Thoughts on the Atlanta Shootings

BY: BRIAN ZHOU

I have been struggling to put the feelings I have felt these last couple of days into words. We can all agree that the shootings on Tuesday, March 16th appalled us, but it shook us Asian Americans to the core. 

To say these shootings were not racially motivated is like spitting in our face. It discredits all the abuse and prejudice we’ve faced in our lives. As an Asian American living in the US, I have already felt unsafe, but now I even feel unsafe in my own community. The fact that white supremacist terrorists are willing to drive 30 minutes out of their way to senselessly murder innocent people based on their race is revolting. 

I have been called names like chink, gook, and ching chong all my life. I have endured endless questions of “Where are you really from?,” or “What kind of Asian are you?.” In second grade, my teacher told me to stand up in front of a class of white peers, and said I would have been a slave in Civil War Times. Growing up, I felt my blood boil as other adults would mock my parents’ accent or think they were inherently higher class just because they spoke better English. Now, I cry for my fellow Asians as we endure this wave of Anti-Asian hate crimes and killings. I weep with you.

I’m tired of all of this.

I’m tired of the killings, the abuse, the racial slurs. I’m tired of the hate crimes, the terrorism, the violence. I’m even tired of the well-intentioned but blundering questions about my family and race, as if I didn’t live in the Midwest almost all my life. 

As Asian-Americans, we are always viewed as “other” or “foreign,” second class citizens who will never truly fit into the American mold. Our belonging in this country is conditional. This is evident with news such as New York Times or the Washington Post refusing to call the Atlanta shootings racial hate crimes, or in a more apparent fashion, with the Atlanta police spokesperson saying the shooter had “a really bad day.” It is apparent when amazing films such as Minari, that capture an immigrant’s family’s American Dream, is categorized as a foreign film under the Golden Globes.

This needs to stop now. Minorities in the US cannot go on living under the shadow of white supremacy. Anti-Asian hate crimes did not start with COVID-19, and they certainly won’t end. They only end when we dismantle the complex system of white supremacy that lives and thrives under the system perpetuated now in the US. 

How may we start doing that, you may ask? After all, we cannot do this alone, and Asian Americans cannot do this alone. This is a seemingly insurmountable task, that would need many working pieces and collective action. While it would be a long but worthwhile fight, we are stuck wondering what we can do as individuals.

There is one simple thing we each can do, now. We should all check our own behavior towards others. Before we make that seemingly harmless racial joke, or ask the innocent question of “Where are you really from,” stop for a moment. Ask yourself, how would that make them feel? What would the implications be if I asked this question? Are there any other meanings associated with this? 

I am asking that before we speak or act, we think about others first. We should all put empathy first in all that we do and say. While seemingly small compared to sweeping legislation, true empathy can make a lasting impact on all our lives.

My fellow Asians, now is the time for weeping. It is a time to grieve, to cry, to feel lost. I am here with you. I too, feel sick, as the world has so quickly shown its true ugly colors. Take the extra time today to comfort one another, and lean on one another for support.

But let me remind you that not everything is hopeless. Together, we can enact the change that we want, and the change that we deserve. Now is not the time for silence, but to be loud. Let our voices ring from the rooftops, and let our cries be heard throughout the world. We won’t be silenced, and we won’t back down.

Let’s get to work.

Resources and ways to help can be found under the resources section at buasu.com/resources