Yellow whistle the weapon of choice against race hate
In the United States, yellow has been the hue of racism and xenophobia against Asians for more than a century, and used to fuel fears of the so-called yellow peril. Now, a group of Asian Americans is reclaiming the color and turning it into a symbol of self-protection and solidarity.
The national Yellow Whistle Campaign is distributing whistles to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders as violence against Asians is on the rise across the country.
“When you’re in danger, blow the whistle,” said Li-En Chong, one of the co-founders of The Yellow Whistle Campaign. “If you want to help, but you can’t help because you’re old, or you’re scared, blow the whistle. If you hear the whistle, you see people blowing the whistle because they need help, call 911. Police are here to protect us. They know about this campaign.”
Anti-Asian hate incidents rose 164 percent in the first quarter of 2021, compared with the same period a year ago, in 22 large US cities and counties, according to new data from the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, while overall hate crimes fell 7 percent in 2020.
The total number of incidents reported to police in the first quarter this year was 95, compared with 36 in the first quarter of 2020, the center said, though many or most such incidents are believed to have gone unreported.
To defend themselves, many Asian Americans have bought guns and pepper spray. However, in some states, the use of many tools of self-defense is restricted or outright illegal.
Fred Teng, president of the America China Public Affairs Institute, said Asian Americans want to get guns, knives and tasers. But there is a legal issue whether they can possess, buy or use such things.
“The beauty of a whistle is that it is perfectly legal to own one, and it’s perfect to blow a whistle. You will not be arrested for blowing a whistle.”
Exceeding expectations
The Yellow Whistle Campaign was not expected to get this big. Founders expected to hand out a few hundred whistles. However, after its launch in April, the project has grown from an original goal to distribute 10,000 whistles to now 500,000 nationwide.
The first yellow whistles went to groups that serve the elderly in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and then more than 100 organizations across nearly all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, joined the campaign.
Each whistle comes attached to a coiled wrist cord, not a lanyard. This is intentional, given the risk of an assailant wrapping a lanyard around a victim’s neck.
More than 100 whistles were handed out at the Chinese-American Planning Council’s Open Door Senior Centre in Manhattan’s Chinatown late last month as part of the campaign.