Is Recognizing Racism the New Normal

red

orange yellow green blue

indigo and violet these colors of a

rainfall

are beautiful to see aren’t they

each color is vastly different and

somehow

perfectly unified in the same glorious

show of life

these differences are what make up all

the beauty appearance

this represents the diversity of

different races across the world

each color is what makes us unique

during the copen 19 pandemic the world

turned upside down

in more ways than one adjusting to the

so-called new normal was no easy feat

for people of

all walks of life whenever things seemed

to look up i pointed my remote control

at the tv

and was proven wrong time and again

but something that shook me to my core

happened earlier this year in february

just after the time coca 19 has

celebrated its first birthday

i read the news of mr rishab

an 84 year old thai man in san francisco

was taking a walk when he was

violently shoved to the ground and he

died

shortly afterwards

imagine your grandfather taking a walk

in his neighborhood

in broad daylight and you having to hold

your breath

not knowing if it will be the last time

you get to see

him this is not

a one-off incident between 2019 and 2020

there have been a 150 percent

increase in asian hate crimes in america

including a 109-fold increase in new

york city

according to statistical.com there were

250 incidents of asian racism

in each of the first two months of 2021

alone

however this numbers are not just the

whole number that are actually being

reported

so

although the thing is this wave of

discrimination that we see happening to

asians

during this pandemic is by no means a

new normal

asian stereotypes have always been

exacerbated in media and in films

even from a young age the roles of

asians

as nerdy or crazy people who can’t

pronounce the letter are

or conversely the perception of asians

as a model minority

all contribute to the overall

degradation of the community

that in terms of crisis leads to clear

and dangerous

division but

why is it that we see asian movements

emerging

this time even when asians have

constantly been mistreated

asian racism is a very real thing yet it

has barely ever been put into the

spotlight before

that’s when it hit me the reason that we

don’t see

these asian movements and protests is

because in our culture

we are often taught to obey authority

and keep our voices quiet

we are the type of people who sit at the

back of the classrooms trying to take in

things that we can tolerate

so as to not inconvenience others

we were taught that when bad things

happen it’s better to be

quiet than speak out because collective

rights are more important

than individual rights

another question that came up was that

is it just america where all of this has

been happening

or has it always been common for the

majority

to target and discriminate against the

minority

in order to answer this question the

best nation i could look into

was my own come to think of it what

about

thailand my initial thought

there’s no really such a thing as racism

where

i’ve lived where people are physically

attacked for the color of their skin

right well when i got right down to it

even here in thailand we see the

majority group oppress and degrade

others we don’t truly deem as equals

you might have heard of the second

pandemic wave here in thailand

and in actuality migrant workers from

myanmar

are being the targets of blame and

accusation with some blame the entire

country

for this search for corporate cases

both of these countries are asian in

fact they’re right next to each other in

terms of geography

however i still see that these people

are not seen as equals

in the eyes of many with some going

online and commenting things like

whenever you see myanmar people shoot

them down

timeless hate speech triggered

discrimination during these desperate

times just like what’s been making the

headlines in america

looking at all this i was ashamed that i

could shield it from this for the

longest time

that i could see discrimination happened

in a nation thousands of miles away from

me

but not recognize what’s happening in my

law

but there are ways to change things up

and i do believe there is hope

we see people of all races and

backgrounds come together

in times of need to just groups offering

to walk asian american seniors in

oakland who are afraid of going out

alone

people have been voicing their concern

and support for movement

in organizations such as stop api hate

and asian americans advancing justice

racism has always been there

it is not a new normal

recognize and acting upon it however

should be our new normal

in order to continue the work being done

and create long-term changes however

there are a few things we need to start

off with

first of all awareness for this issue

should be widespread

recognizing that racism happens may lead

to a zone of destruction especially

where you are

but it’s nevertheless something that

must be addressed

in concrete steps the youth have to be

involved it should be the responsibility

of parents

to teach their children from a young age

about the interconnectedness of all

races

so that and bring them to know that

people are not just from just the color

of their skin but for who they truly are

as a human being in the greater world

teachers and educational systems

likewise should teach about

the importance of acceptance of other

races so that these children

who grow to be adults will not only be

aware of this issue

but seek for constant improvement and

the eradication of it

all together lastly

social media is simply a swipe of a

figure

in this world where this form of

communication exchange is easily

accessible and widespread

we can use this as a driving force

against the prejudices in which we

weren’t able to speak out against before

as asians i invite you to speak up

be a part of this movement and keep the

momentum going

the future of this new normal relies on

us

off

red orange yellow

green blue indigo and violence

ladies and gentlemen just like the scene

that’s harming these colors

let’s come to see the beauty of that

rainbow in humanity

together thank you

[Applause]