April 10, 2021 by Molly Patrick

Last week I was talking with my wife, Luanne, about the rise in hate crimes against the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community here in the U.S. It has gotten so bad. Asian people are being killed, beaten, slapped, spit on, punched, shot, attacked, assaulted, and terrorized.

New reports come out every day about people being physically and verbally abused by individuals simply because they are of Asian descent. From March 2020–February 2021, there have been over 3,800 hate incidents/crimes against Asian people in the U.S. These are just the reported cases.

This is heartbreaking.

Luanne is Asian (originally from Malaysia), and she told me that if we lived on the mainland, she would move to another country because she would not feel safe to stay. We live in Hawaii, which frequently feels like a different country. I told Luanne that I would feel the same way. It must be a horrible feeling to be a target of violence and hate because of how you look or where your family is from. As unfair as it is, my white privilege means I can only imagine.

My heart hurts for my wife, because of all the countries she could have immigrated to, she chose America to call home. And now she no longer feels safe, let alone welcome, except here in Hawaii.

It makes me sad and sick to see people being targeted and terrorized because of how they look. I support the AAPI community, and I am asking you to do the same.

Here are some things we can do to help:

I signed up for the May 5th bystander intervention training offered by Asian Americans Advancing Justice. You can sign up for a free training here.

Read this list of Anti-Asian Violence Resources and commit to taking action. Read articles, make a donation, sign a petition, volunteer, connect on social media, learn about the statistics, it all helps.

Follow these accounts on Instagram to help amplify Asian voices:
@aapiwomenlead
@hownottotravellikeabasicbitch
@hateisavirus

Check out the calls to action and statements from the Asian Leaders Alliance.

Add your name here to support the ALA Unifying Statement.

Watch Trevor Noah amplify Asian-American voices and stories. This is another good video he did after the Atlanta shooting. There is also a donation button on his Youtube channel (to the right of the video) that goes to Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equity.

Thank you for hearing this message today and for taking action with me. To the AAPI community, I am so sorry this is happening. I am with you and this is not okay.

Today over on the blog, we have a beautiful piece written by Lyndsey. It is very much worth the read.

Molly