Stop Anti-Asian Hate
During the movement for marriage equality, people often would say, “love is love.”
However, as the nation continues to grapple with its original sin of racism and slavery, people also have to realize that “hate is hate” no matter who is experiencing the hate or what color the hateful person is.
This week, Alexi McCammond of Teen Vogue Magazine (who is African-American) has been thrust into the spotlight because old racist and homophobic tweets she posted as a teenager in 2011 have resurfaced.
McCammond will take over as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue later this month.
She accepted the job as the top editor of Teen Vogue earlier this year.
Since then, a group of Teen Vogue employees have expressed concern over the racist tweets.
McCammond apologized for the old tweets in 2019 after they first surfaced.
At the time, McCammond said, “I am deeply sorry to anyone I offended. I have since deleted those tweets as they do not reflect my views or who I am today.”
More than 20 Teen Vogue staff members announced on Twitter that they had written a letter to parent company Conde Nast condemning the tweets.
The Twitter statement read, “In a moment of historically high anti-Asian violence and amid the on-going struggles of the LGBT community, we as the staff of Teen Vogue fully reject those sentiments.”
A spokesperson for Conde Nast said Teen Vogue hired McCammond because “of the values, inclusivity and depth she has displayed through her journalism.”
The spokesperson continued, “Two years ago, she took responsibility for her social media history and apologized.”
Recently, McCammond spoke out about the racist and homophobic tweets as she did in 2019.
McCammond said, “You’ve seen some offensive, idiotic tweets from when I was a teenager that perpetuated harmful and racist stereotypes about Asian Americans.
“I apologized for them years ago, but I want to be clear today: I apologize deeply to all of you for the pain this has caused. There’s no excuse for language like that.”
The new editor-in-chief, who begins her new job on March 24, said that she is committed to amplifying the voices of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Teen Vogue.
While a person’s tweets as a teenager should not cause one to get canceled, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.
The African-American community cannot ask others to join our movement to end racism against us if we are not committed to ending racism against our brothers and sisters of other races.
In 2020 and into 2021, Asian Americans have faced an uptick in racism against them in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
NBC reported that, “An analysis of police department statistics has revealed that the United States experienced a significant hike in anti-Asian hate crimes last year across major cities.
“The analysis released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, this month examined hate crimes in 16 of America’s largest cities. It revealed that while such crimes in 2020 decreased overall by 7 percent, those targeting Asian people rose by nearly 150 percent.”
Last year, former President Donald Trump began calling COVID-19 the Chinese flu and kung-flu just because the illness originated in China.
That type of hatred and ignorance from someone in a position of power probably led others to falsely believe that if the most powerful man in the world could be racist, then so could they.
But people, especially those in the African-American community need to know that hate is hate.
And the humiliation that we feel when dealing with racism and oppression is the same feeling that people of a lighter hue feel when they experience the same thing.
No one is saying that African-Americans are solely responsible for the anti-Asian racism because that is obviously not true.
However, we have to speak out against all forms of racism and discrimination even when it does not adversely affect the African-American community.
Joining forces with other minority groups in their fight for equality proves that we are not just simply interested in ending racism when it is detrimental to us.
It proves that we are serious about ending racism and discrimination, period.
Racism is allowed to grow and spread because many people could not care less if it does not adversely affect them.
As a matter of fact, many people are cool with racism because it often benefits their race.
However, the minute that racism does not benefit them, people often want to speak out, regardless of color as evident when many White Americans claim reverse racism.
The sport of basketball has seen several incidents of anti-Asian racism over the years too.
When the Los Angeles Lakers and Shaquille O’Neal came to Houston to face Yao Ming and the Rockets for the first time, O’Neal spoke a fake Asian language to mock Yao.
Outside of the Compaq Center, many residents and activists from Houston’s Asian community came out to protest with picket signs, and rightfully so.
Former Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin said that he has gotten called “coronavirus” while on the court this season.
Lin currently plays in the NBA’s G-League.
More dangerous is the fact that many Asian Americans have been assaulted and killed simply because of the color of their skin, as strangers attack them on American streets.
Therefore, it is imperative that people realize when one minority group suffers; we all suffer because hate is hate, no matter the perpetrator, and no matter the victim.
