Asians make up six percent of the Philadelphia metro area population, according to the Inquirer. When you think about violence and who is impacted by it, my heart goes out to Asian Americans. The things they have been through sound so familiar. One Philadelphia case demonstrates why you shouldn’t brutalize others.
I hear ignorance is bliss, and I’m at fault for thinking Chinese, Korean, and Japanese people are the same. While researching this article, I’ve been very mindful of how I write. This is a sensitive issue about myself not being educated enough. In recent days, I have seen many Asian Americans experiencing homelessness in D.C. This is wrong.
I understand Asian Americans’ anger and passion because I have seen it up close and personal. I’ve seen people making fun of the way they speak and the shape of their bodies. It’s racism at best, but they also experience torture, assault, robbery, being pistol-whipped, and just scared to death.
In Philadelphia, 13 home invasion attacks in May and August of 2016 left many families seeking therapy. Some of these home invasions had children present. I couldn’t imagine my children being present for these assaults. The two men, Black men in this case, received 30 to 60 years and 60 to 90 years for home invasion.
How powerful is hate?
Hatred killed a Chinese American named Vincent Jen Chin. On June 19, 1982, Chin was attacked and murdered by hatred, distributed and acted out by two white men, Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz. Chin was out celebrating his bachelor party for his upcoming wedding. The two men received three years’ probation and a fine.
Hate can go both ways. Another case I find heartbreaking is about a young lady named Latasha Harlins. On March 16, 1991, she was shot and killed at the age of 15 by a 49-year-old Korean American named Soon Ja Du. Latasha was purchasing a bottle of orange juice when Du, the store clerk, assumed Latasha was stealing the drink and shot Latasha in the back of her head.
This senseless murder took place in the same month as the Rodney King beating. Du received five years probation and a $500 fine.
Latasha Harlins, how powerful is hate?
