White supremacy rallies are routinely being held weekly in Calgary. They join the ‘anti-mask’ protests of the vocal minority. Over the past week we also saw the racist killings of 8, including 6 Asian women in Atlanta.
In Vancouver alone, over the past year, a 700% increase in hate-crime reports to police. Why?
The rise of COVID-19, coupled with the way racist terms like ‘Kung flu’, or ‘China virus’ proliferate, increase instances of anti-Asian racism. The attacks vilify anybody who looks remotely Asian, whether you’re Chinese or not.
Often people from Asian descent are lumped together in the ‘model minority’ myth. White culture tries to ‘other’ minority groups by placing Asians ‘slightly ahead’ of Black and Indigenous bodies. But the rise in anti-Asian rhetoric reminds the ‘model minorities’ that they come with terms and conditions too. That society is not as colourblind as it claims to be.
This reminds us of the protest in the Summer of 2020, and now the rise in calls for justice. More visible minorities are finding their voice to say what they experience, what has been silent for too long, is not OK and deserves to be changed for good. We all play a role to demand that change now.
