Stop scrolling and read this thread.

There has ALWAYS been violence towards Asians in America, and during this pandemic, there’s been an alarming increase of UNPROVOKED violence towards Asian Americans, especially towards the elderly demographic. (1/14)

Just in these past 2 weeks:

•An 84 year old Thai American elderly, Vicha Ratanapakdee, died in a targeted murder while out on his morning walk in San Francisco.

•A 91 year old elderly was violently attacked while walking down a sidewalk in Oakland’s Chinatown. (2/14)

•The attacker who assaulted the senior citizen above then assaulted a 60 year old man and 55 year old woman in the same violent manner on the same block, knocking the woman unconscious.

•A 61 year old Filipino man, Noel Quintana, was slashed across his entire face with a(3/14)

box cutter while riding the subway to his job after he asked his attacker to stop kicking his backpack.

•A 64 year old Vietnamese grandmother was robbed when she withdrew cash for Lunar New Year.

There are countless more, but only of the ones that were actually caught(4/14)

on camera or were reported, and countless more that were not. I can guarantee most of you have not heard about any of these racially targeted attacks. WHY is that? Why are major news outlets/media choosing not to amplify and raise awareness about the violence towards the (5/14)

Asian communities? WHY am I left feeling like we’ve got to prove that our bodies and our pain is valid “enough” for anti-Asian racism to be “news worthy” and taken seriously? I’m disappointed and disheartened to see individuals who proudly post about their ongoing DEI (6/14)

commitment suddenly go radio silent about anti-Asian racism. Meanwhile, I’m just as disappointed and disheartened in seeing history repeating itself with race wars— I don’t have all the answers but I know point blank that anti-blackness is NOT the answer. (7/14)

We need to recognize and identify racism for what it is. These ARE hate crimes towards the Asian community, and we can educate and amplify about anti-Asian racism without being anti-Black. One shouldn’t erase the other, nor should it make people *feel* like it’s erasure. (8/14)

And it most definitely should NOT be a competition about who ‘has it worse’. There is a way to condemn both anti-Blackness and anti-Asian hate. Let’s not forget that white supremacy has built a system pitting us against each other and the roots are still deep. (9/14)

(Do the research if you don’t know.)

I was moved to learn about Jacob Azevedo, an Oakland native, organizing volunteers to accompany seniors and all residents while running errands in Oakland’s Chinatown who feel unsafe. He’s even taken the extra time and care to plan (10/14)

for the elderly who may find themselves alone, and set up a fundraiser to buy and distribute personal alarms so that it’s safe and easy for our seniors to use without accidentally harming themselves while trying to reach for protection. I’m in awe of his compassion and (11/14)

kindness and willingness to take action, and I am grateful to Jacob and those who stand in solidarity by leading in this way and amplifying our voices, denouncing what’s been happening to the Asian community, and taking action with community-based ideas that (12/14)

truly look out and take care of each other.

If this is your first time hear about any of this, here are some questions for you to think about: how will you proactively be my ally in standing with the Asian community? What actions will you take in standing with humanity? (13/14)

How can you lift our voices and educate your circles of family and friends about anti-Asian racism WITHOUT discrediting or minimizing BLM?

I believe in you.

With hope,
Yin

#hateisavirus #stopAAPIhate #vicharatanapakdee #noelquintana #racismisavirus #standinsolidarity
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