Guest Contribution - My Experience in Elk Grove with anti-Asian, Chinese hatred
As a Filipino,
becoming an American citizen is a great honor.
Being
relatively new to America, I have experienced some forms of what I would call non-malicious
misunderstandings. As a Filipina, I am often asked what hospital I work at (no I
am not an RN) and how good are my lumpia (my family and friends love them). Overall people may ask questions not out of hatred, but maybe just the lack of knowledge. Also, speaking with a Filipino accent, I don't mind when people ask me where I am from (I am obviously not from a Southern state).
While I have
experienced uncomfortable glances in other parts of the country, in Elk Grove I’ve
never seen or heard anything that was blatantly racist until today. And interestingly it
was not directed at Filipinos or Asians per se, but more toward Chinese.
Today a friend
and I, also a Filipina, were enjoying outdoor dining. My friend noticed some young
children, who were with their parents, placing litter near us. My friend told
the children not to litter but they proceeded in full view of their parents.
Now maybe
you are saying that my friend should have minded her business. Those weren’t her kids so she shouldn’t have said anything you might think. That’s a fair point.
Regardless,
what happened next was surprising and hurtful. The parents, both about 20 years
younger than us were, in our estimation, were giving us dirty looks. Then the father
said, with detectable scorn, “you Chinese.”
They could
have told us to mind our own business, which would have been OK. They could
have just as easily said “you Filipinos” or “you Hmong” or any other Asian
group with the same scorn. If you are upset with us, why do you have to add somebody's race or ethnicity to your statement other than to express hate?
I feel bad
for the Chinese people, and anyone else who is experiencing this sort of anti-Chinese
and anti-Asian bigotry that has been happening more and more. We are not
Chinese, but as Americans and fellow Asians I stand with anyone who is experiencing this hatred.
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This is a sad commentary of what is unfortunately becoming more blatant and even somewhat acceptable in today's norms. Our former president has led this intolerance by example for year. Now it's becoming "normal."
Lack of manners, lack of politeness and respect are also on the rise.
These two women did nothing wrong. These parents are showing their kids it's okay to leave trash after eating publicly instead of being courteous enough to discard it properly. But worst of all, these parents are also teaching their kids bigotry, hate and ignorance. And that's sad for all of us, especially their generation.
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