TASHARA:
TASHARA: WELCOME BACK. IN WFAA'S "CULTURED" SERIES, WE
WANT TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS SOME
MIGHT FEEL ARE DIFFICULT
DISCUSS, AND TODAY WE ARE D+@OIG
JUST T+@HAT AS OUR ASIAN AND
PACI+@FIC ISLANDER BROTHERS AND
SISTERS CONTINUE TO FACE
VIOLENCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
LAST WEEK, WHEN A GUNMAN KILLED
PEOPLE, SIX OF THEM WOMEN OF
ASIAN DESCENT, NEWS AREAS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY FOCUSED QUICKLY ON
TRYING O DETERMINE WHAT W+@AS TE
SUSPECT'S MOTIVE BEHIND THE
KILLING.
KILLING.
KILLING. THE SUSPECT TELLING
INVESTIGATORS THEY WERE NOT
RACIALLY MOTIVATED, AND THAT IS
WHAT WE NEED TO DISU
GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
+@>> GOOD MORNING.
THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
T+@ASHARA: O+@F COURSE.
YOU ARE AN ASIAN AMERICAN WOMAN
AND ALSO AN ACTIVIST FOR EQUITY.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ASIAN
VIOLENCE, THIS IS NOT NEW.
WHAT ARE SOME STEREOTYPES T+@HAT
HAVE GOTTEN US TO THIS POINT,
ESP+@ECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO
WOMEN OF ASIAN DESCENT?
>> ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE
HAVE TO DISCUSS WI+@TH THIS CASE
IS THE NARRATIVE THAT CA+@ME OU,
THE DETAILS WAS ABOUT THE KILLER
HAVING A SEX ADDICTION, AND HE
WAS TRYING TO ELIMINATE THE
TEMPTATION, AND SO I'VE SEEN
PEOPLE USE THAT NARRATIVE TO
+@DISMI+@SS THE IDEA THAT THE
SH+@OOTING WAS MOTIVATED BY RACM
BECAUSE NON-ASIAN VICTIMS WERE
ALSO KILLED, BUT WE HAVE T+@O
REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE KILLED
INSIDE ASIAN BUSINESSES, WHICH
WERE SPECIFICALLY TARGETED.
ALSO THAT WHEN YOU THINK OF A
HATE CRIME IT'S NOT HATE IN A
SENSE WHERE I+@T IS LOATHING OR
DISLIKE OR DISTASTE FOR
SOMETHING.
SOMETHING. THE FBI DESCRIBES HATE CRIME AS
AN OFFENSE ON PERSONAL PROPERTY
MOTIVATED BY BIAS.
BIAS COULD BE SOMEONE'S
RELIGION, GENDER IDENTITY+@,
SEXUAL+@ ORIENTATION, AND IT CAN
BE RACE.
BE RACE.
BE RACE. IT+@ IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO REMEMR
THAT MALICE IS NOT REQUIRED FOR
RACISM TO OCCUR.
YOU CAN BE BIASED IMPLICITLY,
MEANING THAT YOU HAEBE SO
CONDITIONED BY EXTERNAL FACTORS
LIKE MEDIA OR FRIENDS AND FAMILY
THAT YOU DON'T EVEN RE+@ALIZE
THOSE BELIEFS.
THOSE BELIEFS. TASHA+@RA: I WANT TO JUMP IN
BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE I
TOUCH ON THIS, WHEN U
MENTIONED THOSE EXTERNAL
FACTORS, THERE ARE ALSO CERTAIN
WORDS AND PHRASES THAT HAVE BEEN
USED IN THIS PANDEMIC.
WHY HAS SOME OF THAT LANGUAGE
ALSO BEEN HARMFUL TO ASIAN
AMERICANS?
AMERICANS? >> ALL OF THE LANGUAGE USED
AROUND ASIAN AMERICANS IS
+@
AROUND ASIAN AMERICANS IS CENTERED AROUND OUR OTHERNESS.
WE ARE ASIAN, PERPETUAL+@
FOREIGNERS.
FOREIGNERS. PARTICULARLY WITH WOMEN, I'M
SURE YOU HAVE HEARD THE TERM
YELLOW FEVER.
YELLOW FEVER. THIS MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST
SERIOUS FORMS OF RACISM BECAUSE
IT'S OFTEN CON+@FLATED WITH
FLATTERY, THAT IT IS A SINO
ADMIRATION, NOT RACIST, BUT I
LIKEN IT TO AN ABUSIVE
RELATIONSHIP WHERE SOMEONE
JUSTIFIES THE HARM WITH LOVE,
BUT A+@T THE CORE, IT IS ABOUT
CONTROL.
CONTROL.
CONTROL. ONE OF THE TROPES IS CHINA
DOLLS.
DOLLS.
DOLLS. MEN LIKE THIS KILLER SEE ASIANS
AS INHUMAN, THE IDEA THAT +@ASIS
ARE FOREIGN AND A THRE+@AT.
WITH COVID-19, WE SAW THAT WITH
WORDS LIKE THE CHINA FLU AND
CHINA VIRUS AND K
WORDS LIKE THE CHINA FLU AND CHINA VIRUS AND KUNG FLU.
WHEN PEOPLE ARE HURTING AND NEED
A SCAPEGOAT, WHEN THAT LANGUAGE
IS USED IN THIS TIME, IT'S LIKE
+@
+@ LOADING BULLETS INTO A GUN AN+@D
HANDING IT TO SOMEONE.
TASHARA: WHEN I POSTED THAT WE
WOULD HAVE THIS CONVERSATION, I
GOT SO MANY QUESTIONS +@AND
COMMENTS.
COMMENTS.
COMMENTS. ONE OF THOSE WAS ABOUT
ANTI-BLACKNESS IN THE ASIAN
AMERICAN COMMUNIT+@Y AND THE
NOTION OF THE MODEL MINORITY.
>> THE MODEL MINORITY MYTH IS
ALSO ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
STEREOTYPES.
STEREOTYPES. IT IS IMPORTANT FPLO
UNDERSTAND HOW IT WAS DEVELOPED.
IT WAS CREATED IN RESPONSE TO
THE GROWING CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT.
MOVEMENT.
MOVEMENT. IT WAS STARTED OUT OF THIS FEAR
THAT BLACK PEOPLE WERE GAINING
TOO MUCH POWER,+@ AND IT WAS USD
TO DIVIDE US.
ASIANS WERE AND ARE USED AS A
RACIAL WEDGE AND WEAPONIZED
AGAINST EACH OTHER.
WE SEE THIS WITH+@ AFFIRMATIVE
ACTION IN+@ COLLEGE ADMISSIONS.
ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT EXAMPLES
OF REPERCUSSIONS IS THE L.A.
RIOTS WHERE BLACK AND ASIAN
COMMUNITIE+@S WERE FIGHTING
AGAINST EACH OTHER WHILE POLICE
WERE PROTECTING WHITE WEALTHY
COMMUNITIES.
COMMUNITIES. THERE IS PREJUDICE ON ALL SIDES,
BUT FOCUSING ON THAT AND NOT
WORKING TO REPAIR THOSE
DIVISIONS IS HOW WHITE SUPREMACY
IS HURTING US ALL, AND WE ARE
THREATE+@NING THE SYSTEM BY
SI+@TTING HERE TODAY, YOU AND I
HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.
THIS IS GOING AGAINST THE
DESIGN, AND THIS IS HOW WE
DISMANTLE IT.
DISMANTLE IT. TASHARA: WE CAN ONLY SCRATCH THE
SURFACE OF THIS CONVERSATION
EVEN WITH ALL THE TIME WE HAVE
ALLOTTED,+@ BUT CAN YOU +@TALK T
HOW PEOPLE CAN GET MORE
INVOLVED, LEARN MORE, WHICH WE
ALL NEED TO DO, AS WELL AS
SUPPORT THE API -- THE AAPI
COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY. >> I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO
+@DO A LOT OF THE RE+@SEARCH
THEMSELVES INSTEAD OF RELYING ON
ASIAN AMERICAN FRIENDS AND
FAMILY.
FAMILY.
FAMILY. WE ARE GOING THRO+@UGH A LOT OF
EMOTIONAL TRAUMA, BUT ALSO
SPEAKING UP TO YOUR ASIAN
AMERICAN FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND
THEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT TO A
HIGHER LEVEL BECAUSE WE ARE PART
OF A SYSTEM, AND THERE'S PROPOSE
NATIONAL COVID-19 HATE CRIME
ACTS AND SIIA BILLS HAPPENING
LOCALLY, SO URGING YOUR
REPRESENTATIVES --
REPRESENTATIVES -- TASHARA I HAVE TO JUMP IN HERE.
I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE ICE SHARE
THIS INTERVIEW AND ALL THE