As we pay attention to the impact of covid-19 during Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, we must renew our commitment to supporting this community beyond May 31.
Racism and xenophobia run deep in American culture, and President Trump’s suggestion that China is to blame for the pandemic may embolden people to maltreat the AAPI community, especially as the consequences of the pandemic worsen. In fact, this has been confirmed by several studies showing a surge in the number of Asian Americans reporting incidents of harassment, assault and discrimination since the outbreak of coronavirus.
A political party that encourages and exploits fear and hate must not be tolerated at the ballot box come November. Blaming China is a cheap but effective trick employed by the Trump administration to deflect from its response to coronavirus that, in my opinion, has been sluggish and incompetent.
Young people, who make up the largest voting bloc in 2020, have the power to show we are smarter than Trump’s childish appeal to bigotry by voting for candidates who rebuke the hate and fear that put Trump into office in 2016. Rather than shun diversity, we embrace it. We know it is the very thing that makes this country so rich. Take a stand by pledging to vote with NextGen PA at nextgenamerica.org.
Hana Koob
South Side