Crimes targeting Asian Americans is not a new phenomenon. Like many other things brought to light by COVID-19, Anti-Asian crime is now front and center of attention within the Asian community as more and more cases is caught on footage and spread across social media. In the Bay Area alone, Oakland Chinatown has had an exponential growth of violent assaults and robberies, the last moments of elderly Asian Americans all over the country have been caught on video as their lives have been senselessly taken from them prematurely. We at Bad Bunz is calling out for our allies - help us spread the word that this needs to stop.

Why Are Asian American Hate Crimes on The Rise?

As briefly mentions, anti-Asian crimes are nothing new, they were just never reported nor taken seriously. There’s a stigma that Asians “take care of ourselves” and in certain ways, we do. We built our own communities, run our own shops to cater to our own people, and even policed out own when the government didn’t care about us. Asians, like many other minorities, don’t trust the government. When crimes happen to us, we don’t report to the authorities - and the ones that get reported are never taken seriously. That makes us sitting ducks when it comes to vulnerability. With COVID-19 and a president that promoted the hatred and xenophobia, that gave the ignorant and hateful the green light to come into our communities to rob, assault, and murder.

What Are We Doing to Prevent This From Happening?

The Asian American youth of today are NOT SILENT. We are trying to make as much noise as possible to get the attention that we deserve. We understand that as much as the evidence only shows that its a Black on Asian crime, we can not lose focus on the fact that they do not represent the Black community as a whole. White media will push the agenda that these crimes are racially motivated in order to create a division and riff amongst the minority community, but in the words of Michael - Ignorance is ignorance. We are calling for the support of our allies, those who stand in solidarity of the minority experience, to help us spread our message. We are in no way, form, or fashion blaming the entire Black community for the crimes, but we are asking that you help us on your end. Just as much as we were vocal about anti-Blackness in our communities, we need your help to call out Anti-Asian in yours. We are only stronger together and weaker divided.

What Can I Do To Help?

Stay informed. There is no better way than to keep sharing those stories that are coming out almost every day, share go-fund-me pages to Asian businesses and families who have been robbed or assaulted, and call out members of your community who are ignorant and inform them. Right now, Oakland Chinatown needs your help! Follow @compassioninoakland and volunteer your time in assisting the elderly so they can feel safe.

Donate to their cause as well - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-get-personal-alarms-to-those-who-need-them?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

As always, listen to the full episode to hear in-depth explanations and discussions!