Urgency of now and anti-Asian hate
From sensible gun laws and increasing infections from COVID-19 variants to the more than 800 active U.S. hate groups and nationwide post-election voter suppression laws being considered in several dozen state legislatures, there are a lot of topics worth writing about in this space today.
But in the last two weeks, what has gotten a sizable share of my thoughts has been the shooting deaths of eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at a spa in Atlanta and several videos showing truly vicious assaults against Asian Americans, including footage that showed a parolee repeatedly kicking an elderly AsianAmerican woman on a New York City street, with witnesses to the attack failing to report it to law enforcement.
The difficulties related to the pandemic, which has killed well more than 555,000 people in the United States alone, have contributed to the rise in anti-Asian violence. There can be no doubt about that and no doubt that our most recent former president, who, at the outset of the pandemic and later at campaign stops, often referred to “the China virus” and “the Kung flu.”
Racially-charged expressions? A reasonable person could definitely argue that they were, leading to the belief that Americans of Asian descent were somehow “other.” Some say that 45’s statements targeted and scapegoated Asians and have led to devastating and tragic consequences for the Asian-American community up to this very day — besides beatings, the pepper-spraying and spitting incidents — while undermining the general principles of liberty, equality and basic humanity.
Thus, there have been a rising number of reports about people accosting Asian Americans on the streets, in stores, at restaurants, saying or shouting, for example, “You’re the one who brought the virus here,” “It’s all your fault,” and, of course, “Go back to China.”
In a March 19 email, Suzanne Kitchens, president of California School Boards Association, noted that the battle against racism is older than America itself and schools, where a real difference can be made through education, need allies in the fight. They cannot do it alone, she said.
“We can, however, play a decisive role in creating conditions of inclusion and respect on our campuses and root out discrimination wherever it occurs,” said Kitchens. “We need to re-examine and reinforce our commitment to positive school cultures, anti-bullying, restorative justice and how the study and appreciation of the many cultures that form the American fabric contributes to a richer, safer and more respectful society.
“This is especially important where the Asian American community is concerned. We must avoid the ‘model minority’ trap and the related tendency to overlook or undervalue the circumstances of Asian-American children merely because this student group — on the whole — demonstrates high academic achievement. We must be bold allies in this particular moment not only for the sake of Asian Americans — although that is the most immediate and important consideration — but also for the sake of the American project as we try to forge a union that lives up to our country’s stated values.”
Kitchens said schools must prepare students not only for academic and career success but also success in their personal and civic lives, including day-to-day life in their neighborhoods.
“If we cannot do that, then we have failed in our mission,” she said in the email.
In a sense, she alluded to Martin Luther King Jr.’s statement on April 4, 1967, at the Riverside Church in New York City, when he referred to the “fierce urgency of now” and the need to move past indecision to action.
“We have an opportunity and an obligation to seize this terrible moment for our country and use it to shape a better future,” said Kitchens. “That can only happen if E Pluribus Unum,
‘Out of Many, One,’ is more than a motto on the back of the dollar bill. It should be a guiding principle in public schools, the institution designed to give every American a chance to help every student reach their potential.”
Although she did not mention it, our courts historically have exhibited a vein of xenophobia, particularly Supreme Court cases involving Japanese, from Nishimura v. U.S., 1892, and Ozawa v. U.S., 1922, to Korematsu v. U.S, 1944, and Kawashima v. Holder, 2012.
I want to dedicate today’s column to the memory of the late U.S. Army Col. Toru “Murph” Okawachi and his late wife Toshiko “Pat” Okawachi, dear and longtime friends of my late parents, Col. Wyndham H. and Arlene Bammer, all of whom lived and died at Paradise Valley Estates in Fairfield.