It’s Time for Facts, Not Fear: Asian Americans are Doing Their Part

It was the first time that I had decided to wear a face mask as I left to walk my dog. As I was waiting to cross Third Avenue in New York City, an angry man approached, yelling and cursing as he walked toward me. I immediately picked up my dog and ran into the garage. What he said to me is now a blur, but the message was clear: Go back to China. Even as a lifelong New Yorker, I was shaken.

从那时起，我们看到了许多关于亚裔美国人成为远比我所经历的语言骚扰更恶劣行为的受害者的头条新闻，亚裔美国人社区已被激发起来。基层社区组织提高了人们的认识，有影响力的亚裔美国人组织了#washthehate#等社交媒体活动，所有有色人种社区的民选官员都谴责反亚裔歧视行为。这些报道中涉及的亚裔美国人社区的热情和领导力让我感到自豪：我们不是一个默不作声、视而不见的群体，而是一个敢于发声的群体。 

This was a topic that became the focus of conversations all around me—with my daughters (who also walk our dog, albeit occasionally), with friends, with our Asian American Employee Resource Group, and with members of the Asian American External Advisory Council for Nielsen. We all agree racism is straight-out wrong, but there is a disparity in how Asian Americans should respond to these acts of hate. To some Asian Americans, the very efforts that have made me proud of our community are considered distractions from the focus of the pandemic. Andrew Yang expressed his point of view in a Washington Post op-ed on April 1, in which he suggested that Asian Americans should combat racism by showing more of our “American-ness.” Of course, a Twitter storm ensued of Asian Americans rejecting his message, implying that the onus is on us to prove that we belong in this country. 

在这里，我选择从感性思维过渡到数据驱动的逻辑思维。对我来说，这与我们自己无关，而是与我们社会中存在的偏执有关；如果偏执源于无知，那么我们可以用人们能够理解的数据来对抗无知。亚裔美国人不是外国人；不可否认，他们是这个伟大国家不可分割的一部分。 

亚裔美国人站在抗击 COVID-19 的最前沿，冒着生命危险帮助他人。在美国，几乎每五名在职医生中就有一名是亚裔（1），亚裔美国人从事医疗或健康相关领域工作的可能性比总人口高出39%（2）。如果那个骚扰我的人最终住进了纽约市的医院，很有可能会有一个长得像我的人照顾他，对他一视同仁。

亚裔美国人是最早采取行动防止冠状病毒传播的人群之一。与总人口相比，亚裔美国人家庭多代同堂的可能性高出40%(3)，家中有老人的家庭尤其容易受到COVID-19病毒的侵袭而患上重病。根据尼尔森（Nielsen）的数据，在从亚裔新闻媒体了解到病毒的严重性后，亚裔美国人在 1 月和 2 月开始购买医用口罩以遏制病毒传播，购买率是总人口的三倍。在亚洲，生病的人通常会使用医用口罩，作为不传染他人的一种礼貌，这也是事实。 

Not only are Asian Americans fueling the economy as consumers and taxpayers, they are also employers to more than 5 million workers in this country(4). Like Mr. Kim who owns the nail salon I frequent and the two brothers who own the Thai take-out across the street, there are 2 million Asian American owned businesses servicing neighborhoods across the country. With 42% of them in ‘Accommodation and Food Services’ and ‘Retail’ industries, versus just 21% of all businesses(5), Asian American businesses have been hard hit. Not to mention, revenue at Chinatown businesses across the country began trending down in January due to fear by customers of any link to what was first touted as the “Chinese-virus.” Even before its first confirmed case of the coronavirus, New York City launched the Show Some Love for Chinatown campaign to support businesses facing unsubstantiated discrimination.

我们正与一种致命的流行病作斗争，而亚裔美国人正在尽自己的一份力量，与其他人并肩作战。在这个史无前例的时刻，我认识到了我们共同人性的重要性。在孤立无援的情况下，我从未感到与世界其他地方有如此紧密的联系。当这场战争的胜利取决于我们每个人都采取行动保护他人时，不应该容忍对我们社区的歧视。