Act to Change

"Together we can put an end to hate."  I wrote those words here yesterday and repeat them again this morning.  In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of bullying, racism, and hate against the Asian and Pacific Islander community have been on the rise.  We should be fighting the virus, not each other.

So much misinformation has been out there and even some leaders have been fanning the flames of hatred.  It really doesn't matter who started it though.  We can't even point to just COVID-19 because anti-Asian bullying has been around for a long time.  It is wrong.  Hate is never a good thing. Being teased for how you look, what you wear, or what you eat, is part of it. The stereotypes might give some folks a chuckle, but anything that puts someone down is hurtful.  Lately the physical violence has increased too.

Today is the 2nd annual Asian American and Pacific Islander Day Against Bullying + Hate and as part of it, a special livestreamed event will take place this afternoon from 4-5:30pmEDT. United We Stand will include a number of special guests, including a few heroes of mine whom I have written about here in the past. Rapper and poet Jason Chu will be part of the program as will Philip Wang from Wong Fu Productions. Also scheduled to participate are Lisa Ling, Daniel Dae Kim, Ken Jeong, Lawrence Kao, and Tan France. More information is available at https://acttochange.org/dayagainstbullying/

What else can you do?  Well all month long you can support Act To Change’s giving campaign by making a donation. With your support, they can continue their important work to end bullying in the AAPI community. Click HERE to donate via their GoFundMe campaign.  Also, and this is very important, don't participate in hateful speech and certainly not in violent behavior.  If you have relatives, friends, or coworkers that participate in this hate, stand up and tell them they are wrong and you are not participating in their hatred.  I'll say it again:  "Together we can put an end to hate."