Stop Asian Hate

I am sick at heart. The horrific murders in Atlanta underscore what we've been seeing across the country: hate crimes across the board rising to sickening all-time highs, with those targeting Asian Americans up more than 150 percent in major cities in the last year. Not surprisingly, the majority are directed toward Asian women. And thanks to a soulless man whose foul mouth soiled our nation's highest office for the past four years, you can take your pick on the intersectionality of racism, misogyny and xenophobia that continues to fuel Republican rhetoric and emboldens white male supremacists to believe it's open season on women, people of color, gays and transgender people. The last five years have unleashed a tidal wave of bile, and there's nothing too "politically correct" about acknowledging that hate speech literally kills -- that it's utterly obscene to hide brutality and murder behind an argument for free speech and to fret over "cancel culture," instead of the real threat to the existence of actual cultures. We know why this is happening. Asian Americans know why this is happening. Women know, too. Let's call it out for what it is: a virus far more virulent than corona, one that's infected our country since its inception and will continue to mutate with ferocity unless we figure out a way to inoculate against hate. I don't have the answers, but I'm urging each of us to look into our hearts and commit to finding the ultimate vaccine. Our collective survival depends on it.

~Jody