and elders. This is more than just hate crimes on Asian-Americans. It is more than just statistics. There are real people behind this pain and suffering and fear that we flaunted on TV. As an African-American, I remember the pain that my community felt last year at the wake if George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. As minorities, it is important that we stand together.
I don’t want this to be a long drawn out post and lose your attention halfway through. I’ve been watching the news and sharing the posts and signing the petitions. Enough is enough. There needs to be more done to help stop this racism. Putting #StopAsianHate is one thing…it’s performative. Share the resources. Share the petitions. Check in on your AAPI friends and make sure they are okay. Go to protests.
To be honest, There is such a big difference between actually being an ally or trying to put up a performative act.in the summer of 2020, when the BLM movement got more traction and the black screen posts came about. People only posted it to feel like they are apart of the crowd. Even after that they never posted anything else ever again. If you’re not going to actually out in the work to support the least you can do is spread the word. Below I am going to link all the resources I could find to share with you all. Do your part and help out the Asian-Americans in this country.
Mental Health Resources for Asian-Americans
- @AsianForMentalHealth has a comment thread of therapists willing to provide reduced/free sessions to the AAPI community
- @SubtleAsianMentalHealth on Facebook is offering Free 1 on 1 supportive listening sessions https://www.facebook.com/groups/subtleasianmentalhealth/
- @Laichientherapy is offering Asian Pacific Americans pay-as-you-wish group therapy
- CRISIS LINE: 1-800-273-TALK
- ASIAN LANGUAGES: 1-877-990-8585
- CRISIS TEXT LINE: Text “CONNECT” to 741741
Donate to Asian-American causes
Donate and help these victims. If you know you can’t donate, then don’t worry there are plenty more ways you can help. Click this link to go to GoFundMe page where there are verified donation links to all GoFundMe’s.
https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate
Petition
- A Petition to end Asian-American Hate Crimes and Discriminations’ in NYC: https://www.change.org/p/manhattan-da-end-asian-hate-crimes-and-discrimination-nyc
- https://www.change.org/p/governor-andrew-cuomo-end-hate-crimes-against-asian-americans
- As well as signing this petition to stop COVID-19 misinformation and as well as Asian Hate : https://action.18mr.org/stop-antiasian-violence/
Support
Down below are organizations you can find on Instagram and follow:
- @AsianAmerianGirlClub
- @Unapologeticallyasian_
- @Asians4AntiRacism
- @AsianAmericanCollective
- @GoldHouseCo
- @AAPIWomenLead
- @AsianAAF
Supporting doesn’t just stop at social media. Educate yourself on your own free time. Take the time and patience to educate the people around you. Go and support Asian owned businesses during this tough time. Also, many Asian-American owned establishments have been hit badly due to the negative rhetoric of the pandemic. A lot of them are trying very hard to keep their doors open and jobs available for their community. Order food at one or visit their establishment and leave a nice tip. I’m sure they would greatly appreciate the kindness. The worst thing you could do is stay silent.
I love your blog
Thank you! Great to hear that you love it!