By Ivana Xie

Anti-Asian racism continues to escalate, but how many more will need to die for people to care?

Stay safe, but stay aware that you may lose your life because “he was having a really bad day.” Stay safe, but be alert that you may get attacked because you are Asian.

In the last year, there has been a surge in hate crimes towards Asian people due to COVID-19. The recent Atlanta spa shooting on March 16 traumatized many in the U.S. These acts of  violence horrified several Asian communities across the country, who are now demanding reformation, and bystanders are encouraged to speak up to prevent any more violence.

As COVID-19 spread, the racism and xenophobia towards Asian people grew as well. Donald Trump’s misplaced blame of the coronavirus on Chinese people resulted in rising hate crimes. In June 2020, George Floyd’s death sparked the Black Lives Matter protest nationally, and peaceful protesters were soon classified with looters.

Looters used the BLM protests as an opportunity to steal and vandalize. High-end retailers in SoHo boarded up their store-fronts to prevent any more damage. As the violence continued, looters vandalized New York City’s Chinatown. There was no relevance of the vandalism in Chinatown to the protest as it was mere destruction of the looters against Asian people.

On Feb. 16, a 52-year-old Asian woman in Flushing, Queens, was peacefully waiting in line for a bakery when she was suddenly shoved into a newsstand by a man. Her head cracked open, and she required 10 stitches. On Feb. 25, a 36-year-old Asian man was stabbed in the back in Chinatown, Baxter Street with an eight-inch kitchen knife and is now in a coma. On March 3, a Good Samaritan, Yong Zheng, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, was fatally stabbed multiple times, simply because he tried to prevent a crime from happening.

In March 2020, we feared for our lives because of COVID-19. In March 2021, we fear for our lives because we are Asian. People of color step out of their houses with the daily reminder to “stay safe.” As a kid, that meant to stay out of trouble and not get into fights with other kids. As a teenager, that meant to stay away from “dangerous neighborhoods and uncivilized people.” As an adult, to “stay safe” means to stay vigilant of everyone around you because you could potentially be a target of assault or even murder.

People are more inclined to learn the shooters’ names than the victims’ names. There are more stories covering the backgrounds and motives of the perpetrator than the stories of the lives lost.  Sadly, remembering a white American man’s name seems to be easier than to remember XiaoJie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Yong Ae Yue, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Soon Chung Park, Delaina Yaun or Paul Andre Michels.

The people who are shouting, protesting, and crying for change are yet to be heard. Thousands across the country in Syracuse, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. are rallying to “Stop Asian Hate.” Hate crimes, microaggression and discrimination should not be an inevitable phase people have to experience.

Do we have to wait until people start dying to take action? How many more lives need to be taken before we unify?

Everyone has a voice, but some voices seem to echo louder because of America’s racial hierarchy and patriarchal society. Men are perceived to be better than women, and people of color continue to feel the detrimental effects of institutionalized white supremacy. To be privileged is to have a voice that’s heard, but it has come to attention that the privileged seldom use their voice to help abolish corrupt systems. To remain silent, unbothered and ignorant is to be irresponsible and un-American.

Remember their names. Learn to pronounce them.

XiaoJie Tan, Chinese owner of Young’s Asian Massage, wanted to travel the world on her 50th birthday with her daughter, but the Atlanta shooter ended her life.

Daoyou Feng, a 44-year-old Chinese woman, started working at Young’s Asian Massage in recent months. Tan’s friend described her as a quiet, but a kindhearted woman.

Yong Ae Yue, a 63-year-old South Korean native, was a mother of two sons and grandmother of six grandchildren. She lost her job early in the pandemic in 2020 and had been thrilled to return to work this year, but no one expected her life to end so abruptly.

Hyun Jung Grant, 51-year-old South Korean woman, was a single mother of two sons, and she dedicated her life to work to support them. Her 22-year-old son, Randy Park, now head of their household, has to make sure he can put food on the table for himself and his younger brother.

Suncha Kim, a 69-year-old South Korean woman, was a mother and grandmother. Her granddaughter, Regina Song, described her as an angel. Kim had the American dream; she immigrated to the United States from Seoul to give her family a better life.

Soon Chung Park, a 74-year-old Korean woman, was the wife of Gwangho Lee, a 38-year-old man. Park was nearly double Lee’s age, but that did not stop their love from blossoming in 2017. Lee tried to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at the crime scene when he realized she was no longer breathing, but after a short while, he had to reckon with the fact that she was dead.

Delaina Yaun, a 33-year-old woman, was a mother of two, a 13-year-old son and an eight-month-old daughter, and a wife. She was looking forward to a relaxing date with her husband at Young’s Asian massage that day, but her husband did not anticipate that to be his last interaction with her.

Paul Andre Michels, 54-year-old man, was another one of the victims who was killed at Young’s Asian Massage. His brother says that he was a businessman and a veteran of the U.S. Army infantry in the 80s.