The assailants who are attacking Asians and Asian Americans believe that we are worth attacking. Who told them this? Why? Each person is responsible for his crime. Yes. However, when a mentally unstable person attacks an Asian person and not someone else, we need to ask why.

How did the Asian face become the enemy to the assailant? Who put that information in the assailant's mind and heart? How do we remove that seed of hatred? Each of us is responsible for examining and disseminating falsehoods about Asians and Asian Americans. This is the work.

I've interviewed thousands of folks, and I hear people, including Asians, make absurd generalizations: "Chinese mothers do this;" "Desi folks work this way;" "Korean men say this;" "Vietnamese people do that;" & I always ask gently: How many of this community do you truly know?

I don't ask to be unkind. I ask because we remain stuck in false, statistically silly, and profoundly dangerous narratives. Model minority, dragon lady, Tiger mothers, emasculated men, immoral men, promiscuous women: Types are not human. Worse, types make us hated & scapegoated.

We must address the hate incidents & violence w/ structurally sound solutions. Yes. We must also root out the causes -- racist narratives, lazy stereotypes, racist humor, history (imperialism, colonialism, Yellow Peril) & We must help mentally ill folks who are violent.

It's still our month. It's our lives. We are entitled to safety for our elders, youth & ourselves. Thank you for caring. I say thank you because it is easier to stop caring and point fingers rather than seek allies & long-lasting solutions. We are always more powerful together.