Many minorities live in state of fear day in, day out

This week was supposed to be one of celebration. I graduate medical school and find out where I’ll start my medical career in radiology. But as an Asian American, reality hits hard when the suspect for the Atlanta murders is caught 30 minutes from my hometown and where I am currently with my family.

Throughout COVID- 19, calls with my parents always ended with “stay safe” — a subtle acknowledgment that events like this could happen at any time. With the polarizing rhetoric carelessly thrown around these days, this is what the minority experience in America feels like. Living in a constant state of fear while you’re performing the most basic tasks: walking through a grocery store, pumping gas, going to work, living in your own home.

I led a discussion on anti- Asian racism in the context of COVID- 19 during a medical school course last April and was surprised at how many students were scared to become active bystanders because they didn’t want to be targeted. It might be easier to stand behind a mask, but some of us can’t hide the color of our skin or hair, or the shape of our eyes, when we are in public. We live with it — day in and day out.

I implore everyone reading this to be better. Better with the words they use, better with their actions, and better to all of the populations that receive a barrage of discrimination on a daily basis in this country. We need it now, more than ever.

JASON NI, TIFTON