Many of my good friends are of Asian origin and I find that they have been unfairly targeted since the creation of the U.S. and Canada.
There are now 6 million Asian Canadians and 19 million Asians in the United States. From my point of view, they contribute to the richness of the North American culture and to the economy.
Asian Americans have suffered from violence and discrimination from the beginning of the creation of these two countries.
In Canada, Chinese labor was used to build the Canadian Pacific Railway which united Ottawa to Vancouver (1885). Afterward, the Chinese were subject to discrimination, including the Head Tax, a race-based entry fee. The Government of Canada apologized in 2006 for this discriminatory policy.
In the United States, it was a similar story, Chinese immigrants built the Transcontinental Railway during the 1860s. They toiled through back-breaking labor during both frigid winters and blazing summers. Hundreds died from explosions, landslides, accidents, and disease. And even though they made major contributions to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and to the U.S. economy, these 15,000 to 20,000 Chinese immigrants have been largely ignored by history.
President trump promoting China Hate
President Trump promoted China’s hate by blaming all Chinese for the Coronavirus. Since then, there have been many instances of violence against Asian Americans and Asian Canadians, culminating in the assassination of 6 Asian women in Georgia and the brutal attack of a 65-year-old Asian woman by a black man.
It’s up to us to stop the hate
It’s normal to feel helpless, but we are not helpless. There are many things we can do in order to reduce discrimination and hate towards our Asian brothers and sisters.
Speak out if you witness a hate crime or incident
If you happen to find yourself witnessing something … either speak out or actually intervene and defend the other person.
Over and over again, we hear from victims of hate that it was hurtful to be targeted, but it was even more hurtful to have no one stood with them — no one intervened when clearly they were being targeted because of their race, ethnicity, and gender.
Report the hate crime or incident
If it’s a violent situation or safety is in danger, call 911 immediately.
Hate crimes are underreported. Reporting an incident you experienced or witnessed can help bring greater awareness and strengthens the chance a perpetrator will be prosecuted.
Check in with your Asian American peers
One of the most important things to do is to ask the Asian Americans in your life what you can do to support them. People are very afraid, and those gestures could make a lot of people really reassured that they are part of our larger community.
Oftentimes people assume that Asian hate is a wave that comes and goes, but it’s not a wave, it’s a deeply structural and cultural problem within North America.
Learn about the history of Asian American discrimination
The Asian American community is not a monolith, it’s diverse; the Japanese are different from the Philipinos and from the Vietnamese.
Asia is an extraordinarily enormous region of the world … so the experiences of Asian Americans are not uniform. Understanding Asian history in the country, understanding the different experiences of different communities will also go a long way to demonstrate how Asian Americans have always been part of the U.S. and Canada story.
Advocate for awareness in your workplace
Businesses can go beyond issuing statements of solidarity by using their platforms to support things like community-based initiatives.
Every entity has a platform, use your platform to talk about this issue to understand it, so that you can think about how you want to participate in doing anti-racism work.
Reach out to your elected officials
It’s important to reach out to your elected officials and let them know that you are concerned about the anti-Asian hate going on in our communities.
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Comments
One response to “Stop Asian Hate and Asian Discrimination”
Thanks for writing this thoughtful post and speaking up for the Asian community, Alain! The article is clearly organized with convincing support material and actionable items.