Parker: Push for change needs to stay constant
Walking through a crowd of hundreds attending a ‘Stop Asian Hate’ rally outside the Princeton Library, human electricity pulsed.
The accelerated current of good will sizzled between people on nearby Witherspoon St. then zapped others near Nassau. Humans exchanged synapses of potential unified power. We were funkier than Funkadelic — one nation under a groove for an hour or two ... no one could stop us now.
Weeks later, pushback against anti-Asian and Pacific Highlanders behaviors has subsided as the topic moves off of mainstream media interests.
Change demands sustained energy, not just a weekend engagement. So, a hat in hand question begs interest regarding current efforts to curtail racism, hate, prejudice and violence.
We still good on this collaboration or do our fortunes hinge on negative behaviors by others? Personally, proactivity offers more power than reactive endeavors.
Backsliding factors in our inability to change this nation. We get bothered and hot under the collar based on a need for causes, then sizzle morphs to fizzle.
Hate remains a worthy opponent for love.
From March 2020 to February 2021, 3,795 incidents of antiAsian hatred were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization that tracks discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Mind you, many anti-Asian incidents go unreported as victims fear speaking out about abuse.
Successful change missions demand proactive efforts or else wicked weeds return to our intended path of righteousness. We will either make a way or keep returning to square one.
Regarding hate toward Asians, several more high profile incidents have occurred since folks attended that inspirational rally in Princeton.
Brandon Elliot, 38, a parolee convicted of killing his mother nearly two decades ago, garnered an arrest for assault and hate crime charges after he attacked a woman in New York City.
Elliot knocked Vilma Kari, 65, a Filipina emigre, to the ground then kicked her. He stomped her and completed his attack by shouting Kari did not belong here.
Anti-Asian incidents spiked as COVID-19 spread while President Donald Trump amplified a message of discord.
Trump heightened hate-speak as he employed terms such as “kung flu” and “China flu” for a virus that allegedly originated in Wuhan, China.
In early March 2020, Trump had offered a more measured opinion. He tweeted, “It is very important that we totally protect our Asian American community in the United States, and all around the world.”
The NYC attack happened outside an apartment building near Times Square. A surveillance video showed two doormen who watched Elliot attack Kari.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the March 29 attack “absolutely disgusting and outrageous.” He said it was “absolutely unacceptable” that witnesses did not intervene.
“I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you do, you’ve got to help your fellow New Yorker,” de Blasio said.
While both doormen were fired for not stepping up to help Kari, knowing human nature, many people would have opted for not getting involved.
Sery Kim, a Texas congressional candidate and former Trump administration staffer, ranted about Chinese people as she ramped her campaign during a forum for candidates of Texas’ 6th Congressional District held last week.
“I don’t want them here at all,” Kim said. “They steal our intellectual property, they give us coronavirus, they don’t hold themselves accountable.”
Certainly, our attention rivets during violent moments such as when a gunman rampaged three spas in Atlanta. He killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent.
Of course, these high-profile incidents attract although hate frequently metastasizes in more obscure environments inhabited by relatives, friends, coworkers, etc.
Many people stand by, watch, listen or do nothing just like the aforementioned apartment doormen. Rarely do people dismiss relatives and friends for bias or prejudice.
In a nation that champions free speech, many people build platforms for hatred.
While protests highlight awareness, its imperative that we implement vigilance to stop and eradicate all hate.
Stopaapihate.org.