Matthew Saw, Period 2, 3/3/21, Day A

 Socio-political Consciousness

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Currently, as you might have already seen, hate crimes against Asian Americans such as myself have been increasing at an alarming rate across the country. This is especially concerning since the state where this is most prominently taking place is New York, the state that we live in. Everyday I see new stories on the news about Asian Americans being attacked in public for no other reason than them being a certain race. Just this weekend, an Asian man in Manhattan was stabbed in broad daylight without any warning or provocation. When questioned about the stabbing by the police, the suspect said “I stabbed that guy. If he dies, he dies.” What’s even worse is that it also recently came out that the suspect wouldn’t be facing any hate crime charges. He will still be charged with attempted murder, and while that’s good, it just doesn’t sit right with me. I feel scared, not for myself and my families, but instead I feel scared that this type of behavior will become normalized, and I will just have to accept that I am not allowed to feel safe in my own home city anymore.

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

Personally, I have not been on the receiving end of any physical harm, and for that I am massively grateful. I also know that, since I don’t have to leave my home and I live in a relatively safe neighborhood, I am coming from a place of privilege and that my opinion on the matter may not have as much weight as others, but I do still feel frustrated. I feel like this matter isn’t being taken seriously at all by most people, especially our own local government. The mayor announced the NYPD would be increasing patrols and trying to help stop further crimes against Asian Americans, but just a few days after that announcement, the stabbing in Manhattan took place. I know that only a very small percentage of people are the ones going out and committing these crimes, but when you can’t tell who’s against you and who’s just a normal person, it becomes hard to not be distrustful of everyone. However, I also acknowledge that that mindset is not a good one to have, since I know that a lot of people are in support of the Asian American community and even those who don’t particularly care about the matter don’t actually wish any harm upon us. But after seeing and hearing what’s been happening all around me these few past months, it’s been very difficult to not have that mindset. I really just hope that one day life can return to normal and I can once again feel as if I’m not an outsider in the country I was born and raised in.