Racism is Trending
Racism is Trending:
Bringing myself to write this paper was quite a struggle. I found it difficult to find a source that covered racial issues as well as representing myself as an Asian American. Although I couldn’t find an applicable article, the correlation between the current pandemic and racism towards Asians was undeniably obvious. With the COVID-19 virus negatively impacting millions of lives, racist attacks towards people of color have skyrocketed. Over the course of the pandemic, hundreds of videos have gone viral on social media of violence striking minority groups; especially African and Asian Americans. With the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, many Asian Americans like 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, Romey Kang, and Christian Hall have all suffered and even passed due to hate crimes and racism. These crimes reflect the devastating “Red Summer” riots that took place nearly a century ago, which happened to be partnered with the Spanish Flu pandemic (Greene II). Racism and attacks upon minorities during a pandemic is largely enhanced due to the fear and sensitivity of the general population, causing many to take up an immortality complex, resulting in an outbreak of both the virus and hate crimes towards people of color; threatening society as a whole.
“Historians tend to say that history doesn’t repeat itself. But, in this case, it does feel like it rhymes.” — Robert Greene II
In 1919, hundreds of African Americans were slain due to a push for civil rights by “soldiers and vigilantes” which accurately resemble todays police and white supremacists (Greene II). The history of the police itself is racist. Police in the South were formed to preserve the slave system and hunt down runaways. The idea of protecting and serving has turned into the act of violating basic human and civil rights. Unfortunately, most crimes committed by the police are often overlooked and lack justice. The idea of a badge and uniform allowing officers to dodge the justice system is atrocious and a true display of human scum. The fact that an officer can get away with blatant murder, only receiving minor repercussions as well as a slap on the wrist, defines the corruption, toxicity, and institutionalized racism of the justice system. This is why there is such a loud cry for the lives of Black men, women, and children. Racism is relentless and also evolving as Asian Americans are experiencing the same burden as their allies.
Black Americans and Asian Americans share an interesting dichotomy when it comes to their treatment. Clearly there is an ongoing history of racism towards black Americans for centuries, but many overlook the mistreatment of Asian Americans. For example, this dichotomy and institutionalized racism can clearly be seen within our education system. For example, a Korean American living in a middle class family, takes part in sports, extracurricular activities, has a 3.7 GPA, and a 30 on the ACT. A black American living in a middle class family plays sports, has a 3.4 GPA, and placed a 26 on the ACT. Odds are, if they both applied to The Ohio State University, the Korean American student may be accepted without scholarship or any excess support. The black student has much higher odds of acceptance including increased chance of scholarship. This is an issue that poisons America’s education system. The foregoing stereotype that all Asians are math genius’ and aspire to become a doctor, lawyer, or dentist, is detrimental to many students and the education system itself. Colleges want “diversity” and “inclusion” except when you’re an Asian American that doesn’t meet the requirements for “the model minority” at said college.
This does not take away from the fact that both Asian and black Americans suffer to the system day by day, but if we are fighting for equality and basic rights, mustn’t that include equal opportunity? On the contrary black Americans, even with a fine education, may have much more
trouble finding a job. Racism within the workplace is highly prevalent and disgusting. When it comes to accountability and exposure of hate crimes and racism towards a people group, Asian Americans genuinely suffer. A multitude of Asian Americans were murdered and the news and media haven’t batted an eye. It’s as if they are attempting to avoid coverage because Asian Americans, throughout the history of America, have gone overlooked and deemed as unimportant; whereas, when a black man dies to police, the entire country riots and protests, gaining the attention of massive celebrities and creating uprisings nationwide. Blockbuster movies such as Ghost in the Shell or The Great Wall are Asian movies; yet, the lead roles are both played by white American actors. The highly anticipated take on a Korean family’s immigration to America, Minari, has been nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscar’s; although, the majority of the cast, director, and the story itself are all Asian Americans and effectively represents the experiences of our ancestors. This film is as American as it gets, displaying the difficulty and journey that many Asian Americans have had to face. These are prime examples of how America treats Asian Americans.
When the COVID-19 outbreak occurred, Donald Trump took action by forming childish comments regarding the Chinese and the virus. “Kung-Flu”, “Chinese Virus”, and bat jokes
became the trending topic for racists and Trump supporters. This inevitably resulted in violence towards the Asian American community. The virus immediately became our fault. With no sense of urgency, Trump continued to publicly spew insulting remarks causing the pandemic and violence to worsen. I was utterly disgusted. I had no idea what to do. I felt embarrassed to go out in public. Lingering in my head was the idea that at any point I could be jumped, verbally harassed, or judged for my physical features. The entirety of 2020 felt this way. I’ve had friends tell me about their initial experiences of racism when the pandemic took off. Being told to go back to our country, even though we are citizens of the United States, was ironic and offensive. This country is a result of white supremacy and always will be. This country is a result of racism and always will be. The summer of 2020 felt like a prolonged nightmare of unnecessary deaths and hate crimes towards people of color. The country was petrified. Nobody knew what to do or make of the situation so what happens to people incase of a feeling of emergency and panic? The flight or fight response. The lockdown itself was a mistake as well. There is no flight response. Individuals who feel threatened result in a fight due to the fact that there is nowhere to go. Panic quickly ensued and the result: violence, terrorism, riots, murders, and the list continues.
The divide within the nation is disturbing as friends and family are being torn due to their take on the politics, riots, and murders. When the topic arose in conversation, I was apathetic. Initially, I didn’t care to argue with friends and family. I quickly started to realize that apathy is part of the issue. Nobody cares to push for legitimate change unless if it’s the next big thing or trending. How many people posted a black square on Instagram and continued on with their lives? How many people tweeted #BlackLivesMatter and never said a word about the racism within our country after that? To those people, quit being a coward and do better. Apathy makes you part of the problem. Ignorance to this never-ending issue is not an excuse as there are a mass abundance of resources to educate yourself. The lack of allegiance and care within our country is detrimental towards the longevity of our society. At this point we are only back-tracking. The history of America is taught as an uprising of one of the greatest and most opportune empires to ever be constructed; yet, the true history of America is nasty, vile, and brutish. All great and powerful empires will fall, it’s only a matter of time before history repeats itself.
Unfortunately, the content within Greene’s article was overshadowed by my immediate emotion while writing this paper. Regardless of the grade and rubric, you, me, and everyone must do better. Inclusion within our society, despite the color of skin, the language we speak, and
the history of our ancestors, our country will result in civil war and ash unless if action is taken immediately. Immediate action consists of empathy. To empathize with somebody is to put yourself in the other persons shoes, as Atticus so famously says in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Although I can never experience the pain and emotion of an African American, I can stand by them and suffer with them. Kindness can be used as a facade for someones true intent whereas empathy comes from the heart. Being involved within your community is a major step as well. With the results of the nationwide riots and looting, people from differing backgrounds and origins rebuilt their communities together. Allegiance is the step towards a promising future, complacency is hoping for the past. Do not long for another “Red Spring” in-fact, strive to prevent another, so long as history evolves, racism will as well.
References
Greene II, Robert. “We Are Living in a Red Spring.” Jacobin, 31 May 2020, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/05/red-summer-riots-african-americans-pandemic-police.
