Some say that 2020 was the worst year of their lives. The pandemic, Australian bush fires, police aggression, giant murder wasps- you name it, 2020 had it. There is one thing about 2020, however, that has really only reared its ugly face recently: racism towards Asians.
It is because people blame Asians for the virus that they attempt to crush all Asians under the collective burden of causing COVID-19. No matter what happened in Wuhan, somehow, all Asians are blamed for the virus. To be born an Asian is now something that is inherently bad; to be born an Asian makes you responsible for something out of your control. And the thing is- you don’t necessarily have to be Chinese to be attacked. There have been instances of other Asians being attacked simply because they quote “look Chinese”. Even I have felt the brunt of the attacks- numerous times I’ve had stares directed at me, mutters under the breath, people moving away from me. Of course, this could all be put down to social distancing, but not when these are the types of people that keep their masks under their noses. I’ve been yelled at, screamed at, and even physically threatened to “go back to your own country”. Just like the old Chinese grandma physically assaulted by a white man, we all feel the forces of racism move against us. One thing that I can be glad of is the resiliency of the Asians out there, just as the grandma was brave enough to fight back once punched. Others, however, might not be as brave- so really, what can be done?
This constant stigma against being Asians is only become worse by the minute, and there’s only one thing we can do to combat it—spread awareness. By spreading awareness of the racism that plagues Asians, we must be resilient and stand up to these forces until this is finally gone. Just like racism against all other races, we must stand united against the harsh voices of the uneducated world. We must stand up against disingenuity and misinformation by spreading the word—it is only through understanding that we will be able to combat racism.
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