Over this last week I watched the news in horror as I learned along with the rest of the world of violent massacres in two different regions of the United States. While we do not know much about the most recent event in Colorado much has been reported about the massacre in the Atlanta suburbs that left eight people – including six Asian women – dead. This violent terrorist act took place at a time when we are seeing increased radicalization of white men in America to commit acts of violence against people of color. This is combined with an increase in anti-Asian sentiment, resulting in increased hate crimes and threats against the Asian community. This is a perfect storm for a culture of cruelty, unpredictability and terror that is disproportionately impacting communities of color. The stigma and lack of awareness of mental health plus the culture and lack of regulation around gun control have fed into and led us to the point that we are in today.
I am deeply worried and outraged about the culture of violence and terror that white people are feeling more and more entitled to inflict on others. This news story has been haunting me since first learning about the eight lives that were lost in this unfair, inhumane and despicable way. I am heartbroken over the accounts of spouses and children – including an orphaned eight month old baby – who have lost their family members in this tragedy. It is especially hard to fathom because of how preventable, and how cruel this act was.
As a society we have to come together to stand up for the rights of women and people of Asian descent to live without fear. We have to make a strong statement, through culture change and legislation, that this type of violence is fundamentally unacceptable and at odds with the values of our society.
While I was shocked as I watched this story unfold on the news, the picture I want to paint for you is one in which all of these events are not random, but connected. Since the start of the pandemic last March we have lived under a president who has insisted on calling Covid-19 a racist slur that I find no value in repeating here. Words. Matter. Leadership influences the way others think.
A president influences the way a society thinks. Our leadership was actively making things more dangerous for Asian-Americans by causing them to be associated with the pandemic that has caused so much death, sickness, isolation and job loss. This is wildly irresponsible, hateful behavior. What we are seeing now is a combination of this inept leadership and people connecting the dots to taking their anger and pain out on innocent targets. We have to realize that the words we use and the words we allow others to use have severe consequences in people’s lives.
Hate is contagious and it will grow in its severity. We have to make a conscious choice to hold people accountable to their words and behaviors. We have to make a choice to break the cycle of hate, racism and misogyny. We cannot allow this to continue to happen. There were eight victims but the ripples effects of these deaths will be felt by many countless people. Let’s look at what happened last week and learn from it. Let’s demand better from our fellow community members. We can be the change that we want to see in the world. We have to be better than this. Lives depend on it.