ASIAN AMERICANS ARE AS AMERICAN AS IT GETS

Asian Americans are as American as it gets.

I’ve said it twice. Fight me.

Hate crimes against elderly Asian Americans is not a sport, not a statement, but an act of cowardice and ignorance committed by the sort of people we’ve seen too much of.

Who are they? Who might be joining them? It’s people related to the sucker-punch crowd who get their kicks by socking anonymous people on the street.

No one expects a sucker punch.

A sucker punch, also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack or cold-cock, is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted, allowing no time for preparation or defense on the part of the recipient. The term is generally used in situations where the way in which the punch has been delivered is considered unfair or unethical, and is done using deception or distraction, hence the term ‘sucker’ used to refer to the victim.

That’s the story on the sucker punch; what’s the story on attacking elderly Asian Americans?

Ignorance Leads The Way

Mark Twain had a few ideas. Here’s a telling one:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

Rick Steves gave it an update:

“Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity, helping us understand and appreciate other cultures. Rather than fear the diversity on this planet, celebrate it. Among your most prized souvenirs will be the strands of different cultures you choose to knit into your own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop, and “back door” travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry.”

I grew up in North Bend, Oregon. It’s not Washington and it’s not Central Oregon. It’s a small town with all of the good and bad of small towns. Asian bashing wasn’t part of growing up.

Every year in high school my family hosted kids from Japan as part of the Cultural Exchange wrestling program. Hey Yukio.

Their best came over to learn about America and kick butt on the mats. Over three years some of the locals cultivated the dream of making the Cultural Exchange team and going to Japan.

I was one of them, but the team I made travelled to Iowa.

It still counts?

Needless to say, I’ve always had a high opinion of Asia and Asians who come to America.

Every year of my kids in high school my wife and I sponsored students from China and Japan. They were great kids, just like students we sponsored from Spain and France. People interested in new things are contagious with enthusiasm.

That’s the spirit I travel with, too.

But if you’ve never been out you might be more comfortable acting on stereotypes perpetrated by jackasses, for want of a better, more obscene, word.

Without Learning Experiences

Where do people even get the notion that violence directed toward innocent Asian Americans is a good idea?

From NPR:

“These attacks taking place in the Bay Area are part of a larger trend of anti-Asian American/Pacific Islander hate brought on in many ways by COVID-19, as well as some of the xenophobic policies and racist rhetoric that were pushed forward by the prior administration,” says Manju Kulkarni, executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council, a coalition of California community-based groups.

Along with:

“Oftentimes, perpetrators have used the exact language of the prior president, words like ‘Wuhan virus, kung flu, China virus, China plague,’ “Kulkarni says. “And sometimes they have even weaponized the former president himself saying ‘Trump is going to get you, go back to your country.’ What President Trump did was to foment hate against Asian American communities and really put people in harm’s way. …We need so much work to be done to undo some of the harm of the prior administration.”

Haters have one job: hate. And a hate filled man spewing violent rhetoric to a narrow minded group produces one thing: more hate.

It’s that special sort of hate that brought them to Washington, D.C. on Jan.6.

A similar hate-filled fear drives them to attack elderly Asian men and women.

If people took time to learn about others different than them, would there would be less hate-crime?

Take Time To Avoid The Crime Against Asian Americans

If you’ve ever sucker punched an old man, clotheslined an old lady, or threw bricks through their shop windows, shame on you. Do better.

Start by appreciating what others have brought to America, if that’s what it takes to calm the hell down.

I’ve done some of the work for you.

You’ll be amazed at what China has given the world, even your world.

Chinese naval developments occurred far earlier than similar western technology. The first recorded use of rudder technology in the West was in 1180. Chinese pottery models of sophisticated slung axial rudders (enabling the rudder to be lifted in shallow waters) dating from the 1st century have been found. 

Early rudder technology (c 100 AD) also included the easier to use balanced rudder (where part of the blade was in front of the steering post), first adopted by England in 1843 – some 1700 years later.

After the pandemic, get out and meet people, different people, and show your true colors. Welcome new people, say something nice, just be friendly.

The return on your effort will be greater than your effort. Being a good person is not that difficult, unless your opinions are formed in the twin bubble of hate and fear.

If that’s the case, pop that bubble before it blows up on you. No one wants to read about someone intent on bashing, but instead comes against a greater force.

That force is kindness. You probably expected Bruce Lee, or Jackie Chan.

It’s kindness. What does that look like? Like this:

President Biden, meantime, recently signed a memorandum pledging to combat anti-Asian and Pacific Islander discrimination. It was part of a series of racial equity-focused executive orders.