A thread

US Asians, there's an opportunity to address this issue here. It's about Asian/Asian solidarity. This work needs to parallel the work of showing up with black people. Impactful work comes from when your internal state matches your external state. +

Otherwise, there'll be a ton of tension. If what you say or put on social media is only a front, then you're really doing a disservice to yourself. Your mind might be playing tricks on you and say, "Ok, I retweeted a petition, donated, I did my part. I'll continue to feel +

outraged but..." and then you move on and all the effort you put in goes backward again.

This work is outward-facing and very important. But, if this is all the work that you do, you leave your community AND yourself behind.

In this article: https://timetosaygoodbyepod.substack.com/p/tou-thao-and-the-myths-of-asian-american
"The concern isn’t so much to come out and confront anti-blackness “in our community,” but rather to disassociate oneself from the racist in the video. He may look like me, but I am not him. ‘Real Asian-Americans’ reject him..." +

Could this be an effect of assimilation (from colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy) when you have to leave a very important part of you in order to survive? Maybe. Most likely! But it doesn't have to be this way. +

Because when we see others that look like us suffer, what do we want to do? NOT SUFFER, right? And how? Maybe one way is to behave and try to look nothing like the OPPRESSED, group. This is the part where the author mentions "disassociate oneself." +

"No, that's definitely not me, I'm the good guy here." It's the same energy as people saying "This isn't what America is all about. This isn't normal" when referring to racism. This "others" the people within your community. Othering is a form of division. +

Division is a tool of white supremacy. Why would you want to do this on the oppressor's behalf? The author talked about the upwardly mobile East Asians and the relatively newer wave of Asian immigrant communities. +

What the white oppressor has done to you, you're doing it to another group of Asian folx. You've internalized white oppressor patterns and act on them.

Instead of focusing on just outward-facing behaviors, think about your experience. +

Keep showing up with Black people beyond the hashtag phase. Keep showing up. BUT, don't forget to examine your own hurts, experiences, and pain that comes from assimilating and being the middle agent. +

Because when we don't understand how that has hurt us, we can not move ahead and dismantle this bigger outside force that is white supremacy! Confront anti-blackness straight on! BUT bring your whole self with you. +

Perhaps, one way to do this is to look at:
1) As a young person, how have you been affected by racism towards Asian ppl
2) What messages have you heard about the "other Asian" people
3) What's it like to be called a racist
4) What happened to your family around race and class
+

5) How did your family respond to racism
6) How has your past experience around race and class affected your life

There are so many other questions. The point of asking yourself these questions is to unpack, peel the onion so that you can be more self-aware of our patterns. +

We'd be more equipped to take rational action when we work on ourselves. It's a marathon, not a sprint. This isn't "calling you out." This is an ask. I'm asking Asian people in the US to really "examine" our experiences around assimilation, terror, racism, our families, and. +

How we Asian folx treat each other. All of this work is intertwined with the work of confronting anti-blackness.

Show up with black people, but you gotta show up with your whole self.

Sending