This blog was inspired by my need to write something in response to the recent shooting in Atlanta, just one example of a violent string of 3,800 hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders documented by Stop AAPI Hate Reporting Center this past year. One of the saddest things about this event to me was our Chinese teacher, Na Lin’s, reaction. She told me a week after the event that the “Atlanta shooting was not surprising” to her.
My hope is not to stir the reader from a pretend sleep but rather to inspire those already “woke” to action. Of course, there are countless other racially motivated attacks that go unreported each year. One of these happened to a friend of Na Lin’s, Emily**, who gave me permission to share her story in an effort to raise awareness. In February of 2020 when Trump had referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus” Emily, 24, was brutally attacked in a subway station in the Boston area. She was shoved to the ground going up the escalator and kicked multiple times including to the head which left her bruised, traumatized and with a concussion that took weeks to recover from. The psychological damage of the event remains until today she still feels a combination of fear, anger and paranoia and has not ridden the subway since the incidence.
That day a stranger decided to take action and chase down the attacker onto the next bus he had already boarded. The MBTA police were called to the scene. While the actions of this bystander were valiant the prime witness to the crime was not courageous enough to give his testimony and due to a malfunctioning camera, there wasn’t enough evidence to convict the perpetrator. This incident clearly portrays the importance of being an ally and being ready to jump into action.
I discussed both with Emily as well as Na Lin what it takes to be an ally. It is vital that we all understand the reality that people of color face in this country, that discrimination, and racial attacks are real. Just as important is to be prepared to take action when we witness a verbal or physical attack or act of discrimination. Emily a double major in Human Development and Applied Psychology from Boston College, who dreams of working for Torch one day to help underprivileged students gain access to Northeastern, currently works for the Multicultural Office at Boston College. There she met an Indonesian student who shared the following story with her. The student explained to her white friends that she felt uncomfortable traveling by train due to the recent increase in acts of violence towards Asians. Her “friends’ reacted to her by accusing her of “being too afraid” rather than validating her experience. The “friends” did not understand that being an ally begins with the acceptance of another person’s reality and culminates in taking action.
What prompted the young African American man that came to Emily’s defense to take action that day in the train station? It was probably a bunch of facts coming together. He was aware enough to realize what was happening, identified that the situation needed to be addressed and was courageous enough to jump into action. Let’s all be prepared and not someone “who pretends to sleep” when we witness acts of aggression or even micro-aggression! It’s time to #StopAsian Hate as well as all other forms of hate!
by
Brigitte Herz
* The author Zhou Lian coined this popular Chinese saying and wrote a book by the same title in 2012.
**Names were changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.
Please share in the comments below any ideas you may have in terms of being prepared to defend yourself or someone else or experiences you have had and how you mastered them.