Before I moved to Thailand in 2020, I was raised in the United States of America, and throughout the years, as a Chinese-Thai American, I went to different states and to different schools, including Jewish, Christian, and public schools. During this period, I had many friends, some American, some Asian, and more. No matter our belief, skin color, or ethnicity, we all loved and cheered one another, and even when I was sad or confused or frustrated, someone would be there to help me. To this extent, I always felt welcomed and never got any hatred or racism due to my ethnicity or belief.
But, even though I was always welcomed and treated nicely, sometimes, my family and friends to Thai teachers would get many people staring or be gossiped. More so, one of my friends’ mother and some of my teachers would be scared of strangers attacking them while riding the NY Subway or walking through the city. This caused me to start worrying for not my own safety, but for my parents, siblings, and friends, targeted due to their skin color and ethnicity, or for hanging out with me. More so eighty percent of Asian Americans do say they have experienced racism or hate, whether it was verbal, physical, or emotional. Due to this, I started want to advocate more for the Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate Movement.
How My Experiences Shaped My Perspective
After watching the Asian American racism and protest in America in March, I vowed that I would either speak up or raise awareness about the problem and tell others of how we feel and how we are being treated. For the last two months, eighth graders at Ruamrudee International School have researched and done one project or another by choice and trying to “solve” the issue. My project was about using my passion of songwriting to address the rising issue of Asian American and Pacific Islander and African American racism. I tried to express opinions and how the community feels about everything. Even though I haven’t finished, here is the first verse:
People don’t decline in quality
We aren’t suspects, not a comedy
Yeah, No One deserves this brutality,
No, we’re not a monstrosity
Yet, everyday we’re punished for the things we don’t do
Oh, one’s light goes out, yeah this isn’t new
We stand up and discard the rules
Parties riot across the globe
Demanding for change until it’s true
This verse expresses the opinion of everyone seeing the racism across the globe. Even if you don’t do something significant, if everyone helps out, we can change the world.
Across the globe, there are so many different cultures and identities, but not all of them shine like others. Instead of pushing everyone down, help them up and be kind and encouraging. We are all a part of the same species, no one is an alien.
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