A Call to Record VA Tech Aftermath

I believe that the anti-Asian sentiment that the VA Tech shootings were predicted to create has begun. Today, my sister, an undergrad on the UC Berkeley campus, came home and told me that she had had a terrible day. Walking past the SQUELCH undergraduate student political organization, one of the members remarked, "Vote for me and I'll prostitute myself out like an Asian woman" as my sister walked by. On the bus, some guy stuck his foot out in the aisle to trip her as she tried to exit the bus. When she looked at him, he simply remarked "What?"

Admittedly, incidents like these are hard to define because they're neither clearly defined racially motivated hate crimes nor are they purely circumstantial events devoid of any racial implications. Thinking back, my sister can't recall hearing such comments on her previous excursions across campus, and she definitely doesn't remember the last time she experienced subtle harassments more than once in a day. Of course, when something like the VA Tech shootings occur, we all are a little more on guard, and perhaps one could argue that the sensitivity level may be a bit higher. In other words, is it that anti-Asian incidents have increased since the shooting or do people happen to notice them more?

Regardless of the basis for anti-Asian hate incidents, it's important that we document them, not only to have a record proving or disproving theories about anti-Asian sentiment, but also to watch out for each other and the community (Asians and non-Asians alike). We must create a record and put it out in the open to force acknowledgment of what's really going on in our multicultural society. I encourage people to note incidents of racial discrimination against all races as well.

Please pass this on to people you know and ask them to record incidents that they experienced or observed. Note the date, time, place, who the participants were and what was said.