Feelings came to a head this week – what with still taking the utmost of care during the pandemic, trying to be positive about the future now that vaccines are here + reeling from watching the constant attacks on Asians in the news.
I’m lucky to have found my person. Sean is not only my fella but he’s also my ally + my protector, something that pre-2020, I didn’t think I needed.
But then COVID hit and the rise in racist attitudes, harassment + hate crimes against Asians skyrocketed this past year. These attacks are sickening, disheartening + hits hard for so many of us. I struggle with it on the daily.
I wrote about my fears of Asians being targets at the beginning of the pandemic, and the very real threat that things would escalate. And of course it did because racists, white supremacists, and white terrorists are garbage people.
Asians have been warning and pleading to mostly deaf ears that the frequency and severity of attacks were just going to increase until someone would inevitably be murdered. We knew this was going to happen. We could see it coming. And for the media, politicians, and law enforcement to not call out these heinous acts as straight up hate crimes or attempt to humanize the perpetrators makes me rage and scream and cry.
This week broke me. Sadness has given way to anguish.
To continue to see people who look like me, my mom, my uncles + aunties, and my friends be on the receiving end of physical harm for no other reason than the fact that we exist is devastating.
Canada is not exempt from this problem. Asians are not safe just because we don’t live in the US. We are still getting targeted because of the colour of our skin. VPD reported a mind-boggling 717% increase (!) in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2020 and no surprise, Asian women are the ones who are disproportionately impacted.
To my friends + family, I hope you have someone to lean on during this f*cked up time. But if you don’t, I am here for you.
To my non-Asian peeps, please check in with your Asian friends because we are not ok. The feelings of fear, anxiety + pain are next level right now.
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