Learning how we are infected by racism

We have heard about antiAsian hate crimes, including the murder of eight women in Atlanta. As a white person it is easy to imagine these as far away or isolated. Racism is hard to see for us, but these stories are not so far from home. A dear friend who is JapaneseAmerican was sitting in the waiting room after her vaccine, when a white man walked by and said out loud, “we gotta stop people from China coming here.” No one spoke up. Another Japanese-American man was spit upon on his bike. Most troubling is how the police in Atlanta dismissed the antiAsian violence as someone having a bad day. What? In our city and nation, we are grappling with how police can escalate and deescalate racist tensions. One important first step is hire a diverse police force. Diverse means women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color! These are realistic, attainable changes that make a difference.

It troubles me that our friends and neighbors who grow up in Northern California, participate in civic life, and belong right here are cast as dangerous or untrustworthy because of how they look. This is racist thinking. Racism is taught. It is like a disease with low-level or acute symptoms. It can only be changed by learning how we are all infected by it. Setting a diverse example in all our hiring, especially with public officials, like police, is a step toward finding a cure for racist outbreaks.

— Adrienne Scott, Chico