Olivia Munn is done with Asian hate. In the past few weeks, you may have noticed an increasing amount of posts in your social feeds about Asian hate crimes that have been occurring at an alarming rate in the States. As if that’s not terrible enough, the crimes have been more targeted towards the elder community. Munn, whose mother is of Chinese descent, is just one of the many folx using their social media platforms to speak out against these anti-Asian crimes in America.
In a recent Instagram post, the actress wrote “Over the past few days I’ve found myself at a loss for words at the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes. The racist, verbal and physical assaults have left my community fearful to step outside.” She also called out how the pandemic has sparked a rise in these crimes, “These hate crimes continue to increase even though we ask for help, even though we ask our fellow Americans to be outraged for us, even though we ask for more mainstream media coverage.”
No thanks to people, like Trump, who continuously called covid the “Chinese virus” in the media, the finger pointing towards Asian communities for the cause of the pandemic has only encouraged xenophobia and racism against Asian Americans.
Munn also highlighted some of the hate crimes from the past few weeks:
- A 91-year-old Asian American man in Oakland who was shoved violently to the ground in Chinatown.
- An 84-year-old Thai American in San Francisco who was murdered on the streets.
- A 64-year-old Vietnamese American woman in San Jose who was assaulted and robbed of $1,000 in cash.
- A 61-year-old Filipino American man who was slashed in the face while riding the New York City subway and had to receive almost 100 stitches.
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While the incidents are shocking to read and hear about, these are just a few examples of the hate crimes occurring across America. Some folx from Asian communities are spreading the word on social media and highlighting more of these heinous crimes to hopefully open the eyes of Americans. Others are also sharing the gaslighting that is occurring as more Asian Americans speak out about the violence and hatred targeted towards them.
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And while you may be appalled that this is happening to our neighbours in the States, it is, in fact, happening in our very own country as well. According to an article from The Globe and Mail, data compiled from various online portals revealed that over 600 incidents of anti-Asian hate crimes have been reported in Canada since the pandemic first started. The same report also showed these incidents of anti-Asian racism were happening at a higher rate per capita in Canada than in the United States. Another report from the Huffington Post highlighted that hate crimes against Asian communities was up a staggering 878 per cent in Vancouver, largely due to the pandemic.
As Munn concluded in her Instagram post, “We need help amplifying the outrage. We need help to feel safe in our country. We need help to be safe in our country.” So while you may have just started to notice the rising number of social posts about anti-Asian hate crimes, this isn’t a new notion. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or even yesterday, now is the time to amplify the outrage.
