Opinion | As racism and hate crime surges, being an Asian-American woman is like living in a bell jar
- Daily life is now viewed through the lens of race and ethnicity, where any possible discrimination, bias or ignorance comes under intense scrutiny
- But out of the negativity has come a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion by corporate America and public and private organisations
A lot of thought goes into being Asian-American these days. For me, this starts with a somewhat frenzied search for identity.
That said, for the first time in my life, I have found myself scrutinising the shades of what could be discrimination, bias or ignorance. Daily existence is now viewed through the lens of race/ethnicity, something completely foreign to me.
At the swimming pool, my ritual of greeting fellow swimmers with “good morning” elicited a “konnichiwa” from a woman. Before I could correct her, she disappeared. It seemed somewhat comical and yet it lingered a bit, an unappealing aftertaste.
“How do you say hello in Chinese?” a friend asked. “Ni hao,” I said. “It sounds like ‘yee haw’, what they say in Texas when they are drunk,” my friend joked. “It’s ni hao,” I said, matter of fact. “Yee haw, yee haw,” they laughed. “Stop it,” I said, stunned at my anger. I have become hypersensitive.
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New Yorkers rally against anti-Asian violence in call for solidarity after Atlanta shootings
Bold headlines are etched in my mind. “There were 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents, mostly against women, over the past year”, said one, quoting the Stop AAPI Hate National Report released last month on attitudes towards Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.
