#AsianLivesMatter #Fightracism #Atlanta #HateCrime #WhiteSupremacy

Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racism. Ibram X. Kendi writes:

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it–and then dismantle it.”

Treat Asian community the way by earning respect. Bruce Lee, an Asian-American super martial artist once said, “How we treat other people changes them, but even more so, how we treat other people changes us.”

The surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans is a fresh pain dealing with structural racism, and the Deaf community must stand with Asian American Deaf community and make anti-hatred a core value. Nonetheless, the dangers of white supremacy have not taken adequate action to identity, report, and respond to this racist ideology and misogyny. 

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) writes: “misogyny a dangerous and underestimated component of extremism, and this report marks the start of an ongoing effort to investigate the ways in which people in the white supremacist, incel and MRA orbits feed and inform one another’s poisonous hatred of women.”

Federal law: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act signed by President Obama in 2009: Gender motivated violence is defined as a hate crime.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) The incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim poses a serious national problem.

When white people become defensive, they lack critical thinking of the other person’s cultural roots, and their own responsibility in this matter, they are unable to call out that white supremacy exists, an ugly trend. Ignorance at best. 

Will we admit that we have not done enough to confront and dismantle white supremacy that underpins many of our communities to halt and examine ourselves critically to reflect ourselves about how dangerous the anti-Asian hate would suffer in the long run? 

Lately, a lot of hate crimes have done just that, targeting them is aborrent and unfair. Hate crimes are among the most dehumanizing of crimes. How would we help our own communities who are dealing with hostile environments to survive and thrive in this life matter? 

The idea to encourage the United States Congress to pass hate crime legislation in response to violence against Asian Americans adding that a growing proliferation of racial hatred and misogyny set the tone for the white supremacy ideology is an important step to restore humanity and trust. It is long overdue. Asian Americans deserve better. 

“You have to get over the fear of facing the worst in yourself. You should instead fear unexamined racism. Fear the thought that right now, you could be contributing to the oppression of others and you don’t know it. But do not fear those who bring that oppression to light. Do not fear the opportunity to do better.”― Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race

How would we start to learn and listen to powerful stories to explore what is much needed to bring about deep social change and how to defeat racist ideology and white supremacy? 

The mass murderer Dylann Storm Roof, whose racist mindset led to the execution of nine Black people at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina back in 2015, is akin to Atlanta mass murderer, Robert Aaron Long in 2021 killing Asian women. Misogyny. Not just once, but twice, thrice, quatre, cing, six, sept, and finally, huit. 

Still on a killing spree. Until caught. Will it happen again in the future? Yes, it will. Five Springs ago, Mark Potok, an editor for Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report: 

“Although the number of deaths attributable to domestic terrorism still was very small compared to, say cancer or traffic accident deaths, such killings cause far greater social change because they produce shock waves in targeted communities and also tend to split Americans along pre-existing fault lines like race. The violence arose in a landscape dominated by losses for those on the political far right.” 

Hate crimes and racial bigotry is the reason that creates power dynamics of human struggle. The book published by Terri E. Givens which was released last February 2021, Radical Empathy: Finding a Path to Bridging Racial Divides, gives a very powerful example for all of us to look at ourselves:

Givens writes: “I demonstrate the steps in getting to racial empathy, making myself vulnerable by examining some of the more difficult aspects of racism and family that have impacted my life and the lives of others. It’s also about showing the ways in which I have become grounded in my own identity while opening myself up to others’ experience. In practice, radical empathy means”: 

1) A willingness to be vulnerable.

2) Becoming grounded in who you are.

3) Opening yourself to the experiences of others.

4) Practicing empathy.

5) Taking action. 

6) Creating change and building trust. 

That would be a good start to do that. What has changed, of course, is what it costs to make a difference, and most importantly, to show the solidarity for Asian American community that they have suffered need not haunt them forever. With your help and understanding of racial empathy, show warmth and love in this world and a safe place to call home. 

-JT 

Copyright © 2021 Jason Tozier

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