Hi, all. So this isn’t my usual Saturday Short post, though I do hope to be posting some more soon. Instead I want to take a bit of time to share something personal that has been weighing on my heart and mind. The murders in Atlanta were almost two weeks ago now, but I couldn’t sit down and write about them and their effects until now. The pain in community and in my heart has been too great.

It’s not like Atlanta was an isolated incident. AAPI (aka Asian American Pacific Islander, the initialism API [Asian Pacific Islander] is also sometimes used) hate in this country has a long history and violence against AAPI people also has a long history. And this last year with the COVID-19 pandemic has brought such an increase in hate and violence against the AAPI community that Atlanta was just…there aren’t words. And it isn’t just Atlanta, it’s in my beloved Bay Area where our elders are getting harassed and killed and our children are getting taunted or worse and all of us are on edge.

It needs to end. We need to stop the hate reigning down on the AAPI community and on all BIPOC communities.

But what I wanted to share is more personal and a way for you to help if it feels too removed to simply donate to AAPI organizations or you don’t have the means to do so. What everyone can do is check in with their AAPI friends, colleagues, and family members–especially if you aren’t AAPI. I only had one non-AAPI colleague check in with me after Atlanta and I know I’m not the only one who has had that experience. And it is painful and it is isolating and it makes us feel even more invisible than we already often feel.

So reach out. It’s not too late to check in, to show you care, to show we matter.  Don’t worry about saying the perfect thing or writing the perfect thing. Just reaching out is what is important. We’ll remember that you did.

If you want to do more to help and can donate, check out the Support the AAPI Community Fund GoFundMe or the NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum), among many others. Or buy a shirt to show your support and have 100% of your donations go to AAPI orgs.

If you want to learn more about what’s been happening check out, Stop AAPI Hate.  Not only is this site used for reporting hate incidents, they also have produced reports and have lists of resources.

And I want to leave you with this powerful statement by Daniel Dae Kim. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for listening. I’ll be back soon with more writing. Until then, take care, be safe, and reach out to let someone know you care.