Growing up Chinese in America
As a Chinese American woman, this week’s mass shooting in Atlanta hit close to home. I thought I’d share some of my personal experiences and thoughts.
Back in high school, whenever I walked down the hallways alone, there was a ~90% chance that I would hear “ching chong”, “chink”, “go back to china/korea/japan/where you come from….”. It wasn’t particularly creative, but it was like clockwork.
These were church-going, football-playing, cheerleading, khaki-wearing kids who tucked in their shirts and said “yes ma’am” and “no sir”. On more than one occasion, a teacher was within earshot and looked away. After all, these were “good kids”.
That was >25 years ago (yes, I’m OLD), before Lucy Liu, Jeremy Lin, Ali Wong, Fresh off the Boat, etc…. We have become so much more visible, and yet we are just as invisible.
Since COVID, we’ve become easy targets. Anti-Asian incidents have increased by >150%, and 70% of the victims are women. The racism never went away. It’s become permissible, and it’s escalating. If someone has a “bad day”, they can take it out on Asians. He’s “a committed member of his youth group”, while we are just “women of Asian descent”.
It’s not lost on me that this mass shooting is not unique, nor is the racism. It follows Orlando, Pittsburg, Charleston, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many more.
The throughline across all of these tragedies is not just hate. It’s the dehumanization of a group of people. It starts with suspicion, a few casual racial tropes, some name-calling, and lumping us together into monolithic groups.
If we aren’t seen as individuals, it’s easy to strip away our humanity and dehumanize us. That goes for EVERYONE, not just Asian Americans. In our increasingly disconnected and remote bubbles, it’s easy to feel alone and helpless.
Since the only interactions we might have on a daily basis are with coworkers over zoom, it’s even more important to check on each other, take time to get to know each other, hear their stories, and be there for your friends and coworkers.
And don't worry, I am doing ok, albeit a bit sleep deprived from doomscrolling and rage-tweeting!!
