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A message for my fellow Asians:
I’m about to be VERY transparent with yall.
I’m about to be VERY transparent with yall.
1) I was raised to be anti-Black by my anti-Black parents. I am a Filipinx & as a child I was taught that Black people are “ghetto.” I was taught to hold onto my bag a little tighter when I cross paths with a Black person.
2) I was taught to cross the street & lock the car doors when a Black person walks near. I was taught that Black people are dangerous, criminals, & low-income. I was taught not to date a Black man.
3) I cared about Black lives & they did matter, but I was taught to dehumanize them by viewing them as uncontrollable rather than people. I was taught that only Black people that dress nice, spoke eloquently, & had a good job were respectable. Bonus points for being Christian.
4) I grew up thinking that appropriating Black culture was ok. I could not differentiate appreciation & appropriation. I spoke in their vernacular, sang their songs, said the N-word. I mean it’s ok because I had Black friends who were ok with it right??? WRONG!
5) I was never called out on my actions. I thought it was “cool,” I did it to fit in. I was young, immature, & uneducated.
As an adult, I became educated & aware of my own privilege as an Asian American & the oppression that Black people face on a daily basis.
As an adult, I became educated & aware of my own privilege as an Asian American & the oppression that Black people face on a daily basis.
6) I learned about my own people’s oppression that was never taught in public school. I was able to attempt to sympathize & empathize with the Black community. Now, I do my best to educate my parents & others who don’t understand.
7) Like many Asians, my parents did not have the opportunities in college to take cultural classes. Social media didn’t exist back then; they weren’t & still arent knowledgeable. They were raised with many generational differences preventing them from education.
8) They are instilled with “traditional” mentality & fell into the “model minority” trap, believing the false narrative that whites are superior. We immigrated to America thinking the whites could offer us better opportunities than our home countries.
9) By doing this, we’ve succumbed to the white man’s hand. I still have so much more to learn & understand, but telling my story is the LEAST I can do to spread awareness.
10) Part of being educated includes being aware of our own privilege & know that Asians will never be able to truly understand the oppression Black people have faced for hundreds of years & are still fighting tirelessly every single day.
11) If you are Asian, YOU ARE PRIVILEGED. No, not as much as whites, but we still have a voice. Your silence is worse than useless, it is betrayal. If you are any POC & are in a position of power, but are not using your platform to spread awareness, YOU ARE A COWARD & A DISGRACE.
12) My hope is that more Asians will open their eyes, learn from my story, & spread awareness. Talk to your family & friends! Donate, educate, sign petitions. I AM CALLING YOU OUT. Use your privilege, take advantage of it & educate others.
13) BLACK LIVES MATTER DOES NOT MEAN ALL LIVES DO NOT. It simply calls attention to the fact that Black lives DO matter. Asians, we have a duty to stand in solidarity with our Black community. Pray for them, protect them, love on them.
Please feel free to shed some light and educate me if anything I said was ignorant. I am ALWAYS open to constructive criticism.
HUGE s/o to those who helped and gave input. You know who you are
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HUGE s/o to those who helped and gave input. You know who you are
