I want to dedicate this blog post to reminding all of us Asian Americans out there that we are important. The rise in hate crimes towards of Asian Americans truly disheartens me and it’s something that needs fixing on the people spreading hate towards us, ourselves, and the rest of society.
For us Asian Americans, we must re-evaluate our self-worth as a community. We cannot continue the cultural norms that a lot of us have been taught to keep us silent. We’re not just followers who don’t have a voice or an opinion. The more we allow this norm among our community to prevail against ourselves, the more vulnerable we will be to the Model Minority Myth while racism against Asian Americans continues to be normalized.
Being respectful and putting others first is a common trait that many of us have been taught as we grew up. That’s great, but we need to realize that it’s only up to a certain point. The line is crossed when people in society minimize us, and then we let them because that’s just what we were taught. What we should have been taught first is to be proud of ourselves, to know our worth, to take care of ourselves, and to respect ourselves FIRST. You can’t take care of others if you don’t take care of yourself first.
We need to bring a change in our community among our cultural norms and teach people to love themselves and to speak up for themselves. Speaking up with respect is something that we are more than capable of; it’s not just talking back, it’s creating a necessary conversation. So, don’t be afraid to speak up just because your family or the people around you don’t want or expect you to. Talk to your family about the things that you know they are just ignoring or staying quiet about because it’s what they’re used to. Use your voice wherever you can, use your platform, and say something instead of just letting it happen!
