A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:
In celebration of Asian heritage month (which takes place in May), Talking Taiwan participated in United We Stand, the 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival, and on May 17th, organized a Panel Discussion and Q&A on the topic: What To Do If You Are The Target Of Asian Hate.
The event was recorded and this is Part 2, which features the Q&A portion with panelists- Chris Kwok, Steve Lee, Suelain Moy, and Peter Yang Zhao. If you don’t want miss out on any of the useful information shared be sure to go back and listen to Part 1, which was the opening discussion with our panelists and shared in the previous episode, Episode 132.
Panelist bios:
Christopher M. Kwok, is a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, Board Director and Issues Committee Chair for the Asian American Bar Association of New York, and an Adjunct Professor at Hunter College/CUNY and New York City College of Technology/CUNY.
Sergeant Steven Lee, is a 16-year veteran of the NYPD, a whistleblower fighting to reform police corruption, and Anti-Asian Hate Crime Activist.
Suelain Moy, is a New York City mother, writer, journalist, author, and editor who wrote “The 16 Safety Guidelines for the Parents of Asian Children.”
Peter Yang Zhao, is an Anti-Asian Hate Crime and Tourette Activist.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- How we have to fight the legacy of law that perceived nonwhites as legal nonpersons
- What should/can bystanders or upstanders do if they witness a hate crime
- Hollaback organization
- Why panelist Steve Lee does not recommend carrying mace or pepper spray
- Why panelist Steve Lee recommends carrying around a tactical flashlight
- What constitutes self-defense
- The Flushing Bakery case
- Suggestions of what items are acceptable or not to carry for self-defense
- What constitutes a hate crime
- What was done to get Patrick Mateo of the Flushing Bakery case charged with a hate crime and what you can do get an Asian hate crime prosecuted
- Adopt a case that you want to rally behind or support
- No matter what your immigration status is you are protected under the law if you are the target of Asian hate
- Police officers are not allowed to ask about your immigration status
- It should take 24-48 hours for a police report to be in the system
- The difference between harassment, assault, and reckless endangerment
- The stabbing of an Asian man in the Seattle area
- The importance of connecting with non-Asian communities
- Suggested action items for event participants from the panelists
- The importance of self-care and mental health
Related Links:
United We Stand- 42nd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival: Https://beacons.ai/aapifest
An example of now nonwhites were not considered human or to have the same rights: The 1854 Supreme Court of California case of People v. Hall, which reversed the murder conviction of George W. Hall, “a free white citizen of this State,” because three prosecution witnesses were Chinese: https://www.aabany.org/events/event_details.asp?legacy=1&id=1513147
Hollaback: https://www.ihollaback.org/
Flushing Bakery incident: [INSERT the 2 jpgs]
The stabbing in Seattle that Jolene referred to: Asian American groups push for Bothell murder to be investigated as hate crime: https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/john-huynh-asian-american-advocates-hate-crime-investigation/281-fd824596-7856-4dc4-ab96-dfc3956764ff
Reaction to the murder of an Asian Man being stabbed in Bothell. WA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794MprgRsRA
CeFaan Kim: https://abc7ny.com/about/newsteam/cefaan-kim/
Dion Lim: https://abc7news.acom/about/newsteam/dion-lim/
Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA): http://capaonline.org/
Korean American Story: https://koreanamericanstory.org/
Project by Project: https://www.projectbyproject.org/
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA): https://www.apalanet.org/
OCA-NY Asian Pacific American Advocates: http://www.oca-ny.org/contact.html
Asian Women Giving Circle: http://asianwomengivingcircle.org/
Free yoga class that panelist Suelain Moy mentioned that she took with Joyce Wu, “Gentle Yoga for Terrible Times”: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gentle-yoga-for-terrible-times-tickets-107646048228
More about the class: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/gentle-yoga-for-terrible-times-offers-hour-long-wellness-session/ar-BB17kInE
Joyce’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oneandonlyjoyce/
Asian Mental Health Collective: https://www.asianmhc.org/