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The Importance of Understanding the Experiences of Others
- CPSS Interact
- May 5, 2022
- 5 min read
Imagine having to go through attacks, based on your race - something you were born with - every single day. Imagine not being able to sleep at night as your mind spirals about all the dangerous possibilities that could occur. Some of you do not need to imagine this, which is an upsetting factor considering many of you are between the ages of 13 and 18. Everyone has gone through brutal experiences in their lives, some more than others. These experiences usually cause immense pain and hurt to many, but they serve as life lessons as well, which is why learning from them is so significant. The experiences, events, and occurrences in one’s life make up their personality and perspective, and a lot can be learned from their “life stories”.
Asian hate; one of the countless things spiraling across the news, affecting the lives of millions of people. Considering the name, Asian hate is hate and discrimination against the Asian community, especially Asian Americans and Canadians, which also comes under xenophobia. Xenophobia is “the dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries”. Expressions of racial discrimination are constantly shown worldwide, the impacts exponentially growing harsher, meaning that this needs to be taken seriously, especially since Covid-19 is simply adding fuel to the fire. As many of you may know, the first few cases of Covid-19 were in Wuhan, China. Although this fact may sound like nothing, it altered many individuals’ perspectives on people of Asian backgrounds. So much so that the FBI, at the beginning of the outbreak, warned that a surge in hate crimes against those of Asian descent was expected. Clearly, Asian hate is serious, even more since it affects all aspects of our life; mental, social, political, economic, etc. Reported episodes of Asian hate include verbal harassment, insults, such as referring to Covid-19 as kung flu, and violent attacks in schools, workplaces, businesses, and other public areas. These such episodes feel like “an all-out assault”, as William Ming Liu, the chair of the Department of Counseling stated. Not only do these incidents cause immense pain, but anti-Asian discrimination has been found to be linked to the increases in anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems, all mainly among targeted individuals. However, getting help is not always easy. AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) individuals are less likely to access mental health care when compared to other racial groups, not only due to the cultural bias but also due to the lack of culturally relevant approaches to treatment.
Based on this bar graph displaying the demographics of unmet need for mental health services, there was an increase in people of Asian descent that received mental health care from 2008 to 2019, but considering the surge of Asian hate crimes in March of 2020, imagine the massive change in the number(s). As you can see, Asian hate crimes have a definite mental and social impact, but they also have political effects, as these crimes are handled by the government. Not only that, but there are economic impacts as well, since people that participate in this discrimination, commonly refrain from purchasing items from Asian-owned businesses, affecting not only the lives of the business owners, but the economy as well.
The impacts of Asian hate are tremendous, and since we already understand the significance of learning from the experiences of others, let’s take a closer look at one. Katie Ho, an individual of Asian descent, said that she felt the importance as a mom and as an Asian woman to stand up, speak out, be strong, and to let everyone know “that we are not weak”. After the Asian hate crime shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, Katie realized that it was not enough to simply have these conversations with peers. She wanted her seven-year-old daughter to learn these valuable lessons, so she brought her to a protest. However, during this protest, she had an encounter with a man who politely asked for a protest sign, which Katie gave as she thought it was a sign of allyship. However, while they were walking away, they noticed him destroying the given sign. Upon confrontation, the man punched her twice, instead of communicating in a civil manner, and ran away immediately after, while injured Katie twisted her ankle in an attempt to catch him and fight back. She even spoke to a paramedic about whether these incidents happen often, and the unfortunate answer was “yes”.
As you can see from Katie’s experience, these incidents occur often, causing pain to countless people. The impacts are severe, as discussed above, and the police department of New York - a city where Asian hate crimes are noticeably getting worse - understands that. They ended up creating a task force specifically for Asian hate crimes, which consists of a highly diverse team - 25 Asian American detectives who speak 11 different languages. When specified task forces are being created specifically for Asian hate crimes, it simply becomes another piece of evidence as to why Asian hate is significant, but also more of a reason as to why this is something WE need to take action on. For the betterment of our loved ones, our peers, friends, and simply the people we see walking on the street, action must be made; for them. PBS NewsHour suggests multiple ways to help:
Support the immediate needs of groups of AAPI individuals in need.
Speak out when you witness a hate crime or incident of Asian hate.
Report the hate crime or incident immediately.
Take part in training about Asian hate.
Check-in with your classmates, peers, and friends of Asian descent. It really does help!
Educate yourself about the history of Asian discrimination. Politely talking and asking questions to teachers or friends, especially of Asian descent, is key, as more awareness must be made in our world.
Advocate or create a place of awareness in your school about Asian hate. It’s the bright minds of younger generations that are needed for our world’s betterment!
Spread and expand this awareness. Reach out to many people about spreading awareness, even better if it’s to our elected officials.
Make sure to also check out the following websites and videos for more:
Work Cited
vicenews. “Asian Americans Speak out: Countering the Rise in Anti-Asian Hate.” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Apr. 2021,
Ramachandran, Vignesh. “What You Can Do to Fight Violence and Racism against Asian Americans.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 18 Mar. 2021,
“Stop Asian Hate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Mar. 2022,
“Xenophobia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Mar. 2022,
“Covid-19 Fueling Anti-Asian Racism and Xenophobia Worldwide.” Human Rights Watch, 28 Oct. 2020,
“Covid 'Hate Crimes' against Asian Americans on Rise.” BBC News, BBC, 21 May 2021,
“Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2022,
“The Mental Health Impact of Anti-Asian Racism.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association,
“Asian American and Pacific Islander.” NAMI,
“The Demographics of Unmet Need for Mental Health Services.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association,
Dharra Raheja
Outreach - Interact Sub-Team
March 13th, 2022
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