Celebrities Voice Out Against Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
Amid a wave of escalating anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, one of the most horrifying was the March 16th shooting in Georgia. A gunman opened fire at three different massage spas and killed eight people – six of which were of Asian descent. Many people took to social media to express their support for the Asian community, and more meaningful legislation to stop and prevent hate crimes. Many celebrities are also extremely vocal in urging for greater unity and continued compassion in the community.
Bruce Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, posted a black and white photo of her late father and wrote, “This is where ‘kung flu’ leads. You think it’s a joke and that we shouldn’t be so serious about it. But then there are those who latch onto it with hate and xenophobia can use it to fuel their fear and contempt until it explodes into heinous acts… What would it cost you to decide we are all one family?… What is lost by transforming contempt to acceptance? It’s time to look within and ask yourself, do I want to be at peace? Can I operate from love? Will I stand with my human family and embody the end of hate?”
Daniel Wu (吳彥祖), who has always been outspoken about his support for the Asian-American community, was furious over the Atlanta shooting and how the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department captain, Jay Baker, sympathized with the gunman and said that the shooter was having “a bad day and this is what he did.” Daniel expressed his shock, “I wondered why he was reluctant to say anything about this being a possible hate crime. Well his Facebook posts reveal a little more about this man and maybe why he showed empathy for the shooter and nothing for the victims. I actually believe there are good cops and in fact I know quite a few but this guy goes into the POS category for me.” Daniel then exposed screenshots of Jay Baker’s Facebook post that urged others to buy t-shirts with the words, “Covid 19 Imported Virus from Chy-Na.”
Many other Asian-American celebrities also voiced their anger over the tragedy in Georgia, including Korean actor Daniel Dae Kim, Olivia Munn, and Simu Liu and a call for greater solidarity to fight against anti-Asian hate crimes.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
i am glad that the issue of racism against Asian is finally coming into light. i don’t know why it took so long, possibly b/c of lack of influential Asian figures in the past. i am pretty sure that every single Asian person has experienced their fair share of discrimination in their lives, for some may just be yet.
@m0m0 Agreed, it’s not just BLM which I think kept overshadowing Asians, truth be told it’s all Lives that Matter…Also saw an article where China bashes the US bringing up BLM…which is stupid hypocritical of them considering how the CCP were treating the blacks that were there.
@exodus
the CCP is constantly trying every possible way to make others look bad and brand themselves as the hero.
@exodus Rather hypocritical that you bought up BLM here, but bashing China for bringing it up? The truth is, US has a long history of genocide, lynching and racism against native Americans, blacks, Asians. In HK, south Asians and other dark-skinned people face discrimination constantly. Not to mention last year’s hate crimes against Chinese i.e. an elderly man torched to death by a young HK demonstrator.
The rise of racist violence is very disturbing and aside from acknowledging it, here are ways we can all help out:
– join local rallies in your area to #StopAsianHate
– write to local legislators urging more meaningful legislation for hate crimes
– talk to family (especially the elderly and kids) about safety tips when they see or experience hate
– See something, say something. Learn effective bystander intervention; join the virtual training here: https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/events
– continue supporting local Asian businesses as many are facing financial difficulties during the pandemic
– support local Asian advocacy and grassroots organizations through donations, such as the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. You can set your AmazonSmile settings to a charity to help anti-Asian causes, so that a percentage of all your purchases can be donated to the charity.
@jayne Agree totally!! Just because Asians have generally been quiet and non assuming, the fact is still that we are very UNDER represented in media, entertainment, government, academia etc. We are not recognized for our excellence and often maligned for it. Look how we had to fight reverse discrimination to be admitted to the universities. We need to be more vocal and present, and been seen in the public forums and press. We have made great strides compared to years past, but it is not enough. We certainly need more representation. #StopAsianHate
If this crazy guy having a bad day then tell his butt go somewhere on top of the mountains shoot all he wants. Those people who got killed were black I’m pretty sure will have another big protest going on like before.
@cutie777 There are rallies for stopping the hate. I think we should protest murder of people of color, whether they are Black or Asian or brown.
https://mobile.reuters.com/video/watch/idPRY4?now=true
It’s Vincent Chin all over again. Doesn’t help when self hating and wasp worshiping Chinese are spreading virus conspiracies about China, leading to spike in anti Asian violence. Its dropping the stone on your own feet.
@jetmasters Falun Gong’s Epoch Times (big time Trump supporters) are also responsible for spreading virus conspiracies about China and other hate messages with their globally distributed rag. That naturally arouses hatred among easily manipulated people into taking it out on Chinese and Asian people.
@msxie0714 Absolutely. You can also include 1450 from Taiwan’s government, similar form of organization as falun gong. These people are everywhere in social media.
Racism is a problem that on the outside seems to have improved through the last few decades but in reality it hasn’t. True that if in a nice area, we will get far less random racist chants than in the past. This is only because of the increased condemnation of racism by law rather the change of the minds of the people. Can we confidently go home thinking that the people that seems nice that we have met throughout the day will not make racist comments behind our backs? No. It only takes a big event where Asians are blamed to spark a massacre. They are just waiting for an excuse to legitimately carry out this hatred to Asians that has always been instilled within themselves.
I’m worried that it will turn into the Korean Massacre that happened a few decades ago in the US. stupid angry rascists trying to shoot innocent Asians. Having a bad day? If that happened to white people then it’s a national tragedy and everyone is crying. When Asians get gunned down then the guy was just having a bad day. I have seriously had enough. People just don’t care. I’m glad that the American-Asian stars are doing their bit to voice our concerns. There is too much fake news spreading hate and segregation. We really need to unite to fight this.
I’m so stinking glad Asian racism is finally being discussed and brought onto the table for further dissection. It’s unfortunate what led to this being in the spotlight, but it’s nevertheless a step in the right direction. I’ve always felt racist undertones to people who make assumptions about me just based on how I look, but not enough support from those around me who try to gaslight me into thinking that $hit’s in my head. Or I’m too scared to speak up because I don’t want physical confrontation. It’s so cathartic seeing people in our community stepping up with the voices and really lending credence to how we felt. I hope it’s kept up.