An Asian American woman warrior donates almost $1M to fight racism against AAPI

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Xiao Zhen Xie, right, explains to a police officer how she fought back against her attacker.

OPINION

I found a new badass Asian American hero. She comes in the form of Xiao Zhen Xie, the 75-year-old woman who was sucker-punched by a white man in San Francisco – and then fought back by smacking him with a wooden board. He had to be carried away on a stretcher.

The suspect, Steven Jenkins, a 36-year old white man, punched Xie minutes after he assaulted an 83-year-old Asian man. The suspect was being chased by a security guard when he decided to punch Xie.

Although shocked and injured, Xie instinctively grabbed a board and struck back.

I'm not an advocate of violence. I'd much rather anticipate and avoid a violent incident than wade into confrontation that would inevitably end up in a fight and one of us, perhaps both of us, would wind up injured.

But I can't help but cheer when I heard the news story of Xie fighting back on March 17 on Market Street, one of San Francisco's main streets, and delivering instant justice to a bully who made the grave error in assuming Xie would be an easy mark.

The security guard corralled the attacker until police arrived.

But fighting back is not what makes Xie a hero -- although, there was a bit of me that felt a sense of instant justice had occurred. It is what happened afterwards.

Her grandson, John Chen, started a GoFundMe page with a goal of $50,000 to help pay for his grandmother's medical expenses from the unprovoked attack. As of Sunday, March 28, the page has raised $985,000+ -- almost $1 million.

In an update post, Chen wrote that his grandmother is recovering well from the emotional trauma as well as the physical injuries that she suffered..

"She said we must not summit to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary, wrote Chen. 

"She also stated multiple times to donate all the funds generated in this GoFundMe back to the Asian American community to combat racism. She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than her. This is my grandma, grandpa, and our family’s decision. We hope everyone can understand our decision."

Asian American elderly have been the victims of several violent, unprovoked attacks resulting in at least two deaths and countless injuries that required hospitalization.

The death of 84-year old Vichar Ratanapakdee, a Thai American grandfather who was on his morning walk in San Francisco when an attacker ran across the street and knocking the elder to the ground sparked a nationwide media campaign against the hate attacks against AAPI.

Word of Caution: The post is news laced with opinion. Readers are encouraged to read multiple accounts to form their own opinion.

Trump doubles down on his use of "China virus" in describing the coronavirus

SCREEN CAPTURE / CNN

Donald Trump at the daily coronavirus briefing at the White House.

Donald Trump's insistence on calling COVID-19 the "China virus" is spurring a rise in attacks, physical altercations or verbal abuse, against Asians.


Some of the nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations issued a joint urgent call to action against racism and discrimination targeting Asian Americans related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The joint statement is in response to Trump's continued insistence in referring to the COVID-19 pandemic as the "China virus," in his tweets and news conference. Critics say his use of the term, along with Wuhan virus: 

“As our nation grapples with the coronavirus, we are deeply concerned that recent incidents of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans threaten our collective public safety. In recent weeks, Asian Americans have been subjected to violent attacks, discrimination against their businesses and xenophobic portrayal by the media and our elected leaders.

"We are often reminded of the xenophobic history of our nation—from the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act to the 2019 Public Charge Rule—our nation has always treated people of color and immigrants with suspicion. Coronavirus does not discriminate based on race or ethnicity.

"The World Health Organization’s declaration of a pandemic is a call to action—both to protect our collective public health and to remind us that we must stand together. We call on policymakers, the media and the public to take affirmative steps to halt and condemn xenophobia and to ensure that the health and safety of all Americans is protected.”

Signatories to the statement are:

Advancement Project, National Office, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Demos, Faith in Action, NAACP, National Congress of American Indians, National Urban League, Race Forward, and Unidos US are a collaborative of nine leading national Racial Equity Anchor Organizations supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 

In one instance, a CBS reporters said a White House staffer called it the "Kung Flu," is sparking a surge in attacks against Asian Americans.

When asked by reporters this morning at the coronavirus daily briefing, if he was offended by the use of "Kung Flu," and "China virus," he brusquely responded, “No, no, no,” ...“Not at all. I think they probably would agree with it 100 percent. It comes from China. There’s nothing not to agree with.”

A few hours later, Wednesday afternoon, the White House apparently received instructions to respond to the growing criticism with this tweet:

Director of the Centers for Disease Control Robert Redfield in Congressional hearings on March 10 went against Trump and GOP lawmakers and condemned the use of the term "China virus" and the CDC website issued guidelines against its use because of negative impact it has on Asian Americans.

However, in Tuesday's briefing, Trump pushed back at the suggestion that using the racist term creates a stigma.

"I don't think so. I think saying that our military gave it to them creates a stigma," Trump told reporters.

CNN previously reported that a prominent Chinese official is repeating a conspiracy theory that the US military could have brought the deadly virus to China -- and it did not originate in the Chinese city of Wuhan where it was first reported by Chinese health officials.

"I didn't appreciate the fact that China was saying that our military gave it to them. Our military did not give it to anybody," Trump said.

"China was putting out information, which was false, that our military gave this to them. That was false. And rather than having an argument, I said I had to call it where it came from. It did come from China. So, I think it's a very accurate term," he said.

Trump is also using the spread of the virus as a justification for his harsh, and some say racist, immigration policy stemming immigration to the US and the need to construct his infamous wall on the border with Mexico even though the introduction of the virus to the US is believed to have been transmitted by American visitors to China.

Capitol Hill lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, and members of the three minority Congressional Caucuses, have spoken out against the use of the term.

Nevertheless, Trump and GOP congressmembers continue to doubled down on the use of this term during press conferences. 

Trump's insistence in the use of the offensive term goes against guidelines issued by the World Health Organization and the promises by members of Trump’s own administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield, to refrain from using that term in reference to COVID-19 because it incites blame, racism, and hatred towards Asian Americans, putting them at risk for prejudice and violence. 

RELATED: Coronavirus fears spur attacks against Asian Americans

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chairwoman Judy Chu, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman Karen Bass, and Congressional Native American Caucus Co-Chair Deb Haaland issued the following joint statement:

“The name of the virus causing the crisis in America and around the world is the 2019 novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 for short. It has a name. But Republicans, from President Trump on down, have insisted on creating and using alternatives such as the ‘Chinese’ or ‘Wuhan’ virus. This is dangerous and they know it. The World Health Organization has said labeling a disease by region or ethnicity makes it harder to contain the disease and promotes stigma that can negatively impact ethnic groups. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said creating stigma endangers public health. 

"Yet still, Republicans are rejecting that expert guidance in order to stoke xenophobia and blame all people of Chinese ethnicity for a public health crisis that knows no boundaries. 

"But by telling people who to blame, they are telling people who to fear and who to hate. Unfortunately, we have already seen how this bigotry has impacted Asian Americans across the country who are facing increased prejudice and violence. Many have even been assaulted to the point of needing to seek medical care in hospitals due to the injuries sustained from physical attacks. This is the consequence of spreading xenophobia, something that cannot continue to be amplified by the Trump Administration and Republican Members. Not now, not ever.

“Republicans have a choice: they can either help contain this global pandemic, or they can exploit it and exacerbate it to serve the President’s narrow political and xenophobic interests. But by doing the latter, they are putting American lives at risk. 

"Conversely, it’s heartening to see the four national caucuses of state legislators of color join our efforts by issuing a statement denouncing the Administration’s efforts to spread xenophobia. We are also grateful to all the local elected officials, governors, and community leaders adhering to clear, consistent messaging that rightfully places no blame on Asian Americans or any other ethnic group. Once again, we implore all leaders to stick to expert guidance and not spread xenophobia. Lives depend on it.”

Farewell to the controversial hyphen in 'Asian American'

The dreaded hyphen is dead the bible of journalism, the 2019 Associated Press Stylebook, has buried "Asian-American" in favor of "Asian American."
Huh, you shrug? Did you notice the difference? For non-journalists it might hardly be noticeable but the elimination of the hyphen makes a world of difference.

English teachers and grammar experts might cringe at the change but the Associated Press guidelines, used by a majority of U.S. newspapers, is simply falling back on an underlying style rule that overrules what might be grammatically correct: Call people what they call themselves.

The proper grammar rule is to have the word "Asian" as a modifier for the word "American." Under proper English-class rules, the modifier is attached to the subject with a hyphen.

But ever since the the word "Asian-American" was coined in 1969, the debate has raged among community activists who say the "Asian" part of how they identify themselves is diminished as a modifier and gives more importance to the "American" part of their identity. 

Using the hyphen may be grammatically correct but it implies that the hyphenated person is less than a full-blooded American.

Proponents of not using the hyphen said it gave equal status to both parts of their identity.

For years, it went back and forth. Some used the hyphen, some didn't . It became clear that usage of the unhyphenated American was gaining in popularity, particularly among progressive organizations.


However, in the world of journalism, editors who go strictly "by the book," and eagar to demonstrate the neutrality of "good" journalism, made sure that to put uppity young journalists of color -- the group most likely to leave out the hyphen -- in their place by making sure to add that damn hyphen. It was as if by insisting on the hyphen it was putting the journalists of color in their place.

Much in the same way the styleguide moved away from the word "Negro" to today's description of African Americans or blacks, the AP followed popular usage and dropped the hyphen.

For a while, this blog used the forward slash (/) instead of the hyphen between the two words because it gave equal weight to both "Asian" and "American."

The problem with using the foroward slash was people who Googled either "Asian-American" or "Asian American" could not find the posts from this blog.

The other big change in the AP Stylebook is it's now OK to call something or someone's remarks racist.

It was always a source of irritation and frustration for a person of color that editors, usually white, would downplay someone's racist words or actions. Their cautious editing, in itself -- I believe -- comes not from racist motives but a wish  to stay away from words that are so loaded that they conjure up strong feelings, one way or another.

"Race is central to many recent headlines: Jussie Smollett’s case, immigration, the viral video of a teenager and a Native American elder," writes Doris Truong for the Poynter Institute, a journalistic think tank that seeks to support and improve journalism.

"However we are in an era of dog-whistle politics — if you know what to listen for, you get the message. Some newsrooms have soft-pedaled describing actions as racist. Instead, they have hedged with language such as 'racially motivated,'" continues Truong, who provided input to AP for the new guidelines as a representative of the Asian American Journalists Association. 

The style guide entry on the race reads:

"The terms racism and racist can be used in broad references or in quotations to describe the hatred of a race, or assertion of the superiority of one race over others." 

It is no longer enough to take a "he said, she said" and a clinical approach to reporting the actions and words without describing them accurately.

If it is journalism's goal is to be accurate, in this age when racial inequality threatens our society, hate crimes are on the rise, xenophobia is nurtured by the White House, white nationalists emboldened and called "nice people" or the 19th century racist values embedded in some of our institutions continue to place obstacles to equality, it is difficult, if not impossible, to write about these issues without calling them for what they really are.

If the US is to have a real discussion on race, it needs to start in the nation's newsrooms.

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