Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE, now available - take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

asians

Wellness

Attacks on Asian-Americans need to stop. Here's what we can all do to help.

TRT World/Twitter

Attacks on Asian-Americans and Pacific-Islanders (AAPI) have been highlighted by advocacy groups since early in the pandemic, but it took nearly a year for the incidents to start receiving the broad media coverage they deserve. Despite stunning statistics in the rise in anti-Asian sentiment, discrimination, and violence, it's taken vicious attacks on Asian-American elders and a horrific shooting spree of Asian-American women to get the nation's full attention.

A killing spree at three spas in the Atlanta area left eight people dead, including six women of Asian descent, last night. Details are still emerging, but we know that the shooter was a white man who loved guns and who purposely and premeditatedly targeted these businesses, driving dozens of miles between shootings at three different spas. We know that Asian-Americans make up around 3% of the population of Georgia and 75% of the victims of this shooting. We know that the killer blamed a sex addiction and targeted massage parlors (which are largely staffed by Asian women) because they represented "a temptation."

And we know that these shootings add another frightening layer to skyrocketing attacks on people of Asian descent in the U.S.

In February, the death of an 84-year-old Thai man who was violently tackled in his driveway shone a spotlight on the issue in the Bay Area, where a spate of attacks has erupted in recent months. A video of a 91-year-old man being violently shoved to the ground in Oakland prompted actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu to offer a reward of $25,000 to anyone who could help identify the attacker. (It turned out police already had him in custody as a suspect for other similar attacks.) A 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted and robbed of $1000 while walking to her car in San Jose as well, and Chinatown businesses have been hit by an alarming increase in robberies.

Amanda Nguyễn, CEO and founder of the civil rights organization Rise, shared a plea on Instagram for people to raise awareness about the increase in anti-AAPI violence last month.

Other kinds of attacks have also made headlines in recent weeks. Mike Nguyen, who owns an Asian restaurant in San Antonio, went on CNN last week to speak out against Texas governor Greg Abbott lifting the state's mask mandate. Four days later, the front of his restaurant was graffitied with the phrases like "No Mask," "Kung Flu," "Commie," "Hope U Die" and "Ramen Noodle Flu." Nguyen, whose background is Vietnamese and French, was also greeted with the words "Go Back 2 China" spray-painted on a bench outside the restaurant.

According to NYPD data reported in the Queens Chronicle in September, anti-Asian hate crimes had already increased 1900% from 2019 to 2020 before fall even hit. (In the same time period, anti-Jewish and anti-Black hate crimes in New York had decreased, so it's not a matter of overall hate crimes increasing.) The Anti-Defamation League reported in June that there had been a "significant" number of reports of harassment and attacks against people in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and the United Nations stated in October that hate crimes against Asian-Americans were happening at "alarming levels," citing 1800 incidents in just two months, from March to May of 2020.

Reading people's individual stories, it's clear that the vast majority of incidents include references to the COVID-19 pandemic. People blame Asian-Americans for the coronavirus—a xenophobic idea that has been inflamed by politicians who insist on calling it the "China virus" or "Kung flu." (That's not merely conjecture; Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council said that their data showed that the increase in racist and xenophobic attacks was "catalyzed by rhetoric from the president and other government leadership.")

The AAPI community needs every American of goodwill to step up, speak up, and act to put an end to these attacks. Here are some things everyone can do to help:

- Personally: If you see or hear someone using anti-AAPI language, say something. Don't let phrases like "China virus" or "Kung Flu" or comments blaming Asian people for the pandemic go unchallenged. Commit to not being a passive bystander, but rather an active disrupter, of harassment when you see it. If you witness an incident, report it at stopaapihate.org.

- Socially: Get to know AAPI members of your community and listen to their concerns. Raise awareness by following and sharing the hashtag #StopAAPIHate on social media. Speak out about Anti-Asian hate crimes and share positive stories about people from the AAPI community as well.

- Educationally: Seek out information about the kinds of discrimination people in the AAPI community face. Click on the links from this article or simply Google terms like "Anti-Asian" and "AAPI hate crimes." If you're a parent, teach your kids how to recognize when their peers are engaging in anti-Asian jokes or behavior and how to be an ally.

- Organizationally: Make sure your workplace and organizations you're a part of are committed to protecting AAPI members of your community from harassment. This PDF from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance put together has specific action items employers and organizations can use as a guide.

- Monetarily: Buy from AAPI-owned businesses, many of which have suffered during the pandemic both from economic loss and discriminatory attacks. Support AAPI advocacy and anti-discrimination organizations such as iHollaback! (an anti-harassment organization that provides free bystander intervention training) or the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (a coalition of more than 100 organizations advocating for AAPI communities). Keep an eye out for crowdfunding efforts for individual victims of hate crimes.

- Democratically: Reach out to your local, state, and national government representatives to voice your support for the AAPI community and ask them to denounce xenophobic rhetoric in politics. Learn about the president's plan for the AAPI community and push him to take action on those commitments. Elevate the voices of elected officials from the AAPI community and those who speak up against anti-AAPI discrimination.

You can also check out more anti-Asian violence resources here.

Let's all commit to creating a society in which everyone is uplifted and where all people can feel safe no matter who we are or where we come from.

From Your Site Articles

Anti-Asian hate crimes are skyrocketing in the U.S. Here's what we can all do to help.

Amanda Nguyễn/Instagram

In countries throughout Asia, people ring in the Lunar New Year with cultural traditions as diverse as Asian people themselves. From China to Vietnam to Malaysia to South Korea—and in communities of people of Asian descent around the world—families gather to celebrate, pay homage to ancestors, and welcome in the blessings of a new year.

This year, however, such celebrations in the U.S. are impacted not only by the upheaval of the ongoing pandemic, but by fear in the wake of skyrocketing violence against people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.

Hate crimes against Asian-Americans and Pacific-Islanders (AAPI) have been highlighted by advocacy groups since early in the pandemic, but have not received the broad media coverage they deserve. Unfortunately, it's taken vicious attacks on elders in the AAPI community to get the nation's attention.

Last week, the death of an 84-year-old Thai man who was violently tackled in his driveway shone a spotlight on the issue in the Bay Area, where a spate of attacks has erupted in recent months. A video of a 91-year-old man being violently shoved to the ground in Oakland prompted actors Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu to offer a reward of $25,000 to anyone who could help identify the attacker. (It turned out police already had him in custody as a suspect for other similar attacks.) A 64-year-old Vietnamese grandmother was assaulted and robbed of $1000 while walking to her car in San Jose last week as well, and Chinatown businesses have been hit by an alarming increase in robberies.

Amanda Nguyễn, CEO and founder of the civil rights organization Rise, shared a plea on Instagram for people to raise awareness about the increase in anti-AAPI violence.

The heinous attacks in the Bay Area are making headlines, but violence and harassment are not just happening there, not just happening to the elderly, and not just happening now.

According to NYPD data reported in the Queens Chronicle in September, anti-Asain hate crimes had already increased 1900% from 2019 to 2020 before fall even hit. (In the same time period, anti-Jewish and anti-Black hate crimes in New York had decreased.) The Anti-Defamation League reported in June that there had been a "significant" number of reports of harassment and attacks against people in the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, and the United Nations stated in October that hate crimes against Asian-Americans were happening at "alarming levels," citing 1800 incidents just from March to May of 2020.

The AAPI community needs every American of goodwill to step up, speak up, and act to put an end to these attacks. Here are some things everyone can do to help:

- Personally: If you see or hear someone using anti-AAPI language, say something. Don't let phrases like "China virus" or comments blaming AAPI for the pandemic go unchallenged. Commit to not being a passive bystander, but rather an active disrupter, of harassment when you see it. If you witness an incident, report it at stopaapihate.org.

- Socially: Get to know AAPI members of your community and listen to their concerns. Raise awareness by following and sharing the hashtag #StopAAPIHate on social media. Speak out about AAPI hate crimes and share positive stories about people from the AAPI community as well.

Let's all commit to creating a society in which everyone is uplifted and where all people can feel safe no matter who we are or where we come from.

From Your Site Articles

Students at Bowdoin College were hoping to start a conversation about race on their campus with these photos. Their plan worked.

In October 2016, Asian-American New York Times editor Michael Luo posted on Twitter about being called out, on the streets of New York City, for his race.

Suddenly, hundreds of Asian-American Twitter users were talking about this. What things had people said to them, about the country they were born in?

One of the most poignant responses to Luo's tweet was a viral internet photo series out of Bowdoin College.

Bowdoin’s Asian Students Association (ASA) and South Asian Students Association (SASA) launched the photo exhibit, titled #Thisis2016, to expose the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with being an Asian-American.

All photos from Bowdoin’s Asian Students Association (ASA) and South Asian Students Association (SASA), used with permission.

The series was launched as part of Bowdoin’s No Hate November, a month-long program aimed at encouraging discussions about race and diversity on campus. With the photos, the students hope to show that every experience of being Asian in America looks different. They want to display the variety of experiences among participants too.

“A big takeaway from photo exhibit is this ability to have productive dialogue and have people ask themselves, ‘Why is this hurtful?’” Bowdoin’s ASA president Mitsuki Nishimoto says.

The photo series features 48 students holding signs that address common misconceptions and stereotypes about being Asian-American.

It includes students from China, South India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, among other countries. The photo series was first published to the Asian Students Association of Bowdoin’s Facebook page, and it has since received more than 85,000 shares and 3,000 individual Likes.

“I think the word 'Asian' has been used as a homogenizing term. People tend to think of only East Asians, and the rest of the Asian continent gets left out... It is important to recognize that while a lot of Asians share commonalities, we are also heterogenous,” Nishimoto says.

It also addresses jokes Asian-American students have been told about their race.

“While jokes might be told in a humorous manner and seem lighthearted, they still carry a weight. When you tell me I can use dental floss as a blindfold, you’re referencing a specific body part. No one is going to tell a non-asian person something like this,” Bowdoin’s ASA co-vice president Kevin Ma said. Even though Ma says he wasn’t personally hurt by the comment, he says other Asian Americans may feel differently if told the same.

Here are 18 more photos of students sharing their real experiences:

Overall, this photo series does more than simply display things that were said. It also redirects attention to the impact of our words.

“When people hear the word racism they obviously think negativity, they think, ‘I don’t identify with that term. I’m not racist.’ We need to redefine and rethink the word and what it really means. Though not all of the things that were said to us were intended to be hurtful, they’re still racially insensitive,” Nishimoto says.

The students hope that after viewing the photos people will be able to better empathize with the Asian-American community, keeping an open mind and standing up when microaggressions are enacted in the world around them.

From Your Site Articles

8-yr-old Alan Kim gave an adorably moving acceptance speech at the Critics' Choice Awards - Upworthy ›

Last night, Chris Rock forced Hollywood to confront its race problem.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

Rock didn't let up all night, using not just his slashing monologue, but nearly every appearance to make those in the audience face up to the lack of diversity in the room — particularly the ceremony's exclusion of black actors, directors, and writers.

It was glorious.

A couple of jokes, however, came at the expense of a group just as frequently ignored and stereotyped by Hollywood: Asian-Americans.

In one bit, Rock brought out three kids to represent "PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants," a joke which appeared to trade on the stereotype that Asian and Asian-American kids are good at math.

"It's OK, it's OK, thanks guys, thanks a lot. If anybody is upset about that joke just tweet about it on your phone, that was also made by these guys," Rock said, apparently, jokingly, referring to the charge that iPhones are often made under poor labor conditions at the FoxCon factory in Shanghai.

Later in the program, Sacha Baron Cohen (as Ali G) drudged up one of the oldest, crudest stereotypes in the book for a gag.

"I is here representing all of them that's been overlooked," he said as he took the mic.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

"How come there's no Oscar for them very hard working little yellow people with tiny dongs," he said. "You know, the minions."

So ... yeah. That's an "Asian-American men have small penises joke," folks. At the Oscars.

Since 2000, only 1% (!!!) of Oscar nominations in acting categories have gone to actors of Asian descent. And, sadly, that might be the best that can be said about Hollywood's historic treatment of Asians and Asian-Americans on film.

Emma Stone, who portrayed the part-Asian Allison Ng in "Aloha." Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images.

Yellowface — white actors portraying Asian characters on screen — is an unfortunately common practice in movies, ranging from the just-kinda-boneheaded (Emma Stone in "Aloha") to the weird (Fisher Stevens in "Short Circuit") to the grotesque (Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast at Tiffany's).

Even when portrayed by actors of the same ethnicity, Asian or Asian-American characters in movies are often conceived as one-note stereotypes or the butt of a joke ("Van Wilder's" Taj or "Sixteen Candles" Long Duk Dong).

Needless to say, Twitter wasn't here for it.

A hashtag was started in response...

...as commenters called on Hollywood to do better.

Others used the tag #RepresentAsian, in reference to "Fresh Off the Boat" actor Constance Wu's insistence that even though she plays a mother of Asian descent on TV, she doesn't need to "represent every Asian mom ever."

The silver lining to Rock and Baron Cohen's stumbles? An often invisible prejudice is now getting some much-needed attention.

Progress is already being made on TV, by shows like "Master of None," "Fresh Off the Boat," and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," which feature nuanced, complex Asian and Asian-American characters in leading roles.

"Fresh Off the Boat's" Randall Park and Constance Wu. Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images.

But as more and more people speak out, the more likely it becomes that the film industry will start to get the message too.

And the bigger push they get? The more likely that there will be a lot more celebrating at next year's ceremony — by actors, writers, and directors of all genders and ethnicities.

From Your Site Articles

asians

Attacks on Asian-Americans need to stop. Here's what we can all do to help.

Anti-Asian hate crimes are skyrocketing in the U.S. Here's what we can all do to help.

In October 2016, Asian-American New York Times editor Michael Luo posted on Twitter about being called out, on the streets of New York City, for his race.

One of the most poignant responses to Luo's tweet was a viral internet photo series out of Bowdoin College.

The photo series features 48 students holding signs that address common misconceptions and stereotypes about being Asian-American.

It also addresses jokes Asian-American students have been told about their race.

Overall, this photo series does more than simply display things that were said. It also redirects attention to the impact of our words.

The nasty Asian jokes at the Oscars highlighted Hollywood's other big race problem.

Last night, Chris Rock forced Hollywood to confront its race problem.

A couple of jokes, however, came at the expense of a group just as frequently ignored and stereotyped by Hollywood: Asian-Americans.

Later in the program, Sacha Baron Cohen (as Ali G) drudged up one of the oldest, crudest stereotypes in the book for a gag.

Since 2000, only 1% (!!!) of Oscar nominations in acting categories have gone to actors of Asian descent. And, sadly, that might be the best that can be said about Hollywood's historic treatment of Asians and Asian-Americans on film.

Needless to say, Twitter wasn't here for it.

The silver lining to Rock and Baron Cohen's stumbles? An often invisible prejudice is now getting some much-needed attention.

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

Star neuroscientist Andrew Huberman breaks down two simple exercises to improve vision

Golden Retriever's unbridled excitement over new dog bed is too sweet not to watch

15 hilarious parenting comics that are almost too real

The most inspiring pet stories of 2024

'Wicked' author reveals how one line in 'The Wizard of Oz' inspired Elphaba and Glinda's story