. Posted by Sherrie Thai by Shaireproductions.com .
Wounded Dragons artwork was created from the sadness and pain of the Anti-Asian sentiment sweeping the US and worldwide. While racism against Asians in the US have long existed since the 1800s, the Covid epidemic has caused an alarming 1900% uptick in racist attacks, resulting in deaths and injuries, including the most vulnerable (recently, with the death of Vicha Ratanapakdee). Fueled by the ignorant rants of the previous administration which normalized overt racism and xenophobic fears, Asians are unfortunately viewed as the virus and scapegoats during Covid, even though the virus carries no ethnicity. My heart breaks everyday for the pain caused by such ignorance.
Racism sometimes starts out as seemingly “harmless” jokes and become internalized hatred, evolving into aggression and violence. According to @stopaapihate, 2/3rds of Asians in the US experience fear and anxiety from being targeted for attacks–I am one of them. Before Covid, I’ve experienced attacks in both physical and verbal forms, and have seen violence on my loved ones–blood streaming down their faces, bewildered at what happened to them. Now, during Covid, the threat is amplified. Historically, Asian-Americans have been a group of silent survivors, dealing with racism quietly; oftentimes, when it is reported, nothing is done by those in power and dismissed as a novel incident, but everything is at a tipping point and action is needed, not just from a political level, but a social one as well. The dismissiveness and silencing of Asian voices due to the perceived “model minority myth” is contributing to the perpetuation of hate. Solidarity is a community commitment.
For the art, I didn’t want to be too literal with people subjects but more symbolic with Eastern Dragons, exhibiting the emotion and pain.
What can be done:
-Be an Ally. Raise awareness, speak up and condemn the racism. When you see something happening, speak out and help.
-Educate yourself on what’s happening, the histories and why it’s happening.
-Have Interracial/cultural Dialog. We thrive when there’s common understanding.
-Get involved. There are great community organizations and movements.
Resources:
Stop AAPI Hate
Advancing Justice
Hate is a Virus
Act to Change
@stopaapihate @racismisavirus @apilegal @acttochange @aaja_alc @selfhelpelderly @chinatowncdc @caasanfrancisco @asianswithattitudes #endracism #standforasians #stopasianhate #hateisavirus #artactivism #activistart #peacefulprotest #stopracism #asianamerican
Interesting reads:
Upworthy
SF Chronicle
AirBnb
USA Today
Rolling Stone
