All the lists - part 2

A couple weeks ago I started collecting things to read and watch again - this time about violence towards Asians. Humans aren’t mysterious. For all our higher level thinking, we are still instinctive tribal animals battling for perceived and real territory. And so I’m pacing familiar footing again, trying to support and protect my friends and co-workers, in the world of deep and dark and rooted hate and injustice. As a white woman — who, for Pete’s sake, actually has the last name of Karen — I’m firmly in ‘quiet down and let other’s talk’ territory. So with that in mind, here are the resources that have helped me the most as I seek to help others.

Open Letter to My Friends & Family by Peipei Yu

My friend, Peipei, wrote an excellent to-do list for us all of how to learn, support each other, and make change.

Amber Ruffin’s “How Did We Get Here” segment shows the history behind the recent rise in Asian American hate crimes.

The Muddled History of Anti-Asian Violence by Hua Hsu for The New Yorker is a perceptive tale of how ‘otherness’ can sometimes not be recognizable or clear, and yet still result in violence.

Why It Matters That the United Dragging Victim Is Asian is an article from 2017 that reminds me that we’re pacing over the same issues again and again.

This Is What No One Tells You About Being Asian In America In 2021 helps explain why you might not have heard much about this from even your friends and co-workers.

‘We’re being scapegoated’: Asians and Asian Americans speak out against spate of violence include intimate stories of how the violence is linked to the pandemic and the emotional toll of both.

I’ll also note that I was exposed to many resources thanks to my job at Google, some not shareable as they were internal discussions and interviews. I can’t emphasize enough how important listening to my colleagues has been to my own understanding, but more importantly, hopefully my being there to listen has helped as they navigate their own worries, fears and reactions.