The way Asian Americans are treated can no longer be ignored, especially with the pandemic bringing out a particularly nasty side of the American public. Although we have seen enormous progress and conversations regarding racial equality and discrimination this year, we seem to have fallen short on the conversation regarding Asian Americans.
Asian Americans are continuously forgotten about while discussing America’s history. We recognize and learn about segregation, slavery and the Civil Rights Movement yet fail to meet the mark on many other forgotten historical events.
During World War II, we praised ourselves for going abroad and helping Jews in internment camps, yet often fail to mention the fact that we placed Asian Americans in a similar situation.
During World War II, due to anti-Asian sentiments, America forced many Asians from their homes and businesses into camps where they could be closely monitored. They kept them in these camps for the remainder of the war, which took several years.
When released, they paid some of the prisoners back for their trouble, but the cost of taking so many people’s livelihoods was a price that could never fully be repaid.
In my hometown, we have a large history of being a rodeo town, our town and our railroad built by Asian immigrants. When learning about the Asian immigrants that came to our town, our teachers often skimmed over the fact that the treatment of Asians was so bad, they were forced to build an underground transportation system using tunnels to avoid being targeted at night. This past of my town is horrifying to say the least, yet few pick it apart and address it.
Although these issues are in the past, the mistreatment of Asian Americans is almost normalized.
The pandemic has brought forth fear and hatred towards not only an entire country, but towards an entire ethnicity. People calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus”, the “kung flu” and using other derogatory language towards Asian Americans is placing us back in history and creating fear in many Asian Americans residing in our country.
We’ve all seen the “stop Asian hate” posts circulating on social media and many Asian Americans sharing their stories. When I speak to my friends of Asian heritage, they have addressed their fear during this time, as well as their experiences of how their ethnicity has led them to be treated.
It is too often I think that we have failed to speak up on certain jokes or slang placing Asians at the butt of a joke. Everyone knows the negative connotation of saying the “n-word” or other racial slurs, yet many don’t bat an eye when people make stereotypes of Asians “eating dogs” or make fun of their appearances.
Asking Asian Americans questions of; “how do you see? “Where are you really from?” or fetishizing and sexualizing their culture happens unfortunately, too often.
Placing blame on a race of people will not make the pandemic better, in fact, it will only ruin more lives.
Learn to reach out and support your Asian American coworkers, friends, and neighbors during this time and educate yourself on the stereotypes you may not realize are harmful. Our American history has not been favorable to minorities. Let us not go back in time but rather work towards a better future of eliminating racial stereotypes and prejudice.
Dani Moore can be reached at [email protected].